My 10-Step Beginner Freelancer System to Get Your Business Started on the Right Foot
In a world where more and more people are opting out of traditional careers or looking for alternative ways to bring income, so many of us are fueled by the desire for flexibility in our work. We want more autonomy about the work we do, the times we do it, the rates we’re paid for it, and from where we can carry out the work.
It’s no surprise that the prospect of freelancing has emerged as an increasingly popular avenue for individuals seeking a life less ordinary.
The allure of freelancing lies not only in the promise of professional independence but also in the freedom to sculpt one's career according to personal passions and aspirations.
Imagine a lifestyle where you are the architect of your workdays, where creativity knows no bounds, and where the pursuit of dreams intertwines seamlessly with the pursuit of success. Becoming a freelancer is an invitation to embark on a thrilling journey, where each project is a canvas waiting to be painted with the colors of ingenuity, and every achievement is a testament to the resilience and self-determination that define the freelancing spirit. Whether it's the joy of breaking away from traditional constraints, the thrill of diverse projects, or the unlimited potential for personal and professional growth, the world of freelancing beckons with the promise of a dynamic and fulfilling career.
And then there’s the reality….where do you start?
How to Start Freelancing the Right Way
I’ve been freelancing in various ways for most of my career. In fact, I haven’t had a W2 job since maybe 2016.
Let me share a little bit about what I’ve learned along the way so that your journey to freelance success might be a little less fraught with pot holes and roadblocks than mine was. If you find this guide helpful and want more in-depth answers to your questions, detailed templates, scripts, planners, prompt ideas, and more, check out my Freelancer Systems 101 Guide.
Here are 10 steps I recommend to all of my clients who want to start freelancing:
Step 1: Figure Out How to Reach Who You Want to Work With
You cannot just create a website - however beautiful - and wait around for people to find you. You cannot just post your services on one job board and expect the contracts to roll in. You cannot make a single announcement on your social channels and have your calendar filled in mere minutes.
For most freelancers, it’s going to work out best if YOU go to THEM rather than waiting for THEM to come to YOU.
So, how do you find contact info for brands you want to work with?
Who Do You Already Know?
This is the best place to start. Who do you already know who has a business that could use your services?
Google Search
Most every company has a website these days. The bigger companies who frequently work with freelancers will often have guidelines on how they prefer to be approached with pitches or who to reach out to.
In this guide, I share a spreadsheet that I’ve been using for years to keep track of company contacts and freelancer guidelines. This makes it easy for me to find the contact info for an Editor or Marketing Director for a project idea.
LinkedIn can be a good resource for finding more information about companies and potential contact information for them. Some brands use LinkedIn specifically to source freelancers, proposals, or contract help.
Social Channels
Some companies put out calls for freelancers on their social channels. Scroll through the brands you’re thinking you might want to work with to see if they announce their submission requests.
Step 2: Reach Out
Depending on which industry you’re in, you might find that letters of interest, project pitches, or other forms of communication are the best option for making initial contact with a brand, editor, marketing director, etc.
Reach out to cold and warm potential clients a few times a week at a minimum - if you have a large list of contacts, do it daily.
Step 3: Tell The World What You Do
Post about your services on your social channels at least once a week and send newsletters at least every other week that have some aspect of your business entwined in them.
And don’t even TRY to tell me that you “don’t know what to post” - I don’t wanna hear it. Check out my #TalkAboutYourWork challenge and if that’s not enough, I’ve also included a list of 30 social media post ideas that talk about your business. Between the two, that’s almost a year’s worth of weekly posts talking about your work.
We will not be hearing any excuses around here on this.
Step 4: Use Social Media to Be SOCIAL
It is not enough to say your piece and then skedaddle off the app(s) you’re using.
If you want the best shot at success, use the dang socials to be SOCIAL. If you want engagement, engage with others. If you want conversations, start some. If you want meaningful interactions, create them. Even on - perhaps especially on - the days when you don’t post anything new on your own channel.
The basic daily habits that I recommend to my clients include:
Respond to all DMs.
Respond to all comments.
Leave thoughtful comments on at least 5 new accounts on each app you’re using.
**We go over these two steps in far more depth in my Group Coaching Program. If you want to learn more about organic digital and social media marketing, come join us there!**
Step 5: Follow Up
Freelancing is ALL about the follow-up.
A week or two after sending the initial contact, send the first follow up email or message to those prospective clients you messaged in Step 1. It is best, easiest, most streamlined, and better systematized if you schedule this follow-up in your calendar, planner, CRM, or other To-Do list immediately after you send the initial intro email.
Follow-up messages do not need to be long and involved. They can be literally a single sentence. A follow-up message can be human and pressing without being annoying or pester-y. If you get in your head about “being annoying,” you’re never going to send the follow-up. And if you never send the follow-up, your chances of working with this company slim down to near zero.
There are a few sample scripts for follow-up emails in my Freelancer Systems 101 Guide.
Step 6: Turn Questions Into Content
Don’t be afraid of questions coming your way as you begin this journey. Questions are good. Questions are illuminating. Questions are light posts on the customer’s path to working with you. Make content out of any question anyone asks about your products or services.
When you are a one-person show, it is imperative that you leverage your time and energy. If you’re already thinking about and answering these questions, MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF THEM.
Chances are, if there is one person stepping up to the plate to ask, there are many more folks in the weeds of the internet who want to ask but are afraid to put themselves out there. Help them to feel more comfortable and confident in working with you.
Step 7: Follow Up Again
Much like Step 3, the best way to incorporate the second (and third and fourth, etc) follow-up is to put it in your calendar immediately after you send the previous follow-up.
Your follow-up cadence is up to you after the first one - if you want to follow-up weekly, put it in your calendar for weekly. If you want to follow-up after 1 week, then after 2 weeks, then after 3 weeks, etc, put it in your calendar as such.
Each industry is going to have slightly different expectations. Finding a cadence that works for you and your clients will take some practice so be open to experimenting with different setups to find what lands just right.
How many follow-ups is enough?
The best rule of thumb here is to “follow up at least one more time than you’re comfortable with.”
Step 8: Be The Type of Person You Want to Work With
When you’re a freelancer, you get the opportunity to set your own schedule and teach your clients how to work best with you.
This is your chance to set office hours and to take a long lunch break to go for a hike in the middle of a gorgeous day. But you still want to be a good team member. You still want to respond promptly and be thorough. Your client doesn’t want to have to micromanage you, so show them that they don’t have to.
This does not mean that you have to have your phone on you answering emails 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It does mean that you should set up a structure for yourself to plug-in and then unplug at regular intervals that are reasonable and can become predictable for your clients.
Step 9: Be Consistent
Keep posting on your social channels. Keep mentioning your services in your newsletter. Keep reaching out to new and old potential clients.
It’s consistency that grows a freelance business.
Work your system even when you don’t feel like it.
In this guide, I’ve included both a Weekly and a Monthly Planner that you can print out and use to make sure you’re staying consistent with your outreach and marketing efforts. There are also a number of templates at the end of the guide that you can customize that will help you keep track of which clients have been reached out to, which projects are still in the development stage, which invoices have been sent out, etc.
The more you can streamline and systematize, the more consistent your efforts, the more consistent your income over time.
Step 10: Have (& Check-in with) a Support System
Having a group of people with whom you can co-work, ask questions, workshop tricky client responses, and talk about all things freelance and entrepreneurship will make this a much more enjoyable adventure for you.
What should your support system be made up of:
Coaches and mentors
Peers
Cheerleading friends
There are groups for every industry, there are bootcamps and classes and coaches for every freelance path. Some are free, some are paid, some are a mixture of both. Surround yourself virtually and/or in-person with people who understand what you’re going through and who can provide guidance or a shoulder when you need it.
Remember that freelancing success requires persistence and continuous effort. Building a strong reputation, nurturing relationships, and consistently delivering value will help you attract clients and build a thriving freelance career over time.
