Freelancers are always on the lookout for ways to beat the competition. To attract potential clients and engage with existing ones, you need to adapt to the latest trends. And one such trend is to host Ask Me Anything sessions.
In this article you will learn:
- What is an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session?
- How to prepare yourself for hosting an AMA session?
- Where to host an AMA?
- How hosting an AMA can help you in your freelance career?
- General tips to a successful AMA
Ask Me Anything or AMA has taken the online world by storm, and rightly so. But before we get to the benefits of hosting an AMA session, first let’s understand what it actually is.
What is an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session?
When the popular social news site Reddit started a thread where users could run an Ask Me Anything session, little did it know that it is going to break all records of popularity a thread could ever do.
A Reddit AMA—”Ask me Anything”— can engage the host with a sizeable audience base (read: millions of Redditors) and boost engagement like no other platform.
The /r/IAmA subreddit has successfully hosted AMA sessions for people from all walks of life – including A-list celebs, astronauts, and even high-profile personalities like Barack Obama and Bill Gates.
With a simple format and the freedom where anyone can ask anything, AMA sessions have become a huge hit across the globe.
The idea is to have an open and engaging conversation between you and the redditors or your audience.
How to prepare yourself for hosting one?
If you are a freelancer and it has dawned on you that hosting a Reddit Ask Me Anything session could win you more clients than ever – here’s what you got to do:
1. Choose an interesting topic
Even though hosting an AMA seems to be a straightforward task, like everything else it needs a perfect start and plan. Thus, begin by selecting an interesting topic that people would like to hear more about.
2. Pick the right platform
While you can always host an AMA on Reddit, various social media sites are gaining massive popularity to host AMA sessions. You could explore YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter.
But before you begin, ensure that your chosen platform aligns with your objectives whether you want to promote your service or increase your followers.
If you go with Reddit, here are two ways to find the right subreddit for your AMA session:
- Go and check r/AMARequest – If you find a request that you can answer, this would be the easiest way to launch your own.
- Search for related subreddits where you could fit and check it AMAs are done there.
3. Schedule your AMA
Give enough time to your audience to ask questions. Schedule your AMA session a few weeks ahead of time to get a sense of what you can expect and to garner attention.
By promoting the session on various social media sites, you can create the buzz needed to get some exciting questions asked about your freelancing career.
Also, remember that the key to an AMA session’s success is timing. So, host the AMA during a time when your audience is most active on your chosen platform.
The key to an AMA session’s success is timing. Host the AMA when the audience is more active.
4. Measure your success
What was the reason why you started this AMA? You always need a strategy, and it’s time to evaluate the results.
Do an analysis to see if you got the brand exposure that you expected, if you solved the image problem that you had, or if you got new clients because of the session.
Where to host an AMA?
With your work being the primary reason for getting more clients, there’s no excuse to procrastinate talking about it.
Decide the platform where you want to host the AMA. Besides Reddit, you can run an AMA at:
- Askmeanything.net – The Ask Me Anything website is a wonderful platform where brands can host their AMA sessions. Simple yet effective for industry experts, influential people and businesses to get the word out on a new idea, project or service, AskMeAnything can be a go-to platform for freelancers.
- YouTube – An excellent alternative to Reddit AMA, YouTube live videos can help you connect with your clients in real-time. It’s fast, reliable and has a wide reach – perfect for every freelancer’s needs. What’s more? You can upload a recorded session as well!
- Facebook – Just like YouTube, you can run AMAs on Facebook by hosting live sessions or uploading recorded sessions. You can even create Facebook stories – a novel approach to build interest amongst your followers.
- Instagram – From Live sessions to recorded videos and stories, Instagram also gives you all the facilities to host an AMA session, just like its popular contemporary Facebook.
- Twitter – Freelancers can also get the best of Twitter and make their presence felt through a series of Ask Me Anything questions (or freelancers can use Twitter to find new clients). By creating AMA threads and promoting them with relevant hashtags like #AMA or #AskMeAnything, trending on the Twitter space can become a reality for many freelancers.
- New section on your website – You probably have a service section, an about me page, maybe a blog, so why don’t you add an AMA section? This space will allow your audience to submit their questions and you will be able to answer them there.
How hosting an AMA can help you in your freelance career?
Last but not least, mentors are by definition more experienced than you. That means they know people in your field of work – they have connections.
If they are willing to use those connections to your advantage, you stand to gain a lot from a mentorship.
When it comes to finding a large audience base, nothing beats the Internet.
To give a boost to your freelance career and leverage the online audience, you can run your own AMA. It can help you in more than one way, some of which are:
- Building rapport with your clients – As a freelancer, AMA sessions can help your clients know you up close and personal.
- Receiving feedback – One of the many reasons to run an AMA is to gather honest feedback. While this can be a little risky – especially when negative feedback comes up, it highlights the fact that you value feedback and aren’t afraid to climb up the ladder through constructive criticism.
- Reinforcing the authenticity of your work – When you answer your clients on a real-time basis and discuss your work on a virtual platform, you inform the world about the authenticity of your work. This is particularly important for people who undertake critical tasks and need samples to validate their skills.
- Gain new clients – If you provided value and put your services in front of the right people, you can definitely get an increase in leads and generally in clients.
- Clear misunderstandings – If a client was disappointed with your service and this damaged your reputation, hosting an AMA can also help you clean your brand image.
General tips to a successful AMA
- Be careful about self-promotion.
- Answer all the questions asked.
- Give complete answers rather than Yes/No answers.
- Encourage fellow freelancers to participate. If it goes out of your field of knowledge, let the community know that you will provide an answer.
- Give something good to people that highly engaged or asked great questions.
The bottom line is that every freelancer should try running an AMA. Though not mandatory, it is required to stand out from the rest. By fostering quick, easy, and transparent communication, engaging your clients by hosting an AMA session works every time. No muss, no fuss.
Now, over to you…
Have you hosted an AMA session? Which platform did you choose and how was the response? Leave your comment below and help others learn from your experience.
