A Great, Easy Source of Freelancing Clients
July 1, 2009
When I asked “What is holding you back from online freelancing” I got two comments, several tweets and a bunch of emails saying the same thing.
People are struggling to get new freelancing clients.
Now I know this is a challenge, especially in the current economy, and especially when starting out. A few people said that they had emailed me because they were in fact embarrassed about not having enough work “Freelancers live and die by their reputation, you need to look busy and successful otherwise people think you are low quality” was the typical response to my inquiry.
Well I am here to tell you something about that. In fact, I have three things to tell you.
First though you need to get your house (website) in order. This covers the first two points.
- If you need more work then tell people you are available. You do NOT have to admit you are short of work, just say
- you are available,
- what you do,
- why someone should be interested,
- how much you cost,
- how to find out more, contact or book you.
- “Acting busy” is often used as a tactic by folks, it is the classic “scarcity” play, but as the folks who contacted me found out, it can also backfire. The way around it is often recommended to say that you have had a last minute cancellation, blah blah. In my view honesty is the best policy. People can smell these sales tactics a mile away. Instead you should actually GET busy. Provide a bonus, add a killer guarantee, do some free work for a local charity, offer to help someone who is popular and you admire, and get them to refer you to their friends. If you get really desperate, discount.
The third point is the real subject of this article.
Today you have an unrecedented access to all the prospects you need. This is because in the past you needed physical access to people, their address, or at least their telephone number if you wanted to sell your services to them.
Now people are opening up to networking on a global scale, the gatekeepers are neutralized, and we are nearly all connected via degrees of separation.
Use the tools!
- Search on Twitter for people talking about your market. Help people, give tips, make friends, put out offers.
- Answer questions and make connections on LinkedIn.
- Write compelling articles that demonstrate your expertise and share them on social bookmarking sites.
- Find forums where people ask questions that you can answer, spend time supplying solutions, with a great signature link back to your blog/website.
- When you get a client and you do a wonderful job for them that makes them super impressed, ask for referrals and testimonials.
If you are willing to show off what you can do, in a way that interests and helps others, you will have no shortage of leads. Once you get a customer, thrill them by going the extra mile (or ten!) so that they come back for more, and tell everyone how great you are.
Pretty soon you will have a full order book, and your problem will go from not enough work to how the heck you are going to fit it all into a 24 hour day 
Got any more tips or experiences to share? Please let us know in the comments …
Comments
2 Responses to “A Great, Easy Source of Freelancing Clients”
Got something to say?
Chris, this is great advice. I have a problem getting the testimonials, though!
Oh well, one step at a time. Stumbled this resource.
Cheers,
Mitch
[...] Looking for freelancing jobs? Here’s A Great, Easy Source of Freelancing Clients [...]