You’ve taken the brave plunge into freelancing.
Maybe you’ve even quit your job and are buoyed by all the possibilities that freelancing can offer you.
Freedom. Flexibility. More money.
Of course these things are great and it’s a major reason why many freelancers take the leap into this area of work whether it’s copywriting, web design, SEO and more.
But now the excitement starts to fizzle out a little when you faced with the prospect of getting your first client.
In business, there is one thing you need to be able to survive. And that is to be able to get clients. More so you must attract them to you rather than you chase them. So what can you do?
Read on and you’ll learn some proven strategies for getting clients that works for almost any freelance business.
1. Facebook Ads
Facebook ads is a great way to generate leads for your business so you can then establish and build a relationship with them.
Create an ad on Facebook that is highly targeted at your ideal prospects and then direct them to a landing page. On the landing page, you should offer a valuable giveaway of some sort as an incentive to get them to enter their contact details. Over time you can build a relationship with them by sending them useful emails and then hopefully turn them into a paying customer.
2. Twitter
Twitter is surprisingly a great way to attract new subscribers to your business but also look for prospects. By using the @ symbol and # symbol you can connect with leaders and colleagues in your industry but also directly communicate with prospects who may be interested in your services.
In the search bar you can type in your field, say “#copywriting” and it will bring up everyone who has mentioned copywriting in a tweet. This can potentially reveal prospects who are on the lookout for your services.
3. Forums
Forums are a great way to help you build authority and credibility in your niche. The easiest way to find forums is by doing a Google search. Simply type in your niche plus forums – e.g. “marketing: forums.”
The way you successfully use forums is by answering questions on them. If you do this consistently people will start to see you as an authority and someone to turn to when they need help. therefore there is the possibility to generate extra business.
4. Guest Posting
Guest posting is a tried and tested method for attracting customers. Perhaps even better than the fact it helps attract customers is that it also helps to establish you as an authority in your industry.
When pitching for guest posts make sure that the blog’s audience is the same or at least similar to the one you target. That way you’ll attract highly qualified visitors to your site once the guest post goes live.
5. Direct Response Website
What this means is creating a website that is designed to capture leads via email.The more leads you can capture, the more people you can build a relationship with and then hopefully turn them into paying customers in the future.
Ask yourself what response you want visitors to your website to take and then design your website so that it’s optimized for this result. Create Opt-in boxes in the sidebar, use them as a pop up and even create a landing page on your website offering a free giveaway.
6. SEO
SEO should be a priority for your business because people who do a Google search looking for solutions to their problem are people who are ready to buy. They are actively looking for someone to help them.
You don’t need to invest in an SEO company to optimize your site for SEO. There are some great WordPress plugins such as Yoast SEO that will help you to optimize each of your web pages. Use this tool for all of your blog posts as well.
7. Referrals
If you are taking the leap into freelancing, then you probably already have customers you’ve worked with. Hopefully they also gave you a testimonial. All you need to do is simply ask them for a referral.
Ask if they know anyone at the moment who is looking for a freelancer. Another great idea is to even set up a referral program for past customers. Offer them an incentive to refer you. This is business so you need to do what you can.
So there you have it. These are 7 strategies you can use to attract your first clients freelancing. Pick three of these strategies per month and apply them diligently and you’ll see what strategies are the most effective for your freelance business.
