Now lets say you are not a composer you might be a voice actor, writer etc so you may still find some of these quick tips and suggestions useful in marketing yourself even if you are in a different field
Artwork
Having some personalised Artwork for your pages is a great start whether you pay for your art or do a trade is up to you. Having some eye catching artwork will show people you’re taking your craft seriously it can also show what you or styles or genres you prefer to work in. Taking a royalty free image or that from a movie may look good but it’s not personal to you at all. Getting your name in the artwork or a picture of yourself is quite important. If you choose to go down the picture of yourself route you could include a picture of you with your instrument , at a gig or you working on a track etc The selfie you took in the bathroom may of looked good at that time but it’s probably not going to attract anyone to want to employ you.
Social Media
Social media pages such as Twitter and Facebook are free and can only take a few minutes to set up. You can share all your work on these pages and if you’re already logged into your Facebook you can keep an eye on your pages. Other social media pages to check out include tumblr, LinkedIn and Google Plus. Not only can you post stuff on pages and groups to help promote your work but you can also try messaging people who are in similar groups and you could make contacts and check out each others word such as page liking, following, listening, watching or reviewing etc. Don’t expect everyone to return the favour you could end up listening to someones 10 part series but your own 2 part series they haven’t listend to a second, don’t let people use you! don’t keep giving if they don’t.
Don’t rely on friends or family
Your friend or family may like you or even love you but most of them are not going to check out your work unless it interests them so don’t hold this against them (unless you’re supporting them with their job/hobby some how then you can burn them at the stake” however, there is no harm in them still following and liking the pages for you it’s only a few clicks. Saying this there will be the odd family member or friend who will support you no matter what but they are rare so treat them nicely!
Showreels
Soundcloud and YouTube are quite popular for composers to have tracks on their own however, I am not so keen on soundcloud as a use to be the compression makes even the best of tracks sound a bit naff. I have recently started using reelcrafter to send to clients as no one can see it publicly only those you share the links with. If you’re a graphics artist there are also tons of sites to help promote your artwork. Also when uploaded to certain showreel sites you can apply tags to your work to make it easier for people to find your work by typing certain keyword. Think if you were looking for something like you have posted what would you type in.
Website
Having your own website shows a lot of dedication that you are taking your craft seriously whatever that maybe. Have your work on the site, credits, a bit about yourself, list any qualifications or awards you have won or been nominated for. I noticed recently one of my audio drama Friends/Colleagues Sarah Golding had Testimonials on her website so thought this would be a great thing to include on mine. Of course you can include whatever you wish on your site anything which you feel will help promote you and show off your talents.