How to Find Clients as a Freelance Creative
One of the most common questions I’m asked is “How do you find clients as a freelance creative”?
Ultimately it all comes down to strategy, persistence, and an ability to be your own advocate. With that in mind, here are my top 5 tips to help you attract more clients:
1. Your Portfolio
This is where you get to show prospective clients what you’re capable of, so take the time to build a portfolio that represents you as a creator. Including a variety of projects to demonstrate your versatility is great, but only include the type of work you want to attract. There’s no point including logos if you don’t want to attract branding clients. Similarly, if you want to illustrate book covers, include book cover illustrations in your portfolio. Clients aren’t mind readers. They’re not going to assume you know how to do something if you don’t show an example of it.
2. Leverage Social Media
Building a social presence can be daunting, but it's one of the best ways to get your work out there. You don’t need a large reach to make an impact. Consider how many clients you actually need for your business to be sustainable. What’s that number? Worry about reaching them, not the 1000s of likes you think you need to be successful. Success should be measured in completed projects and happy clients, not likes. Every social platform is worth pursuing, but if you can only manage a few, I’d recommend LinkedIn, Behance, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Share your projects, behind-the-scenes processes, and industry insights to attract attention
3. Network, Network, Network
Connecting with professionals in your industry can give you valuable insights, help you build your reputation, and most importantly, form relationships. Attend industry events, join professional groups, and participate in online communities.
4. Cold Outreach
Don’t underestimate the power of a well-crafted email. One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen in this space is generic email copy. Instead of going wide, you need to go deep. Who is your ideal client, what are their problems, and how can you solve them? Craft specific emails to each client - yes one at a time. Do more than just address them by their name. Demonstrate that you understand their business, what you think they’re doing well, what could be improved, and how you can help. My very first illustration jobs came from cold outreach and resulted in creative relationships that spanned years across multiple projects.
5. Ask for Referrals
Word of mouth generates more than 2x the sales of paid advertising in some industries, so a personal recommendation can be incredibly powerful in securing new clients. It might seem a little daunting asking clients for referrals, but if they were happy with the work, I promise they’ll be happy to suggest you to their colleagues.
Wrapping Up
Remember, persistence is key. Sustainable successful businesses take time to build. Work on building your reputation, nurturing the client relationships you already have and keep refining your approach. In time the right clients will come your way.
