The 5 Ways I find clients as a freelancer
If you’ve been thinking about becoming a freelancer, but are worried about how you will find clients, I hear you!
I had those thoughts too.
I was SO worried I wasn’t going to be very good at networking, or that I would not know where to look. I’d tried websites like Fivrr and Upwork, but the rates that people wanted to pay for work seemed ridiculously low. I get that you can often charge more once you get established (that’s true in any job) but I didn’t want to basically work for $1 an hour. Yeah, it was that bad.
But it doesn’t have to be that way!
Whatever skill area you decide to freelance in, whether it be graphic design, copywriting, social media management, or others, finding clients shouldn’t be that hard if you know where to look and have your portfolio ready to go.
That’s why I’m going to share with you my favorite places to find and land clients!
So here are my Top 5 Ways I Land Clients:
Facebook Groups. Seriously. This is THE best! I strategically join groups that I think are going to be filled with people who need my services. I look for large groups with good engagement. Look for entrepreneurship groups and business groups. I spend about 20 minutes per day going into these groups and answering questions related to my services. I am not spammy or salesy. I just offer answers and if it feels right, I mention that I do X for a living. Additionally, when there are job postings in those groups, if you’ve been an active member in the group providing helpful answers, it shows potential clients that you know your stuff and they are more likely to respond to your email or message. I’ve landed several of my biggest clients this way and it WORKS!
Cold pitching. I identify companies that I would LOVE to work with that seem like they could use my services. Look at their website and social accounts. Do they seem like they could use a graphic designer or a copywriter? Are they even active on social media? Have you written to a company and had horrible customer service? These are all opportunities to swoop in, identify some pain points, and cold pitch a company on how you can bring their marketing or customer service up to snuff! Sure, you might not get a response, but you never know when you might hit a pain point and are able to turn them into a client! (Oh, and be a pest. Write that follow up email. Sometimes it’s the follow up that gets them!)
Friends, Family & Other Professional Contacts or Acquaintances. Make a list of friends and family who you know would love to support you. Send them a note to let them know you have started a new business as a freelancer and that you are on the hunt for clients. If they know of anyone who needs help with the services you offer, would they mind reaching out to them and promoting your business. Sometimes all it takes is a little word-of-mouth promotion and voila, you have your first client! I’ve definitely landed clients this way AND landed subsequent clients from that client by word of mouth.
Local businesses. You might know a local business or two who could use some help running their social media. It doesn’t take much to walk in, chat them up and hand them your business card. This can be a great way to meet potential clients.
OTO Job Leads. I’m only going to mention this because it’s literally the #1 way I have landed clients, but it is not a free option so keep that in mind. When you sign up for Micala Quinn’s Overwhelmed to Overbooked freelance VA course, you automatically gain entry to this exclusive and private Facebook Group. The sole purpose of this group is as a job board. Online businesses can post their job openings here through a job form and one of Micala’s VAs posts them to the group. There are usually 20-30 (and sometimes more) new job postings every day. Anyone in that group can apply but you must have gone through Micala’s course to gain access. This has been the single most important factor in growing my freelance marketing business to the level that I am at now and because of this, I haven’t really had to utilize most of the above techniques very often.
Landing clients is not difficult if you know what to do. I have had success using all of the above techniques in growing my freelance business, however I don’t think my business would have grown as fast as it has without taking the Overwhelmed to Overbooked course.
If you want to fast track your business and do it the right way from the beginning, Overwhelmed to Overbooked is absolutely the way to go. It’s basically a business in a box. Micala walks you through how to start freelancing as a VA from setting up your business legally to landing that 1st client and scaling beyond.
I did it, and you can too. Sign up for Overwhelmed to Overbooked today and start your next chapter!
And if you want to read more about my freelance journey and my best tips for new freelancers, check out the rest of my blog series here:
*Affiliate disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links for Overwhelmed to Overbooked. I have taken this course and it has helped me build a successful freelance business. I only recommend products that I have used and absolutely stand behind.
