My Story of How I Got My First Freelancing Client

Hey,

Surojit here.

Today’s newsletter about freelancing.

I will share with you my story about how I got my 1st client, what worked for me, and a action plan for you to get started.

Read Time : 3 minutes

Quick Note : We started Batch 13 of the 28 Days Digital Marketing Workshop on Feb 26th. 100+ enthusiastic marketers across the globe have joined the cohort. Evenings are completely occupied with LIVE sessions on Zoom. Super-Fun but very hectic.

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Background 👇

My 1st Freelance Client paid me 25k per month. (6 month project)

They found me through LinkedIn, sent me a message, and invited me for an interview. I made a small presentation, and they offered me the role. 

I had only 5,000 connections back then but all relevant and I had just started creating content. 

At that time my salary was 50k per month. It was a huge boost - to my confidence and earning. 

It was my 1st step towards entrepreneurship. 

The interesting thing is I never chased clients, opportunities came to me, I just focused on building my personal brand on LinkedIn. 

Here’s what I did correctly 👇

1. Optimised my LinkedIn Profile ( My cover photo, Headline, Summary, Previous Roles and Recommendations - all spoke about my writing skills)

2. Connected to target audience ( I used to take out time daily and send connection requests to StartUp Founders, Marketing Managers, and other writers)

3. Engaged with the community ( I used to write a lot of thought comments on others posts to build confidence to start writing publicly)

4. I had a portfolio to showcase my skills by working on my website and writing on LinkedIn

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Action Plan to Kickstart Your Freelancing Journey 👇

1. Pick your niche and stay focussed

2. Build your expertise, (Read books, take courses, attend workshops)

3. Create an impressive Proposal of your services on Canva (Learn basic designing)

4. Define clearly why your clients should choose you instead of others (Give convincing reasons, do research, find out what your competitors say)

5. Initially don’t focus on money, build your portfolio (It’s okay to work for free or less money in the beginning)

6. If you are a newbie, work on a dummy LIVE project to get closer to real life experience

7. Connect with other freelancers on LinkedIn and try to get industry insights like pricing

8. Build your personal brand & showcase yourself (Instagram page, LinkedIn profile and Resume  - they all should have the same message)

9. Start creating content on social media and share your knowledge

10. Start teaching anyone who wants to learn the skill you have (will help you build communication, convincing skills) 

11. Learn how to write really good emails (persuasive content to convince clients and maintain relationships)

12. Learn how to negotiate and get better deals from existing clients 

13. Don’t forget to get testimonials from every client and use them in branding

14. Experiment with different pricing strategies and see what works 

15. Create invoice using CANVA templates to make your services professional

16. Keep record of all conversations with clients on email

17. Organise your work and value your time.

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My Thoughts About Freelancing 

A lot of people underestimate Freelancing. 

Freelancing is a proper business. You need the mindset and skills of an entrepreneur. Freelancing is underrated, uncelebrated, and usually not taken seriously. 

Freelancing is the underdog. 

You don’t need to become a shark. (In the beginning)

You don’t need to be a Freelancer your whole life. 

Once you start, become independent, and have the skills, you can experiment with other business ideas. 

What’s important in the whole process is to learn the skills to hunt and live independently in the jungle. 

Cheers !!

Surojit