Where the Heck Do You Get Clients as a Freelancer? My Best Tips for Filling Your Pipeline

Today I want to answer the question I get more than any other from freelancers: Where the heck do I find clients? It's probably the biggest concern, and there's no single answer that will work for everyone. But I do have some methods that have worked for me, and I'm sharing them here.

First, a disclaimer: There are folks out there who use this mantra: "It's a numbers game." They believe that the more people you pitch to, the greater the likelihood of getting clients across the line. And they're right... and if you are someone who doesn't mind doing a lot of cold pitching, that strategy might work for you. But it doesn't work for me. I hate cold pitching. I much prefer the strategy I've developed, which brings people to my digital doorstep without me having to hunt them down. So that's the approach I'm going to cover here.

If you ask me, the best way to get inbound clients is through word of mouth. You want people to send leads to you, so you can have the pick of the litter. To achieve this, you have to make yourself known. In other words, you need a marketing strategy that positions you as an authority on whatever it is you do.

I do that through three channels: LinkedIn, Twitter, and my email list. You can stop reading here if you go follow me on those channels to see how it's done.

LinkedIn has by far been the most successful for me. I started out by doing the 30-Day LinkedIn challenge, which gives you free prompts for posts every day for 30 days (though you can spread it out however you want).

I recommend trying this out for anyone who is timid about using LinkedIn to find clients: https://www.linkedin.com/company/30ds/about/I rarely post purely promotional content on LinkedIn. Instead, I would say about 80% of my posts are simply good SEO/Freelancing advice - answers to questions people ask me, assessments of what's going on in the industry, etc.

Some examples:

• Post about being a digital nomad
• Post about "lean SEO" inspired by a person in this very Slack channel
• Post about my CODE RED system for reviving old content

These posts barely talk about what I do. There is no call to action. There is only one thing I want them to achieve: I want them to show my audience that I know my shit. 😜

After a few months of doing this, my audience started to know that I was a good resource for all things SEO and freelancing. People started popping into my DMs with questions. Then they started telling their friends about me - friends who needed my services.

Another disclaimer: This strategy took months of regular posting, and taking a break from posting tanked my engagement. So if you want to pursue this, you have to be committed. I set aside 45 mins 3x a week to post on LinkedIn, with time to interact/comment on other posts before and after (which boosts engagement). When I first started, I was posting 5x times a week. It worked.

I repurpose my most successful LinkedIn pieces for Twitter, in threads like this.

I've been doing this for a few months now, and I have recently started getting some good DMs from SEO-curious folks there as well.

And yes, sometimes I do openly promote myself. But I keep these posts few and far between.

Some examples:

• Post about my free SEO 101 course
• Post about my mentorship program

Final advice on using LinkedIn and other social media to get clients:

1. Share information of value, and ask for nothing in return
2. Spend time commenting and interacting with other people's posts before and after you post
3. Answer DMs promptly, with friendliness and openness.
4. Fill your LinkedIn network with people who work in adjacent fields to you. (I have lots of Developers and Graphic Designers in my camp, because they share the same clients as me but don't offer my services. We pass each other leads a lot.)

Lots more LinkedIn advice (with examples) in this article.

But... what if you don't have time to build an audience on LinkedIn? What if you need new clients NOW? Well, then you may have to bite the bullet and do cold pitching. I did plenty of it to get my first few clients, so I've got tips for that too. ❄️

♨️ Warm up the leads as much as possible

Diving into someone's inbox, whom you've never met or interacted with, is going to get you a lot of rejections. Interacting with them in meaningful ways - through comments on their socials, non-sales-oriented comms, etc. will warm them up to a place where your pitch won't feel so icy.

✂️ Don't use stock messaging

I can smell a cut-and-paste pitch from a mile away, and so can most business owners. Spend time making your message compelling, unique, and human, instead of the scattershot approach of cutting and pasting the same message over and over.

📖 Do your dang research

I block anyone who makes it clear in their first message that they haven't done enough research on my business. "Hey Liam, I see you work in digital marketing and content..." Ok, so you read my profile title or email signature. Big whoop. Blocked. But mention the details of one of my blogs, or a post I made on LinkedIn? I'll hear you out.

💸 Offer free value

In the past, I've done basic keyword research for my cool targets, or made a 5-minute loom video sharing some insights on their website. It takes longer, but has landed me more than one long-term clients.

♻️ Offer something you can use yourself

If you're a content creator, get specific about some topics you would want to cover for your potential client. Make sure these concepts align with their business and goals. Write the first few paragraphs, or a whole article for free - but if you do that, make sure it's something you can offer to other prospects or use in your own portfolio if they reject it.

👆 IMO, this takes a lot longer than the "numbers game," but feels less sleazy and increases your chances of getting high-quality leads.

What else can you do to market yourself as an authority while you're cold pitching?

1. Turn EVERYTHING you do into something for your portfolio or a testimonial. Do not be shy. Anyone you work with, ask for a testimonial. Get them to put it on LinkedIn, then copy/paste it onto your site and socials. Any work you do should go into your portfolio, get posted on LinkedIn, or turned into a case study. The more evidence you have to back up your authority, the sooner you'll have people sending you inquiries.
2. Promote yourself on other people's channels. Be a podcast host using something like PodMatch.com to find opportunities. Reach out to companies, bloggers, and other people who share an audience with you, and tell them how much you appreciate them. Build a relationship, then guest blog or collaborate with them.
3. Never shut up about what you do IRL. Tell your mom's best friend, your diner waitress, your ex-boyfriend's barber. Don't shyly say, "I'm a freelance _____." Proudly say, "I work as a freelancer, helping ______ do ______ by _____."Example, my intro at parties: "I'm a freelance SEO specialist, so I help businesses get more customers and clients via Google, using my writing skills. And I'm a coach for other freelancers who want to do the same."

My final tip: Just effing do it.

You are going to have LinkedIn posts that flop.

You will be tweeting into a void.

People will block you when you pitch to them.

People will roll their eyes when you talk about what you do for the umpteenth time.

Who cares?

You're here to make it as a freelancer, so do what you have to do to make yourself known.

Swallow your pride a bit, and money will come in the door.