One of the most challenging aspects of freelance life can be finding clients, especially when starting out.
Luckily, there are as many creative ways to showcase your talents as there are gig workers hoping to catch a break. Hiring professionals is always an option. So is bartering services, such as writing copy in exchange for web design or SEO skills, which, along with work samples, brings the potential for future collaborations and referrals. Here’s how to promote your business as a freelancer.
It’s hard to believe that in 1898, around the same time the horse and buggy was beginning to be replaced by gasoline automobiles, marketing pioneer Elias St. Elmo Lewis introduced what we recognize today as the “sales funnel.” The revolutionary concept illuminated the stages a client goes through, from initial awareness to purchase and beyond. Over a century later, whenever you discover a free offering and then find out you can level up for a price, that’s the marketing funnel in action. Understanding the psychology behind the funnel can help expand awareness, grow an email list and sell your services. For details on the funnel, check out online course consultant Christine Day’s blog post “Marketing Funnels Explained.”
How to promote your business: Envision your ideal clients
When you imagine the clients you want to attract, it makes finding them much easier. Jennifer Goforth Gregory, author of The Freelance Content Marketing Writer, offers insights into how to promote your business and says a great way to brainstorm new clients is by starting with the audience you understand and then thinking about various products they buy.
“Come up with a list of companies that sell these products,” Gregory says. Places to gather ideas are on the vendor list for conferences that would resonate with your audience and ads for trade publications, she says.
In the age of specialization, Gregory says that clients want writers (and other contract workers) who have experience in their topic, especially agencies.
“You can have as many niches as you want,” she says. The trick is presenting yourself as a specialist to a potential client by sharing specific work samples and discussing that experience.
Expand awareness within your network
Whether sharing advice in a group, connecting through a private message or gaining a new connection, your social networks can be leveraged to engage potential clients and highlight your abilities. According to Hala Taha, influencer, podcaster and CEO of YAP Media, “The most valuable platform for a freelancer is LinkedIn” with “one of the most highly educated and compensated audiences.” Taha says LinkedIn also has the best search capabilities, allowing you to home in on attributes and behaviors of your audience who are primed for having sales conversations that solve professional needs. Be sure to optimize your LinkedIn profile, add keywords throughout that align with your skills and connect your network by “consistently creating educational content that solves problems,” Taha says.
Ghostwriter Marcia Layton Turner also offers advice on how to promote your business beyond referrals, LinkedIn has been her most effective marketing tool, helping her land at least one additional book project a year. She also uses its paid tool Sales Navigator to “target successful business leaders.”
Build work samples
Showing off your skills allows others to discover you. For those starting out, writer and strategist Day suggests offering to work on a friend’s website for free. “Do a great job for them, and then tell them you’re looking for more work,” Day says. A mindset she recommends is “treating yourself as your own client.”
Day recommends starting a blog or creating a lead magnet, a free offering that helps grow your mailing list, such as an e-book, resources, event or class. “No one is going to give you money to write for them until you demonstrate you’re already doing it,” Day says. She suggests leveraging that work when you’re pitching new clients.
How to promote your business online: Newsletters and email marketing
Sharing insights and valuable resources organically encourages readers to recommend you to their network. Marketing emails and regular newsletters are underrated powerful methods of growing your network, attracting clients and generating passive income. Writer, editor and creator of the must-have newsletter, Freelance Opportunities!, Kaitlyn Arford credits her newsletter as opening important doors for her own career, helping her connect with freelancers, hiring managers, editors and other professionals. “A lot of people have heard about me solely because of the newsletter,” Arford says, only regretting having not launched it sooner. She says it’s also become a stable revenue source from paid members, premium subscribers, ads and paid newsletter recommendations.
If you decide to place ads, she says it raises your credibility. “Advertising in a newsletter allows you to connect with a highly targeted audience,” Arford says. “Readers are more likely to connect with an ad placed in a newsletter they value that comes from a trusted source.”
She says that successful ads include a clear call to action. “The best-performing ads offer something that people want to take advantage of, like a freebie, a webinar or something that could solve a problem,” Arford says.
Podcasts and courses
Taha produces and hosts the highly successful Young and Profiting podcast and advocates for generating your own buzz by creating “a podcast centered around interviewing your ideal target clients.” Sure, you’ll need to invest time and energy into your podcast, but the fastest way to earn that back is by “getting the right guests to come on your show and thus generating leads,” explains Taha, adding that this naturally introduces them to what you do without a hard sell. “Even if you don’t convert them immediately, it will increase the chances that they remember you.” Another option is positioning yourself as “a guest on other podcasts that have the target audience you want,” says Taha, who mentions that it’s worthwhile considering affiliate programs, where a podcaster earns a small commission on each sale/conversion.
An excellent way to share your expertise is by leading a class. Day helps entrepreneurs, often in the functional health space, create classes and workshops. “Developing online courses allows freelancers to establish themselves as authorities within their niche while creating scalable assets that can generate recurring revenue streams,” Day says. “Digital courses offer the flexibility to teach specific skills through various mediums like video tutorials, audio lessons and downloadable resources—all without the constraints of one-on-one coaching.”
Website must-haves and SEO
Are you curious about how to promote your business on your website beyond samples of your work? Arford suggests “creating case studies where you take people through your process and reveal how your work obtained results for your clients. Be clear about what services you offer,” and make it easy to contact you.
If you want to attract a local audience or clients seeking a specific service, Arford suggests honing SEO. If hiring someone isn’t in your budget, there are affordable tools she recommends, such as Content Harmony, to find SEO words for website and marketing copy.
“Investing in keyword optimization can improve your online presence and ROI, so don’t be deterred by cost, and remember that it could be written off as a business expense,” Arford says.
Bring value to your freelance community
As you work on marketing your services, don’t forget to spread good vibes with your peers. Turner pays it forward by participating and offering ideas within Facebook groups. “When I receive a lead that isn’t a fit for me, I can turn around and refer it to someone I know,” she says.
Gregory has become a leader among content marketing writers, offering regular advice, as well as ongoing rate transparency in her own career, inspiring countless freelancers in her Facebook group The Freelance Content Marketing Writer.
Be mindful to create a work-life balance. “Get to know other freelancers beyond social media by joining communities and hosting virtual (or in-person) coffee chats,” Arford says, reminding people that other freelancers are your community and not the opposite. “Sharing your knowledge and struggles is one of the best ways to connect with other freelancers,” she says. “One of the most important things you can do is share information about what you charge clients and what specific businesses have paid you.” Remember, when you empower each other, everybody wins.
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