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Why you need to find your USP as a freelance creative (3 easy steps)
What makes you stand out from the crowd? Find that unique thing about you that'll make you irresistible in the eyes of the right clients, and see how to use your USP - unique selling proposition - to get more work.

Maylis Moubarak, on 13 December 2022
Content Marketing Manager at Contact
Thousands of freelancers with the same profession as you, whether you're a model, photographer, hair and makeup artist, writer, marketer, content creator, or influencer, are looking for clients - like you. So how do you cut through the noise?
If you don't know the answer, you need to find your USP - your unique selling proposition. Simply put, your USP is what makes you different. It's that irresistible thing that compels people to want to work with you, not someone else.
Every business has a USP. But as a freelance creative, you also need one to face and fight competition. With it, you'll be able to build an impact-driven career and know what it is you've got that makes clients choose you over someone else, even if they have the same job and experience as you.
Once you find your USP, you'll use it to guide you when you pitch to potential clients for brand partnerships, know what to share on social media with your audience, and determine how much to price your work, among other things.
Fortunately, finding your USP is relatively easy when you follow the proper framework. And it only takes three steps.

STEP 1/ BRAINSTORM: what makes you unique?
Grab a pen and paper, and ask yourself:
- What areas do you excel in? What's your zone of genius?
- Are you more skilled in an area than the average in your industry or profession?
- What kinds of projects do you enjoy working on the most?
- What were the top feedback and compliments you received from clients or people you've worked with?
- Ask your peers, friends and existing clients what makes you stand out in their eyes to know your perceived strengths.
- What can you offer to your clients that other people with the same job as you can't?
- Who's your audience? Which types of clients tend to book you the most? From which industry?
Now, look at your answers. You might notice a pattern with some skills or a few key strengths that pop up multiple times, or maybe a type of client that seems to fit particularly well with you - the combination of these parameters makes you unique.

Step 2/ Define your promise: what are you selling?
Write down the following for your freelance activity (modelling, makeup artistry, photography…):
- Benefits: Think about what draws people to your service, how you solve a problem (i.e., knowing how to style African-American hair - a rare skill in the industry that meets a specific client need) or help reach a goal (taking gorgeous wedding pictures).
- Emotive: Highlight why they should choose you (i.e, you never arrive late to a shoot, you have a positive attitude on set).
- Key selling points: These are what makes your service better than others (i.e., offering a faster booking process, answering within one hour of getting a job request, having cheaper rates).
- Key difference: Reflect on the things you can add to your service to differentiate yourself from the massive pool of available talent (i.e., having multiple skills like acting and dancing, having a specialisation in film photography, offering an extra as standard).
- Competitive advantage: Your previous experience and what you've achieved in your field (made a Vogue cover).
This will help you determine the most attractive aspects of your service, see what's lacking and could be improved, and where you're excelling.
Step 3/ Write your proposition or "pitch"
Now that you've dissected your unique personality traits and strengths and have defined your business promise, you can write down your USP.
USP-writing best practices:
- Keep it short - 2-3 sentences max.
- Focus on the client, not you: limit how much you use "I". Engage the reader directly by using "you" and showing how you can help them.
- Keep it real: don't exaggerate or over-promise.
- Make it clear and straightforward: avoid fluffy words and long, difficult-to-read sentences.
- Make it professional: no spelling mistakes, industry jargon or informal abbreviations.
Keep in mind that you can (and should) adapt your USP to the type of brand you're targeting. We recommend you create one "general USP" that you can have in your bio (for example, on your Contact profile or portfolio), and prepare a couple of other ones for direct pitches to clients.
There are many ways to write a USP, and what you come up with should feel natural. But if you need a hand, here are some frameworks you can follow:
If you're a/for (target customer) who (customer need), I (profession) can (unique strengths). (Promise).
If you're a sports brand that needs a reliable multidisciplinary model for your next campaign, let's chat! I'm a model who can act, skate and dance. I've never arrived late for a shoot, and you'll always meet me with a smile.
For conscious-driven beauty brands looking to deliver colourful, inclusive campaigns, I'm a hair and makeup artist who's worked for Vogue, I-D and Vice, and I'm an expert in Afro-textured hair styling and makeup for all skin tones. With me, you'll engage people in your mission through thoughtfully crafted looks that catch the eye and lead to action.
I am a (profession) who helps (target audience/you) (specific need or goal) through (key selling point).
I'm a photographer who's an expert in sports photography and visual storytelling. I help world-renowned brands like The North Face and Nike connect with their audiences through memorable, influential and impactful imagery.
Write a few versions to find the ones you connect with the most. Test it out with a few potential clients, then adjust your USP over time as you gain more experience.
Finding out what's unique about you can take time. Yet, it'll give you the confidence that you deserve to be paid for your work and that you have something people want. It can also help you determine whether you're on the right path. If you find that your key strengths don't help you get jobs in the industry you're in after years of practice, or that your target clients don't seem to appreciate your uniqueness, it might be a sign to look elsewhere.
There's something for each one of us in this world. Some of us simply may need more time to find it.

Cover video: Mango x Camille Charriere campaign featuring 21 models booked on Contact.

Maylis Moubarak, on 13 December 2022
Content Marketing Manager at Contact

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