Hey guys, I have been doing a lot of freelance web design and coding. But I have always wanted to do something locally. Anyone have any tips on how i should go about this? For example, I was thinking about a newly renovated pizza place down the street. Should I go and speak to the manager and propose the ideas? Or go in there with the final product and show him that? Any tips and past experiance will help. Thanks
What do you exactly mean?You plan to tell him some business ideas or design a website for him to promote his business?I think it's worthy a try. But make sure you're well-prepared.
I've had excellent success in making 1/4 page flyers - putting these at key locations - coffee shops, hardware stores, gas stations, etc., has proven to generate a pretty awesome amount of business.
Local SEO, flyers and just getting out and talking to people works good. Most all my jobs are local; I couldn’t survive off of what most Internet jobs pay.
Local is definitely the way to go for more profitable jobs. A lot of our business is based on the local market. Less competition and they tend to understand the value of your time. In the past, we have had success with targetted Adwords campaigns. We had a lot of success with the local chamber too.
You'll make the most money, and have less aggravation, if you focus on local businesses that are already spending money on advertising. Know in your mind what you are willing to offer to the business owner, but don't go in with a pre-conceived idea of what they need. The best thing to do is to talk with the owner and find out what they want and need, show them you are truly interested in helping them. Then show them how you can help them to get what they want - talk about benefits before talking about price. And don't give them any tech details - they don't care - they only care about results. They'll buy what they feel will get them to their goal - but you never really know another person's motivation until you ask them what it is. Once you know what they want, tell them you have two plans that will work for them, and tie your options to their needs. Ask them which option they like better - option A? or option B? This way they're choosing between two options instead of choosing between yes or no, so you have a much better chance of getting the contract.
Sometimes it's easier to find businesses with ugly websites, call them up and tell them they have an ugly site and ask for a chance to "bid" on the work.
You might also look on Craigslist for local gigs in your town (and nearby towns, for that matter). Also, you can buy Google adwords ads targeted at your local region to market your services. I've had some luck with adwords.