You Probably Already Do Know Your Very Next Client
Posted January 23, 2011 in Managing Clients, Marketing
A common freelancing stereotype is that a freelancer never knows where or when his or her next job is coming from–or from whom. For most of us, though, this stereotype is only partially true.
Odds are that your next client is hidden somewhere among your Twitter (or other social media) followers, your previous clients, or your friends and acquaintances.
Time after time, whenever we’ve asked freelancers where they find clients and they give us the same two answers: through referrals and repeat business. Those answers don’t surprise me at all because that is where most of my own clients come from.
In this post, we’ll give you some tips to help nudge some of your future clients (that you already know) towards doing business with you.
6 Quick Tips to Get More Work from Your Contacts
Most of these tips are simple and easy to implement. Some of them are so simple that after you read this you’ll probably be kicking yourself and saying “why didn’t I think of that already?”
Don’t worry, in the past I’ve missed some of these tips too.
- Make sure your social media bio profile includes your profession. Whenever I see a social media comment from someone whose name I don’t recognize I always click through to view their profile. It amazes me how many profiles tell me very little about the commenter. For example, a bio that says “loves comics, chocolate, and candy” tells me nothing. In contrast, a bio that says “a web designer who loves comics, chocolate, and candy” retains the fun element while letting me know that the commenter is a web designer.
- Make sure that all of your social media profiles include a way to learn more about you (usually a link to your business website). It’s no good if they know that you are a writer, developer, designer, etc.–but have no way to follow up and find your portfolio or website. Even an abandoned social media profile could possibly yield a client.
- When you tweet or update your status, occasionally include a description of what you are working on. Not everyone will click through to view your profile. That’s why it’s important to describe what you actually do to your social media friends once in a while. Tweeting or writing in your status about the coffee you need to get started each will probably get you some sympathetic chuckles. Tweeting something about how good you feel after just finishing a web design reminds your social media contacts what it is that you do for a living.
- Pay attention to what others are saying in social media. I really mean it. I recently got a writing gig because I noticed that someone who I was following tweeted that they needed a writer. While one might argue that was an isolated case of being in the right place at the right time, I’ve seen statuses and tweets listing project work more than once. People really do talk about their project needs on social media (if you’re following the right people).
- Keep an updated list of past and current clients. Make the extra effort to stay in touch with them without overwhelming them with communications. Most clients don’t mind if you check in occasionally to see how things are going.
- Have a limited time sale. If things are going slow for you, why not do what the big names do? Offer a special deal. Tweeting or posting your discount in your status could be just what it takes to motivate someone to hire you now. Everyone loves a good bargain, and that includes your potential clients.
While these tips are easy, they should be used carefully. Don’t overdo it!
Why You Shouldn’t Overdo
So, the tips in the previous section are so easy that you’re going to make sure that you do all of them several times a day. Your workload should immediately go up, right?
Wrong!
The tips are simple, but if you overdo it on tips three through five–you may be taken for a spammer or perhaps others will simply look upon you as being boring. The key is to combine personality and professionalism, and that can be a delicate balance.
Tweeting about your work, for example, should probably only be done about once a day.
Relationships Still Count
At the core of every project is a client relationship. At the core of every relationship is trust.
None of these tips will work very well if your relationships with your current clients and your social media followers are damaged or weak. This is yet another reason why online reputation management is still important.
What Do You Think?
Does most of your project work come from repeat clients and referrals? What tips do you have to motivate those you know to use your professional freelance services?
Share your answers in the comments.
Image by moogan
Related posts:
- How to Find Your First Client
- How to Keep a Mistake from Losing You a Client
- Uh-oh! Seven Steps to Deal with an Unhappy Client
- Is That Client Legit or Just a Tire Kicker?
About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 20 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts. Laura is also on Google+.
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18 Comments
Sharon Hurley Hall
January 23rd, 2011 at 8:50 amGreat tips, Laura. I’ve ended up getting a few clients through Twitter this way. I actually started tweeting about what I was working on to connect with other writers, but it ended up bringing work my way, too.
Patrizio@AmorePsyche.net
January 23rd, 2011 at 9:48 amThanks Laura.
Both as a free lance Web designer, now a Web Agency owner, I often have seen your tips working in my experience.
Useful to read your considerations about using balance into the relationship with old and newest clients.
Cheers
Adam
January 23rd, 2011 at 11:53 amNice tips, thanks for sharing.
Laura Spencer
January 23rd, 2011 at 2:11 pmThanks Sharon–If your social media friends are out of the loop on what you do, they may not realize they can use your services. :) I’m glad this worked for you.
Hi Patrizio, Balance is important. Sadly I’ve seen some social media users “beg” for jobs online. This can make them appear too desperate.
Vivek Parmar
January 24th, 2011 at 7:32 amThat’ a great article Laura. Having a quite dominating profiles on social media sites help you to get many clients and be specific in your niche never go or look forward to captimilize on other niche and one thing i like to mention that never update your personal status on any social networking sites try to be professional on social media to get more and be prepare yourself for anytime because when will opportunity knocks door, you haven’t have any idea about it
public auction guy
January 24th, 2011 at 7:18 pmWord of mouth referrals are the best. It’s a warm lead, and that person is already pre-sold on you or your service. So, be nice to your friends and neighbors, and make sure they know what you do for living!
Issa @ Ajeva
January 26th, 2011 at 6:24 amFunny that you wrote about this… as I’ve recently discovered my knack for writing something compelling in 140 characters or less. Last week, I got an email from someone who saw what I wrote on the forums and that client is willing to hire my services ( like, name my rate ) – given that there are already 80++ applicants on the job post that was created. I guess, this means that social media profiling is not a myth and one must take care what he/she writes online. As they say, what you leave online…stays — in Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and so on. Be smart :-)
Cheryl
February 5th, 2011 at 6:53 pmThanks for sharing these great tips Laura. I especially like the idea of offering a special sale.
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SmashDeveloper
February 12th, 2011 at 6:09 pmGreat Article !
After I saw it, I was stunned by how I do some things right, and somethings bad. It all depends on how you are passionate about your job.
Someone that is just chasing money, is surely not the right person to be a Freelancer. It takes time and love to get it right. Do it this way, and your are on the horse for sure.
John
October 31st, 2011 at 8:52 pmA limited time sale works wonders, especially if it is a nice discount on services. It gets people interested and more often than not, results in a sale because people will jump on it quickly.
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