🍇 Where's your low hanging fruit for clients?

I love the thrill of landing a new client, but it can take a long time for cold outreach to pay off. I’ve literally had prospects reach out a year or more after I send them a DM about working together! And even if you find a lead that says they’re hiring quickly, it takes time to onboard, get an assignment, go through the editorial process, and get paid!

So what to do when you need work more immediately?

Time to target that low-hanging fruit.

Ask for client referrals

Did you cringe just reading that header? Don’t worry, fellow freelance writer Sara Coleman hopped on the Write with Lauren blog to share her top tips on asking for referrals from existing clients without feeling salesy.

She also drops some wisdom on why you shouldn’t feel bad about asking for help from your clients. Here’s one of my favorite quotes from her piece:

In other words, no client or editor is going to read your request for help and think, “Ugh, can’t even believe they asked me that.”

Reach out to inactive clients

Another way to quickly drum up business is to follow up with clients you’ve worked with in the last year or so but don’t have any active projects with. I did this a few weeks ago with mixed (but clarifying) results.

One client told me they had brought in in-house writers, which is great info to know, I probably won’t reach out again in the near future.

But another told me she was working on the company’s first quarter content calendar and sent me a project within a week. I also had another editor send me a few assignments that he wasn’t planning on assigning to me - simply because I told him I had availability.

Do a referral swap with another freelance writer

I recently had another freelance writer reach out and ask if I was interested in doing a referral swap. Essentially, we each chose a client that was expanding their writer networks and sent introductions with each other’s portfolio information. We didn’t share client contact info, but made connections when requested.

Honestly, it felt uncomfortable at first, but I decided to give it a try! I didn’t immediately make a client connection, but it was a new experience that led to a positive relationship with another freelancer. It’s always good to have some other writers you can refer to clients when requested, and to be in someone else’s referral network as well!

What are some of your favorite ways to quickly bring in new client work? Hit reply and let me know!

Happy freelancing,

Lauren

When you’re ready, here are 2 ways I can help you with your freelance business:

1. Organize your business with my income tracker or pitch tracker.

2. Read The Fully Booked Freelance Writer to follow my exact process for keeping a full schedule (whatever that looks like for you).