How I Landed my First Freelance Client
Want to improve your prospects of landing a client with zero experience? stay tuned with me till the end.
It was this year in April when I first started writing. I come from a science background and this content thing was fairly new to me. I was preparing for my Ph.D. entrance exams after quitting my job at IIT.
One fine day a thought crossed my mind and I told myself that in order to start contributing back to the world, I don't have to wait for another degree. I have experiences and my share of unique stories to share with the world. and If my writing could create an impact on even a single person my mission is accomplished. From there I started my journey of content creation. little did I know there are a whole lot of opportunities waiting for me.
The Real Story of how I Landed my first client
A month ago I got a message on LinkedIn. Apparently, he found me through medium and really liked what I wrote. It was a simple and very straightforward conversation. we discussed the work for a while and happen to seal the deal. Initially, I was scared because I never dreamt that I’ll ever be working on something like this and will be getting paid. I am responsible for strategizing content for his youtube videos. It’s soo much fun.
Now, let me tell you something exciting few days back I got my client no. 2. Thanks to LinkedIn. He just left his high paying 9 to 5 job at this big IT company and wants to build his personal brand and work on his start-up. we discussed his vision and requirements and quickly sealed the deal. I’m helping him grow his personal brand by creating content for various social media platforms. sounds exciting??
There’s more to it. I was also invited as a guest speaker by an Edtech brand backed by a leading new agency called Amar Ujala to deliver a talk on content writing and share my journey with them. Isn’t it exciting? really who thought things could turn this way?
Today the same company signed a contract with me to deliver sessions to their students on content writing and I couldn't be happier.
Here’s what you can learn from my journey.
Creating a social media presence —
Like I mentioned earlier in the blog when I started sharing stories on quora, my thought was clear I wanted to help people with what I know. wanted to share my own experience. people like reading stories that connect with them emotionally. I got clients because I had a well-optimized social media profile. LinkedIn, Twitter, quora, and medium. make sure to work on your profile and be active on it as much as possible. create content specific to your niche and you’ll start seeing the results.
Personal Branding
When you share your stories and experiences in your own voice and provide through that. you’re basically establishing yourself as an expert in that area. your voice is your personal brand. Share your mistakes, what worked for you, and what didn't. how others can avoid the same mistakes. the lessons you learned along the way and everything related to it. This increases your prospects by 200%.
cold emailing
Although I have not tried this method yet that doesn't mean I won't in the future. as my business starts to take off I’ll take more risks. I totally swear by this.
Find out people, and businesses from your industry/niche and send them cold emails. You sure will be rejected by many but stay put, focus see what works, and eliminate the rest and you’ll start seeing the results. Patience is the key.
Networking
Start building a network. build relationships on Twitter. The best thing is to help somebody out there without any selfish motive. or engage with their content leave thoughtful comments on their post, and share it. once you build trust you can pitch in and tell them about your product and services.
Conclusion
Everybody’s experience is different and unique. How things turned out for me may or may not happen in your case. But I’m sure by following the above tips you can definitely increase your prospects of landing a client if you’re sincere enough.
There will be times when you will feel lost and start doubting yourself but that’s part of the journey. There were times when I was asked to do something which I had no idea about. I said yes and then figured out how to crack it (as they say fake it until you make it). At the end of the day, you’re just learning, which matters the most to me.
