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Ask HN: How do you sell yourself as a new freelancer to clients?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you sell yourself as a new freelancer to clients?

#41

Post by InnocentB »

ahmedaly wrote: post #17
neya wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Come on, this is a hacker community...The people here aren't that dumb. Atleast, you could have used a URL shrinking service..duh!

Well.. its something real.. I am making real money from this.. and putting an affiliate link does not have to be something bad at all. Why do I have to shy about promoting something real?!!

Basically, the problem is you are creating a conflict of interest by appending the affiliate bit. It's hard to take your advice as being unbiased when you stand to profit from it.

Re: Ask HN: How do you sell yourself as a new freelancer to clients?

#42

Post by thedillio »

anthuswilliams wrote: post #34

I was not going to was not going to post my advice until I saw how many people here were saying the opposite. Do not, under any circumstances, work for free.[1][2] When clients agree to work with you, they risk more than money. They risk their time, their peace of mind, their ability to be proactive in a changing environment. The best clients are the ones who realize that. As such, they will be uncomfortable with the…

"...Do not, under any circumstances, work for free..."

Totally agree with this. It ha been my experience that well paying customers are the best kind. They are more respectful of my time and less of a headache. The people that want thing low cost or for free are happy to drain your time for really no good reason.

This theory is why I also charge a certain flat fee upfront to get started on any client work. It gets the client emotionally invested in the project since some of their money is in the pot. Most of the time when I have done things without upfront payment or free work, the client is lazy to get me necessary graphics, text, authorization, etc. to do what I said I would do. Then it still reflects badly on the freelancer.

Re: Ask HN: How do you sell yourself as a new freelancer to clients?

#43

Post by fossley »

I don't have a portfolio site, but was successfully freelancing on the basis of referral for four years or so. I wouldn't take a random client on, because bad clients cost money. Reach out to anybody who trusts you to "get the job done" and get them to reach out. Networking and trust are essential.

Another idea getting your foot in the door as a freelancer at an agency. About 1/4 of my work (and best paid work) came that way. Gives you a client base to build from (though not your clients, it will give you demonstrable experience)

Re: Ask HN: How do you sell yourself as a new freelancer to clients?

#44

Post by fossley »

rwhitman wrote: post #20

Quick tip - if you want clients with reliable, steady work and a way to hone your skills and build out a nice portfolio focus on design / interactive / marketing agencies and skip the local businesses. Mom and pop shops who would hire a web dev based on a business card are some of the WORST clients. Make a nice portfolio site of whatever you have available, and compose a nice cold email being very honest about who yo…

Agencies definitely worked for me. If you are good, it can be steady work without much of the risks.

Re: Ask HN: How do you sell yourself as a new freelancer to clients?

#45

Post by shareme »

!. Decent Portfolio site, decent means not just the first page either, if you use bb or gh yous should have a collection of portfolio class projects that have bare minimum project website for each project, demos of screencaps and or videos.see my site in profile for an example.

2. Value proposition has to be stellar, write about it daily and refine your prose.

3. A Step into potential client shoes, find ways to reduce their risk while still getting what you need.

Re: Ask HN: How do you sell yourself as a new freelancer to clients?

#46

Post by rwhitman »

patio11 wrote: post #15

I've decided that I want to start freelancing doing web design for local businesses/organizations. Much like how in product development we talk to customers prior to building stuff, I'd suggest verifying that you have an addressable market for a service offering prior to defining what that service offering is. "Freelance", "web", "design", "local", and "business" are five things that you said in that sentence which m…

Starting off a freelance career by pitching for gigs in a narrow niche market seems like a potentially challenging strategy for someone with no track record to back it up

Re: Ask HN: How do you sell yourself as a new freelancer to clients?

#47

Post by phamilton »

gte910h wrote: post #39
phamilton wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've found the opposite. If I can sit down with a potential client over lunch, it is far easier to sell myself (especially when I first started and had few references).

I think that perhaps is a phone skills thing though? You only have to be 1/5th as good if you can take 5x as many calls as you can in person meeetings I'd say less than 10 people have ever asked for references.

I dunno. I do a lot more long term contract work. I generally take on only one or two clients at a time in a relationship that lasts a few months. Meeting a potential client in person has never been too time consuming for me, as I only have to do it once or twice every few months.

Re: Ask HN: How do you sell yourself as a new freelancer to clients?

#48

Post by tptacek »

gnaritas wrote: post #27
patio11 wrote: post #15

I've decided that I want to start freelancing doing web design for local businesses/organizations. Much like how in product development we talk to customers prior to building stuff, I'd suggest verifying that you have an addressable market for a service offering prior to defining what that service offering is. "Freelance", "web", "design", "local", and "business" are five things that you said in that sentence which m…

> I am the world's leading expert on WordPress sites for I'd tune out the second I saw such a marketing boast; the odds of being pure b.s. are through the roof.

So said the Inuit, when presented with "the world's coldest ice cubes". The problem, it turns out, isn't the marketing claim.

Re: Ask HN: How do you sell yourself as a new freelancer to clients?

#49

Post by tptacek »

damoncali wrote: post #40
patio11 wrote: post #15

I've decided that I want to start freelancing doing web design for local businesses/organizations. Much like how in product development we talk to customers prior to building stuff, I'd suggest verifying that you have an addressable market for a service offering prior to defining what that service offering is. "Freelance", "web", "design", "local", and "business" are five things that you said in that sentence which m…

... and lets you charge much higher rates... At the risk fo stating the obvious, this is not automatically true. Specializing makes for easier marketing, but not necessarily higher rates. Some clients just don't have a lot of money to spend.

Specializing allows you to target the ones who do. Cast a wide net across "local businesses" and you're going to get a lot of boots and toilet seats to keep your tuna company.

Re: Ask HN: How do you sell yourself as a new freelancer to clients?

#50

Post by patio11 »

alinajaf wrote: post #30
gnaritas wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I am the world's leading expert on WordPress sites for I'd tune out the second I saw such a marketing boast; the odds of being pure b.s. are through the roof.

The idea is that you google 'wordpress sites for heritage language asian schools' and this guys blog is the only thing on the SERP for the informative, expertise-demonstrating content he's got there. At no point does he have to be explicit about being the foremost expert in this or any other niche.

Right. Or, when you're talking to a potential prospect who has just been referred by your middle school teacher, you say "I know you've got a web site at the moment, but it probably got done by somebody who does web sites for dog walkers and legal firms. Do you ever look at it and think it was written by someone who just doesn't get you, and what you do, and what your parents want in a school? Think that maybe the site doesn't understand that Mrs. Tanaka is terrified that Sakura won't ever know her grandmother if Mrs. Tanaka picks the wrong place? I know where Mrs. Tanaka is coming from. I've spoken to her a thousand times. This is all I do: making Wordpress sites for schools just like yours. Want to hear about three things I can do to improve your website?"
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