As a freelance media buyer, the three top questions I get all the time are:
1. How do you like working for yourself?
2. Exactly what is it that you do, again?
3. Do you have goals to grow your freelancing business? If so, how do you do it?
So.. let’s start with the first question.
How do I like working for myself?
Well, to answer simply, I LOVE IT! But I really don’t work for myself, I work for other advertising agencies and businesses that need my help and expertise. I’m hired or contracted to plan and/or place media on their behalf. My work varies too! Sometimes it’s a short term 2-week job to help an agency get out of a pinch when they have a quick turnaround. Some ad agencies hire me to do media buying as needed for their clients. Other ad agencies may not offer my type of services at all but see the benefit to adding what I do to their roster. Lastly, I have a few of my own clients that have found me through various forms of networking and referrals. Following this explanation, I get panicked looks and questions about health insurance, business expenses, taxes, and what my schedule is like. And because I know you’re going to wonder…I buy my own health insurance, have an amazing accountant, and just like working in an ad agency my schedule varies based on the workload.
Exactly what is it that you do, again?
I am a freelance media planner and media buyer. I am the reason why you see commercials on TV, Radio, Print, Billboards, etc. I am an expert in knowing exactly what to do to generate awareness for a product, brand, or business. I spend my days diving deep into research such as Scarborough, Media Monitors, Nielsen, and ComScore to determine the target audience and what avenues would work best to reach that demographic. It is at this point after a few meetings and gathering research that I’ll come up with a strategy to support the objective or goal of the campaign. Personally, I like to clearly define the objective and goal of the campaign because I want it to be obvious what I’m trying to do. From there, I’ll create a media plan. A media plan is where I put pen to paper and figure out exactly what types of media I can buy with the budget that I have. For instance, after I determine cost per point I can estimate how many gross rating points per week I can buy on TV or Radio which will in turn tell me what my weekly or monthly spend will be. After the plan is approved it’s time to create the media buys in BluHorn. BluHorn makes it so easy to create buys too. I create all my TV and Radio buys in BluHorn and I’m also able to create my all print, digital, and outdoor insertion orders as well.
Part of my expertise includes follow up. Life of a freelance media buyer doesn’t stop after the buys are negotiated and placed. While the buys are in flight I’m keeping an eye on how the orders are running and making sure when spots don’t run to get a makegood. Auditing the invoices makes sure that everything ran as ordered. In addition, we can determine if we got all the added value we requested and make sure that the traffic (advertisements) ran correctly. Outside of that we are looking for feedback from the clients to determine return on investment (ROI) and/or success of the campaign.
Do you have goals to grow your freelancing business? If so, how do you do it?
Yes, like any business owner it is necessary to establish goals for how you would like to grow your business. While some may put less effort into growing their business and more into just working, others have a strategic plan to grow. For most freelancers, business funnels through either referrals or networking. Actually, networking and referrals work hand in hand. Once people get to know and respect you through networking, they will proudly refer business to you when they encounter someone that has a need. Another way that has also resulted in new clients is networking with people within my industry. It’s a good way to gauge what is going on within the industry as well as who may have a need and how you can help.
Really, the more that I get out there and meet people the more my business has grown. But, there’s an aspect of time management to networking. Sometimes it’s nearly impossible to attend all the networking events I’d like to because clients come first. So, I’ve learned how to manage this by only accepting a certain number of networking invites a week. This helps me to be available when my clients need to meet as well as focus on getting work done.
Lastly, networking and referrals to grow your business is not a one-way street. It’s important to thank and appreciate those that are referring business to you as well as refer business to others. You’re not the only one out there networking. Support in growing your business comes from all different places and often from where you least expect it. So, when someone refers business to you (regardless of if you retain the referral as a client or not), a thank you, hug, handshake, Starbucks gift card, or any sincere acknowledgement goes a long way. And, when possible, don’t hesitate to return the favor.
Freelance work isn’t for everyone. It can be scary and inconsistent at times but for me it is rewarding, enjoyable, and I love it. Like Steve Jobs said, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
Guest post written by Adele M. George
