How To Find Clients?

Hi guys,

One of the most common questions I get asked by new writers is how to find clients. It is probably one of the most difficult things a writer needs to do and yet for obvious reasons it's one of the most important. I thought it would be a cool thing to do to share some of the ways that we find work so we all have more methods to try the next time we find ourselves needing more clients. Iv'e shared a couple of methods I use in this post. feel free to post your own methods and comments below.

1. The best way I find clients is by selling article packs and then finding out if the client needs anything else written. Generally people buying articles will need more stuff written and if they like your work you may find that they are happy to hire you on a regular basis. Even if they don't have anything they need written they may keep your details in case they do in the future. Also, if you can, ask if you can put their names on an email list which you then use to contact potential clients when your looking for work or have more articles for sale.

2. Monitor help wanted sections of IM forums like DP and respond to ads as soon as they are posted. I call this method sniping. The reality is people want to find a writer ASAP so if you can respond while they are still online, your in with a great chance of getting the job. Also its vital your message is one of the first they receive, otherwise your message may never get read and even if it does it will be competing against sometimes literally hundreds of others.

3. Using Google, search for "writers wanted" and then limit the date range search to within a week or even 24 hours. Often this will pull up high paying opportunities which haven't been seen by many other writers.

4. Monitor large Craigslist cities. Often in their writing/editing section they have jobs can which you can telecommute to. Try bookmarking say 10 of them and just check them each day.

5. Print and hand out business cards. This may seem silly but one of the best ways to find high paying clients is through real world interaction. Give your freelance writer business cards to family, friends, associates and just about everyone you interact with on a daily basis. People need stuff written everyday and when they do, you want your business card to be in their wallet or on their desk.

Cheers guys

Hope something their helps and I look forward to reading your suggestions.

 

Thanks for sharing this. I believe this can be applied to other types of work as well, such as me looking for design clients, I can use your advice and just switch it to my needs, handy!

 

I hope one day the clients will look for my services.
I'm working hard to become that.

 

Working hard to become what, a client that is looking for your services? I'm not trying to be mean here, but you need to improve your English before you'll receive new clientele. English is the language of the internet and commerce. Take a language course, it will pay off in the end.

 

Word of mouth is a good marketing tool. If that means charging less initially to get new clients so be it.

 

Thanks for your advice. I don't care about English market, though i've a site in English, but they are not my target for now. And local clients do look for my services, i already achieved that yet i'm looking for that goal globally. As for my English, if you see anything wrong with my English just point to it.
You are not mean, but you don't know the market, you just pretend that you know.

 

@3mints.info, I make some income by translating. I speak 2 languages fluently and can decipher in 3 more. *All* the translating I do is in English. Why?...... because English *is* the global language. I don't need to know the market as well as you do to understand this.

 

Good for you i speak two languages as well. and Arabic market is huge. my name is well known all around Arabian people, my services people ask for it and ask for my contact. I know what i'm talking about.
People ask for English just because adsense pay more for English content, and maybe even better for French content. Thought i don't care about adsense i don't even have a site with adsense just an account linked with my youtube channel and no income from it.

If you know Arabic you might gain around $XXXX monthly, if you are well known, and you do that just with 4-5 hours daily.

Anyway good luck, we came from diffident background so we are obviously will have diffident perspective and way of thinking, just one more advice from my point of view, market is not adsense or writing articles, it's just much more bigger than that.

and don't excuse my English

 

@3mints.info, your command of English has a good base. You *could* be fluent in it if you wanted to. Your English is much better than my Spanish.
As to *French* content, this is my 1st language. Anyway we musn't hijack this thread. It's been a pleasure chatting with you.

 

It's been a pleasure for me as well

 

Thanks for the share! I have been looking for new ways to sell my articles/find clients.

I usually sell my articles on SEOClerks.com in the article section. I get some good work there

 

If you're looking to expand into the global market, achieve your goal globally, you will need to improve upon your English language skills. You can enter into language specific markets. Just remember that the English speaking market is one of them and it is a major market.

 

I pass TOEFL every time. i don't think English is a problem for me or for others. Of course i'm not a Shakespeare. Also i know that English for Marketing is a whole new level, I think i'll learn it while taking Master degree (MBA in advertising). Anyway MBA is not in near future, i'm going to get married after few months, As well my job is excellent i don't want to lose it now, so MBA can wait
Thank you for your advice, i really appreciate it.

P.S: i work as Creative Director.

 

I can add also:

• provide references and previous works.
• create a website for your service with examples and turnaround time.
• build a trust between you and your clients, they may sent you other clients.

regards

 

The tips are great for new writers finding clients, I might add don’t depend on DP for the only way to find work. I think many new writers feel this is the only place to find work and it clearly is not.

There are newsletters and forums that can be joined that will have discussions and will also have jobs posted.

Specialize; many writers say they are able to write on any topic, without doing proper research that is not possible. Specializing is a way to find steady clients and command a higher price over time.

One of the other tips that should be mentioned is going to writers looking for work. This I don’t understand and barely a day goes by that I don’t get emailed or messaged, by a writer looking for work. Once in a while a writer might do a large project and use other writers, usually a writer will not have work they are giving away.

Have a resume and an online portfolio, which could be on your own web domain or on a free blog for potential clients to see, this will show your experience as you gain it and show you are a serious business person. Another thing that can be done is two start a blog or write articles for the Ezine in your own account to have examples to show potential clients, when first starting out.

Not to change the topic of the thread, but TOEFL, “Test of English as a Foreign Language,” and is a test to ensure English language proficiency for non-native speakers, is just that. It does not mean that the individual taking it is a capable writer. It means they can read, speak and write English to go to an English speaking college basically.

 

Thanks for your explaining, yet in TOEFL even native English people don't pass it. On other hand, i believe writing is not for anyone (native or foreign). so not every English man can write that a fact.

We always look for how to find clients, but we rarely look for how to improve skills.

I still believe if you have great skills (writing, SEO, webmasters, Design, etc...) clients eventually will seek you.

P.S. to the owner of this thread: i'm really sorry for this off topic, i really enjoyed your post :$

 

Try twitter and facebook search option, i found some clients there.
good luck

 

The same applies to translation as well, and maybe to many other freelance activities. I like suggestion number 5 - some people really prefer to have a freelancer recommended to them, so don't underestimate the importance of personal contacts and business cards.

 

This is really something writers need to think about, not only with business cards, but maintaining a good relationship with clients, whether local or on the internet.

Clients can recommend you to other people they know. It does happen and the client that is introduced to you can become a long-term situation. One of my clients was introduced to me by another client in 2007; he has been a steady daily client all these years and we are not looking to end the relationship any time soon.

( 3mints ) As for TOEFL, there would be absolutely no need for a native English speaker to take this test; this is a test for non-native speakers/International students. You may have that confused with the general admittance test that college students take.

All writers should look for ways to improve their skills, you are right about that, and one of them is to be up-to-date on the changes Google makes. It is changing the way it looks at content and latent semantically related words, for LSI. Not being aware of the changes that have been made, can make your writing rank poorly for the client and that is not a good thing.

 

I was in Malaysia for two years, and i saw native English students applied for TOEFL and failed (of course not all of them).
TOEFL was a mandatory requirement to apply for a university for all students.


As for writing i think of it as an industry like any other. it has its own people, Maybe it's just me because i'm not good at writing.