Your Customers Are Closer Than You Think
Posted December 30, 2008 in News 20 Comments »
“Where can I get more customers?”
“Do you know of a site that pays writers (designers, programmers, etc.)?”
“Who are your clients?”
As a freelancer who blogs I am frequently contacted by other would-be freelancers who are having trouble finding clients.
On one hand, their trouble puzzles me since there are more leads for potential clients on the Internet and in real life than I could ever follow through with.
On the other hand, I am sympathetic because I remember what it was like to start out and I realize that some of these folks just don’t know where to look for customers.
With this post, I am going to present a few techniques that will help beginning freelancers look for and find new clients. Other experienced freelancers are welcome to jump into the conversation and share their experiences.
(Disclaimer: These are client-hunting techniques that have worked in the past for me. They should work for others as well, but there are no guarantees. Usually, finding clients is a matter of persistence and determination. Also, when I am asked to help someone find client sometimes what they really mean by the question is “where can I get a paid a lot of money to do relatively little work.” This post probably won’t help with that.)
Here are some steps (in no particular order) that you can take to find clients today:
1. Don’t Overlook The Obvious.
The Internet is filled with blogs, forums, and other sites whose sole purpose is to list work for freelancers and others. If you are looking for clients you should be a regular visitor at these sites. Look for sites that are updated frequently.
2. Participate in Bidding Sites.
There are a number of sites that match clients and professionals by using a bid system. Sometimes the site takes a small percentage of the freelancer’s pay or the client pays the site. Although the job usually goes to the lowest bidder, many freelancers get their start here.
3. Your Own Website.
If you are a freelancer, then you should have a website or blog. If you already have a website, take a good look at your site to make sure that it is client friendly. Is there an accurate description of your services? Would a potential client be able to contact you? Does the site make a positive impression?
4. Professional Support Forums and Sites.
There are a number of forums that cater to the needs of a particular profession. For example, I’m a member of several forums for writers and several for bloggers. Not only do these sources provide information about your field, but also often peers will share leads at these sites.
5. Hobby Forums.
Many freelancers make the mistake of only marketing their services at forums and sites dedicated to their profession. However, if you have a hobby and are already an active member of a forum that pertains to that hobby, make sure that your fellow forum members also know what you do.
6. Social Networking.
Your Facebook account or other social account may help you keep up with friends, but it can also be a valuable source of job leads. If you are going to use social networking to find job leads, make sure that your profile page is professional. Be sure to share some of your professional accomplishments.
7. Make Google Do the Work.
By typing targeted phrases into a search engine, you may be able to unearth some leads. As a writer, I’ve used search phrases such as “writers wanted,” “write for us,” “blog for us,” “writer’s guidelines,” and others to turn up online leads.
8. Use Your Peers.
Many freelancers avoid building relationships with peers because they think of peers only in terms of being “the competition.” This attitude is a big mistake. If you have a good relationship with others who do the same type of work, then you are in a good position to get referrals if your peer should become too busy.
9. Add Consulting To Your Services.
If you offer to review the work of others, sometimes you will be given the opportunity to make the fixes that you suggest. For a designer, this could take the form of reviewing websites. For a writer, this could mean offering to critique someone else’s writing and make suggestions.
10. Promote Yourself Offline.
I’ve already shared an entire article on 6 Simple Ways to Promote Your Online Business Offline, but it bears repeating here because offline marketing is so often overlooked by online entrepreneurs. Marketing offline can give your freelance business an edge that others don’t have.
Did these tips help you? If you found work as a result of one of these tips, I’d love to here about it.
For those of you that have been freelancing for a while, can you add any other ideas? Leave a comment with your own experience.
About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 19 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
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20 Comments
genuinechris johnson
December 30th, 2008 at 1:14 pmGood post–your site is suspended by bluehost right now.
Becca
December 30th, 2008 at 4:06 pmAs a fellow freelancer, I also get a lot of questions about finding jobs that require little to no work, for lots of money. I always remind people, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. I’ve found that bidding sites are excellent ways to find work. My personal favorite is oDesk (http://www.odesk.com) because there are no costs involved in bidding for jobs, and they guarentee payment to their providers. Can’t beat that!
Laura Spencer
December 30th, 2008 at 5:34 pmThanks genuinechris johnson – I’ve been working with my hosting service since Sunday to get my site back online. It’s nothing I did wrong – a glitch on their part.
I hope to be back online soon. Thanks for reading!
Laura Spencer
December 30th, 2008 at 6:09 pmDoes anyone have any other suggestions for getting new clients?
Sean
December 30th, 2008 at 6:37 pmRe: Facebook make a facebook page for your freelance business and then ask your friends to become “fans” and help you promote it. – my facebook page is here.
Re: use your peers – networking goes both ways. When I find a web developer (locally) that I want to hook up with, I always let them know that I’m looking for people that I can outsource to for areas of projects that my skillset doesn’t match and I offer my services for when they need it.
Re: consulting – I offer training in Moodle. This is a big thing as the majority of the local English speaking market where I live are teachers and moodle is a great CMS for education.
Find your niche and start building.
Sean
December 30th, 2008 at 6:38 pmOne other thing, I created a facebook ad and secured a client from that as well.
Laura Spencer
December 30th, 2008 at 6:51 pmThanks Sean!
Great tips! I looked at your Facebook page and what I could see looked very professional.
Thanks for bringing up advertising. Advertising is a great way to bring in new clients.
Susan Johnston
December 30th, 2008 at 7:09 pmI like Sean’s idea of setting up a facebook page! I’ve used in-person networking, forums, and online job sites to find gigs, but I’m reluctant to use a bidding site, because it seems like the emphasis would be on low prices rather than quality work. I’m not the kind of writer who’s willing to crank out a press release for mere pennies. But maybe I have the wrong idea about bidding sites? Feel free to enlighten me!
On a separate note, I’ve had some success posting in the services section of Craig’s List. Yes, I got some shady responses and low-ball offers that I had to discard, but I also landed a monthly ghostblogging gig from a client who has referred me to other steady projects, too.
Laura Spencer
December 30th, 2008 at 7:19 pmThanks for sharing your experiences Susan. My experience with bidding sites is not recent, but I’d love to hear from someone who has used them recently.
Thanks for sharing about Craigslist too.
Sean
December 30th, 2008 at 7:26 pmRe: Bidding sites, never successfully got anything there. It seems like all the work was snapped up by people bidding impossibly low prices. i.e. there’s no way it’s worth my time to do 40 hours of work for $200
Blog Expert
December 30th, 2008 at 9:37 pmI love the post. I do hate that about bluehost when you’re Blog gets suspended. It sure is a pain in the ass.
James Chartrand - Men with Pens
December 30th, 2008 at 11:09 pmHey Laura,
Good post, seriously, and I think you covered a good deal of viable places to find work. I’m also glad to see you’ve put up some places to look for work that many people shun. I agree that bidding sites and forums can give people plenty of access to a foot in the door, which is sometimes all they need.
Laura Spencer
December 30th, 2008 at 11:37 pmHi Sean, Blog Expert, and James!
Well, they keep telling me the site will be restored soon. Tomorrow’s a new day and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
I added bidding sites, even though they are controversial, because I’ve heard that some folks still get projects through them. My own experience with bidding sites is somewhat dated since I’ve worked mainly with private clients in the last several years, but I did get a good project from a bidding site when I first started freelancing.
The key to finding clients is really to keep your eyes open and investigate all possibilities carefully. The previous list should give most folks a good start on finding some leads.
Vince
December 31st, 2008 at 1:32 amCraigslist is pretty good. I have found most my clients from there.
Another good thing has been clients leading to other clients.
You can also try to join the local chamber of commerce and find other people who need a website.
Laura Spencer
December 31st, 2008 at 10:39 amGreat suggestions Vince!
I especially like the Chamber of Commerce suggestion, which I think that a lot web entrepreneurs don’t think about.
Melek
December 31st, 2008 at 11:35 amFigure out who you think you would get a lot of work from and start networking with those types of people. For instance, I’m a designer. Marketers and ad agencies always need designers. So, I join networking groups that contain those types of people. OR, I get on Twitter and find (search for) marketers and follow them in hopes that they’ll follow me.
And don’t forget, you also need to form relationships with people. Just bc you give someone your biz card doesn’t mean they’re automatically going to start calling you with work. They need to know who you are, that you’re good at what you do, that you’re there to help. After I started networking with one specific group, it took me about 6 months before I got my first gig from that group….it takes a while to get your name out there and remembered. But, once I got that first one, I got another and another, and now, they’re one of my biggest source of work and referrals.
Andrew Yee
January 2nd, 2009 at 2:25 pmSean, I know what you mean when you mention bidding on jobs and how its not that easy with people bidding extremely low and the buyer saying they have a budget of $10 to build a web site.
Its tricky but no impossible. :)
Good luck
Jared Walker
January 4th, 2009 at 3:16 pmI like #8: Use your peers. A lot of my better web design jobs have come from peers that don’t like design as much as development, or who just have too much work. I think finding those kinds of people to get work from is the hardest thing. But just getting your name out there can help. I’ve had success just contacting people to let them know that I could use some more work and to keep me in mind when they need help.
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