How to Find Your First Client

Free Updates via Email, Facebook, or Twitter!

How to Find Your First Client

Posted August 24, 2010 in Getting Started, Marketing

Once you become better known in your profession, clients will constantly come to you instead of you looking for them. You’ll often be so busy with work and won’t need to market yourself as often.

But, what do you do when you’re just starting out or not well known? Before you begin getting clients, it can be tough to figure out what to do all day. That’s the perfect time to make yourself well known.

Finding clients is different for everyone and what works for some doesn’t always for others. However, I’d like to share several of the ways I got work in the beginning.

Don’t Focus on Bidding Sites

When you don’t have anything to do all day, it can be tempting to check out bidding sites like eLance, Guru or Freelancer. I mean, there are a ton of clients asking for work right there, right?

In reality, bidding sites can be a lot of trouble for freelancers, and so should be approached with caution. The hours you spend going through the site, making bids, and the low (sometimes criminal) pay you often receive is rarely worth it. You’re usually much better off spending that time marketing yourself.

Appear to Be Everywhere, All the Time

The reason that clients began finding me was because I seemed to be everywhere they were, all the time. I was commenting on blogs they commented on. Then I was writing for those blogs. I was tweeting useful articles and tips throughout the day and I started my own blog with unique articles.

Everyone always asks me how I stay online so much. The truth is, I’m often not online after business hours or on the weekend, but I continue to tweet. My Twitter is hooked up to Facebook, my website, LinkedIn and a few other social networks, so it looks like I’m always everywhere. By doing this, the client remembers who you are, considers you an expert and comes to you with work.

Optimize Your Portfolio

I have a lot of interests and hobbies. When I put up my first portfolio site, I included everything I made: print design, web design, logos, coding, photography and drawing. Even some crafts!

Funny thing is, I wasn’t getting any work, even though I had a lot of talents. This also ties into finding a specialty, but clients were confused as to what it was I did. Now I keep it simple and only include the best projects of the one service I offer–coding. And clients can tell exactly what it is I do.

Write, Write, Write, and Write Some More!

Clients want to know that they’re being taken care of by the best in the industry. If they’re trying to choose between one freelancer who they never heard of, and one who’s written on several popular blogs and has a published book, who do you think appears to be more of an expert?

You don’t have to write a book, but blogs are a fantastic way to get your name known. Most sites will even pay you to write articles, which ends up being a great way to earn some extra income.

Old-Fashioned Marketing

Social media won’t make you rich, nor does it solve all of your marketing problems. Sometimes some good old-fashioned marketing techniques can be the best source of new clients.

Job Boards–Job boards differ from bidding sites because they’re just short descriptions of the company and what it is they need done. These clients are often much more willing to pay fair rates than on bidding sites.
Cold Emails–The best source of clients I received in my early days was by cold emailing them. I simply googled the type of client I was after and sent them a pre-written pitch. I’m still getting work from this, even though I stopped doing it over a year ago.
In-Person–I know most of us freelancers are hermits, but going out to events are a great way to find local clients. Unconferences like Barcamp and Podcamp are even fun to attend and the networking with other freelancers is invaluable.

Finding Clients with RSS Feeds

Most social websites have feeds you can subscribe to and they can be super useful to use them for finding new clients.

For example, if you go to Twitter and search for “looking freelancer,” what posts show up? What other phrases could you use to find clients?

You’ll see an RSS button for each search you do on Twitter, so it’s good to subscribe to these so you can keep track of potential client posts.

Likewise, almost all job boards also have feeds. It will save you valuable time to subscribe to them, so you never miss a good posting or have to remember to keep up with each site every day.

Tell Everyone What You Do

When first starting out, let everyone you know what it is that you do. Chances are that someone knows someone who needs what it is that you do, so be sure you let everyone know you’re in business!

Put Your Info Everywhere You Can

There are literally thousands of sites that let you put your name and websites on there. Not only is this good practice for getting linkbacks to your site for SEO, it goes back to the idea of being everywhere. Here are some ideas:

CSS Galleries
Behance
One Thing
Sortfolio
Carbonmade
Google Maps
Google Business
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
Flickr
Codesnipp.it
Forrst
Dribbble

Don’t Appear Desperate

It’s true that the more work you have (or appear to have), the more work that comes in. Desperation turns clients off quickly, so never act like you have no work to do.

For example, if you’re schedule is finally freed up after several months of back-to-back work, it’s ok to tweet that you’re got an opening. But, freelancers who tweet it weekly or monthly appear like they aren’t doing anything (so they look like they’re bad at what they do).

Your Thoughts

How did you find clients when you were first starting out?

–––

Did you know it’s Client Week on FreelanceFolder? That’s right, in order to celebrate the upcoming launch of The Client Machine (our new client-getting product), we’re writing exclusively about getting clients all week long. Make sure you sign up to be notified about The Client Machine, and come back every day for more articles about finding clients!

About the author: Amber is a freelancer with over 10 years of experience and specializes in clean, semantic and valid HTML5, CSS3 and Wordpress development. She also writes a web development blog at www.amberweinberg.com and just launched a web app for developers at www.codesnipp.it.

← Previous Post Random PostNext Post →

The Unlimited Freelancer is Now Only $19

Unleash the true potential of your business. Get The Unlimited Freelancer and start transforming your freelance business,
now only $19.

73 Comments

Jordan Walker
August 24th, 2010 at 8:55 am

Amber, very succinct article to kick off Client Week. My first clients were friends and family – I had recently finished college and had a passion for web development. They had businesses and no websites. It was a win-win situation.
Rashid Rupani
August 24th, 2010 at 9:06 am

Nice Article, Few points noted.
Stephanie
August 24th, 2010 at 9:13 am

Great article to start Client week! Though you did mention about not focusing on bidding sites for work, it was through a bidding site that I found my first client. I’ve had a lot of clients and projects ever since for there so I haven’t really tried marketing myself and working with clients directly yet. Any tips on how to transition from bidding sites to direct clients? :)
Web design portfolio
August 24th, 2010 at 9:44 am

some great tips thanks. my old ‘portfolio’ site was pretty much a scatter gun approach too, with photography, web design, rambling blog and so on. when i redesigned i stuck to the core element of what it is I do – design.
Lee Driscoll
August 24th, 2010 at 10:01 am

Thanks for the advice – I really need to sort out my portfolio website.
Arevik
August 24th, 2010 at 11:02 am

Amber thank you for such good tips and ideas! I found my first clients via bidding site and still visit them. I also trying to make up my web-presence according to many useful articles from my favourite FreelanceFolder and try not to go desperate if some client refuses to hire me because my bid is ‘too high’, because I know that I’m worth every single penny they spend on me and because I have such an inspirational FF site :) Thanks for all you’re doing!
McConnell Group
August 24th, 2010 at 11:29 am

I think it fair to say that a lot of people(including myself) try the breadth approach to what we do rather then depth. I am going to rework my portfolio and emphasize the depth of my work and not spread myself thin
Katie
August 24th, 2010 at 11:34 am

I read a tip somewhere about going into your local businesses and simply asking if they a website (or whatever freelance work) done for them. Be friendly and remember to drop off your business card!
Nudge
August 24th, 2010 at 12:01 pm

Amber, as always your article is exactly what I needed. Thanks for the great advice!
aShocka
August 24th, 2010 at 12:23 pm

wow, i wish this article was written when i started out! :) great post

I would add, always work. Don’t ever take a day off just because you don’t really have a client. Redesign your website, make a new FB profile picture/Twitter background/stickers/T shirt design/anything that will put a word out about what you’re doing. And make business cards. They’re literally doing miracles. You can give them out to people you’ve just met or to friends, it’s always a great conversation starter, especially if a person doesn’t know that you’re a freelancer.
Shawn Borsky
August 24th, 2010 at 12:58 pm

Hey Amber, some great points. I have to really jump on board with the stay away from bidding sites, they are such a waste of time.

Honestly, when I first started out , I had to do a few free projects and low paying ones. But, I always did them for charity or non-profit clients and made sure to do a damn good job. This starts the stream of referrals. I have never seen a whole ton of people coming to me out of the blue, although it happens. I just have a lot of happy clients who refer me out.

So, even though it isn’t really a secret. Do good work, make it easy to find and review on your website and BAM. You’re gold.
Kirstine Vergara
August 24th, 2010 at 12:59 pm

Great post! Might I add one that started the ball rolling for me: check out your “network” or better known as your friends. My very first client was a friend. Though we’re very good friends, we still manage to work together. We did not let our personal relationship affect our business plans. It’s been 3 years since we first started and I can say that we’ve both done a very good job. Let me share with you an interesting article on Ways to Get More Business at Your Next Networking Event. This may help your readers. Thanks! :)
Sandro Salsi
August 24th, 2010 at 1:07 pm

For people that want to get started and get their first client, I would suggest joining a network group, participate REGULARLY, and everything will fall into place somehow.

People work with people they like and connect. There will be someone that will give you a chance sooner or later.

Building a network should be everyone’s 1st priority.
Kevin Simpson
August 24th, 2010 at 1:20 pm

Great article! When I first started out as a consultant there was an article I read on SCORE that said get business cards, get a web presence, and get out and network. I did some of that. But what worked for me was contacting previous organizations and people I collaborated with on projects. It was a way to check in, catch up, and share my what I wanted to do with others. They were highly supportive and offered me ideas, suggestions, names, and organizations. My first client came from a colleague who I was working with on a project.
Kevin Simpson
August 24th, 2010 at 1:21 pm

Great article! When I first started out as a consultant there was an article I read on SCORE that said get business cards, get a web presence, and get out and network. I did some of that. But what worked for me was contacting previous organizations and people I collaborated with on projects. It was a way to check in, catch up, and share my what I wanted to do with others. They were highly supportive and offered me ideas, suggestions, names, and organizations. My first client came from a colleague who I was working with on a project.
Amber Weinberg
August 24th, 2010 at 1:41 pm

@Jordan Walker I was unlucky enough not to really have any friends or family who needed my services, although I did end up trading my dad a website for a copy of fireworks…which I’ve yet to ever use…doh!

@Stephanie You can certainly get clients from bidding sites, but normally the amount of time you spend trying to win those projects isn’t worth it and is better spent doing some marketing.

@Nudge thanks for reading!

@aShocka lol I think it’s ok to take a day off of the work week every once in awhile, heck isn’t that why we became freelancers in the first place?
S Emerson
August 24th, 2010 at 1:46 pm

Some great tips here Amber.

The only one I’m not too crazy about is the Cold Email one. I’m getting these and they look cookie cutter (i.e. spammy). Now if it was personalized and showed that they actually did look at the site and came up with some personalized suggestions I might actually read them.
Bakari
August 24th, 2010 at 1:53 pm

Really like the idea of Client Week, because I‘m still trying to get a sense of what type of freelance writing work is out there beyond the low-paying content jobs which I‘m sick of seeing. I’ve gotten a lot of experience writing articles on a weekly basis for a leading website, but I have yet to branch out and reach other types of clients. I want to use this series to get some ideas about type of jobs are out there.
TheAL
August 24th, 2010 at 1:58 pm

Going to be checking out Sortfolio.
TheAL
August 24th, 2010 at 2:05 pm

p.s. Just checked through the Twitter RSS feeds I have saved, and for “freelance website” I found a person who wants a Ticketmaster.com clone for $250! They’re better than nothing, but sometimes this can be as bad as craigslist.
Rob
August 24th, 2010 at 2:20 pm

Starting reading this article and thought, “this sounds a lot like Amber Weinberg, that’s odd”…I then scrolled to the bottom and realized I was right. Nice post!
Aidan
August 24th, 2010 at 2:21 pm

Nice tips! It’s so true that most of these tips works till today. I have personally scout for talents using such methods too and I think it will be a great start for anyone trying to land their first client. I still believe the words of mouth among your network is a great way to gain potential local client and not to mention patient and determination plays a huge part too.

Amber, thanks for sharing this good article.
Lexi Rodrigo
August 24th, 2010 at 2:41 pm

These are awesome tips we can use to find our 100th client. Thanks for sharing, Amber!
Jen
August 24th, 2010 at 3:02 pm

Amber, these are great tips! I’ve found that letting people know what I do has been crucial. Many people who knew me well didn’t realize that I had gone into business for myself. You’d be surprised how many people know someone who knows someone who needs your services.

Thanks for sharing!
drew smith
August 24th, 2010 at 3:03 pm

Really great tips I’ve never tried the cold email style but I might give it a try if I have some free time. Thanks.
Amber Weinberg
August 24th, 2010 at 5:17 pm

@TheAL Yup there are plenty of those kinds of clients unfortunately.

@Rob lol thanks ^_^
Chorng
August 24th, 2010 at 5:54 pm

I did ‘cold-email’ to people but I’ve never receive any reply from anyone before hah :( any tips on how to create a great , attention catching cold email ?
Carlos Hermoso
August 24th, 2010 at 8:41 pm

@Amber I’m also interested in cold emailing. Could you show us some real cold email templates?

I’d love to see the one you were using for example, and I’m sure it’ll be useful for everyone of us.

Thanks in advance
Amber Weinberg
August 24th, 2010 at 8:47 pm

@Chorng and @Carlos

All I did was write up a simple email template with 3 paragraphs. The first paragraph contained my name, who I was, what I did well. The second stated my basic rate, how I could help them and why I was worth it. The 3rd had my link to my portfolio and where they could find testimonials. Keep it short and personable and you’ll normally get 10 responses for every 200-300 emails you send out (it’s pretty quick going too)
TheAL
August 24th, 2010 at 9:40 pm

“Keep it short and personable and you’ll normally get 10 responses for every 200-300 emails you send out (it’s pretty quick going too)” – Very true. Sadly, I decided very early on that this ratio wasn’t worth it. It works for some, but it was discouraging for me. I e-mailed roughly 100 websites in the last year that desperately needed fixing, a redesign, or reconfiguration of some kind. I got literally less than a handful of replies, almost all of which were just “no thank you.” No actual projects. Even with an e-mail template and ultra efficiency, for me it was psychological. Knowing so many were out and not getting a good volume of benefit from it stressed me out.
Carlos Hermoso
August 24th, 2010 at 9:48 pm

@TheAL and @Amber Yes, that is exactly why I asked Amber for a real template she was using in real life. While explaining how to do an cold emailing template is surely good, I think the problem @Chorgn, you or even myself for example might have is still not making the template right if Amber gets so many replies but we don’t.

@Amber, do you think you could post a written template for us? Just one of those you used to use when beggining freelancing. Would be appreciate! :D
Chorng
August 24th, 2010 at 9:53 pm

It makes me think that all we needed is luck and correct timing for cold emailing
TLC
August 24th, 2010 at 11:43 pm

After my first year in business I realized that every client I had came from a personal relationship of some sort. So this year I’ve really increased my networking — and my client base! Best source for me is my Chamber of Commerce. They have great networking events and wonderful classes that help me run my business better.
Travis Morrison
August 24th, 2010 at 11:59 pm

Wow, great article! I just recently got my portfolio up and have started a few of these suggestions. Hopefully it pays off soon.
Stacy Patrick
August 25th, 2010 at 12:26 am

Those freelance bidding sites are absolutely worthless. As if Craigslist isn’t bad enough, now there are sites specifically designed for lowballing.
aShocka
August 25th, 2010 at 5:04 am

@Amber Weinberg hehe, i guess out philosophies here are different – i love to work, i think being a freelancer should not be an excuse for working less – au contraire. Since we have the ability to work as much as we want, we should work more.
Or is it just me? :) I am acknowledging the importance of getting some rest here and now, but when i started off, I know I was using that only as an excuse to be lazy.
Ian Cylkowski
August 25th, 2010 at 7:49 am

As someone who has recently decided to go self-employed freelance now, these tips are hugely useful for me. Thansk. =]
logolitic
August 25th, 2010 at 9:38 am

very useful information, thank you
Lisa Guenther
August 25th, 2010 at 11:19 am

Good suggestions!

I’ve found that most of my work as a freelancer comes from people I know. Don’t let colleagues you used to work with forget about you!

I’ve also found enewsletters from professional organizations useful for finding jobs. As a writer, I’m a member of the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild, and they often include contract opportunities in their enewsletter.

When it comes to cold emails, I do it a little differently. First, I send either a postcard with my business info and a personal message, or a letter detailing what I can do for them. Then I call or email. To me, this is the toughest way to get clients, and it’s yet to actually pay off. But I’ve only been freelancing for a year, and I’ve connected with a couple new, potential clients this way, so I think it will pay off eventually.
Jennifer Woodard
August 25th, 2010 at 2:49 pm

Amber,

Great article. I am not a website developer, I help businesses with their marketing and I do freelance writing. When I first began freelancing I offered some services free to local non-profits to get me working and back into the habit of managing my time and meeting deadlines. One thing that worked for me was I sent a Letter of Introduction by email to a list that I developed and it was very helpful. I am in the process of doing this again and creating a email to reconnect with people I have been out of contact with. I also offered special offers to newsletter subscribers that went very well.

Thanks again,
Jenn
Naweed Shams
August 25th, 2010 at 5:59 pm

I’ve just launched my job board for wordpress customization jobs if anyone is interested. Modifiers can post job requests and users/clients can post customization jobs.

I’m constantly in ThemeForest forums and lately have noticed a rise in customization jobs, therefore a job board was needed to meet the requirements.

It’s free to post a job http://www.wpmodify.com

Thanks,
Naweed =)
Jamal
August 26th, 2010 at 3:14 am

Great Advice Amber. Some of this stuff I already recently started doing, like blogging and not messing with bidding sites. I kinda thought about sending email pitches, but thought it wouldn’t work. Might give it a try though.
Ameet
August 26th, 2010 at 4:14 am

got my first client through bidding sites…and now through word of mouth…but still a great article and some helpful tips
Chris Wharton
August 26th, 2010 at 5:29 am

Great post, really useful. I’m trying to get things off the ground after going freelance a few weeks ago. I’ve already managed to cover my outgoings this month (once I get paid for the work I’ve invoiced) and am really trying to get into companies who need an extra resource rather than taking on clients directly, which seems to be working out ok so far. It is a worry though when you have sent out a bunch of quotes and none of them seem to be coming in.
Joyce
August 30th, 2010 at 12:30 pm

excellent post – thanks for sharing. I especially liked the advice about appearing desperate – nobody wants to work with the freelancer that appears not to be good at what they do or is a newbie.
Ashit Vora
September 2nd, 2010 at 6:44 pm

Love it.

very helpful.
DocuMaker
September 5th, 2010 at 6:48 pm

I didn’t have the same experience with vWorker (formerly Rentacoder) as the author describes at eLance, Guru or Freelancer. I found my first client the very first day I signed up with vWorker and haven’t stopped working since. Out of 5 years, I think I spent maybe 1 or 2 days out of a week looking for work when I didn’t have anything on the plate.

In my experience, the key is to provide excellent work from the beginning at these types of sites. In doing so, you’ll find yourself not having to bid at all (clients will come to you) but instead, turning down work.

So I caution against the caution :-). These sites, esp. vWorker, are excellent venues for finding that first client — especially when they accompany the right protections.
Zahra Brown
October 6th, 2010 at 6:36 pm

Wow, the advice on bidding sites is so conflicting. Some say it’s great, some say it’s a good way to get started before moving on, and others avoid bidding sites altogether.

I am going to try some, just in case it works for me, but I’ll definitely be looking elsewhere too. At least the profile on bidding sites will build my web presence, plus you never know who is watching…
Animesh
November 23rd, 2010 at 11:31 am

Hi, I came here from V7n forum. I got lots of idea from your articles and comments. People have share lots of their experience on how they got 1st client.
For me, I got my 1st client form a webmaster forum.. :) . I always plan to do less but quality posting and it gives me result.
Muhammad Nadeem
June 4th, 2011 at 4:54 am

Great article for people like me, the beginners are always wasting time on biding and there is no output. thanks Amber

Trackbacks

Try searching "Getting Clients" or "Productivity"

Advertise On Freelance Folder

Free Report

Sign up for our product discount list to get a free copy of Why Some Freelancers Thrive and Others Barely Survive. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Forum Discussions

Web Design with Great Features
Feb 2nd, 2012 - 2:34 am
Yangling beam gowns worn towel
Feb 1st, 2012 - 12:48 am
Yangling beam gowns worn towel
Feb 1st, 2012 - 12:45 am

View More Discussions

What Is Freelance Folder?

FreelanceFolder is a community for freelancers, entrepreneurs, work-at-home business owners, and web-workers. We strive to bring you the articles, information, and community you need to succeed. If there's anything specific you're looking for, please contact us and let us know! Learn more about us →

Meet Our Team...

Mason Hipp

Mason Hipp is a marketer, designer, and entrepeneur. Mason helps freelancers and small businesses of all types, and he is the current owner of FreelanceFolder.
Ritu B. Pant

Ritu is a freelance writer who has been involved in social media for several years. At the moment he is working on a variety of projects, but is always open to new ideas. You can always find him on twitter as @ritubpant.

Jon Phillips

Jon Phillips is a full-time freelancer, blogger and designer. He loves WordPress and plays guitar in a heavy act. He is also the founder of FreelanceFolder.
Laura Spencer

Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 19 years of professional business writing experience. Together with FreelanceFolder, she wrote the guide on How To Start a Freelance Writing Business.

Name
Email

Discover how to use the best web design tools on the market plus increase your income to $125 (or more) per hour... Sign up here for a free test drive: