Holiday Networking: A Few Tips for Freelancers

Revisiting an oldie but a goodie this week as this is the time of year where you can really maximize your community cultivation efforts. For many, figuring out how you are going to organically and subtly network with someone can be tricky. And that makes sense. It’s a fine art. A good networking gesture should feel authentic, surprising and thoughtful.

We encourage the engagement with 3 different people a week, hopefully remembering that while networking can come in all shapes and sizes, using our organized approach, let’s discredit the accidental parties, run ins on the street and random events. Your 3 different efforts should be personal and direct.

The easiest time of the year to network is coming up!

November through January is where the commercial push to spend all your hard earned cash is based on giving thanks and celebrating those you value. So if we’re going to fall into the consumerism trap as most of us already do, let’s go hog wild and make the most of it.

The holidays are an opportunity to say “you matter to me!” and it won’t necessarily seem “slimy” or forced (side note: there is always a way to avoid making a networking gesture seem slimy or forced).

The best part about holiday networking, by the way, is that you can find something for all your bases (producers, directors, fans, colleagues). “You get a car and you get a car and you get a car!”

The gesture can be as late as need be over the course of the next few months (the cutoff is probably around Jan 2 or 3) and as affordable as you need it to be. For consideration, below is a short list of possible holiday cultivation efforts:

1. Cards
2. Gifts (I sent succulents to my team and other colleagues last year)
3. E-mails
4. Random Office Stop Ins
5. End of Year Texts
6. Phone Calls
7. Kind Gestures
8. Tips
9. Fan discounts
10. Extra special social media content

And the list goes on…

If you are someone who has had trouble simply beginning the process of organized, thoughtful networking, take advantage of the holidays and try it out! Your community is your “in” to getting to the depths of your industry.

Kick off the New Year right by strategically using these end of year months to spread some good cheer. It’ll come back in spades.

Also by Artist’s Strategy:

Artist’s Statement: Aligning Your Career

Artist’s Statement: Finding Your Vision

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