How to get freelance clients when you’re new to freelancing

1000 things you could do here…

But, let me tell you what I actually did.

First… my first several clients all hired me because they’d seen some YouTube videos I did that were pretty close to what they wanted. At the time, I didn’t have a portfolio up, testimonials or even a page selling my services.

They just found my email and emailed me.

This is why I constantly beat the “create content” drum.

It can work when you have nothing else.

Second… all the projects I worked on were small.

Fix a CSS bug here. Write a little PHP script there. Frankly, I wasn’t ready for big projects and I didn’t have the “proof” to justify hiring me for one. But, little scripts and fixes weren’t a big deal.

And, that helped me BUILD my portfolio, etc.

Third… my portfolio.

One thing, I learned quickly is your portfolio is the #1 things clients will look at/ask for. I was able to get work despite not having one, because of my content. But, I’d have landed a lot more jobs if I had one.

So, this is why I developed the “non-client portfolio”.

Build 5-10 websites/applications for nobody.

Purely to put in your portfolio.

Having something in there is better than nothing. They don’t need to be client projects. Clients want to see examples of your work, at a bare minimum. And, just make sure it’s your best work and visually appealing.

So, if I were starting today, here’s what I’d do:

Build a portfolio of non-client sites/apps in 1-2 weeks.
Start creating YouTube videos solving small tech problems.
At the end of every video, point people to my “hire me” page.
Spend 30/month promoting my YouTube videos on Google Ads.

It’s pretty simple actually.

Then, if you want to know how to grow your freelance business from there, that’s what I’ll teach you in my new Beginner’s Guide to Freelance course.