Find new clients online for your freelance business

I’ve told you before and I’ll tell you again… this marketing thing doesn’t have to be so hard! There’s more people than ever wondering how to freelance and I want to help as many people as possible pursue this type of career. It’s so rewarding to work for yourself! I get to set my own hours, my own rates, and decide who I work with (and don’t work with!). It’s amazing and I hope more people experience this freedom lifestyle too.

I wrote an entire blog post about how I started my freelance business, but here’s an overview: I started as a freelance writer in 2014, pitching to publications and not making ends meet. I discovered the world of copywriting, so went back to school and studied marketing. After graduating, I hit the ground running full-time in my business. Now I offer freelance writing services, including copywriting for creative businesses: launch copy, sales page copy, website copy, brand strategy, and content marketing. I also educate students on all of these topics!

You can start a freelance business too!

Do you want to start freelancing? I wrote a blog post on the early stages of how to freelance as well. It seems overwhelming at first, but I promise it gets easier as you start checking things off the list.

In this post, I want to focus on how to attract new clients online, which is what my signature course, Client Attraction Academy, revolves around. Yes… I’m sharing some secrets here! Here’s what you need to do to find your dream clients online for your creative, service-based, or freelance business.

How to attract freelance work online

My signature method is all about developing a strong brand that naturally attracts amazing clients to you online, so you don’t have to actively pitch for work. I know lots of us feel weird about sales, especially cold pitching. And quite frankly… I was tired of having to do this as well! A few years ago, while sitting at my kitchen table of our small condo, overworked and underpaid, I told my husband: “I don’t want it to be like this. This isn’t sustainable. I want people to come to me because they want to work with me.” And you know what? I made it happen.

The best part? I’ve never been on freelancing websites like Fiverr or Upwork. Those are actually terrible places to start and I would not recommend using them! They typically are filled with low budgets and high demands. Not a good place for a new freelance to get work!

Over the years, I experimented and tested until I cracked the code to attract dream clients online for my freelance services. Here’s an overview of how the process works.

Determine your unique positioning.

These days, there’s so much competition online (although I only consider myself my competition… but more on that later). When trying to stand out in a saturated marketing, you need to figure out your unique positioning. What makes you different than all the other service providers in your industry? What makes you better? What are your weaknesses or areas for improvement? How can you lean into your strengths and show off what makes you special?

When you know what makes you unique, it’s easier to market yourself. Identify your key positioning and stick with it! I didn’t grow my business this far by being the Jill-of-all-trades.

Publish a professional looking website.

It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it does have to look decent! Even with social media, having a website (with a custom domain) will make you look way more legitimate and help you feel more professional as well. Also, depending on the services you offer, your website itself becomes part of your portfolio. For example, clients who are looking for a creative copywriter often find me and say they absolutely love my website copy. Clients who are looking for monthly blogging services always say how much they love reading my blog. I don’t remember the last time I was actually asked for samples!

Think of your website as your slice of the internet where you can experiment and improve your skills, show off what you’re amazing at, and start to attract dream clients. Want some help writing your website copy? Here’s two other blog posts: How to write an about me page and how to write a home page for your website.

Side note: All students in the Academy actually have access to website copy templates! I create new ones all the time for them to use.

Use content marketing to attract your dream clients.

Content is QUEEN if you want to find clients online. The trick is that it takes a lot of time to create quality content, so you need to be strategic and choose the channels you think are easiest to reach your dream clients. For example, I started with Instagram. I knew I wanted to be a copywriter for creatives, so I started hanging out where the creative business owners and freelancers do. These are my people!

It’s amazing to see your hard work pay off. Even though I don’t have that many Instagram followers, I find a lot of clients on the app. Actually… they find me! During discovery calls I often receive feedback like: “I saved all your posts, but then realized I had to work with you,” or “I absolutely love your content! Can you teach me how to do that too?”

After I mastered Instagram, I dedicated more time to my blog, Pinterest, and growing my email list.

When you provide free value for people, you give them a taste of what it would be like to work with you, setting yourself up as an expert and staying top of mind. You also catch potential leads who are searching for solutions that you provide.

Create a consistent brand for your freelance business.

Through all of the above steps, you need to ensure that everything is cohesive across the board. A brand is more than a logo. It’s everything you put out into the world: Colours, messaging, content, advertisements, affiliations, everything! A brand is actually just the perception that people have of your business, and you have the power to shape that perception. What do you want to be known for? What emotions do you evoke in your audience? What results do you get for your clients?

The devil is in the details when marketing your business online. Think of every piece of content you create as a handshake with potential clients. We all know that first impressions matter. Make yours count!

Sell your services with confidence!

If you don’t believe in yourself, you can’t expect anyone else to. You should be proud of the insane value you provide your clients. Sales are a huge part of building a profitable freelance business, but often an aspect that we shy away from because it’s trick! That’s why I teach sales in a way that feels natural, and encourages dream clients to come to you.

Need a little extra help with all of the above? I invite you to join hundreds of other students inside the FREE 4 Steps to Profit course to get started.

Have questions? Want to see more on this topic? Leave your comments below! I’m here to help.