60 Effective Ways To Get New Clients (And Retain them!)

Whether you’re a freelancer, business owner or a digital nomad, your clients are most likely your bread and butter: your main profit source, your cash inflows.

Without them, you probably wouldn’t get far as a business.

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Money isn’t everything. But for businesses, it’s one of the most important KPIs you can track.

And where does most of the money come from for your businesses?

That’s right. The clients.

No matter your niche, your industry, what products or services you offer – your clients are usually the ones paying you at the end of the day.

So, if you don’t want to ever run out of money, it’s a good idea to have a handful of clients and a number of income streams you can always tap into.

Luckily for you, we’ve compiled a lengthy list of the many different ways you can find new clients and how.

With this list, you’re bound to find a number of new clients to fuel your business. So, try them out and see which way works best for you.

• Facebook groups – find a number of relevant Facebook groups for your niche and profession and get involved. There are always people looking to take on new clients and freelancers, so, don’t be afraid to reach out.
• Facebook ads – Facebook ads are a great way to really laser-focus on your ideal client. You can pick everything from their location to job title to their interests. With the right ad, you might snatch a client or two and the ROI on the ad would be worth it.
• Google AdWords – like Facebook ads, you can target the relevant prospects with your ads and offer them your solutions.
• Bing Ads – you might not think much of Bing, but did you know it has a 33% market share in the USA? It’s an option still worth exploring.
• Advertise in other people’s newsletters – again, if you can afford it, this might be worth it and pay off.
• LinkedIn – the above principles also applies to LinkedIn. You want to be where your clients hang out. And by having the relevant people added, you’re more likely to see job postings relevant to your niche. Not to mention you can personally reach out to business owners there as well.
• LinkedIn Premium – if your work consists of finding the right people and reaching out to them, consider the LinkedIn Premium free trial to better reach your prospects.
• Advertise on LinkedIn – through LinkedIn’s self-service solutions you can launch a campaign within minutes. Like with Facebook, you can set a custom audience to focus on.
• Post your articles on LinkedIn – this will help you establish your authority among your peers and get your name out.
• Share your content on other platforms – like the above, this is a great way of demonstrating value and getting your portfolio out there.
• Get active on Pinterest – Pinterest is a great way to send people back to your site, based on your pins and images. Make sure your images are SEO optimized there too with a strong call-to-action back to your site!
• Start a blog – start a blog and create content written for your ideal clients. This way, you’ll have something to add to your portfolio. You can then grow your site, attract clients to you organically, and even monetize your blog.
• Build an email list – are you a business owner? Then you should have an email list by now. Email is a great way to communicate with your subscribers and gives you an additional place to advertise your offering.
• Use email marketing – once you do have a solid email list, focus on email marketing to improve your traffic.
• Referrals – already have a client or two but not sure how to get more? Ask for referrals! They’re likely to know people in need of similar services. Word of mouth is the best kind of marketing if your relationship with your clients is good and based on trust.
• Become an expert in your niche – get involved on Twitter, and other social media sites where people need advice and recommendations. Try searching for keywords relevant to your niche and show off your knowledge about the subject. Make sure people associate your name with your services.

• Utilize proper hashtags and keywords – make sure you’re reaching the right people and your content is relevant to attract leads.
• Host a webinar – if you know a lot about a subject – spread that knowledge. Webinars are a great way to attract new clients and build your reputation.
• Write an eBook – do you have a unique solution to a challenge businesses often face? Why not write an eBook about it? It’ll increase your reputation and you can also generate leads through it.
• Write a case study – this is a great way to show your clients how you deliver results and success with a particular project in the past. A case study should cover the client, what were the challenges, and you delivered the results.
• Create an online course – again, any way you can spread technical and valuable knowledge – the better for your brand. You can make money from selling the course and generate potential leads reaching out to you directly.
• Build a strong social media presence – social media expands your reach, trust, and brand. You never know where your next client might find you – whether it be Facebook or Instagram. Also, they can see what you’re like based on your posts and this might make them more likely to reach out to you.
• Interact with other brands and pages on social media as your business – this includes commenting, liking, and engaging with other people. Be active and helpful and people will be more likely to follow you back.
• Share relevant content on Instagram – as long as it’s grabbing attention and giving you more followers.
• Start a podcast – consider expanding your promotional horizons. Podcasts can garner the attention of a whole new crowd of people for your business.
• Build a personal brand – your clients are more likely to hire you if they know what the face behind the screen looks like. Give them a glimpse into your life and you’ll be more human in their eyes.
• Increase personal SEO – alternatively, if your brand is your name, then you should make sure your name is SEO optimized. Potential clients will Google your name nine times out of ten. Make sure your website and articles come up when that happens.
• Start a YouTube channel – tutorials, advice videos, and how-tos are another way of increasing personal SEO and building a personal brand. In addition to gaining subscribers on a whole new platform.
• Interview experts in your niche – again, the aim here is to spread knowledge in your niche. You’ll also learn a lot this way.
• Get listed locally on Google – local SEO is a great way to attract people already in your community. This way, you can draw in customers and increase your word-of-mouth effectiveness.

• Guest post – if you already have a blog and want to get your name out there, consider guest posting on already established blogs. They get more content and traffic, and you get more samples and your name out there! Win-win!
• Follow up on old clients – following up is a great way to remind yourself to people. For example, if you never got a response from a potential client, follow up either way. They might have forgotten or need your services again. You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain.
• Get active on Quora – Quora is a great way to generate free and organic traffic while helping other people. To do this, fill out your profile with information about what you do, find questions about your industry, and start answering them in a meaningful way.
• Get active on Medium – Medium can be a great way to expand your portfolio and connect with fellow writers.
• Join HelpAReporter – start offering your information and experience to journalists as an expert in your field.
• Networking – networking groups are a great way to get involved in your community and meet new people. Check out Meetup, Eventbrite, and even Facebook for a list of some events within your area.
• Host an event – consider being on the other end of the above events and host them instead to attract new clients and networks.
• Consider charity work – another great way to network and get to know some other local business owners in your area while giving back to your community.
• Create business cards – you can’t network as well without business cards. They’re cheap to make and if you’re creative – a great way to stand out.
• Speak at events – if you somehow manage to end up as a speaker in networking events – even better. Speaking at events makes you an authority figure on the subject and can also lead to clients reaching out to you directly.
• Sponsor a local event – if you have the money for it, the investment might pay off. This is a great way of gaining quick exposure and you can also distribute branded merch of your business.
• Join co-working spaces – another great way of networking. A building full of businesses and entrepreneurs in the same space? What’s not to like? Just be sure to choose the right one that’s the best for you.

• Cold emailing – saw a site or a client that is just right up your area? Shoot them a cold email offering your services. Cold emails can be really effective as long as you’re direct, and state your offer clearly.
• Cold call leads – cold calling isn’t dead. If anything, it’s still a popular way of generating leads as long as you know who you’re calling and did your research.
• Job boards – once you’ve niched down, you can then start looking for industry-specific job boards to generate leads. The more specific your niche is, the more likely you are to find potential leads.
• Freelance sites – being a freelancer can be hard because of the fierce competition. But on the bright side, there are a lot of freelance sites you can always look into no matter your expertise.
• Craigslist – though the site might get a bad rep, the job board has a lot of specific job postings for freelance hustles.
• Start a side hustle – preferably, in a field different from your job. A side hustle can bring in an additional source of revenue and net you a whole new set of clients.
• Use customer testimonials and review – social proof is a great way to increase your trust and alleviate any hesitations for your visitors.
• Branch out with your content – try different social media sites and areas.
• Get active on ProductHunt – if your business has a product, make sure people know where to discover it and how.
• Fix your website – is your website optimized for new visitors? Make sure you have a solid landing page and a strong call-to-action for new customers.
• Track your users who didn’t convert – use tools like Google Analytics to better understand your audience. Why did they leave? Do they have any hesitations and pain points you should be aware of?
• Set up a referral program – linking to a site or having someone link back to you can be a great source of additional traffic.
• Collaborate often – similarly, partnering up with someone can expose you to a whole new target market.
• Add a live chat – did you know 92% of customers feel satisfied when using a live chat? They’re more likely to turn into clients as well!
• Curate content for other people – as long as you’re putting your name is on other peoples’ sites or blogs, potential clients can follow it back to your site.
• Start segmenting your services – are there any other people you could be targetting? Any new markets you can explore? Think about the bigger picture of your value proposition.
• Focus on your bigger inbound marketing strategy – have your customers come to you by having valuable content and resources. If your content is actually helpful and SEO optimized as well – your customers are more likely to share and interact with it.
• Create a detailed buyer persona – how well do you know your consumers? Personas are a great way to really zoom in on your target market and find out what they’re like. This also helps when targeting them through ads.

Know any other proven methods of getting clients? Let us know in the comments below!