If you’re a brand new freelance writer, you may be worried about how you’ll get the skills you need to build your business.
You’ve got a thousand questions like:
Where will I find clients?
What kind of content can I get paid to write online?
What should I charge and do I need a website?
You’ve got a million questions, but the biggest questions of all is:
How do I launch my business as fast as possible without spending all of my money?
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The Needs vs the Wants of Starting Your Business
Before you even get started, you need to know what is essential to your business versus what is a nice-to-have.
Have you ever met a salesman that was terrible at their job, but had a thriving business?
I’m sure you have. We all have.
Why do they have a thriving business if they are the WORST at their job?
The Biggest Business Lesson There Is: If you have clients, you have a business. Period.
Notice I didn’t say “If you have skills.”
Have you ever met someone who was INSANELY smart, but doesn’t have two dimes to rub together?
Or an artist who’s work moves you to tears, but they can barely make ends meet?
This is because building a solid business is 100% based on whether or not you can get clients.
I’ll say it again.
If you can get clients, you have a business.
Your skill level will improve over time.
In my opinion, skills matter. And you owe it to your clients to be good at what you do.
And you’ll get MORE clients the better you are at what you do.
But if those clients never tell anyone about you, or you never show people how you’ve done so well for this client or that client, it won’t help you get new clients.
What does this mean?
You need SOLID “client getting” skills more than you need writing skills. (Before you “yes, but” all over me, I know there are exceptions to this rule, and you should have a basic level of writing skills before you start)
Find out how to build your business from $0 to 1K with the course I took that launched my business. See my review here.
Or get all the answers you need and confidently launch your freelance writing career. Take a course and skip past the painfully-figuring-all-this-dang-stuff-out phase.
Write Your Way to Your First 1K was the course that gave me all the answers and launched my freelance writing career. Click below to find out if it’s right for you.
What You Don’t Need
When you’re new to freelance writing, you end up following a ton of experienced writers on social to learn from them.
More experienced writers use a LOT of tools.
They hire coaches.
They are in masterminds.
We have bells and whistles we’ve build over time.
But a lot of these nice-to-haves are NOT needed.
The only thing you absolutely, 100% need is clients.
You don’t need:
- Fancy proposal software
- A super fancy website
- To be on every social media platform
- A fancy delivery system
- A complicated process
These things are great, but they come in time.
If You’re Making $0 From Your Writing Right Now, Do This
What you NEED when you’re brand new to writing is…
…clients.
Okay, okay, Kristi… You’ve said this! How do I actually GET clients?
There are several ways to get new clients.
The fastest way is to pitch.
This means finding your ideal client and sending them an appealing offer.
Another way to find clients is to use a social media strategy.
Following people on social media.
Authentically interacting with their content (that doesn’t mean spamming them looking for work).
Another way is to network with other writers.
Get to know them. Follow their content. Respond to their stories on social media.
Basically, make friends with other writers.
When I first started out, I took Write Your Way to Your First 1K by Elna Cain. It taught me all the “client getting” skills I needed to start.
I learned exactly what I NEEDED and I still dip into it from time to time when I need to learn something new or refresh old skills.
Click the button below to see what’s in the course.
All the Ways I’ve Landed Clients – Steal My Ideas!
Before you read this list, I want you to remember something very important.
Although I’ve used these ways to land clients, you can’t EXPECT to land clients the same way.
Don’t go into any new friendship or relationship (even if it’s just online) with expectations.
That’s how you end up disappointed. And it’s how you end up desperately asking for work.
And desperation is UGLY!
Here are a few ways I’ve landed clients in the past.
Interacting on Social Media
I was part of a Facebook group.
When I commented, I casually mentioned what I do here and there and someone reached out to me.
I tried to participate regularly in the group.
I provided value and I was visible.
Taking Courses and Building Connections
I signed up for a course created by another copywriter.
That copywriter noticed how ambitious I was and asked me if I would be interested in interviewing for a position with a company he worked with.
They hired me.
I caution you not to go into courses with an expectation like this. This is very rare.
I only included it to show you how building connections can open up doors.
Asking Around
My very first client was the result of asking around to business owners I already knew.
I sent out an email to everyone I knew that ran a business and told them what I was doing.
—> This is important.—> I didn’t ask them to hire me.
I asked them to keep me in mind if they know anyone looking for that service.
One of them hired me on the spot.
This is a perfect example of “you only need clients.”
This person knew I was ambitious and she trusted me. She didn’t know my skill level.
She liked me and she trusted me.
Eventually I proved my skill, but she knew I wouldn’t be the top of my field right off the hop.
It was more important for her to have someone she liked and trusted than anything else.
I Posted on Instagram – A LOT!
I posted about email copywriting daily on my instagram stories.
Someone who followed me was looking for help with a project.
She saw my stories and it reminded her that I’m an email copywriter.
She reached out and we started working together.
Other Ways You Can Find Clients
That was not an exhaustive list.
There are endless ways you can find clients.
There are warm ways and cold ways.
The way I like to build my business is with warm leads. These are people who know me, follow me, or refer me to others.
Many people I know have grown their business with cold pitching. In DMs, email, through a website, etc.
If you want to learn tons of ways to find clients, what to say, and who to pitch to, check out my review of Write Your Way to Your First 1K here.
This is the course I took when I started my writing career.
It helped me land my first client and answer all those questions that are swirling around in your brain when you’re brand new to freelance writing.