How to Get Leads as a Freelancer?

There are a lot of upsides to freelancing, but wondering how to get leads as a freelancer is a big worry, find out how in this post.

How to Get Leads as a Freelancer

Photo by Per Lööv on Unsplash

Your Problem: Getting Leads as a Freelancer

Lead generation is the process of recruiting your potential clients and enticing them to hire you. This list of prospective customers is your leads, and when you summarize it in one sentence it seems pretty easy.

It’s NOT. We’ve all been there and building your customer base takes time and work even when you’re knowledgeable about your potential clientele.

We all know there are a variety of ways to go about getting leads as a freelancer.

Whether you do it through job boards, cold emails or phone calls, networking events, or social media, the goal is to find a strategy that works for you and then concentrate on it.

The first thing you want to know is that you don’t want everyone as a customer. I know, you’re eager for work and need some cash flow coming in, but trust me — not at the cost of your sanity.

You must identify all of your potential customers and then reduce the list down to those who are worth working with. You should look at this like you approach building relationships with friends. Customers are people you want long-term relationships with, so choose them wisely.

In this post, we will look at several ways in which you can generate a steady stream of freelancing leads. Arguably, the hardest part of freelancing is getting leads and identifying which leads are worth pursuing.

These are the Steps You Should Follow for Getting Leads as a Freelancer:

1. Start by developing your own site

Even if your company is a one-person startup, no company is complete sans a website. A portfolio website increases credibility, demonstrates you’re a professional, and showcases expertise.

If you’re not skilled as a web designer or don’t want to employ WordPress developers you can establish a WordPress website without many skills and turn on a lead-generating machine. Always make sure you integrate a booking calendar with something like Calendy.

Success with your website depends largely on the quality of the content, rather than the amount of content you push out. It’s still important that you frequently publish new content, blogging demonstrates your credibility and reliability to your audience and it helps your site stay relevant by generating quality leads.

 

2. Don’t overlook SEO

How do People find you?

People must know of your existence before they hire you or join your mailing list. That’s where SEO can help. Have a hire me page with a pricing table to set your rates.

SEO is when you make certain on-page technical changes to your site in a bid to attract organic traffic to your site by making it appear on the first few pages of your search engine page results. A blog, publishing content frequently and optimizing the same for keywords ensures that you maximize SEO results. Leverage the power of SEO to land eligible clients daily. In addition to n creating content for your blog you need schedule Facebook posts or Instagram posts as regular updates.

 

3. Begin guest posting

Complementing the content you have on your site, create guest posts on other sites that target a similar audience just like yours. Guest blogging wins you exposure, visibility, and access to a pool of leads for your brand and experience.

In addition to blogging on your site, contributing guest posts to other sites help you serve the same audience that you do. Guest blogging gives you exposure, visibility, and access to qualified leads and establishes your brand expertise, and is excellent for SEO.

A single guest post isn’t going to move the needle much. When going after guest post opportunities try negotiating a bundle of articles.

 

4. Pay attention to trends

By keeping an eye out on social media channels you will never miss the pulse on trends. Think about how you can include these trends in upcoming blog posts and marketing material.

 

5. YouTube promotion

YouTube is the world’s second most popular site netting over 1.7 billion unique monthly users. A lot of people became popular because they understood how to use YouTube well.

The platform broadens the reach of your freelance business. Use it to publish informative content and how-to videos that your target audience will find helpful. These and more tutorials will benefit your audience, help you market yourself and reach more people effectively.

 

6. Email marketing

With the help of your blog, you can collect email addresses. Email marketing isn’t dead. It helps you cultivate strong relationships and allows you to persuade prospects of the quality of your services.

 

7. Join Online Groups On Social Media

Join Facebook groups and forums to create leads.

8. Following Up On Your Lead Generating Plan For Freelancers

A freelancing or lead-generating approach starts with follow-up on your freelance leads. Write an email pitch and click send. But that’s not where we halt.

Everyone is really busy. They overlook things or forget about them. A few clients might be offended by follow-up, but most of them love the effort you’re putting in.

The worst-case scenario has your message is ignored and you may receive an emphatic no

  • Make a folder for emails that you are waiting on a response to. This assists you in getting organized and determining your follow-up sequence.
  • When someone emails you, thank them for their interest and respond quickly to any requests for more information.
  • Every few days make sure to contact anyone who hasn’t responded and asks them if there’s anything you can do to take things forward.

 

9. Create case studies

Client success stories or case studies offer a window to your prospects on how you helped a specific client meet their objectives.

Testimonials tell a top-level story of the project from the beginning to the end.

That means customers can be used to create a marketing tool that’s relevant during the customer journey. Case studies provide information to prospects about your services, the entire client experience, and how your offer fits their business needs from start to finish. They also the prospect relate to past client stories, identify themselves as a client, and see everything that’s possible.

10. Create lead magnets

Not everyone who visits your site is ready to buy from you from the get-go. Most people want to know you first, and want to like you and you need to gain their trust before they’re ready.

A lead magnet meets visitors where they are with a specific solution to a challenge.

It can convert visitors to subscribers and leads in your sales funnel.

11. Publish content upgrades

A content upgrade is additional extra content that you can offer people in exchange for taking their email addresses. It’s quite similar to opt-in offers except that content upgrades tie directly to content that people are actively watching or listening to.

Content upgrades are effective because they’re presented inside a blog post, podcast or audio recording.

They offer more content about that topic.

13. Start a podcast

One of the quickest ways to grow your network, make connections, and increase your visibility is with the help of a podcast where you interview other experts, influencers, and product owners who serve the same market as you.

When you share an audience, the podcast becomes a win-win opportunity for both of you. They gain exposure through your podcast and your audience wins because they learned something fresh.