Finding clients is one of the biggest challenges for freelancers. So let us look at the most effective ways to fetch clients.
1. Forum Networking
If you are looking for clients, networking in forums can help you get lot of clients and prospects. Try to be an active member in niche forums. It not only will help you get prospects and clients but will also help you build an authority in your niche. I am talking about helping people following the forums guideline and not spamming the forums with self promotion.
Just to let you know that I found my first ever client on Sitepoint forum.
2. Referrals
My favorite way of getting clients is through referrals. Freelancing is kind of part time to me and so I prefer to take up small sized freelancing work and yet one of the highest priced freelancing project was through a referral.
I don’t actively ask for referrals and I do not have any rewards system for referring clients as well but I prefer to do a very active communications with my clients which leads to lot of referrals.
3. Freelance Marketplace
I use websites like Elance, vWorker and many others as freelance marketplace where people can hire and pay qualified professionals to get the work done. I make lot of money doing freelancing but the only problem with such marketplace sites is you need to constantly bid for work to get the flow of work coming your way where as with forum networking and referrals it is just the opposite.
Where Do You Find Your Clients?
I’d love to hear about how you find clients. Share your views in comments below.
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Thanks for your informative articles (http://imtips.co/author/admin). I have learnt a lot about freelancing by going through these.
Thanks again and stay well.
The pleasure is all mine Tawhid.
Hey Shabbir Sir ,
I hope you remember me! I am into freelancing from quite a bit now.. Still not satisfied from the no of projects i get and amount of money i earn!
I am still designing my portfolio website!! Have made some designs in PSD and restarted again!! I am really confused what to do! What to focus on! As i am new to designing i am not getting the desired results!! As you must have faced a similar problem please help me …
If you focus too much on getting only money and not build your expertise and portfolio I really doubt you will go very far off.
Actually Sir , I am building on that only!! Stuck on the design part of my portfolio website…
Actually designing is not my cup of tea.. But I hve to learn it just to design my site the way i want it!!
Can you suggest me what to do!
Build your portfolio is all I can suggest.
Hi , I have good experience in software testing , i tried to do it in Elance but now client approached me so far . please guide in getting me a client through ELance
The best way to find client is to prove your expertise to get the job done with quality and on time.
Its true that the above said 3 steps would work like a magic. However, it is easy to find the first time clients. It is very difficult to retain those clients. It is important to know those tactics after finding them.
I am hardly into those kind of situations and it is me who say No to clients when I am either over booked or the work does not fit my expertise. I think doing the task professionally is what keeps clients coming back.
Forum networking is an interesting entry and I have not experimented it but I will give it a try now.
Yes and do let us know the results.