How To Get Freelance Clients — 13 Methods That Work!

How To Get Freelance Clients — 13 Methods That Work!

Originally posted on the Legiit Blog

Freelancing can be extremely fun and profitable. However, it also has some disadvantages. One of them is that you have to go out and get the clients yourself. That’s why in this article, we’re going to take a look at how to get freelance clients to help you land more work.

We’re going to be covering 13 methods, so whatever the service you offer, at least one of these methods should work well for you.

How To Get Freelance Clients — 13 Methods That Work

Below, we’ve explained 13 methods that you can use to get freelance clients. They aren’t in any particular order, as quite often which one is best depends on the type of service you’re offering and your preferences.

That being said, we have given you some basic guidelines on each one to help you see whether it would work for you.

1. Facebook Groups

Our first method is Facebook groups.

On Facebook, there are groups for practically anything. Try to identify some groups in which your ideal client would be hanging around. This can often work really well.

For example, if you are a content writer and like to write for affiliate sites, you could consider joining groups where affiliate site owners would be hanging around. It doesn’t always have to be that specific, sometimes you can also find clients in more general Facebook groups.

One of these is the Legiit Facebook group, where there are some opportunities to promote yourself too. But, we’ll talk more about that later on.

2. YouTube

Another great way to get freelance clients is through creating YouTube videos.

YouTube is a great place to demonstrate your knowledge which can help clients trust you.

You could create a mix of content that targets your ideal client.

From there, you’ll get traffic from:

• Google
• YouTube suggestions
• YouTube’s search function

You can also use this to build your email list to help you make more sales in the future.

3. Cold Email

Our third method is cold email.

This would be where you simply email your target client before they even know you. There are various pieces of software out there to help you do this more efficiently.

You can use these to get directly into the inbox of your prospects. But, make sure you aren’t just trying to sell straight away from the first email.

The first email should be a way to open the conversation. Something that could work well is finishing your email with a question, as this makes it more likely that you will get a response.

From here, you can then set an appointment, and pitch your offer.

4. Cold Calling

Another method you could try would be cold calling.

Cold calling as the name suggests would be calling your ideal client and generating leads that way. Again, the goal of the first call wouldn’t be to try and get them to purchase your service. Instead, you could explain to them how you could help them, and ask if they could set an appointment.

In the appointment, you can then pitch your offer.

5. Blogging

Blogging is another marketing channel that can work well for freelancers. Not only can it help you land new clients, but it can also help you provide value to your existing ones.

You create articles that are optimized for keywords your target audience would be using and get organic traffic from search engines.

Plus, just like YouTube, blogging can be a great place to demonstrate your knowledge too. It also doesn’t cost a lot to set up, so the potential ROI is huge.

6. Facebook Messenger

Facebook makes it extremely easy to get into the inbox of your ideal client.

Let’s say your niche would be that you run PPC ads for Hotels & Spa’s.

You could easily send out a message to all the hotels in your local area. They are easy to find and message, so why not give it a shot?

One thing to keep in mind though is that just like with cold calling and emailing, the first message shouldn’t be pitching your offer. You might even be able to find some good templates online if you did want to use this method.

7. Twitter

Twitter is a platform that can also work well in certain niches.

Of course, your target audience would have to be on Twitter, for it to make sense to promote yourself there. But, you could do some research, and if they are, you could give it a shot.

Try to optimize your bio to speak to your target audience, for example, “I help (type of business) with their (your service)”. From there you can connect with them, tweet valuable content, and showcase your work.

8. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a place full of businesses and professionals, meaning your ideal clients are probably there too.

You could run a LinkedIn prospecting campaign and connect with people or businesses in your niche. Of course, before you do this you’ll probably want to optimize your profile and make sure you are targeting the right prospects.

Plus, you could also try to engage with prospects through LinkedIn groups.

9. Google Ads

Google Ads can also work extremely well, as you are targeting the prospect while they are looking for your service.

You could target keywords that are looking for your service, and funnel them towards your contact/opt-in page. Depending on what your service is, you could maybe even sell it at this point, if it’s low or medium-ticket.

10. Facebook Ads

Facebook Ads have some great targeting options.

You can target by interests, job title, and much more.

This means, you can use it to get freelancing clients, as you’ll be able to target them quite well. Again, similar to Google ads, you could funnel them towards a contact or opt-in page. Or, depending on your service you could even send them towards a sales page.

11. Ask For Referrals/Create a Campaign

For this next method, you’ll probably need some existing clients. However, it can work extremely well.

If your existing clients love your work, they’ll have no problem referring people to you. Plus, you could even create referral campaigns where you offer them a small discount for referring new clients. This can work well and can help you get freelance clients without having to spend money on ads.

12. Create Guest Content

One of our favorite methods from this list is creating guest content.

This allows you to leverage the audiences from others to generate leads for yourself.

Some examples of this include:

• Writing guest posts
• Appearing as a guest on webinars
• Appearing as a guest on podcasts
• Appearing as a guest on YouTube videos

All of these options will usually let you leave a link to your own website, social media, or service on a freelance marketplace. If you would want to use this as part of your strategy, you could once per month appear as a guest somewhere.

This could help you leverage the audience of others to grow your freelancing business.

Related: Write for the Legiit Blog!

13. Marketplace Freelancing

Last but not least, you can also use freelancing marketplaces to promote yourself.

The benefit of freelancing marketplaces is that people visit them anyway. This means, there will be some traffic built-in, meaning it will be easier to land clients.

Here at Legiit, we also offer our freelancers various other options to promote themselves.

If you would like to get started, the first step would be to create a free account.

1. Legiit Mondays

First of all, we have Legiit Mondays.

Every Monday, freelancers can post their service into the Facebook group to promote it to over 6,500 members. This is a great and free method to promote your service.

Join the Legiit Facebook group here.

2. Weekly Round-up

Every Friday, we send out a roundup to our entire email list. You have the chance to get featured in that round-up by submitting your service on Tuesdays through the post in the Facebook group.

It’s another free method you could use to get lots of eyes on your offer.

1. Affordable Ads

Last but not least, we also offer affordable ads for everyone. Of course, you can also only use the free methods if you prefer, but there is advertising available for those who want to use it.

The costs are low and range from anywhere from $15 to $50 for an entire day of advertising, depending on the place you choose.

Related: How Legiit Promotions Can Become Your Competitive Advantage

Get Started With Legiit

If you would like to get started with Legiit, just follow the instructions below.

1. Sign up for a free Legiit account
2. Join the Legiit Facebook group
3. Verify your Seller’s Account (In settings)
4. Set up a service
5. Start promoting!

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