How To Find Clients - Part One

Your Process May Differ From Non-HSPs

Howdy, HSP copywriters! How are things? Me? I’m currently on a train with my daughter. We’re traveling back to our home city after a short trip where we toured universities, saw a musical, and tried on prom dresses (her - not me. LOL.)

Landing (Good) Clients is Job One. Photo by Dylan Gillis

Landing Clients - Where to Start

If you’re new to the field, you might be wondering HOW to find clients. Beyond setting up your business, deciding on your niche (if you choose to have one), and ensuring that your tech is up-to-speed, the number one thing you need to do as a successful self-employed writer is to land clients. Ideally, these will be good paying, easy-to-deal-with clients but, at the most basic level, landing paying projects is job one.

As a Highly Sensitive Person (or not -- some traits experienced by HSPs overlap with those who do not identify as HSP), you may feel uneasy about reaching out to new people to inquire about their communication needs. This is known as cold outreach which I’ve always thought sounds, well, cold!

Market Yourself

Uneasy or not, marketing and outreach are a HUGE part of any business including freelance writing. In our context, marketing involves selling yourself, your skills, and your expertise in order to gain trust, land clients and build relationships.

Here’s a list of basic steps you might take:

1. Build Your Writer’s Web Site - Clients expect professional self-employed copywriters to have a web site. Whether you pay someone to do it or build it yourself using apps like Square Space or Wix, having a writer’s web site is crucial.

On your site, you’ll want to showcase:

• Your photo

• Your background/education/training

• A list of previous clients (if available)

• Links to your work

• Client testimonials.

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2. Get Savvy on LinkedIn — LinkedIn is a fantastic way to find freelance writing work and build trust and a good reputation. Share your bylined articles or paid content marketing (with your client’s approval) as well as your own Substack channel and blog posts. Staying active on LI will pay dividends.

   You can also search LinkedIn for for freelance/contract/part-time opportunities as well as comment on other people’s post to illustrate your knowledge/niche/interests to build your reputation and relationships.

3. Use Third-Party Freelance Sites — Many people “pooh pooh” sites like Fiverr or Upwork. However, I’ve had success with both. If you’re new to freelance writing or having trouble landing clients on your own, third-party sites are an excellent option — they earn their commission by bringing the clients to you.

   Secrets from an HSP Copywriter on How to Excel on Third-Party Sites:

• Take time to write personal and targeted responses to RFPs. Read the project description, assess whether you’re a good fit and/or ensure you put your best foot forward in your bid.

• Craft a professional response to the client. Trust me, just like a personalized cover letter sets you apart in an employment search, personalized bids with relevant clips on freelance sites makes a difference.

• Take time to read each app’s rules & build a professional bio with your photo on each site.

• Bid on worthy projects. You can suss out worthiness by checking whether the organization or person posting has been verified and/or they have positive testimonials from other freelancers and have paid fairly.

• Don’t fall victim to potential clients paying pennies - you’re worth more than that. On the other hand, if you’re just starting out, building a good rep on these sites by taking on projects that don’t pay as well can be worth it in order to gain a rep on the site. Assess the short-term and long-term value of taking a particular project on.

Does any of this resonate with you? Have you tried the above tactics to land clients? What else has worked? I’d love to hear from you! In any case: Please take time to comment, like and share this post.

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Opps and Pops

Here are some niche opportunities and content that’s caught my eye this week. Again, readers are responsible for conducting their own due diligence.

A variety of work-for-hire freelance opportunities — application form to join their crew

Content writer (contract) — Borderless AI

“It’s not all 4-hour work weeks and chillin’ on the beach…” — LinkedIn post

Binders Full of Writing Jobs — group on Facebook

Until next time, HSP writer,

Lisa