1) Build your makeup portfolio!
If you’re just getting started and haven’t had many clients who have been willing to be included in your portfolio, you can ask if any of your friends and family would be kind enough to volunteer. Time to call in those favours! Whether you’re a fashion makeup artist, theatrical makeup artist, FX makeup artist or bridal makeup artist, having a portfolio allows potential clients to get a feel for your style. If you have a website promoting your services, having an online portfolio can be the winning factor that gets you the clients you need to grow your business. When potential clients are searching for your services online and find your website, the first thing they will want to know is what kind of work you’ve done before and whether your style matches what they want. Make sure that your portfolio includes a variety of different hair colours, skin types and facial structures!
2) Get yourself on social media!
Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram are perfect outlets for your makeup creativity! As a makeup artist your area of work is extremely visual, which is why it is important to have a portfolio both on and offline. To date, Instagram has 14 million active monthly users in the UK alone, followed by Pinterest with 2 million and then of course there’s YouTube, who have a massive 1 billion active users per month, worldwide. An online presence can make a huge difference to your business by forming recognition for your work through social media channels. In July 2015, beauty blogger/vlogger ‘My Pale Skin’ uploaded a video to YouTube which showcased how she uses beauty products to cover her imperfections. After just a few days, the video went viral and brought the artist masses of success, massively increasing her client base and therefore ROI. By promoting yourself on social media, you can create a name for yourself by publishing tips, tricks and tutorials that demonstrate your skills as a makeup artist. This can be done through video, images or text articles that combine the different forms of media on your website’s blog.
3) Don’t forget to promote yourself offline too!
Get networking! Always have a pack of business cards on you and promote your business at every available opportunity! Approach relevant businesses, such as photography studios, that you would like to work with or whom you have worked with before, offering your business as their go-to whenever they’re in need of a makeup artist. If you can afford to persuade them with special discounts then do so.
4) Get recommendations, reviews and testimonials!
Incentivise online reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations by creating a referral system and offering discounts and special offers to expand your client base. Follow up the week after you have seen a client and politely ask them how they enjoyed their experience and whether they were satisfied with the result, and ask them whether they could leave you a short review on Facebook or Google+ or whichever platform you are focusing your reviews to. These reviews can then be copied to a testimonials page on your website to build trust in potential clients who are visiting your website.
5) Make sure your makeup artist business is insured!
Even the most talented makeup artists around can make a mistake every once in a while, and not everything can be fixed with makeup remover. It doesn’t matter how skilled, experienced or professional you are, things sometimes go wrong. And sometimes when things go wrong, it can financially devastate your business. For your own piece of mind, having insurance for makeup artists can be a worthwhile investment that will protect your freelance business should you need it. Whether a client develops an allergic reaction to one of your products, you accidentally stain a client’s clothing or property with your makeup products or your client trips over your cosmetics box and injures themselves, you’ll be covered. What’s more, you can get public liability insurance for makeup artists from only £40 a year!