If you’re starting freelancing, hunting clients can be difficult, especially on platforms like Fiverr and Upwork. It may take weeks or months to just get your first order. In this article, I will tell you how I would get freelance clients if I were starting from zero without any experience.
Step One
I will start by specifying my offering. I am going to first list down my skills based on my skills. I will list down some services and for each service, I will list down deliverables. Your skill is your expertise in a specific area, for example, writing, designing, and programming. Your service is those tasks and jobs that you offer as a skilled person. For example, writing blog posts, designing logos, or coding websites.
Now the offering is a complete package of your skills and services that you offer to a potential client. If I am just starting out with no clients or experience, I would start by figuring out my skills, service, and offering. I am good at creating videos using Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects, which are my skills. So now the services that I will offer are short-form video editing, long-form video editing, podcasts, documentaries, etc. For each of these services, I will include color grading, color correction, merging, trimming, text, animation, captions, etc. All of these together will make up what I am offering as a video editor. While creating my offering, I will check out how other freelancers are presenting their services. For that, I will go to Google and search for other video editors. I will check their pricing structures and portfolio. I will also go to other freelance platforms like Fiverr and Upwork and see what people are charging. You can also check out some other websites to see what your competition is up to now.
Step Two
Building a portfolio without any clients. Clients need to know what they can expect when they hire you as a freelancer. Most people won’t gamble on someone who has no work to show. To avoid that, you need to create a portfolio that shows your skills. But how do you create a portfolio without any experience? What if you are just starting out and have no prior experience? This is what I would do. Let’s say I am a video editor who wants to target restaurants and create promo videos for them. So in starting I will just pick a few stock clips from the internet and compile a few videos, which shows how my editing skills are. I will make sure I have 4 to 5 samples of projects to show in my portfolio. You can do the same with any skill, whether it’s content writing, graphic design, or web development. You just need to find a way to showcase your skills.
Let’s say you are a designer who wants to create cool thumbnails for YouTubers. All you need to do is create 4 or 5 really good, attractive thumbnails to show to your ideal client in your samples. Share narratives that highlight your expertise and also show your problem-solving abilities. If you are a content writer, write 4 to 5 mock articles which show your writing style. It’s a very common business strategy to build a customer base. You need to give out some free samples first. Having an attractive portfolio is very crucial, even if it’s a made-up project: pick up the business or product of your ideal client, find a problem with it, and then come up with a solution. Treat it like a client project and add it to your portfolio. Once you have your work ready, you can add it to any website, for example, Notion, Behance, or Dribble. But make sure that it looks really attractive because, in freelancing, first impressions matter a lot.
Step Three
Once you have an attractive portfolio, we will move on to step three, which is finding clients. I am going to create a quick one-minute pitch about myself, explaining what I can do and what I can offer to potential clients. In this pitch, I will share who I am and where I’m from. I’ll also include a link to my portfolio and explain my services a little bit. I’ll also mention a small line about why clients should work with me. I’ll keep it short and transparent and mention that I am very new to freelancing, and because of that, I’ll offer a discounted rate. So here’s an example. I’ll start with a high, then client name. In the second line I’ll write my introduction. This is how it goes. I’m asking a video editor located in India. I specialize in editing and enhancing videos using Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects. In the third line, I’ll write. Here’s a link to my portfolio. In the fourth line, I’ll figure out the pain point and also mention how I can help them. After checking your website, I saw that I can enhance the quality of the videos that you use for your promotion. I can generate more clicks and traffic for your business after that. In the fifth line, I’ll write that I’m just starting out and I’ll be happy to work for a discounted price. As I have just started my freelancing career, I am pleased to offer you a discount. I am confident that our collaboration will bring a positive return on your time and money. And last, I’ll end with a call to action. If you are interested in exploring further, please let me know when is a good time to connect. Regards as.
Now, I’ll take this pitch and I’ll send it to all my ideal clients. Whether it’s on email, Instagram, or LinkedIn, I’ll create a lead list of people who might be interested in working with me, and I’ll send this message to them. In the beginning, I’ll try to send around 50 to 100 emails or messages every single day. So the main aim here is to show our work and get noticed. I’ll also think about where I would look if I want to hire someone in my field, and that is where my potential clients might be searching. Keep in mind that you can be the best freelancer with the best skills, but it won’t matter if people can’t find you.
So this is where marketing will come in. So there are a few ways you can do this. The first one is of course cold emails and then Instagram messages. On LinkedIn, messages Try to send around 50 to 100 messages every single day. Apart from that, create a profile on freelance platforms. Anyway, it’s difficult, I know, but if it works out, it can give you great results. While creating a profile on freelance platforms, you can add the same work and create a similar page about you. Even after that, if it does not work out, then it’s fine. We have other ways to get clients but there is nothing wrong in trying. Even if you think the market is too crowded. Apart from that, reach out to other agencies. For example, reach out to other video editing agencies, or marketing agencies who might need your services. You can also try to look for Word in Discord and Facebook communities. It’s all about getting the word out there. The last option would be to go to events and conferences and just tell people what you do. If you do everything that I have mentioned till now, I’m very sure that you will land your first client in one or two weeks.
Step Four
After this, we’ll move on to step four, which is creating value and a personal brand. Now, once you have a few clients coming in, I’ll tell you how you can increase your sales. The best way to do this is by creating value. Just go to social media and post about your journey. You can show the client work. You can show the communication. You can tell people what has worked for you, and you can also share client testimonials. What this will do is this will create trust in the community. Also when new clients see your social media, it will act as social proof. They’ll understand that you have worked on similar projects before and you can provide them with great value. I’ll give you my personal example. Since I started to create these YouTube videos, I am able to line up more clients who are ready to pay a premium account because they have already seen my content on social media. Now you don’t have to choose YouTube. You can go with any platform. It can be Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or even Facebook. It’s all about whom you are targeting.
Step Five
Step five is multiple platforms. Try to diversify and be available on multiple platforms so people can see you and find you easily. Once you have a lot of clients coming in, make sure you raise your price steadily. For example, when I started, I used to charge $5 for a one-minute video. Now I charge $100 for a one-minute video. So depending on how much value and proof you have, you can increase your prices. The best time to increase your prices is when you have a lot of work. Once you have enough demand for the week, you can increase your prices for the coming weeks. If you still get projects, you can understand that what you are providing is still valuable for the new price. Even after increasing your price, you still get a lot of work. You can then transition from a freelancer to a business.
