If you’re a freelancer or you’re thinking about becoming one, one thing is for certain – clients are essential! Don’t have clients yet? It’s time to start marketing!
In my article last week I covered the five stages of marketing, the first being “awareness”, where a potential client finds out who you are, what you do and who you serve.
To spread awareness, you may have one or more of the following: social media accounts, blogs, podcasts, webinars, workshops, etc. These are all terrific, but how do you capitalize on your potential client’s awareness and move them to the next stage – consideration? This is where your future clients have the opportunity to learn more about you so that you can eventually earn their trust and their business.
Email Is Still King When It Comes to Marketing
The most effective way to build trust with future customers is through email. To do that, we need to get those potential clients onto our list!
In 15 years of freelancing full time. One thing I’ve learned is certain…the most successful business owners spend time growing and nurturing their lists.
Here are five strategies you can use today to start capturing emails and moving potential customers from the awareness stage to the consideration stage. Watch the video here or scroll down to read more!
1. Offer Something of Value
You’ve probably gone to a million websites and notice they are giving away some sort of a freebie: a PDF, video, a tip sheet – something that has some sort of inherent value. Offering something that will help potential clients save time or money is a great way to give value in exchange for an email address.
2. Answer Common Questions/Provide a Solution for Common Problems
Clients who come to you want to know that you have the answer to the problems they have. Chances are very likely that the customers that you serve all have a common set of problems and questions. Choose one of their common questions, and answer it for your audience.
This strategy provides an answer but ALSO goes a long way in establishing you as an expert in your field. When people realize you have the answers to the questions that they have, then they’re going to trust you to help them with these (and more) in the future.
Pro-Tip
Don’t give away the farm! You should give the “what” but not necessarily the “how” of the solution to the problem. The “how” will be what they trust and hire you to do!
3. Give a Short Quiz
Not only can quizzes help you find out which Harry Potter house you’d be in, or what kind of dessert you are, but they can also be a very effective tool for getting people onto your email list. Use one to inject a bit of fun into your marketing!
We all have a curious nature, wanting to see how we stack up or rank against others. Use that curiosity to your advantage and present potential clients with a quiz. At the end, point them to a a resource or additional information that will help you build trust in the customer journey.
4. Send a Newsletter
If you’re a blogger or a podcaster, a newsletter ought to be a no-brainer for you. A newsletter is a great way to share your content with your audience, as well as what’s going on in your business. Use it to brag on your current customers, show them what problems you’re solving and create this FOMO with new people.
5. Offer a Contest or Giveaway
Offering a contest or giveaway is a very effective – and fun! – way to get new people on your list. Instead of wrapping up hundreds of dollars in advertising on social media to get clients (that are often not a great fit for you), create a giveaway or contest for something that resonates with your perfect client. Give them bonus chances to win if they share the contest on social media, or for tagging a friend, or both!
People love to get something for nothing and will be happy to give you their email in exchange for the chance to win a valuable tool from you.
Where to Implement Your List Building Strategies
So, where exactly do you put the opt-ins to build your list? Add them to your website as popups or banners, and share them to all your social media channels. You can put your offer in your social media bios to encourage your audience to “Sign up for a free thing!”
A less obvious strategy is to add an opt-in to your email signature. How many emails do you send out a day? How many auto responders do you have set up for email? Add your opt-ins to your email signature and every time you send out an email, let it work for you to add people to your list!
For more on how to build a profitable freelance business be sure to check out out my Freelance Blueprint here: www.freelanceceo.com/blueprint. It’s a free resource that shows you step-by-step how to build a profitable freelance business!