7 Ways to Grow Your Freelance Business (Which Ones Are Best for YOU?)
Photo by Carl Hayerdahl
Most freelancers want to grow their business.
But what does that really mean? Let’s look at different ways to make more money from your business.
1. Grow Your Business by Raising Your Rates
The most obvious way to grow your business is by raising your rates. This is especially true if you’re billing by the hour, or for some writers, by the word.
The easiest way to raise your rates? Start with the next new client. Just quote them 20% more per hour / per word than you’ve been quoting your old clients.
You might be surprised. What seems like a big deal to you may mean nothing to this new client.
Then, do the same with your existing clients. If you haven’t raised your rates lately (because you’re afraid to?), it’s time. If that causes you to lose a client, so be it. Get another one at a better rate.
Strategy for Raising Your Rates
You don’t need a big strategy here. Just do it. Raise your rates to grow your business.
Need help talking about money? Read how to talk to clients about money here.
You might find this blog post helpful too: build your confidence, grow your billing.
2. Grow Your Business by Changing How You Bill
I’m not a fan of hourly rates or writing by the word. It’s the worst way to bill.
Yet, many people start this way because it’s the easiest way to do it. It’s fine to start that way, but once you get more experience, and understand how long it takes you to do your projects, it’s time to switch.
I think you should start billing by the project. Get a good brief from the client, then write a detailed estimate for the job. Make sure you limit the project by defining rounds of revisions. That avoids scope creep. Yes, it takes practice to get the estimates right, but once you do, it’s so much better.
Read how to increase your billing with detailed estimates here.
If you’re doing steady work for the client, speak to the client about switching to a retainer model. Many clients like retainers. It helps them budget from month to month.
Read a detailed post on the best pricing models for creative services here. It looks at six different ways to get paid. Two of them are the best for most creative services.
Strategy for Changing How You Bill
Learn how to write detailed estimates. Create templates for yourself. You’ll use them over and over again for similar jobs.
Then use your new billing method on your next new client. Transition all your clients.
3. Grow by Getting More Clients Like the Ones You Have
The other obvious way to grow is to get more clients like the ones you have. This assumes you have time to take on more clients.
Three ways to get more clients like your existing ones:
a) Update Your Portfolio and Website and Feature New Client Work in Social Media
I see too many creators ignoring their portfolios. “I don’t have time.” “It’s so hard to do your own work.” “My portfolio is good enough.”
And many creators don’t have websites! I’m sorry, but you need to own your web real estate. It’s never been easier to build a site. Your portfolio should live on your site.
Make the time to update your portfolio and, most importantly, promote your work.
Many creators get new business from their posts on Twitter and LinkedIn. It takes effort, but the payoff can be a steady stream of new work. That’s why you want your portfolio updated—you’re going to send a link to the prospects you meet on social.
Tip: Here’s how to make time for your own work. Do it first thing in the morning. Give yourself the first two hours of the day before starting client work.
b) Get Testimonials and Referrals From Existing Clients
Ask your clients for both testimonials and referrals. Here’s a trick for testimonials: offer to write the testimonial for their approval. It saves them time and effort. They’ll likely say, “yeah that’s great” and you’ve got your testimonial done, ready to be featured.
What do you do with testimonials? Use them prominently on your website and in your social outreach.
Here’s how to ask for a referral. This works best with longstanding clients. “I love the work we’re doing together. I have a bit more time in my schedule. Could you recommend someone where I might be a good fit?”
Referrals are a numbers game. Some clients can’t be bothered. But others will go out of their way to help. You have to ask all your clients who might give you a referral.
c) Do Cold Email Outreach to Similar Clients
Look at your clients. Group them into niches. Now do some research to find similar clients. You’ll likely find the exact person you’re looking for on LinkedIn.
You’ve got experience in their niche. Write a convincing email citing your experience. Include links to relevant pages of your portfolio.
Read a detailed post about where freelancers can find new clients here.
Strategy for Getting More Clients Like Your Existing Ones
Do your housekeeping. Update your portfolio and website first. This should be a priority.
Then make a list of clients you want to approach for testimonials and referrals.
You may find that’s enough to generate the business you want. If not, do some research on LinkedIn to find the companies and people you want to contact.
4. Grow by Positioning Your Business for Bigger Clients
You can raise your rates. You can change how you bill. You can find more clients like you already have.
But sooner or later, your growth will run into a wall—the number of hours in a day.
If all your clients are smaller businesses, there will be a limit to how much you can charge them.
You have to work your way up to better clients.
The simple truth is that bigger companies pay more, often for the same or very similar services.
They have bigger budgets. They typically have annual budgets that they have to spend (or lose them the next year).
My favorite clients were always larger organizations or governments. They’re professional, the money is company money, not personal, and they have lots of projects.
Read about the best clients for freelancers and how to find them here.
Strategy for Positioning Your Business for Bigger Clients
Look at your messaging first. You may need to change it if it seems to address only small, local companies.
Then divide your clients into niches, and find bigger companies within those niches. Often, they are suppliers to the niches.
For example, if you’ve been working for local businesses, say plumbers or air conditioning companies, find the corporations that supply those businesses.
They could be companies that manufacture or distribute bathroom and kitchen fixtures or air conditioners.
Your pitch? You already know their customers, and what matters to them.
Look at your clients. Find bigger companies related to those clients.
5. Grow by Expanding Your Business Services
Expanding your business services can seem like a massive step for many freelancers. How do you expand your services? For example, if you’re a writer, you could have designers and programmers you can bring to a project. If you’re a designer, you have writers and programmers to create a team.
Why is it important to expand your services? Simply, because that’s what many clients are looking for. It’s easier for a client to go to one person who can manage a team and deliver the whole project.
For example, a client may want someone to create and manage a social media campaign. They’ll want a writer, designer, and social media manager. Yes, they could try to find and coordinate these three people themselves.
Or they could look for one person to do the job of all three. But realistically, it takes a team. Why not be the one who brings the team to the client?
This will change how you position your services. You’re no longer just a writer. You’re the writer and contact person for your team that can handle the whole project.
In effect, you’ve created a virtual agency. You come together for projects as needed. Read how to create a virtual agency here.
Strategy for Expanding Your Business Services
Look at your current business. If your clients are using other freelancers to augment your work, why not offer to do the whole job?
For example, if you’re writing for websites, someone else is designing and programming. Your small team of three could handle it.
The first step is to find others to partner with so you can offer this service. Meet, and work out how you’ll work together as a team.
Review your business. Find the missing parts. Then find people you can team up with to offer the whole solution. Read the blog post on creating a virtual agency.
6. Grow Your Business by Creating an Agency
You can grow your business by changing who you are. You’re no longer just a writer or designer. You’re the head of a new agency. Likely it’s a small agency to start, but with luck and talent, it will soon be a bigger agency.
There are many ways to do this. You could, in fact, be a virtual agency and simply call yourself an agency. Rather than Bob Smith, Writer, you’re now Bob Smith, President of Creative Wizards Agency. You pull in other team members as you need them.
While it may seem like a cosmetic change to you, clients will see you differently.
Your positioning has changed. You’re bigger, taking on more responsibility.
Here’s how I went from freelance copywriter to founding my first agency. I had plenty of writing business. I had clients who sometimes asked me whether I had a designer to work with on their projects.
I decided to form an agency. I found a designer partner who also had clients. We did a few projects together and decided to formalize it with a new company. We both brought our clients to the agency.
We got office space for 7. Within a year, we were using all of it. Five years later, there were 30 of us, and we were acquired by a large IT company.
Read why you should start an agency here.
Read how to find a business partner / co-founder here.
Strategy for Growing Your Business by Creating an Agency
The biggest challenge here is in your head. If you want to advance from where you are and think a bigger company is for you, you have to decide to do it.
Determine whether you want to do this alone or with a partner. Maybe you already have someone you’ve worked with who might be interested in forming a company with you.
Or do what I did—advertise that you’re looking for a partner. That worked well for me.
The important thing is that you take the first step. It’s easier than you think.
I have to make a pitch for my book here. Read it and see whether this path is for you. Links to buy it are below.
7. Grow by Creating a Product You Sell
Another way to grow is by creating a product to sell. This has become very popular with courses, or in my case, with a book.
Take your expertise and share it. You have to make one big decision—who is your audience?
Many creators use their products to build the business they currently have. So, in essence, their product becomes a marketing piece for their business.
If I were still trying to grow my agency business, I’d write a book for prospective clients. Something like “Winning in Today’s Digital World” or “Digital Marketing for (name of niche market)”. Write it for the clients you hope to attract and then use it as a calling card.
But others, like me, take a different approach. Their audience is other creators. So, people who are very successful on Twitter create courses on how to grow your Twitter following. There are endless courses on how to create money-making blogs or YouTube channels.
In my case, my book tells you how to create and run your own agency.
Regardless of which approach you take, know that making your course or book successful will take ongoing marketing. This is not “create it and they will come”.
Strategy for Growing by Creating a Product You Sell
This strategy is only for those who have a success story to sell. You have to prove you’ve done what you’re selling.
Then decide who your audience is and why they might be interested in your product or book.
Write outlines for yourself. Understand that this is a longer-term project. It may change direction once you start. Also, be clear that it will need ongoing promotion once you launch it.
Learn more about growing your freelance business in my book, How to Start a Successful Creative Agency. It’s the essential business guide for graphic designers, copywriters, filmmakers, photographers, and programmers.
Buy the Book Here
Over 300 pages and 23 chapters, available at Amazon (Paper & Kindle), Kobo (ebook), Apple Books (ebook), and Gumroad (PDF).
The book is packed with useful information to help creatives start and grow their business.
Struggling with pricing, writing good estimates?
“Freelancers and agency owners, if you’re struggling with pricing, writing good estimates, profitability etc., get @StroteBook’s book. Finished it yesterday and learned a lot of things I haven’t found anywhere.”
Kasun Pathirage, Freelance B2B Writer, posted on Twitter
Want a free taste first?
Sure! Sign up below to get a free PDF of Chapter 14, Working With Clients.
This chapter covers essential areas such as Clients vs. Projects, Corporate Clients vs. Small Business Clients, How to Create an Opportunity Document, Benefits of Finding a Niche… and much more.
Questions? On Twitter, I’m @StroteBook. D.M.s are always open. Ask away.