If you are a newbie on the freelance platform and asking questions on google about how to find my first freelance clients, here we discuss it. Getting first clients for freelance services is so tough but if you follow our set by step guides then you may get clients faster as a new freelancer.
The best way to get freelance clients is by building a portfolio, improving skills, developing experience, showcasing your skills and enhancing your network. You can also use social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn to find freelance new clients.
Getting your first clients for freelancing could hard because the market competition is high. You have to make your identity on this crowd by showing your best experience and best project examples for clients.
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How to find my first freelance client
Finding y first freelance client for your services can be a challenging step. Here are some processes you can follow to get your first freelance clients:
- Identify target market: Identifying the client segment helps you to know what kind of clients you need and what services you should provide.
- Build a strong portfolio: To promote a business portfolio is more powerful, where you include work experience, job types, client satisfaction, reviews and project examples. This will help to get potential clients for your services.
- Build network and relationships: Building network and relationships is a professional way to get freelance clients for a new freelancer. To build network and relationship, you need to attend industry events, professional meeting, connect with social media conversation through page and groups.
- Use freelance job boards and platforms: There are many website and online job portals where professionals hire professionals to develop their business such as Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer.com, Gigster, Hirable and Crossover.
- Offer discounted or unpaid work: Discounts is a best strategy to get instant attraction from clients. Consider offering discounts for your services or unpaid work through your portfolio, so that people could know you and your business.
- Promote your services: Service promotion can reach targeted clients. However, use your website and social platform to promote services and showcase skills to the potential customer.
- Follow up with leads: Once you getting lead every day, you need to follow up for the previous leads with your interest and skills. Even connect people who aren’t interest for your services but they may follow you for future work.
1. Identify your target market
Identifying the target market is an essential step to get potential clients for freelance services. Before get start finding new clients know your service and what types of clients do you need.
Knowing customer interest motivates you to find related clients for your services such as send messages, offers, products, service and by doing some research you could know your customers interest.
2. Build a strong portfolio
Building a strong portfolio is a best strategy to promote your services whereas you would be capable to showcase your skills, achievements and talents.
There are several way to design your portfolio but never forget to include experience, clients satisfaction, reviews, skill area and projects demo.
Creating a professional, well design and attractive portfolio can increase clients aspects.
3. Network and relationship building
Network and building relationships with people and other professionals can be a great way to promote your business without investing money.
Here are some tips to develop strong relationships:
- Be productive and reach out: Productiveness is the first steps to build a relationship to other professionals. So productively meet new people every day and keep in touch with that existing networks.
- Genuine and authentic: Everybody wants to make a relationship with reliable person so try to be reliable and show your authentic to the people you met.
- Be a good listener: Try to give value them whoever you meet. Show that you are interested to listen them and understand what they says by asking questions and paying attention with values.
- Be Helpful: People love helps so never avoid to help people with whom you want to maintain a good relationship.
- Follow up: Follow up is a best way to maintain agood relationship. However, when you meet and speak with new people, make sure that your are asking their activity and a casual conversation via e-mail, phone and social media.
Maintaining a good relationship can be a great network for a professional person. A supportive network can brings you huge client from the existing network.
4. Freelance job boards and platforms
Freelance job boards and platforms are such kinds of the website where you are allowed to get freelance jobs. These freelancing websites are the best resources for freelancers who continuously find new clients for a professional service as they offer several job opportunities from different industries.
Here is some freelancing jobs listing websites to find freelance clients easily:
- Upwork: Upwork is a worldwide freelancing platform where professional people connect for professional businesses in such fields including graphics design, writing, marketing, web development, software development and more.
- PeoplePerHour: PeoplePerHour is a best freelancing platform for experts where you can get job easily for your expertise for short-time and long-time.
- Gigster: Gigster is a new freelancing platform where competition is very low. As a new freelancing company they are offering huge opportunity for new freelancers. It would be the best option for you to get new clients.
- Hirable: Hirable is a new freelancing online portal that allow businesses to connect with professionals. They also have opportunity to find and filter a job that has the best matches with your skills.
- Crossover: Crossover connects businesses with the existing network who are capable to work on such field, design, software development and data science. As they are new in the freelance market place, offering great opportunity for new freelancers.
Before start with such platform to find new client would be the best way but you need some market research when investing your particular time.
5. Offer discounts or pro bono work
As a freelancer, you need to offer your clients impressive discounts or unpaid work on your services. Once you have done a free project with your best experience the client will return to you for another job and you can charge for it.
There are several way to provide discounts for clients but here we have given some examples for discounts and pro bono work:
- Attract new clients: Offering discounts and pro bono work is an effective strategy to increase clients volume for a business. When you are confident on your work that you can provide the best services for your clients then provide discounts or unpaid work for clients. That’s how clients will grab this opportunity and if they like your work they will return for another projects.
- Show appreciation: If your have clients for long term you need to offer them pro bono job. It can be a best way to show appreciation for your existing clients.
- Give back: When you offer pro bono work for clients they may show more appreciation for your work. You should continue it most often.
Before offering pro bono and discounts for your services, you need to consider again and again as you can’t get payment for these jobs and you cannot pay your staff for unpaid work.
6. Promote freelance services
As a freelancer, we need to promote our services and it’s an important part of getting clients to grow a business. Here are some ways can help you to promote a service:
- Create a website: website is the asset of your skills and services. So, building a professional website can bring more potential clients for a small business. Make sure to include all the services you gonna provide with some impressive offers.
- Use social media platforms: Social media are tech giants in this era, where you can find billions of active users for different purposes. So using social media can be an influential way to promote a business. Be sure to create a page, groups and community.
- Connection build-up with clients: making a good connection with existing clients would be a creative way to promote a business. When your clients are satisfied and have a positive think about your business they could refer others to take your services.
- Offer free samples: Offering free samples with change a client aspects. However, people always looking for something better, so creating some example projects for them can be a reliable way that clients can believe in your work.
Business promotion might be pretty much harder but an authentic process to grow a business. However, building a successful freelance business could take you to the next level of your career.
7. Follow up with potential clients
Follow-up leads and potential clients are a great way to get existing clients back and turn new clients into a purchase. Here is some way to follow up leads to improve a thriving business:
- Track interactions: Note when you last connected with that client via email or conversation. This can help you to stay organized and productive in your work.
- Personalize your follow-up: Tailor your follow-up email or messages for the specific people with whom you wanna connect again and mention your business specifications.
- Be Timely: Follow up you’re generated leads timely because clients may interact with other businesses if you have less interaction with clients.
- Be patient: Never get disappointed if you don’t have any clients after having more effort but you should take keep patient and persevere.
What is the best way to get clients as a new freelancer?
The best way to get clients as a new freelancer is to build a portfolio and promote through Facebook. As we know, Facebook is the tach giant for this era, so promoting services and business with Facebook could be a creative strategy to get clients as new freelancers.
However, online communities also perform well, where people ask questions and find a solution such as Quora and medium. So being productive and intelligent when promoting services could bring your first client.
