10 Ways To Find New Clients
Hello! I’m Emma, and I’m a coach for freelancers. One of the most common issues freelancers come to me about is finding clients. It can all feel a bit overwhelming and scary, especially when you see all the hard sales tactics out there (cold DMing or, even worse, cold calling? No thanks).
Finding clients is really only about two things - being visible (showing up and showcasing your skills and knowledge) and building relationships (genuinely, not with some kind of hunbot copy and paste approach). There are so many ways you can do this, some in your comfort zone and some just outside it. Choose the ones that align with your values and goals.
Here are ten ways you can get visible and build relationships, to find clients.
- Share a carousel on Instagram of all the ways clients can work with you. Not only will it make it clear what you do, but it’s also a post you can share to your stories going forward.
- Write a post on LinkedIn with 5 reasons why potential clients should work with you. You could even spread this out across a week of posts.
- Share those testimonials! Social proof is so powerful, and seeing someone else rate what you do can be the tipping point to get someone in contact with you.
Testimonials = trust. - Reach out to previous clients to see if they have any upcoming work you can help with AND ask them if they might know anyone else who would need your services. Sometimes people need a reminder to recommend you, and if you love working with them, their business friends are likely to be a good fit too. It’s nice to be able to check in with your clients anyway and see how they’re getting on.
- Get in front of your ideal clients by pitching yourself to podcasts and blogs who broadcast to that audience. You’ll usually get an opportunity to share what you do during the podcast, and it’s powerful to showcase your personality through that podcast episode or blog post. Plus, they’re actually quite fun to do!
- While you’re pitching, are there any Facebook groups who tailor to your ideal audience, who bring on guest speakers? Spend some time getting visible and helping people in the group, and see if the group admin might be interested in you doing a Live. Facebook groups also recently introduced the expert tag, so if you show up enough and help enough in a group, the admin of that group might assign it to you.
- Run a webinar on your area of expertise, either a paid one or a free one with a promotion at the end to your services. That webinar could also work well as an email opt-in later on. In fact, my 5 Ways To Find New Clients training is my most popular opt-in.
- Send the Scary Email. This is an email you can send to your friends and network, asking them for support. It’s friendly, relaxed and not pushy - this template just lets them know what you do and who you help. It’s so easy to assume everyone knows what you do - but they don’t!
- Follow your ideal clients on LinkedIn! You don’t need to pitch them or spam them, just interact with their posts and build a relationship.
- Networking! Get yourself out networking. If you struggle to find time, Meeow is a good alternative, where you can find a slot 24/7 to network online with 3 others. Having those face-to-face conversations is one of the easiest ways to create rapport and meet potential clients. Plus there’s usually cake and tea if it’s in person!
These are just a few of the ways you can find clients, there are lots more (I haven’t even mentioned Clubhouse or TikTok!). If you want even more ideas, and my How To Find Clients Process, I’ve got a bundle for you.
Emma Cossey is a coach for freelancers, with over 12 years of freelancing experience under her belt. Previous clients have included The Discovery Channel, Macleans, Shell, Dorothy Perkins, ParentDish UK, Tempero, Camelot (National Lottery), Groupon and The Times online. She lives in Bracknell with her husband Pete and their son Oscar. She's a huge fan of tech, apps and automations to make life easier, faster and more fun.
You can find Emma on Instagram (@Emmacossey) or in her free Facebook group. You can also listen to her on her podcast (The Freelancer's Teabreak) and check out her services through her website.
