Are you not getting enough clients? We’ll increase your industry value with these value-building tips. Soon clients will be coming to you to hire you.
Let’s go over what you can do to increase your value in the industry as a filmmaker:
Branding yourself solves most value-building issues
Branding is everything. A lot of filmmakers struggle to establish a strong brand. However, having a strong brand often solves most of one’s value issues. To develop your brand, you must find out where you stand out from your competition. Why would your potential client choose you over others? Make no mistake, clients do their research and put you in a line-up of potential candidates. You need to stand out.
Build your reputation and reel
Speaking of clients, you’ll need to build your reputation and make a reel to draw in business. If you don’t already know, a reel is a collection of all the previous works you’ve done that you can show to your clients.
However, be wary of clients and companies trying to save money. Many companies and clients know they can save money by going with someone trying to build his or her reputation and reel. Don’t work for free. You can get compensated fairly and still put a project on your reel.
Improve your actual value
You’ll need to find a balance between making your videos look professional and not breaking your bank doing so. You want as high of production value as possible. Also, high production value doesn’t necessarily equal high production costs. Your project can look like it costs a lot of money, but really be economical. Essentially, make your videos look and sound good, but don’t go broke.
Experience
Experience comes with time. It’s as simple as that. You have to work on your projects and gain as much experience from them as you can. Also, know that when you put more work out there, you will get more opportunities.
People’s impressions
It isn’t all about your work. Your clients’ deciding factor may be their impression of you. You have to ask the question: would you hire you? If the answer is no, find what you can do to correct that. Get your domain and website up and put your reel onto it. Create a menu that’s easy for potential clients to navigate. And keep asking yourself, “If I’m looking at this person, what do I want to know and see?”
Present yourself
Take some time and practice presenting yourself. Many filmmakers are not naturally good at presenting themselves, so don’t feel discouraged. You want to sell yourself. You are a product and a brand. You have to sell yourself.
Repeat business
Branding creates loyalty. If clients like the work you do for them, they are likely to come back to you for other jobs. Brand loyalty is the number one component of repeat business. Having your clients become loyal to your brand will not only boost the amount of work you get. It will also boost your reputation.
Build value by being good at what you do
When it comes down to it, you have to be good at what you do. Spend time getting really good at your craft and you will have the foundation needed to build your value in the industry.
You can check out “How to Build Value in Yourself” for a deeper look into this topic.
Image courtesy Unsplash
