How to Find Your First Freelance Clients

There’s a teeny tiny, unsexy feature on LinkedIn that’s helped me find literally hundreds of warm freelance leads. It’s the “People Also Viewed” feature (on both individual profiles and brand pages). Let me explain... I’m not the spray and pray 200 cold DMs a week type of marketer. Gives me the total ick if I'm honest. I like gentle networking that compounds… y’know, where the right people find you, trust you, and *want* to work with you. The People Also Viewed method fits perfectly into that because I can find one ideal lead and use the sidebar to find 10 more just like them. Here's how the “People Also Viewed” feature actually works for us freelancers on the hunt for work. Firstly, it's helpful to know that LinkedIn’s algorithm groups people by similar search behaviour and audience overlap. So you might land on someone’s profile and see: People Also Viewed: - Marketing Director @ SaaSCo - Head of Growth @ FintechCo - Content Lead @ StartupCo Which is basically LinkedIn telling you that these people are similar to the person you’re looking at. And here's how I use it to find a ton of leads: Step 1: Find one dream client (or someone who has hired freelancers like you) Pro tip: Search job titles like Head of Content, CMO, Head of Brand, Partnerships Manager, Head of Lifecycle Marketing etc. Or use a brand you’ve already worked with or that you KNOW matches your ideal client profile. Step 2: Scroll and check the People Also Viewed sidebar You’ll see 10–20 people that have either the: - Same industry - Same seniority - Same hiring power - Same type of brand Step 3: Save them somewhere (Notion / CRM / spreadsheet / back of a napkin) Step 4: Warm them slowly… - Thoughtful comment on their post - Share one of their updates to your audience - Engage with their company content - Reply to a story or repost - Add value to their world This "method" (if we can call it that) works well because most freelancers start at zero. They don’t know who to pitch or where to find decision-makers. This tactic pretty much removes all the guesswork because you're piggybacking off someone who’s already a fit, and letting LinkedIn do the grunt-work of finding other, similar people or brands. Here’s a simple routine you can copy: - Daily (5–10 mins): Engage with 3 people from your saved list - Weekly (30 mins): Add 10 new “People Also Viewed” leads to your list - Monthly: Reach out to 3–5 warmly, naturally, to connect And here's an example DM I send to connect: Hey [name], hope you're good! I write long-form content for SaaS brands (incl. [brand + brand]) and love swapping insights with people solving similar problems. Would love to join your network! P.s. if you want more pitching tips, I've got a whole checklist of advice from real content leads/managers. It's free and I'll pop a link below!

Okay so here’s everything I know about getting clients (learned from freelancing with 30+ tech companies like Siemens, Semrush, and Riverside). In this free guide, I'll share... The three basic conditions clients need to feel comfortable hiring you: • Trust: The client trusts you as a person. • Pain: The client has a problem you can solve. • Taste: The client likes your work. The five methods I use to find new clients: 1. Friends & Family: Great starting point, but limited. Build a basic portfolio and move on.
 2. Intros & Referrals: Offer value when asking for an intro. They’re risking their reputation for you. 3. Cold Outreach: Don’t ask for work. Do the work. 
 Show how you’d solve their problems. 4. Content Creation: Share the work you want to create and high-intent clients will come. 5. Public Speaking: Speaking at a 20-person meetup will get you more clients than sitting in the audience at a huge conference. And
I will also: • Show you real screenshots and templates from my own process. • Explain how to start freelancing as a creative copywriter or designer, even if you have no experience or portfolio, and then work your way up to bigger clients. Let’s dive in :)

Half of my freelance writing clients are new to me each year. Here's how I usually get them.👇 1. I reach out first. I email past clients, editors, and freelance friends to let them know when I have availability. Waiting for work to fall into my lap has never been my jam. 2. I market myself like it's a job. Over 100 emails and LinkedIn intros between January and March one year resulted in $10,000 in new freelance work by the end of Q1. Consistency (and a thick skin) made all the difference. 3. I follow up. There is money in the follow-up. One client I kept in touch with since November hired me for $3,000 worth of work by spring. Another recent client got back to me since the fall with writing opportunities. It's all about timing. 4. I nurture relationships without asking for anything. A quick "hi" or a check-in email can keep you top of mind. Not every message has to be a pitch. Feel free to simply reach out and mention an article you liked that went live on their site or appeared in a new issue. 5. I show up consistently. I post on LinkedIn 3-5x a week because that's where my potential clients hang out. Even if editors don't comment, like, or vote in my polls, several tell me that they enjoy reading my posts when they've later reached out with assignments. (I'm also slowly building on Inst @dianakellyleveyfreelance if you want to say hi there.) 6. I send pitches. And I track them. If an editor adds me to a writer pool on Contently, Skyword, or a similar platform, I send ideas their way when they have pitch calls. Persistence matters. I find that even if my pitches aren't 100% landing, editors appreciate the effort and reward me with an assignment eventually. 7. I turn in great work for the clients I already have. Turning in strong, clean, engaging work helps me stay on their radar and often leads to more assignments (or referrals). What are your favorite ways to find new freelance clients? #freelancewriting #b2bwriter #b2c #contentmarketing

Are you struggling to find your ideal clients? Here are 12 ways to fix that. Your ideal clients are out there. But to connect with them, you need to know where they are, what they value, and how you can solve their problems. Here's how you find and attract your ideal clients: 1. Create content that speaks directly to them. Address their pain points, desires, and challenges with posts, blogs, or videos that resonate deeply. 2. Get specific about who they are. Define their demographics, behaviors, and values. The clearer you are, the easier it is to spot them! 3. Find out where they hang out. Are they on LinkedIn, Instagram, or attending industry-specific events? Be present where they already spend time. 4. Partner with complementary professionals. Think about other services they’re using (accountants, designers, coaches...) and build partnerships to cross-refer clients. 5. Leverage testimonials. Share success stories from past clients who are similar to your ideal audience. This builds trust and social proof. 6. Engage in their communities. Join Facebook groups, LinkedIn communities, or forums where they ask questions and share challenges. 7. Speak their language. Use their terminology and phrases in your content. This shows you understand them and their world. 8. Host webinars or events. Create a space where they can learn from you and experience your expertise firsthand. 9. Refine your offer. Tailor your services to meet their specific goals and needs. A clear, irresistible offer will always stand out. 10. Use targeted ads. If you’re advertising, make sure your audience is laser-focused based on their location, interests, and behaviors. 11. Collaborate with influencers. Partner with individuals your ideal clients already follow and trust to amplify your reach. 12. Ask for referrals. Happy clients attract more happy clients. Don’t hesitate to ask your current clients for introductions to others who might benefit from your work. ► Ideal clients don’t magically appear. They’re drawn to clarity, value, and connection. When you know who you’re looking for and where to find them, everything changes! Your next ideal client might be just one strategy away. Which of these tips will you try first? Share your thoughts below!

How to Find Clients as a Social Media Manager in 2025 (FAST) 🚀 Let’s be real, the jobs are there, but most people just aren’t searching strategically. If you’re tired of waiting for opportunities, here’s my ultimate approach to landing clients ASAP: 1️⃣ Freelance Marketplaces (Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer, Mediabistro, PeoplePerHour, etc.) These platforms are competitive, but they work if you know how to pitch yourself. 📌 How it works: ✔ A job gets posted → You apply ASAP with a strong proposal. ✔ You must stand out (results, case studies, and clear expertise matter). 💡 Reality check: I don’t use these platforms often because I find them draining, but if you can navigate them strategically, they can work. Just don’t rely on them as your only strategy. 2️⃣ Leverage Your Network & Connections This is one of the smartest ways to get hired, because trust = faster decisions. 📌 How to do this: ✔ LinkedIn – Connect with decision-makers, hiring managers, and business owners. Send strategic DMs introducing what you do. ✔ Facebook Groups – Join industry-related groups, engage actively, and position yourself as the go-to expert. ✔ Tell Your Contacts – If you haven’t told everyone in your WhatsApp, Instagram, or email list what you do, you’re missing out on warm leads. 💡 People can’t hire you if they don’t know what you do. Start talking. 3️⃣ Cold Outreach (Strategic, Not Spammy) If no one is reaching out to you, go directly to them. 📌 How to do this right: ✔ Find potential clients via their email, LinkedIn, or Instagram. ✔ Send a message that: • Clearly states their problem. • Offers a quick, valuable insight. • Invites them to a solution (aka working with you). 💡 Lazy, generic DMs don’t work. Make it personal and valuable. 4️⃣ Build a Personal Brand That Attracts Clients to You This is the #1 thing that has worked for me. For the past three years, I haven’t actively reached out for jobs. Clients come to me because I built my brand, shared my knowledge, and showed up consistently. 📌 How to do this effectively: ✔ Share your experience, expertise, and lessons. ✔ Create content that educates & builds trust. ✔ Be visible and consistent on LinkedIn, Instagram, or any platform you’re comfortable with. 💡 When you show up as an expert, people will trust you before they even meet you. 5️⃣ The Best Approach? Combine These Strategies The most powerful way to get jobs is to use a mix of all these approaches. But if I had to pick the strongest long-term strategy? → Building a personal brand. 📌 Let me know if you need me to break down further how to navigate any of these approach or how to build a personal brand. I’d be happy to create content on it 🫶🏽 📍And if you’re already working in social media, kindly tell us—how did you get your first job? PS: Don’t forget to follow me for more tips to grow your career in social media 🤍

Becoming a freelance writer is an exciting opportunity to showcase your talent and earn a living doing what you love. Whether you’re just starting or looking to expand your client base, here are 15 actionable strategies to find freelance writing jobs: 1. Leverage Freelance Platforms Join websites like Upwork, Freelancer, and Fiverr. Create a compelling profile showcasing your skills, niche expertise, and portfolio. 2. Pitch to Online Publications Research magazines, blogs, or websites in your niche. Reach out to editors with personalized pitches and writing samples. 3. Network on LinkedIn Optimize your LinkedIn profile for freelance writing by listing your services, work samples, and key achievements. Connect with businesses that need content. 4. Cold Email Potential Clients Identify companies that align with your interests and send tailored cold emails offering your writing services. Highlight how you can solve their content needs. 5. Join Content Agencies Apply to content writing agencies like Scripted, ClearVoice, and WriterAccess to gain consistent work opportunities. 6. Leverage Job Boards Browse specialized writing job boards like ProBlogger, Freelance Writing Jobs, and Contena for daily listings. 7. Tap Into Social Media Use Twitter and Facebook groups to connect with potential clients or find job postings. Follow hashtags like #freelancewritingjobs. 8. Start a Blog Showcase your expertise and attract clients by creating a blog where you write about your niche or industry topics. 9. Ask for Referrals Reach out to past clients or colleagues and let them know you’re available for writing projects. 10. Offer Free Samples Write a few samples to show potential clients the quality of your work. If you’re targeting specific industries, tailor your samples accordingly. 11. Build an Online Portfolio Create a personal website featuring your best work, testimonials, and a clear call to action for hiring you. 12. Attend Networking Events Join industry events, conferences, or meetups to connect with potential clients and establish relationships. 13. Collaborate with Other Freelancers Partner with graphic designers, web developers, or marketers. They can refer clients who need writing services. 14. Utilize Local Resources Contact local businesses, nonprofits, or organizations that might need help with brochures, blogs, or newsletters. 15. Stay Consistent Success comes from persistence. Dedicate time every week to pitching, networking, and enhancing your skills. Finding freelance writing jobs takes effort and strategy, but with persistence and creativity, you’ll build a thriving career. With love, J.💋 #FreelanceWritingTips #FindWritingJobs #FreelanceSuccess #WritingCareer “15 Ways to Find Freelance Writing Jobs” by Jae Duran

10 years ago, I had no idea how to start fractional consulting. If I were to start today, here's what I'd do: 1/ Don't overthink the admin 🖱️ Register for an LLC, get a basic bookkeeping invoicing tool, solid contract, and you're good. A quarter in, snag a free CRM. You don't need a website or newsletter at this stage. ⏩ Goal: Get to your first engagement as soon as possible 2/ Define your Highest & Best Use 🏋♀️ Consider all the things folks call you about, narrow down to the 3 business outcomes you are best at, put some metrics behind it and pivot your pitch and LinkedIn to focus here. ⏩ Goal: Do your best, don't do the rest 3/ Design your ideal schedule ⚖️ Consulting means you have many more options over how, when, and where you work. Think through an ideal week and ideal month, reverse out your work blocks you want. Full-time isn't the default. ⏩ Goal: Mindset shift from 9-to-5 to organizing work around your life 4/ Finalize your pricing 💰 Use a bill rate calculator to determine your hourly or retainer rate. Don't forget to layer the cost of PTO, benefits, and taxes IN your rate. Test if you prefer hourly engagements vs fractional residency vs project-based to see what works in this season for you. ⏩ Goal: Get that bread, on your terms 5/ Call the folks you want to be your clients 👯♀️ Almost always, your first clients are from your network. The barrier to start is just way lower. Who's values align with yours? Consider: - Previous employers who almost hired you - Former managers and leaders you would love to see win - Peers you worked alongside who you can talk in short-hand - Where there's a friendly leader with the exact business challenge you know how to solve ⏩ Goal: Run familiar water through new pipes Now, friends, there's one thing that so many folks miss... 6/ Align your skills to the business problem 🎯 I see so many consultant pitch their skills ("Hire me, I'm rad!") and it's up to the reader/client to fill in the blanks around how you'd fit in their world. Take the extra step to suggest where you can help the client achieve their goals. Do some research here. If you don't know, you can model their role + industry in ChatGPT and ask questions for likely scenarios. ⏩ Goal: Your expertise is a gift, make sure it's easy to see Use something like this pitch: "Hey __(friendly potential client)___, after __(X)__ years in corporate, I'm pivoting to fractional consulting and you are first on my mind. I remember ___(problem they need fixed)____ was something keeping you up at night. With ___(trend)___ ahead, I wanted to raise my hand to help. Recently, I achieved ___(exact problem you just solved with proof points)____. I think that experience could mitigate some risk for you next quarter. Do you have interest/budget for us to chat about a possible engagement to move the ball forward for you?" So, I'm curious - for those of you in it, what did I miss? What are the must-have tech tools for #Independent work right now?

How do I get clients as a freelancer? LinkedIn, SEO, referrals, my courses, writing articles, and pitching new and existing clients. Here are some of the more effective methods I've used over the last twelve years worth trying out: 1️⃣ Pitch your existing clients and ask for referrals An underutilized approach to generating new business is simply asking your current clients if they'd be interested in additional services from you or could refer you to their colleagues. Since they're already satisfied with your work and trust you as a partner, this is going to be a more effective route for getting a positive response that turns into new opportunities. On the pitch front, it's appropriate to occasionally reach out to current customers with expanded offerings or a completely new service of relevance to their needs. For example, a fellow freelancer just offered her existing project management clients the option to receive new training and consultation on integrating AI with their project management functions. She was able to tailor the pitch to their specific needs, given she's already got behind-the-scenes insights into their circumstances and recognized this was a value add. The pitch was a success because she anticipated a need, upleveled her skills in this area, formulated a relevant offering with pricing, and wasn't afraid to pitch the client despite them not directly asking for this kind of support. In terms of referrals, I'd recommend asking your existing clients to keep you in mind if their colleagues internally or externally need additional support related to your expertise. This can be informally in conversation as you're wrapping up a project like this, "I'd appreciate it if you'd refer me when any future editorial strategy projects come across your desk, either here or with a colleague elsewhere. It makes a big difference for me as a small business." 2️⃣ Build relationships with other freelancers I can't advocate enough for building a tight-knit circle of other freelancers in and out of your industry, who you can befriend, support, and rely on for companionship. Some of your fellow freelancers will merely be colleagues and others friends, but what's most important is that these are genuine connections and not purely transactional relationships. In the long haul, you're likely to receive referrals from the other freelancers you know and get the inside scoop on what is and isn't working in terms of business development, sales, and marketing. You'll need to reciprocate referrals or offer other kinds of support as it's the right thing to do. If you're unclear on where to start, find other freelancers that deliver similar types of work or operate in the same industry, and have shared interests, giving you plenty to go off of. Read on for the other four suggestions in last week's edition of the Career Freelancer newsletter: https://lnkd.in/ewwX8PBW 🧡

I made $170k in my first year of full-time freelancing. Here are some of my thoughts: - A successful freelance cycle needs 3 things. A good portfolio, the right connections, and being good to work with. If you’re struggling getting or keeping clients then it’s probably one of these 3 things. - Your portfolio is going to be your biggest seller. You could be so great to work with and have lots of great connections, but if your portfolio doesn’t exude good design principles then you’ll get clients who don’t care about design. You attract the type of work you publish. No matter what type of designer you are, your market is saturated. But 90% of the saturation is Fiverr level quality. Clients will notice when a portfolio feels premium. - You could have a great portfolio and be great to work with, but if you’re not where your audience is then no one is ever going to know. What type of work do you want to do? Find people in those industries and connect. But don’t just pitch slap them as soon as they accept. Think of it in the long-term. Start posting work that is in their industry. Do passion projects that show what you’re capable of. They’ll notice. - And if you have a good portfolio and good connections but are terrible to work with, you’ll get a lot of one-off projects but no one will return as a client. You don’t need to bend over backwards to be good to work with. Be fair. Try to under promise and over deliver. If you have a deadline, meet it or exceed it. Over communicate, people hate being left in the dark. Come with ideas, contribute to the project more than pushing pixels. Remember you’re a business, give people a good and fair experience and they’ll come back. I’ve had the benefit of working in-house and building connections with really talented people that have been able to give me work and refer me to others. I can only speak from my experience but I would say the easiest way to get clients freelance is to work with them first. If you don’t have that luxury then start passion projects. Make the cool work you want to be doing. Connect with other designers. People will notice if you make good work. And don’t just follow tutorials, make original work. The more distinct your voice the easier it will be to find your clients.

Had a Content Connect VIP member reach out about losing work and asking if something had changed in the industry. He also asked for advice on how to get work right now. Here was my answer: I would say yes a lot has changed, especially in the past 2 years. And MOST freelancers have felt the effects of AI, Google going completely bonkers, and also the economic downturn. For me, I experienced a massive dip in work in the first part of 2024 (I earned most of my income for the year from July-Dec). Many of my clients opted for the AI route, while others lost their content budget. I think there was also a general sentiment that writing isn't as valuable because of AI, which isn't true. But it's taken them some time to learn this the hard way. Unfortunately, it wasn't immediate for me. It took me about 6 months of reaching out to my network, cold/warm pitching, and applying to find new clients. I also had to pivot my services. Instead of offering only writing, I've been offering editing (1/3 of my clients are editing clients now), strategy, and content refreshing (huge right now). As far as advice on how to get clients, I'd say: 1. Rely on your network and reach out to everyone you've worked for in the past or have had a relationship with. Tell them what you're offering and how you've pivoted your services. Ask for intros. 2. Join communities (like this one). I also recommend Top of the Funnel and Peak Freelance. 3. Sign up for job lead newsletters like Harlow (Samantha Anderl), Freelance Opportunities (Kaitlyn Arford), Relato (David Baum) and Content Connect (I'll be posting more jobs on the board and in the Slack group every day). I also recommend looking into Lizzie Davey and Kaleigh Moore's newsletters. They have a lot of great insight about growing as a freelancer. 4. I've also always had success being active on LinkedIn (and Twitter) back in the day. It's a pain, but it helps to show up, engage, make connections, and build relationships. I hope this helps. Keep me posted. www.contentconnect.site