How to Find New Clients: Timeless Methods that Really Work

Are you just getting started and don't have a solid client pipeline yet? Or maybe, you’re a long-time freelancer dealing with a slow month? You can attract new clients using these proven techniques I’ll be sharing with you. 

Spoiler: you won’t find any shocking top-secret ways to acquire new leads here because it all comes down to strategy and building relationships. But you will definitely start doing it differently after reading this article. 

Where do freelancers find new clients? 

According to the State of Independence in America research done by MBO Partners (2023), 53% of independent workers in the US use word of mouth as their source of client acquisition. It is followed by social media and online freelance marketplaces, which are cited by 43% and 29% of respondents, respectively. 

How you find jobs also depends on what you do. For instance, clients often discover designers on portfolio platforms like Behance and Dribble. But if you’re a career coach, you might find more luck hosting a free webinar or a mini-course. Sometimes, popular channels won’t work for you – choose those your potential clients use. 

Marketing funnel 

Something we should talk about before client acquisition tactics is a marketing funnel. It is a path your potential client takes from discovering you to deciding to buy from you/hire you. There are many ways it can be visualised. Here’s one by Semrush: 

There’s also a post-purchase stage, which is advocacy. It is when happy customers stay with you and refer you to others. 

Marketing funnel is a universal tool that helps you understand the strong and weak sides of the customer journey you’re building for potential clients. A freelance client acquisition tunnel can look something like this: 

No funnel is alike in tactics — build your own, measure results, and adjust as you go. 

How to find clients  

Today I’ll be covering these nine major tactics you can get new clients with: 

• identifying your niche,
• online presence and personal brand, 
• freelance marketplaces, 
• networking, 
• cold outreach,
• paid ads, 
• lead magnets, 
• local SEO and directories,
• re-engagement.

While these are completely different tools and channels, they’re all about connections and building relationships — this is the part today’s expert Daniel Reparat Bort, Founder at Smarktek, strongly votes for. 

If I had to start from scratch today, I'd focus on relationships first, not reach. Instead of obsessing over websites or cold pitches, I'd reach out directly to agency owners and marketers, offer value, and build real conversations. My biggest wins came from warm intros and LinkedIn chats, not mass outreach.

{{Daniel Reparat Bort}}

It is true that relationships matter the most, but before we dive into that, let’s start with the basics. Is your niche narrow enough? 

Identifying your niche 

If you're looking in the wrong market or among a non-target audience, you’re wasting your time. Think rationally at what your options are. If your niche is too broad, you’re not serving anyone. But if you pick a niche too narrow, it won’t sustain your business. 

Niching down could look something like this: you’re a career coach → you narrow down by working with mid-level professionals → you go further by targeting women in tech → lastly, you decide to focus on women in tech who want to get from mid-level AI engineering positions to C level ones. 

You can also niche down by targeting different customer categories and needs. 

When you know your niche well, you’re able to offer unique solutions to prospects’ pain points. Now that we cleared that out, let’s think about a personal brand and how to build one to attract new clients. 

Online presence and personal brand

In 2025, paying attention to personal branding is a must. But what is a personal brand? That is simply the way others see you. And you’re the one shaping that perception. Think about how big companies have their unique brands — your personal brand is the same thing, just on a smaller scale. 

The most common channels for growing your personal brand and online presence are social media, personal website, blog, podcasts, and forums. If managed correctly and consistently, online platforms can become your biggest client acquisition source. 

You don’t have to become a professional content creator and film yourself 24/7, though (unless you want to). Pick a core platform or two and start from there. Make sure to cross-link with your personal website — it adds credibility and helps prospects understand what you do better. 

Your website should have general information about you + optimization. The latter are things like SEO blog posts and special offers catering to your particular target audience. The rule of thumb is that you have to make it as simple as possible to find out what you do and contact you. Your website is also where you can and should put client testimonials. 

Now, learn where your perfect clients are and start building your presence there. For example, consider LinkedIn (you can check out my article about getting clients on LinkedIn, by the way) if you’re a B2B service, or go for Instagram/TikTok for B2C. However, there are no strict rules around it — being present across different platforms should give more exposure and leads. 

Types of content you can post to get more clients 

Ok, we get it, we need to post on socials to get clients. But what kind of content? 

Here’s a simple breakdown of common types of content people post on different channels: 

It’s important to keep in mind that these are all flexible. Types of content often overlap across different media. What you need to do is adjust your tone of voice depending on the platform you’re posting on. 

Once again, you don’t have to go full-on influencer mode with fancy editing or design. You need to post consistently, though. And you need to show why what you do should matter to your potential clients. 

Be genuine and share your process and insights, not just results. Educate your prospects and like-minded professionals to create a strong community around you. 

Guest content and collaborations 

Another effective client acquisition tool is guest posting. Contribute to the content of complementary service providers/creators. Could be a guest blog post, an expert note in an article, participating in a podcast, you name it. For example, if you’re a content writer, you could reach out to web or app developers or editors for collaboration. 

Daniel shared that LinkedIn aside, he contributes to articles and podcasts for credibility and visibility. In his experience, a good case study is way more productive than sending a dozen cold emails. 

Don’t worry much about views if you decide to guest post. Remember that you participate to get your name out there and build credibility. When a prospect googles you, your name will show up with a relevant topic in your niche, adding more trust. 

When your name is out there, it’s then easier to get published on bigger blogs. Let’s say you’re a UX designer. You can pitch your article submissions to relevant blogs like Smashing Magazine or UX Mastery. Search for such platforms by simply googling “UX design + write for us” — you’ll find a lot of options. Just bear in mind not all of them publish for free. 

Freelance marketplaces 

The thing with marketplaces is… I don’t like them. Going in as a complete beginner can take you lots and lots of effort that won’t bring any results. The competition there is just too high, in my opinion. Newly registered service providers on such platforms charge way below average market rates, making it impossible for the majority to achieve a sustainable pay and a consistent client flow. Not to mention scammers — if they ask for your email straight away, run. 

But that is just me. If you’re ready to invest your time in it and want to give it a shot, we have a detailed guide on how to get clients on Upwork. Because freelance marketplaces work similarly, you can apply the tactics from the article to other platforms like Fiverr or PeoplePerHour. 

One more thing: landing a consistent gig on these platforms isn't fast. There is no way of saying exactly how much time it’ll take you to start getting jobs. But keep in mind you’ll need to invest in creating a great profile and portfolio, researching the gigs, writing proposals, etc. 

Networking 

You know what they say, “your network is your net worth.” As corny as it sounds, it really is true. Networking is fundamental for any career — be it in corporate or as an independent worker. Not only does it keep you updated on your industry’s trends and helps you develop professionally, but it also brings in amazing leads. 

There are two types of networking — peer networking and reach networking. The former is connecting with someone on the same “level” as you — your ex-coworkers, people you went to school with, etc. The latter is when you “want” something from that potential contact, like a recommendation or a job interview. In other words, it’s either about mutual benefit or asking for a favor. 

Some people say you should email people you want to connect with, which is similar to cold outreach. But I feel like it may only be appropriate if you have already met that person in real life and exchanged contacts/your mutual connection shared their contact with you. Otherwise, it may either end up in the spam folder, be perceived as a scam, or simply ignored. I’d say LinkedIn is one of the most appropriate platforms to do networking these days. 

To connect gracefully on LinkedIn without being annoying, I highly recommend watching this video by Erin McGoff. 

There is also, of course, networking offline. It’s a great way to expand your connections — you can check out your local community events and conferences. But honestly, just leaving your house once in a while and meeting new people can be just as effective. 

Another great way to get clients is through expert networks. These are professional communities where industry experts share advice with those who need it, often potential clients. We have a whole article on this topic — make sure to check it out. 

But networking isn’t about getting what you want from a person and forgetting they exist. It’s about creating a community and sustaining it in a meaningful way. Simply leaving a comment that actually expresses your opinion (and isn’t AI-generated, which is so rare these days) can go a long way. 

Commenting can take different forms, too. For example, you can join a Facebook group where your target audience is and become a top contributor. Reply with actionable advice without talking about your product or services. Let them remember you as a person who knows what they’re talking about, so you’re the first one to pop into their head when a problem arises. You can do that on other social media platforms and forums, too. 

Be nice, be ready to help, and show genuine interest. And with time, you’ll grow a solid network that will help you grow your business and promote your services without you needing to constantly pitch. Networking is also the most natural source of invitations to podcasts and blogs — your credibility boosters. 

Cold outreach 

If you’re ready to do some legwork and don’t mind being rejected, this can be your way of client acquisition. This could be done via different platforms, including email, LinkedIn, or even Facebook. 

These days, you can’t just reach out, introducing yourself and listing the services you provide. What matters is that you have to put in effort and do your homework before sending a message: 

• Have a list of companies you want to work with. 
• Go on a company’s websites/socials/whatever and research what might need improvement. 
• Write a message sharing exactly how you would do it. You could create a presentation or even record a video by capturing your screen and narrating your ideas about their product. This is where you get creative and offer real value with no expectations. 

It’s getting significantly harder to do cold outreach and get results from it. But if there are companies you truly see yourself working with, give it a shot. After being rejected 70 times, you might get a yes from someone truly special. 

Paid ads and promo posts 

Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Tiktok offer a paid ads feature. If you know your customer persona well enough, you can promote yourself there based on your target audience’s location or interests, for example.

As a freelancer, you can use paid ads to: 1) promote a special offer, 2) boost a post that showed good engagement rates organically before. Here’s how much popular platforms charge per day: 

LinkedIn and TikTok require more investment than Meta and Google. You should experiment with different budgets and audiences to figure out what works best. There are plenty of Youtube tutorials on how to set up paid ads you can watch to dive deeper. 

Another option is promo posts. That is when you’re paying blogs or creators who you think have a similar target audience to feature you or report your content. It can be even more effective than paid ads because the audience already trusts the source. Naturally, it will cost you way more than a regular paid ad. Each blog/influencer charges differently depending on the follower count, reach, and engagement. 

Lead magnets

If you want something more budget-friendly, you can try lead magnets and marketing funnels. 

A lead magnet is a freebie you share in exchange for contact info, typically email. This could be a template, a prompt, a course — anything that provides value to your prospects. With lead magnets, you get a list of potential clients you can email later and convert. Plus, you can show off your skills and establish yourself as a credible expert. 

Local SEO and directory listings 

If you need clients coming to you in real life or you simply want local clients, search engine optimization and directory listings are your best friends. 

Use location-specific google queries your clients might be searching on your website and social media. For example, “wedding photographer in Seattle” or “nail technician Dallas.” 

To become even more discoverable and appear on maps when someone types in “[service] near me,” you should set up directory listings (and don’t forget to add SEO keywords). Consider these platforms:

Directory listings make it easier to trust your business and hire you. Encourage clients to leave positive reviews and ratings. That’s how you get your prospects to trust you more — we all search for reviews before trying a new service. 

Re-engagement

If you are someone who's been doing independent projects for about a year or more, you can simply reach out to previous or current clients. You can do it in several ways (play around and mix these approaches in one communication):

1. Straight up tell them you now have some time available to dedicate to their project if they need any assistance. 
2. Try a more subtle approach — ask them to leave a review or a testimonial. It’ll serve as a gentle reminder about what you offer. 
3. Ask for referrals — ask if they know anyone who would benefit from your services. You can also reach out with a referral deal — for example, offer a special price or discount if they recommend you successfully. 

Invest your time in personalising each email you send to grab past clients’ attention. For example, you can mention you’ve noticed something new about their business (and how you could enhance that feature further) or reach out with industry-specific insights they’d benefit from implementing. 

Also, not all leads covert right away. Some need more time to warm up. Some stay cold forever. But re-engaging them 3-6 months after the initial contact can do wonders. Collect and store these contacts in one place so that when the time comes, you have the list ready. 

Avoid being too pushy. Send an email with a special offer/service updates/a special package — whatever is most appropriate in your case. 

If your contact list is small, you can send re-engagement emails manually. Otherwise, you can use email automation tools like Selzy, MailerLite, or Mailchimp. These allow you to create beautiful emails with templates, segment your contacts for more personalisation, track email performance, and more. 

Metrics to track  

Client acquisition is a side of freelancing that needs time and investment. It’s also not something you set up once and forget about — you should always adjust as you go, whether it’s paid ads budget, the type of content you post, or SEO. 

Track your performance to analyse what’s bringing in real results You can get started with these metrics: 

Track these metrics consistently and with time, you’ll be able to see a clearer picture of what’s working and what you should let go of. But remember a solid conclusion doesn’t come from a short month of observation — it takes time to recognize patterns. So don’t rush it. 

If you’re just starting out, don’t try to implement all nine tactics at once. Research your ideal client and market to better understand what channels and methods to use first. Stay consistent and be ready to switch tactics when something is not working. And remember — people buy from people. Make your personal brand reflect your personality so that it is easier for “your” kind, including potential clients, to find you.