3 Ways To Get Clients From Twitter
Posted May 26, 2009 in How-To, Marketing, News 35 Comments »
Twitter is quickly becoming the new online powerhouse for networking, and along with that growth comes a significant opportunity for freelancers to find new clients. For those of you who are very new to twitter, I recommend checking out our previous overview of twitter for freelancers before continuing, as it will probably explain a lot.
In the early days, most freelancers used twitter as an online playground or chat area. It was great to blow off some steam, and worked really well for things like making new friends. There weren’t too many potential clients on twitter at this point.
Recently though, twitter has become populated by just about everyone (a subset of everyone, at least) — including a huge number of potential new clients. Not only are there possible clients on twitter, but many times they are such good leads that they’re even ASKING for the work. How can you tap into this resource? It’s actually pretty easy…
Before We Start
Before we start talking about how to get clients on twitter, there are a few important details that I want to get out of the way.
All of these methods require that you sincerely join the conversation in order to get the best results. Active participation is what makes twitter as valuable as it is, and the increasing levels of spam and automation are making it more difficult to discern the useful accounts from the spammy ones. In order for you to get clients from twitter, its critical that you prove your account to be a legitimate part of the conversation and not just spam, otherwise people will be less likely to respond to your efforts.
Now that we have this out of the way, let’s move on to some client-grabbing methods.
Method #1 — Respond To Help Requests
The first, and perhaps most obvious way to get clients from twitter is to respond to people who are asking for help. If one of your followers posts a tweet saying that they’re looking for a web designer, then all you have to do is Direct Message them saying you’re interested and offering a link to your portfolio or website. You would be surprised at how effective this can be.
With this approach, the more followers you have, the more potential clients you will see. You’ll also benefit from having a higher profile if you have a significantly bigger following, so it is in your interest to build your twitter following.
Method #2 — Search For Help Requests
Another method of getting clients, similar to the above, is to search for people who are asking for help in your field. This opens your potential base to the entire twitter conversation, and can yield a particularly large number of potential clients even if your twitter following is very small.
To use this approach all you have to do is search for keywords like “logo design” or “article writer” that relate to your industry, and then look through the tweets to find people who need help. Since they won’t likely be following you, the best bet is to send an @reply to their username and offer your assistance along with a link to your portfolio/website.
Remember to use this method carefully, as spamming dozens of people with cut-and-paste messages will do nothing but give you a bad rep. Take the time to look into each person individually, and then contact them only if you can provide real value.
Method #3 — Offer Free Help/Assistance
For every one person that is specifically looking to hire someone on twitter there are probably a thousand who would benefit from hiring someone but just don’t know how to ask, or haven’t made up their mind. Often, these potential clients can be found by looking for people who are asking basic questions about your subject — all you need to do is offer some free help, build a relationship, and be there when they are ready to buy.
Pay attention to your followers and look for anyone who is asking for advice in your field (the client type of advice, not necessarily other freelancers). If you find someone, just shoot off a quick @reply and start building a closer relationship with them. Be genuinely helpful, and many times it will lead directly to a solid new client.
The 7 Point Summary
Most of what you need to do to find clients on twitter is fairly straight forward. It can be summarized pretty easily in 7 points:
- Get on twitter
- Join the conversation and build your following
- Talk about your industry, show your expertise
- Respond to any followers who are looking for services
- Search for twitter users who are looking for services
- Offer help and answer questions related to your industry
- Send your portfolio/website to all potential clients
That’s it! If you follow those steps with a sincere effort, you’ll likely end up with a bunch of new clients to show for it.
Have You Found Clients On Twitter?
Have you found new clients by using twitter? If so, what was your experience? How did you find them? Share your tips and advice with other FreelanceFolder readers.
Do you have doubts or concerns about finding clients on twitter? Let us know your feelings in the comments…
(P.S. Like our other twitter posts, feel free to leave your twitter name at the end of your comment. If you want to follow us, we’re on twitter as @FreelanceFolder)
About the author: Mason Hipp is an entrepreneur, marketing guru, and writer. He blogs about life and business at FreelanceFolder.com and is co-author of the Book The Unlimited Freelancer. Follow him on twitter @MasonHipp
-
Lately, I’ve been playing around with MarketMeTweet, a new Twitter application for marketing and branding.
[Read More...]
MarketMeTweet allows you to manage… -
If you spend any time online at all, you’ve probably already heard of a social media site called Twitter.
[Read More...]
Twitter… -
It’s been talked about over and over again — if you want to run a successful freelance business you have…
[Read More...]
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.
Try searching "Getting Clients" or "Productivity"
FreelanceCommunity
Free Resource: Massive Web UI and Button Set
This is a free photoshop set provided by MediaLoot with hundreds of free buttons, boxes, and other useful web elements.5 Fresh and Useful jQuery Plugins Were Born in November 2009
In November 2009, 5 jQuery plugins were born that are new and useful for web designers. Read this post to learn more.How Well Do You Understand CSS Positioning?
The css position property seems easy to grasp, but it works a little differently than it appears on the surface.
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.
Popular Articles
- SEO Techniques All Top Websites Should Use
- When a Client Can't Afford You: Why It's Still Better to Bid High
- How To Stop Scrambling For Clients And Get A Steady Stream Of Paying Gigs
- A Simple Way To Stop Clients From Rejecting Your Proposals
- 3 Reasons Your Rates Are Still Low (And How To Start Raising Them)
35 Comments
Colin Wright
May 26th, 2009 at 12:40 pmI’ve found a few clients on Twitter (and people who have recommended me to clients). I find that, as you suggest, the best way is to be generally helpful to your followers, giving new and interesting formation to them, helping them spread the word about their causes, and participating in conversations where you can.
Luis Lopez
May 26th, 2009 at 12:48 pmI also found some clients thanks to Twitter some weeks ago, and know i try to put more attention to my twitter search bar webdesign, and interacting more with my followers, cause I’ve learned in the last time help and you’ll receive something.
Great tips
Brian McDaniel
May 26th, 2009 at 12:48 pmThis post is spot on! Rather than marketing myself on Twitter, I have done my best to meet others, provide useful information that I find, retweet others’ useful info, and engage in conversation with people of ALL interests. I have also helped a few people with minor ‘tweaks’ to their websites. In return, without much focus on it at all, I have had multiple opportunities to interact with potential clients. This week alone I sent out 4 different proposals for website projects specifically found through conversations on Twitter! And I haven’t ever searched for anything as suggested in this article (although it sounds like a great plan). Instead, all these opportunities have come solely from people I follow or who follow me. After only 2 months’ use, I continue to be amazed with the powerful possibilities of Twitter!
Susan Johnston
May 26th, 2009 at 1:29 pmSo far, I’ve found a few prospects on twitter, but their budget wasn’t in line with my rates. Still, I do think it’s a valuable resource and it’s value will only grow as more and more people join. RTing is an easy way to spread useful resources, position yourself as someone in the know, and help others gain exposure.
My twitter handle is @UrbanMuseWriter
Jennifer Escalona
May 26th, 2009 at 3:39 pmSusan, I’ve had the same problem. I’ve found several prospects on Twitter only to have negotiations fizzle when we talk money. I’m trying to think of a good way to keep the conversation going – perhaps by offering a package service or a first-job discount to Twitter clients. Does anybody have any ideas?
Lauren
May 26th, 2009 at 3:47 pmI’ve had my best luck finding new business prospects on Twitter by engaging people in conversation. By establishing your brand and conveying a human approach, people will be inclined to spread the word about your business. The best business lead I received via Twitter was from a recommendation of a fellow Twitter friend whom I had been discussing non-profit fund raising opportunities with. Because of our Twitter relationship, he felt comfortable and confident recommending us to a friend.
Best advice: ask questions that spark conversations. It’s the gateway to real conversation.
Find me on Twitter @concussionint
Nikhil
May 26th, 2009 at 4:02 pmI like this post and the way to find new clients…..
I wanna follow it soon…(after completing the current one)
Thanks
tim
May 26th, 2009 at 4:47 pmGreat post, I agree that the human approach is essential. So long as you convey your personality its all good :)
Travis
May 26th, 2009 at 5:08 pmI think this is a great post, Twitter is great for promoting your services and getting yourself out there, but you have to be genuine. And hey, I retweet Freelance Folder’s stuff all the time, great stuff!
@tskweres on twitter
Nemanja Jovanovic
May 26th, 2009 at 7:25 pmGreat post,I’ve used some of these techniques and it worked perfectly!
Nicole Foster
May 26th, 2009 at 8:19 pmI will have to carefully look over this article more because I have trying to use twitter to find more clients myself. I have a lot of followers from advertising it on my website, but I can never get into discussions.
Joe
May 26th, 2009 at 10:05 pmI’m fairly new to twitter, but i’m going to give this a try. Thanks for the post
DevLano
May 27th, 2009 at 4:42 amfirst rule of fight club, we don’t talk about fight club! :-p
Judith
May 27th, 2009 at 5:53 amI have to admit, have not used ny twitter account that much but from this post i will definately strategy on incorporating twitter into my marketing strategy. One thing though, here in Kenya, the ‘craze’ of twitter is yet to catch up, though we have our own home grown microblogging platforms.
Otherwise, informative post.
Kim Woodbridge
May 27th, 2009 at 9:03 amI’ve found clients through twitter. I’ve also found that people I engage with regularly recommend me to others.
It is so true that you need to build your followers and be kind and helpful. Too many people want thousands of followers and immediate results without taking the time to build your twitter reputation.
Thanks for the article.
Andrea
May 27th, 2009 at 9:09 amI’ve been using this approach for months and it really does work. I tend to keep it all public and not use DMs unless I have to send personal details like my email. That way, other followers can see what I do, will remember how helpful I am, and send others to me.
Christian
May 27th, 2009 at 2:53 pmGreat info. The key is to engage, not sell.
http://twitter.com/printedproof
Vladan Krstic
May 28th, 2009 at 7:07 amI’ll try it really, twitter seems to have more potential than it seems at first, I’ll try your tips
Kannan
May 28th, 2009 at 1:03 pmNice info ..I use twitter but dint find any clients..will try your steps …
Cheers!!
Here is my twitter id
http://twitter.com/kancomputerwrld
Jennifer
June 2nd, 2009 at 12:13 pmthanks for this post.
Jim Turner
June 2nd, 2009 at 1:47 pmYes Twitter has been very instrumental in helping me find new clients over the last 12 months. The twitter conversations allow me to get to know the prospect before we finally advance the conversation to an email or ultimately a phone call.
This means that I don’t make “cold calls” anymore. Being helpful is the major tactic I use to break the ice. Anytime I see someone with a question that I can answer, I jump in on the conversation.
Not sure where I’d be in getting new clients w/out Twitter, because I don’t like cold calling.
Cheers!
Jim Turner
http://twitter.com/jim_turner
Jenny Leonard
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:38 amThanks for the article. I’ve recently started using Twitter as a way to find clients.
@razviti
Cha
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:53 pmGreat I info, thank you!
It’s so true, social media, like twitter, facebook and others are great place to find people who needs your service or product. Simple rule : Give first then you will receive.
Cha
I do graphic design and website making
http://twitter.com/ChaCahyadi
Erika
June 24th, 2009 at 5:00 pmI totally agree. I just started taking Twitter seriously and continue to be amazed by the unbelievable wealth of information available. I absolutely LOVE the mentality of the Twitter community. Sharing is caring; helping others learn and contributing, comes back to you two-fold.
video
July 12th, 2009 at 8:44 amI’d like to congratulate you for this beautiful article was a really nice article.
sudhy
December 5th, 2009 at 7:48 amThanks a lot!! am new in twitter…. @sudheeshkumarnk
Trackbacks