“How do you find clients??”

This is by FAAAR the #1 question I get from freelancers. And it’s all well and good me saying, do this, this, and this, but “this” might not work for you, or “that” might be better.

Every freelancer is different. I know some who have had HUGE success through building a LinkedIn following, while others are really rocking it with cold outreach.

As for me? Well… these are the ways I plan on finding clients this year. 

For a LONG time, I’ve relied solely on generating new leads through my website and from referrals (which are GREAT and I still get a steady stream of leads every week from these). But I want to experiment more!

Caveat: My client roster is pretty full. I don’t desperately need to find clients (otherwise I would use different tactics), but I do want to hone my client list and increase my chances of bigger clients reaching out to me this year.

1. My new newsletter (Content Writing Chronicles)

I have a LOT to say about content (because I’m literally in the weeds of it every single day). 

Off the back of a good response to my weekly content tidbits on LinkedIn, I decided to start a newsletter for content pros. I’m not planning to land clients DIRECTLY from this newsletter, but I’m hoping it will elevate my position as an expert in the industry and help me become a go-to resource for SaaS content.

I’ve committed to sending the newsletter once a week. You can find out more about it here.

2. LinkedIn

If you’d asked me this time last year whether I’d consider LinkedIn as a client acquisition platform, I’d probably have laughed in your face. 

But I’ve seen first-hand the results you can get when you consistently post valuable content there (remember the LinkedIn experiment I did last year?!). This year, I’m planning to continue posting 2-3 times a week on LinkedIn to maintain visibility and create a “passive” way for clients to reach me.

3. Twitter

I LOVE Twitter and it’s a great way to connect with fellow freelancers, but there are also a ton of relevant SaaS brands lurking on the sidelines.

I’m not actually planning on using Twitter to find clients this year, but I AM planning to use it as a way to increase my online presence and connect with other freelancers (because we all need support in this industry!).

My posting schedule isn’t fixed on Twitter, but I probably post 2-3 times a day.

4. My website

My website (LizzieDavey.com) ranks in the top 3 spots in Google for the keyword “freelance SaaS writer”, so I get a lot of enquiries through that. I’m not planning on doing much to my website this year, but I am adding new testimonials and updating my portfolio to reflect the high-calibre work I’ve been doing recently.

5. Networking in relevant Slack channels

It’s really easy to get sucked into a wormhole on Slack, but I plan on using just one or two content-focused Slack channels to network with content pros and marketing managers this year.

Again, this activity will hopefully boost my visibility in the industry and showcase my expertise—but also, it’s a great way to discover the up-to-date pain points of my target audience!

6. Good ol’ outreach

I haven’t done much cold pitching in the last couple of years because I haven’t really needed to (although it formed a HUGE part of my client acquisition strategy at the start of my career), but that’s going to change this year.

I’m planning on using it strategically to reach out to brands I really want to work with. So, I’ll only be sending a few cold emails, but I’m going to be making them DAMN IRRESISTIBLE.

I’ll share my pitching journey with you 😉

If you want more details on the methods I plan on using to find clients this year, I dive a bit deeper in this episode of the podcast: