I’ve worked for myself since 2019 and my prior knowledge in sales and marketing gave me a huge head start in my own quest to build a client base, but I still had a lot to learn! Whether you’re just starting out or a few years into your freelancing journey, here’s my inside knowledge on how to get clients as a freelancer.
Niching down
To niche or not to niche is a question many freelancers ask themselves. Personally, I swear by it. Having a niche helped me to not only be really clear about what I was offering but who it was for.
It also helped my to focus my time and highly limited marketing budget. I joined specialised groups, created free industry-specific masterclasses and got to know key industry experts.
Social media
Social media originally did very little for me. I posted sporadically and didn’t have much of a plan. But after a few years I took it much more seriously. I enrolled on a couple of courses and learned some basic design skills. My LinkedIn followers grow to over 4k and played a key part in my client acquisition process.
An important part to remember is that social media is social. Sounds obvious, but salesy content doesn’t work too well here. It’s more about showing people who you are and what you can offer. Those interested will follow you and want more content from you.
Content
People need to know, like and trust you before they will buy from you and content plays a key role in this. When people ask me how to get clients as a freelancer, I always say content is king. Whether you want to host free classes, a blog, a newsletter or videos, your content will help educate and remind people about what you do – and why you’re good at it.
The type of content that will be most effective depends on your audience. For example, if you’re a freelancer wanting to attract the MDs of large corporate businesses in London, your content approach won’t be the same as a freelancer who wants to attract HR managers in small businesses. MDs of large corporates and HR managers in small businesses won’t have the same interests or behaviours.
Before spending a lot of time and money on content creation I’d look at where your audience hangs out and what kind of content would be best suited to them.
Ability to sell
Freelancing has become a crowded space. To be on of the freelancers winning work you need to be able to sell yourself. That doesn’t mean adopting sleazy tactics! But you should be able to confidently discuss your expertise, write a professional-looking proposal, and posses pitching abilities that will drive engagement and conversion rates.
The majority of freelancers shy away from “selling” because they don’t like the thought of it. But it is part of the job and being able to sell is the single most important part of how to get clients as a freelancer.
If you’re struggling with this, check out my online sales coaching and I can help you learn the basics and build your confidence.
Referrals
Word-of-mouth is really powerful and many established freelancers need to do very little marketing, because they have so many clients through word of mouth. As you gain more experience (and clients) this will happen to you. But in the early days I’d recommend you tell everyone you know what your services are (friends, old colleagues, previous bosses, local neighbours). Literally everyone! Even if they don’t need your services, they may know someone who does.
If you want to make a giant leap forward, why not invest in some coaching with me? I specialise in working with small business owners as well as larger sales teams and can help you fast track your way into building a client base.
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