Imagine you’re a client looking for a freelance writer, designer, or developer.

You don’t have anyone suitable in your network, so you’re looking for someone new.

How would you start?

Here are some suggestions:

You could ask people in your network for recommendations
You could get on social to see who’s promoting themselves. You could use your social accounts to let everyone know you’re looking.
You could do a search

What Are Clients Looking For Before Contacting a Freelancer?

Clients are looking for a match. They want someone with relevant experience, someone they can work with easily and smoothly.

They’re hoping for a professional freelancer they can count on to do the project. They want reliability above all.

They’re not thinking about price because if you’re not the right person, money doesn’t matter. Price comes later.

How Do You Make a Strong First Impression?

Imagine this potential client gets your name from someone in their network. Now they start looking for you.

Will they find your website? How about your LinkedIn profile? Perhaps one of your other social channels?

Where can you make the best impression to demonstrate that you’re a professional freelancer?

Your Website Comes First

Without a doubt, you can have the most impact on your website.

Your website gives you the most control and the biggest opportunity to include as much information as you want.

You can organize your portfolio however it suits you. You can include testimonials either throughout the site or on a testimonial page.

You can have a thorough “About Me” page. You could include as many photographs of yourself as you like.

And, of course, you’ll have your contact information. Would you include pricing on your site? Some freelancers do, others don’t.

Look at this freelancer’s site to see how he’s included pricing, exceptional testimonials, and numerous photos of himself that aren’t cringe (they’re great!).

After Your Website, LinkedIn Comes In Second

Even LinkedIn’s free version gives you plenty of features to tell a complete story.

LinkedIn has an added advantage. Search engines love it. So, if someone searches your name, there’s a good chance that your LinkedIn profile will come out on top.

Also, LinkedIn is where professionals hang out. It’s about business, not cat videos or trash-talking.

That’s why it’s worth the time to optimize your LinkedIn profile. There’s a good chance your profile will be the first impression for your potential client.

Your Social Helps You Get Discovered

These days, because the algorithms push what they want you to see (ads), social platforms can be erratic. Even searching doesn’t always get the results you hope for.

However, it’s still a place to find you, especially if you’ve optimized your bio. Use your social to drive people to your website.

Don’t count on social as your only outlet. There’s too much distraction and too little space to get your messages out.

Have You Optimized Your Portfolio?

While the samples of your work are at the heart of your portfolio, it’s the messaging around the samples that sell the project.

Think about the information that you could include with each sample:

Description of the piece and how it fits into a campaign
Any relevant results such as sales, views, downloads, etc.
Awards
Any interesting stories to make the sample memorable

Consider organizing your portfolio by similar samples. This might be by client (if you have more than one sample per client), by niche, or by type (e.g., all landing pages together).

Depending on your platform, can you create custom portfolios for potential clients?

At my agency, we had portfolio pages in a database which allowed us to choose specific pages, group them into a section, give the section a URL, and send that link to a prospect. Now, they had relevant samples to consider.

More on portfolios, especially if you’re a new freelancer, here.

Try to Focus Testimonials on How Easy It Is to Work With You

Your portfolio will address the quality of your work. However, what clients really want to know is what it will be like to work together.

That’s the job of your testimonials.

Here’s a trick when you’re asking clients for testimonials. If they agree to give you a testimonial, even if they appear happy to do it, you’ve added another task to their “To Do” list.

If they say yes, suggest that you’ll send them some notes to make it easier for them. Then, rather than sending notes, write the whole testimonial so that they can simply approve it or make minor edits.

That helps the client, and you’ll get what you want.

Make It Easy to Start Working With You

Look at your online presence as if you were a client. Do you tell a good story? Is it clear what you offer and to whom? Do you make it easy to say yes?

Your goal is to make any potential client happy to have found you. That makes their life so much easier.

The prospect’s first clue? How you respond to their inquiry.

New Book For Freelancers

I’ve just published How to Become a Successful Creative Freelancer. It’s the essential business guide for freelance writers, designers, developers, filmmakers, and photographers.

Whether you’re just starting as a freelancer or have years of experience, you’ll learn a lot from this book.

It’s broken down into easy-to-understand chapters with strategies and tips you can use today. Not just “what to do”, but also “how to do it”.

The Kindle version of How to Become a Successful Creative Freelancer is available now on Amazon at a special pre-order price. Take advantage of the savings! The paperback launches August 20.

Want to Grow An Agency? The Agency Book is For You

If you’re looking for tips on how to build and grow your agency, you’ll want to read How to Start a Successful Creative Agency.

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.

Testimonial: “An Invaluable Resource”

“On my reading list this week: ‘How to Start a Successful Creative Agency’ by Andy Strote. My goal is to grow Two Five Eight Creative Studio and expand into a full team one day. This book is an invaluable resource, offering a comprehensive look into building a creative agency from the ground up. Strote covers everything from business planning and client acquisition to fostering creativity and managing a team, a great starting place for anyone on a similar path.”

Rachel Dixon, LinkedIn

Want a Free Taste First?

Sure! Sign up in the footer 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. On LinkedIn, I’m Andy Strote. Ask away.

To Find Clients, Think Like a Client