Looking for New Clients? Turn to Your Network First
by Andy Strote, photo by Mitchell Luo
I think the best advice for freelancers looking for new clients is to mine your network. Who should you have in your network?
Friends and Family Should Be in Your Network
Do your friends and family know what you do for a living? They should.
Some freelancers say, “But my friends and family will never hire me.” That’s probably true, but they all have networks of people you don’t know. They’re the ones who might hire you—friends of friends.
If someone asked your friends or family for a referral for the type of work you do, would they refer you? They probably would if they knew what you did.
Make a point of keeping friends and family up to date. Tell them about your work and the type of clients you’re looking for. Brag a little. They’ll cheer on your success and remember you when it counts.
This is especially appropriate for new freelancers. Start your networking with people close to you. It’s good practice for when you want to approach those you don’t know as well. Here are some tips on how to find clients as a new freelancer.
Colleagues From the Past Should Be in Your Network
Did you work for someone before you freelanced? Are your ex-colleagues in your network? The creative director? The gang in accounting? They should be. It’s never been easier to keep up with people from your past life.
Start by listing people you know and find them on LinkedIn. Re-introduce yourself and get caught up with each other. Gently let them know what you’re doing and for whom.
Ex-Clients Should Be in Your Network
All freelancers have had clients with whom they did a few jobs and then drifted apart. It’s time to warm up those relationships again.
Look at your contact information for these people, or find them on LinkedIn. Maybe they’ve changed jobs at their existing company or switched companies. Perhaps they’ve started their own businesses. Get caught up.
Let them know what you’re doing and that you’re available for new assignments. Share a success story with them.
Your Current Clients Should Be in Your Network
Of course, you have a relationship with your clients centered around the work you do for them. But do they know about your work for others?
Make sure your current clients know about all of your services, even if they don’t use them. Every once in a while, share something you’ve done for others. Pick something noteworthy, such as a product launch, a media mention, or an award.
Let your clients know about your range and diversity of talents. Make sure they consider you for all suitable projects.
Companies Similar to Your Existing Clients Should Be in Your Network
Now we’re talking about niches. If you work, for example, for a client in the organic food business, you likely have a good chance of picking up non-competitive clients in the same sector.
Consider that for these companies, it would be so much easier working with someone familiar with their market sector. But first, they have to know about you.
Once again, this is where LinkedIn can be helpful. Use their search features to find clients similar to the ones you already have. Get to know them. Make sure they know about you. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to find freelance work on LinkedIn.
I wrote about how to treat new people as friends to get them into your network. Also, a post on finding clients based on your existing clients.
The Important Thing to Remember: Build on Relationships
To some degree, you have relationships with family and friends, people you’ve worked with, people you’ve worked for, and current clients.
You don’t have to be best friends to contact them.
How should you contact them? Look at how you communicated before. If it was through email, do that. If it was text messages, text them.
What should you say?
Austin L Church had an interesting suggestion on his site, Freelance Cake.
Here, right from a 2023 Freelance Cake post, is his recommendation for the emails you should send:
Write and send not 1 but 3 separate emails to the people who already know, like, and trust you:
Life Update email – What have you been up to?
Professional Update email – What have you been up to professionally the last 2-5 years?
Current Focus email – What freelance projects are you most interested in?
Would that work for you? Why not try it? You could even use text if you prefer it to email.
The Absolute Most Important Thing
You have to take action. That’s it. Otherwise, you’re just thinking about it.
There’s tons of advice out there, but all of it is useless if you don’t do something with it.
My suggestion: Write out a plan, make a schedule, and stick to it. Let’s say, commit to sending five emails or texts a week. Choose an hour and get them done. Follow up when you hear back from people. And next week, five more, etc.
Need some inspiration? Here… How to make decisions, take action, move forward.
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