5 Competitive Advantages Freelancers Should Lean Into

Freelance creatives face no shortage of competition. Between in-house teams, full-scale agencies, and platforms like Fiverr, how can you make some noise and get clients’ attention? The truth: you have a lot more to offer than you might realize.

Being a successful freelancer means taking stock of your competitive advantages. Discover what you have to offer that’s better than other options. Then lean into those advantages when pitching prospective clients.

So, what do freelance competitive advantages look like? I asked my fellow freelancers two questions:

• What is one way you maintain a competitive position as a freelancer? 

• What advantages do you hold over a multi-person agency or larger company?

Here’s how they responded.

• The Ability to Cater to Clients on a More Personal Level

• Developing Relationships on a One-to-One Basis

• The Opportunity to Prove Your Consistency

• Getting to Choose the Clients You Want to Focus on

• Getting to be Personable and Practical

The Ability to Cater to Clients on a More Personal Level

While working as a freelance marketer and consultant, I’ve come to realize that the main advantage I have over other freelancers and agencies is that I can cater to my clients’ needs on a more personal level. Since I’m not working with a large team where I could get overlooked, I can make sure every detail is covered.

For example, if my client is launching a new website and needs blog posts written and published to rank for certain keywords, I can streamline those tasks. I can also answer any questions my client may have about the launch, and provide feedback on what went well and what improvements can be made. My clients can ask me about anything in their marketing process, and I can remain flexible and nimble in assisting them.

Matthew Ramirez, Paraphrase Tool

Developing Relationships on a One-to-One Basis

One big advantage freelancers have is a personal relationship with the clients they work for. If I hire an agency, I don't know who's actually executing the tasks and whoever it is they might not know me and our business. As a freelancer, clients talk directly to the person who will do the job. The personal relationship we build means that companies have more confidence in a freelancer being invested in the task and therefore doing a better job.

Anders Thornild, CyberPilot

The Opportunity to Prove Your Consistency

Freelancers have an edge over others when they keep their work interesting and relevant. Promptness and a word of honor are also ways to let clients stay loyal. The freelance space is getting more and more competitive. Freelancers must continue honing their strengths and finding ways to upgrade their skill sets.

Michelle Siy, Oliver Wicks

Getting to Choose the Clients You Want to Focus On 

One of the quickest ways to turn yourself into the typical overworked, tired, and frustrated freelancer is trying to compete on your price alone. The real secret is in being the highest value offer in your space. Defining value considers price in addition to your offer and the results you can provide to your clients. Additionally, many of your clients are not searching for your services per se, they are searching for solutions! The bigger the problem that you solve for your clients, the more you can charge and the higher the value will be to your clients. Competing on price is a sure way to race to the bottom, the secret is to elevate yourself out of that race and only work with fewer premium clients that will happily pay what your true worth is.

Andrew Jenkins, Catalyst RVA Marketing Agency

Getting to be Personable and Practical

What I find interesting about the freelance art community as a whole is that it is flourishing despite there being thousands of businesses that can replace them in a heartbeat. I think there are two reasons (across all freelancing work) why their businesses aren't just consumed by bigger companies: 

- Personability
People take comfort in knowing there is a living breathing human on the other side of a transaction and not just a cold, hard machine spewing out automated responses. Whether it's because they feel they have someone they can hold liable or they like the humanness of it, this is an experience larger businesses don't offer as often. 

- Practicality
When it comes to making adjustments to work, it can be a pain if something isn't the way you want it. However, with freelancers, you can get in touch almost immediately and work together on how to solve a problem.

Samson Baxter, Fursonafy

Your Turn: What do you find to be your biggest freelance competitive advantage compared to larger businesses and agencies? Drop a comment below.