The Freelancer Signal

So is freelancing mostly sitting around in your batcave waiting for the Rita signal to go up and then you mete out some piping hot social media marketing justice? Because that's how I imagine it.

My friend asked me that in a text message shortly after I'd told him my decision to freelance full-time. I answered with my attempt at a quip:

That's pretty accurate. Don't tell anyone though. Gotta keep my secret identity under wraps.

How awesome it would be if my desk were actually located in my freelancing "batcave," (or butterfly cave in my case) and it was as easy as waiting for the call. There I'd sit, typing furiously on my laptop and my eyes drift to the window as they so often do. Staring off into space, my butterfly signal appears lighting up the sky (a pretty amazing feat seeing as I work during normal daylight business hours...). I jump up, don my super freelancer cape, and fly off to the social media marketing rescue for the client in distress.

Yes, how amazing that would be. But alas, it is not so easy. First of all, as if I need to say it, there's no such thing as a freelancing signal. Secondly, most people don't know they need social media help, and if they do they don't know how to find it. Therefore, a big part of my job is to go out find those distressed clients myself. Then I need to sell them on their own need for help and me as the solution to their problems.

Networking. Selling your image. Showing up everyday. That's how we freelancers get it done.