Freelance Exchange of KC members gear up for annual Showcase

The premiere event for the Freelance Exchange of Kansas City (#FXofKC) is coming up Sept. 29 – FX Showcase 2016. Members learned what to do and not to do to present themselves in the best positive light at the Showcase at a lively discussion at a lunch meeting.

The FX Showcase is an excellent opportunity for talented freelance writers, editors, corporate communicators, designers, photographers, social media experts and others to display their portfolios and talk about their services.

Attendees will include representatives from KC advertising and PR agencies, design firms, corporations, nonprofits and mom-and-pop shops. All of those potential clients turn to freelance or contract assistance on a regular or occasional basis and attend Showcase to search for talent.

$10 fee covers it

New this year is no-fee table/booth space for Freelance Exchange members, who just pay the $10 general admission fee for the event. Also new this year is a $10 admission fee for all visitors to the Showcase. The event takes place at the River Market event space, conveniently located near City Market and near a KC Streetcar stop.

The event starts at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 29 with an hour-long panel discussion with FXofKC members, who will field questions about the business of hiring freelance experts for particular gigs, or as an ongoing supplement to full-time staff. Panelists are Julie Cortes, Kelly Wagner, Jason Dailey, Susan Pepperdine and Stina Hergott, all experts in copywriting, design or photography.

Trendy food on site

The exhibit floor opens at 11:30, giving attendees a chance to visit at the various booths. American Fusion, a trendy KC food truck, will be on hand for attendees to purchase lunch. The event will conclude about 3 p.m. and attendees are invited to a cash bar happy hour at Harry’s Country Club beginning around 3:30 p.m.

Some tips from the pros on how to prepare for the Showcase:

·      Bring samples of your best work, attractively displayed in scrapbook, binder, as hand-outs, or on a laptop or tablet. Include case studies, testimonials from clients, business cards, flyers, etc.

·      Collect business cards from everyone who visits your booth and take brief notes about your conversations. Follow up with an email to thank them for stopping by.

·      Be ready with a conversation opener that engages your visitors.

·      Practice your 30-second “elevator speech.” Make it sound real and conversational. Focus on what makes you different.

·      Don’t engage in long conversations with visitors – keep it short and sweet, as they have other vendors to visit.

·      Present yourself as an idea generator – someone who understands their core business and who can solve problems.

·      Be prepared for questions about rates and know how you will respond.

·      Fancy up your table to fit your brand. Tables will have black cloths, but be creative if it suits you. Bring your own table covering and any suitable decorations. Keep any table-top accessories low, so they won’t block your view, but consider adding some height to your display.

·      All display items must fit on your table. No floor displays or wall displays are permitted.

·      Consider giving out small tchotchkes with your brand; or maybe chocolates or cookies.

·      Dress as if you were going to a client meeting.

Showcase promotion

FXofKC board members are in high gear, planning widespread promotion to potential Showcase attendees. Some 3,600 postcards will be mailed by Sept. 8, posters will be placed in agencies, businesses and retail locations throughout the community and a flurry of electronic communications will be unleashed.

Registration

Watch the FXofKC Facebook page and www.kcfreelanceexchange.com for registration information, coming soon.

Hope to see YOU at FXofKC Showcase 2016!

Build your personal brand through strong connections

In 2005, Joyce Layman was a self-described wallflower, terrified to speak in front of an audience and with no network of professional associates. Not happy with her situation, she took  the advice of Tina Fey: “Say yes and you’ll figure it out.”

Joyce said yes to a launching a new career as a speaker, trainer, author and professional connector. Now the author of two books, including Your Connecting Advantage, Joyce shared insights with members of The Freelance Exchange of Kansas City at a luncheon meeting.

“People entering the workforce today will change jobs 20 times in their careers,” Joyce said, so no matter where you are in your career journey, it’s important to build your personal brand. The best way to do this is through connecting with professionals. “Every day is a connecting opportunity, everywhere you go,” she says.

Don’t think of interacting with people you don’t know as networking, she advises, because that feels like too much pressure, like you’re deliberately trying to sell something. Instead, think of your social and business interactions as connecting with people whom you might help in their personal career journeys and who just might end up helping you.

“I believe that when you change your thoughts, you can change your life,” Joyce says. “I’ve experienced the transformation and have worked for years to help others do the same. It starts with how you think and builds on how you connect.”

Here are a a couple of assignments from Joyce, if you would like to improve your ability to connect with others:

• How’s your LinkedIn profile looking?

LinkedIn is the 12^th most searched site on the internet, Joyce says, and the ideal place to start to build your personal brand. “Think about the power of your brand,” she advises, “as 50 percent of purchasing decisions are made online before people actually call you. Build your professional persona online so people have the right perception of who you are.”

You don’t need a paid profile to succeed with LinkedIn, but you should visit the site every day and see who’s looking at your profile.

When sending an invitation to connect, use your laptop or desktop computer and not your mobile phone, so that you can send a personalized invitation. Give someone context about how you know each other or a statement on why you should connect.

Others may share your name, so be sure to grab your LinkedIn name and use the LinkedIn url on your website, your resume and on other places where you market yourself and your business.

Post content via LinkedIn Publisher if you’re a writer, in order to raise your profile in your industry.

In the Midwest, post to LinkedIn between 9 and 11 a.m. to ensure you get the most people seeing your posts. Of course, make sure every post fits your brand.

If you receive a LinkedIn invitation from someone you don’t know, reply with a question about why the person wants to connect with you. Accept only those that fit your profile and your business goals.

• Maybe you need a paid service or two to help you increase your contacts or improve your communications with your contacts? Check out MeetEdgar.com and CrystalKnows.com.

MeetEdgar.com is a social media posting site that automates your posting work. When you save an update to Edgar, tell him what social networks you want to post it on and what posting category to use. Tell Edgar what types of updates to share at which times. Edgar does the posting for you. Edgar also uses the updates saved in your library to create a queue that can be reused later when he runs out of new posts.

CrystalKnows.com gives you instant access to millions of personality profiles that you can search by name and advice on how to communicate with anyone you meet. CrystalKnows might especially help writers by creating unique personality profiles for people with an online presence, preparing you to speak or write in someone else’s natural communication style.