How Do I Get More Clients as a Freelancer in Digital Marketing?
I had someone reach out to me the other day seeking guidance/asking for tips on how to get their first client as a freelancer in the digital marketing space. It struck me in a way — the fact that someone took the time out of their day to ask me about my story and allow me to take the stage. After speaking with the individual, I figured I put this story out there, as food for thought/inspiration for up and coming marketers trying to differentiate themselves in a saturated market (yes, it is saturated).
This isn’t me reminiscing. The purpose of this isn’t a “I remember my first client” type of thing — it’s just to provide insight and hopefully inspire lost freelancers out there, because trust me, this stuff ain’t easy. It definitely takes a toll on your mental health, ranging from the fear of stability, not having the “job security” factor hanging over your head, etc. There are many many reasons as to why NOT to freelance for a living, but there are also many many reasons as to why you SHOULD freelance for a living.
There is no right or wrong way when it comes to building yourself up as a freelancer in the industry. Without a “formal” education path (fellow college dropout here) is it possible to build a comfortable living space as a freelancer without the need of a traditional 9–5 job? It’s a scary venture, but possible. It just takes time and a few things to do to get to that point. Actually, a lot of things to do.
1. Know your stuff
With a plethora of resources online (Google Academy for Ads, Facebook Blueprint, HubSpot Academy + many more), prospective marketers can develop the skills to take on ads management, developing a social media strategy, and help your clients’ success — at the end of the day, their success is your success. Like mentioned above, I am a college dropout, and I embrace that with open arms. Yes, a four year degree would help credibility, look nice on LinkedIn or whatever. But even tech giants like Google and Tesla always say that what matters is the portfolio — what can you do? And what have you created? I could have gone through formal education, but practical experience gives you a lot more to work with/show off in the early stages of your career.
2. Find your first client(s)
Honestly, most of my clients in the beginning of my career were from all over the U.S. I tried getting clients locally, but I had no credibility. “What have you worked on before?”
My response?
“Uhhhhh nothing yet”.
You have to understand, no one is going to hire you because you “know” how to do something — there has to be a portfolio, or case studies at the very least. But again, that’s not always the case. To this day I still do not have a website or formal portfolio showcasing my work (mainly because most of my work is done as a silent parter/require me to sign a non-disclosure, but we’ll talk about portfolios later).
So I resorted to the basics — what every college student does, what freelancers/entrepreneurs consider a no-no; I worked for free. (I know, yikes! but it helps you build a portfolio and encounter real life/industry situations). There are volunteer websites you could look up to find social media management/paid advertising remote jobs to get your feet wet and get real world experience in — client communication, relationship building, developing a creative campaign, market research, competitor research, audience segmentation, the list goes on and on and on.
3. Finding your first paying client.
If you’re completely against working for free or already have some client facing experience and are just looking for more clients (this was my next step after doing three volunteer accounts for a 6 month contract), I would search “social media remote” or “paid advertising remote” on social media sites like Twitter or LinkedIn and find accounts to work on to develop a portfolio.
(You can go the volunteering route, or go straight into how i got my first paying client — through just typing “remote social media” in Twitter and LinkedIn (through the content option, not the job search option) and finding jobs that way.)
4. Okay I got a couple clients — how do I keep my momentum going?
After finding a couple of clients through the volunteer or paid path (or kudos to you if you have a budget to start doing this now), you can set up a Lead Generation Ad through Facebook to get more leads, and ultimately, convert them into paying clients.
5. What should I include in the ad?
Make your call to action apparent. For example, you can offer a free PDF download of something valuable — let’s just say we are offering a “5 Social Media Tips Your Business Can Start Doing Today” PDF, or something along the lines of that. In the PDF, include the tips (obviously) but the purpose of the PDF is to not only help them with your insight, but how YOU can help work with them as well to achieve their business goals. Talk about how most businesses take the “anyone can do it” approach to social media posting/ad management, which as we know, is NOT the right way to do it.
6. Why would anyone want to work with me?
Your client needs an expert, someone with extensive knowledge in the marketing industry, someone who knows that Google had over 3,000 updates to its algorithm in one year. Again, this will only work if you know your stuff. Make it an informative PDF, but also to where you’re selling your services as well. The nice thing about Lead Generation Form Ads in Facebook, the prospective client has their first and last name, phone number, and email autofilled through the advertisement, so all they have to do is click continue to give you their info to download your PDF and get linked to your portfolio/website. This requires less work on their part and results in more leads that way.
7. Who do I even target in the ad?
The way you’d set up targeting for a Facebook Ad like this is keeping your location in mind. Start with local clients (there is more than likely less competition through that route vs targeting the whole country), and target locations that are within a reasonable distance from you to meet with the client. Nothing beats face to face communication. We spend so much time behind a desk, or in front of a computer monitor or on our phones — be different.
8. Okay so I got a lead. Now what?
Once that lead comes in, call them (make sure this is in your privacy policy beforehand), or email them, but in a helpful/insightful/just checking in approach. “Hey thank you for downloading my PDF on social media tips. Did it all make sense or is there anything I can do to help clarify?” Be a conversation starter, offer them a free consultation, figure out their business goals, and how a paid service can benefit their business.
At the end of the day, just know your stuff. That should probably be in bold and capitalized or something. Build that credibility, and clients will come to you vs. having to search for them. Something I did encounter is that it is difficult for a potential client to believe in a single person vs. an agency. Again, it’s all about developing a nice portfolio/getting referrals etc. I haven’t reached the point yet to where I have to create a website or “company.” I’ve been thinking about doing that to have credibility/a place to showcase my work but like I mentioned, know your stuff. It will go a long way.
