Finding Your First Client

Starting out as a freelancer is no easy task, and I applaud you for taking the first step!

If you're stuck on how to land that first client, follow this checklist and you're almost guaranteed to land an opportunity 🚀

Based on the past work you have done and what you have enjoyed, decide what services you'd like to offer clients. You are not committed to these for life; they can always change as you grow as a freelancer.

Services should be something you can easily replicate, for writers, that could be a blog post. For front-end engineers, that could be developing a landing page.

Take some time and nail down who you ideal client is -- are they a gen-z content creator? A 50 year old small business owner in a big city? A bootstrapped start-up in stealth mode who doesn't have a design team?

Get as specific as possible! Once you know who your ideal client is, figure out where they hang out. Is it in their brick and mortar store? On a discord for NFT creators? In their neighborhood facebook group? This is key to meeting your clients where they are!

Once you know what services you are offering and who your ideal clients are, draft a quick pitch. Make sure you include what you do and who you do it for.

For example: My name is Madi and I help startups engage their communities to better meet their business goals!

Your pitch should be an ongoing work in progress, and you can naturally refine your pitch over time as you test it out with different audiences.

Clients, especially ones who haven't seen your work before, will usually ask for a portfolio or work samples. You can set up a free profile on Contra, or sign up for the Portfolios waitlist for a spiffier way to show your work.

If you don't have time for even that, Google Drive samples work in the beginning, but might not convert as high as a polished portfolio.

Always start with your direct community. Let friends and family know your pitch (or a casual version of it), and that you are actively looking for clients. They can then recommend you if they know someone looking for your services.

After testing your pitch with your friends and family, it's time to go public! You can share your work on your personal socials, and see if anyone in your extended network is looking for your services.

LinkedIn is a great place for posting an announcement about your services as well as Twitter! Instagram works well for a visual representation of your portfolio, too. It really depends where your ideal clients hang out though, so in the beginning it's worth trying any of the social networks you're active on, to see where you have the most success.

Self-promotion is hard, but in the beginning, a lot of your freelance clients are going to come from you putting yourself out there. Otherwise, how would anyone know about the services you offer? You got this!

There are so many communities out there full of clients looking for freelancers like you. Using the persona you drafted of your ideal client and where they hang out, go to those places! If your ideal client is a local cafe owner, see if there is a facebook group for cafe owners in your city, or make a post on Nextdoor or Craigslist. Even better, go to their cafe and meet them face to face and see if they're in need of your services.

If your client is more digitally focused, send a cold pitch explaining how you can help them. Maybe their website is out of date and you can help them modernize for the current digital trends. Maybe they don't have a logo, and you can provide them a catered brand strategy package. It can be scary, but put yourself out there and good things will happen. Even if a client doesn't need your services now, you will be top of mind for the future.

In addition to warm and cold pitching and building your digital presence, apply to opportunities that are in your niche or adjacent to it. You can do that on Contra, LinkedIn, Twitter, and anywhere else freelance job opportunities are posted.

Make sure to cater your pitch for that specific opportunity, and personalize it as best you can to show the value you can deliver for that specific client.

10 unique pitches to 10 clients goes a lot further than 1 generic pitch to 100 clients.

Freelance clients won't happen over time; it is an ongoing process of promoting yourself, following up with friends and family, and reminding people you are around to solve their problems.

Refine your pitch over time, personalize your cold pitches, and expand your networks organically by going to events in your area, and digital events to meet other freelancers in your niche as well as your ideal clients. Continue to update your portfolio and advertise your services on social media and in your communities.

Let's see those clients come in!