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You will need to spend time finding clients if you don’t have money for marketing.
As a freelancer working on text orders, I used the methods listed below, which now bring clients to my business. It should be noted that, like everything in marketing, there are no guarantees that targeted mailings or PR will immediately lead to requests from buyers. Initially, the conversion rate from action to request from the client may be low, but the quality will improve over time.
If you have money for marketing, it’s better to combine paid and free methods instead of trying to do everything yourself.
METHOD № 1 – “Outreach” – cold targeted communications
People get annoyed by cold mailings or calls, and it doesn’t really help to generate income since spam conversions are typically minimal and do not attract many clients.
It might be possible to make money if one can obtain a vast database of hundreds of thousands of individuals, but this would only result in a one-time sale. Additionally, recipients will file complaints about the emails, and the account in mailing services will be blocked. Spamming through bots will be necessary, which will ultimately reduce profits. Therefore, using pure spam is not recommended because it is ineffective.
Nonetheless, cold communication can be personalized and targeted. One can utilize social networks to locate the person they need and evaluate what they write. By discovering the problems they face, where they work, and their experience with contractors, one can write a message or letter tailored to that specific individual.
We cannot call this a pure spam because we studied the person and offered them what they need. Although the client did not request it, this is still considered a cold contact. In my experience, cold outreach during a good period reached a 50% conversion rate, which means that literally half of the people respond to cold emails.
Attending conferences and meeting business owners and managers is one of the cheapest ways to attract clients in the field of making promotional videos for large companies. Afterward, you can write to these people on social media, saying, “We talked at such-and-such a conference, I promised to tell you more about us.” One of my acquaintances who makes promotional videos hired someone in his agency to specifically focus on this.
Studying and getting to know potential clients works primarily for high ticket sales. It is unlikely to be profitable to spend so much time on a single sale of retail pistachios. However, if you sell pistachios wholesale, I suggest trying this approach.
Automating the process is also possible. For instance, I know real estate agents in Turkey who have added bots to relocation chat rooms and monitor messages about apartment searches. When someone writes that they want to buy property, the bot forwards the message to the agency, and the manager immediately sends a message in private: “I saw that you were interested in apartments, here’s what we have…” Perhaps you can go further – make a robot that communicates with potential clients, does analysis and mailings, but I don’t have that experience.
Method #2 – Active personal profile on social networks
The technique for reaching out to potential clients through social media is called social selling. In this approach, we create and maintain a personal profile on social networks, add ourselves to the target audience’s friends, and offer a solution to those who express a need for our service. While this method works well for B2B sales, it can be time-consuming for the owner.
Social selling is similar to outbound marketing, but it involves a longer contact warming process. In outbound marketing, you study a person and write a letter to them. In social selling, however, you add yourself to the person’s friends, engage with their posts through comments and likes, and strike up conversations. A genuine social connection is formed before you approach them with your product or service. This approach results in a higher success rate compared to cold mailing, as you’re already reaching out to someone you know. Only after building the relationship do you say, “David, hi! I see that you’re doing SEO in your company, and we’ve launched such a service for editors in our agency. Let’s discuss it.
Selling through a personal profile is a multi-step process that requires patience and persistence. While it may not yield immediate results, it can be a useful approach in the B2B sphere, where decisions are made slowly, knowing the right people is important, and high-ticket services can be sold.
This method can also benefit freelancers with ample free time and no advertising budget. By dedicating a few hours each day to social networking, there’s a high probability that one can become known within their industry in about six months. However, relying solely on a heavily curated social media profile for lead generation may only result in two or three deals per month.
It’s advisable to create profiles on all possible platforms simultaneously. In my field, “Facebook” is the clear winner for lead generation and closing deals. If working with the foreign market, “LinkedIn” is essential.
To find the right people on social media, use the search function to look for individuals in specific positions such as head of content, CCO, CMO, CEO, founder, or director. As you add friends from this social group, the platform’s algorithm will start suggesting similar people. I dedicate ten minutes every morning to scroll through potential friends, add interesting individuals, and have been doing this for many years.
When adding friends, I refrain from sending messages and instead write meaningful comments on their posts. I only engage in selling if there’s a genuine request in their post, such as if they’re looking for an agency with my profile or complaining about issues with other contractors.
If done systematically, the process can be delegated. One can hire a specialized sales manager, commonly known as a “BizDev,” to handle social interactions, build relationships with potential clients, and convert them into paying customers.
Although I’ve had two unsuccessful experiences with delegating sales, I’ve learned from my mistakes and hired someone for the third time with a normal motivation system and training on the agency’s products. Additionally, I looked for an experienced specialist instead of a beginner.
METHOD #3 – Mutual PR
Mutual promotion is a widely applicable method of advertising, which involves partnering with another business that caters to the same audience and cross-promoting each other. This technique is particularly effective for local businesses such as cafes, salons, home services, and sports facilities, as people often seek out these services close to home.
The process of cross-promotion can be as simple as exchanging business cards or flyers, or it can be done through social media by posting about each other and their services. Joint promotions, combining marketing strategies, can also be effective. For instance, a cafe might offer a discount coupon for a nearby gym, while the gym might offer a coupon for a healthy eating cafe. Discount coupons are particularly effective in attracting customers, even if they are not interested in the original business.
The concept of mutual promotion can also be applied in the online sphere through audience exchanges on websites, email newsletters, and social media platforms. For example, a business might announce an event on their social media, while their partner promotes them at a later time.
Method #4 – Affiliate programs
To attract more customers, you can offer rewards to individuals for bringing in customers, organize “bring a friend” campaigns, and pay for completed transactions. At the start, there’s no need for a budget. In our agency, we sell courses by creating discount codes, distributing them, and paying a reward to the partner whose code is used.
In B2B, it’s best to give discount codes to people who have regular access to your potential customers instead of distributing them to everyone. You must negotiate with similar businesses and search for related specialists. For instance, in my content agency, I can approach a design agency or freelancers since they communicate with our potential customers. Alternatively, I can contact a large business in our segment, and they can refer to us the customers who are too small for them.
We collaborate with smaller agencies and freelancers in the same way. For instance, if a lead contacts me and requests one article for $100, it’s not profitable for me to do it since the accounting on the deal will consume more. However, a freelancer can do it and then pay me $10 for the referral.
I haven’t found a way to make the referral process transparent, so it’s all based on trust. In their card, my CRM indicates the origin of the lead. When we receive the payment after completing the deal, I write to the partner and inquire about where to transfer the reward.
It’s convenient to have partnership programs with B2C. For example, a coffee shop can provide a “refer a friend” promotion where both the new customer and the referrer receive a 50% discount on a cup of latte if the new customer registers with the promo code in the loyalty program. Such promotions can be tracked in almost any CRM, and there can be as many partners as desired.
I suggest creating partnership programs that benefit everyone, including the new customer who receives a bonus for using the referral. Otherwise, unpleasant conversations may arise, such as “You’re recommending this service to me because you want to profit from me.” However, if both the referrer and the new customer receive a discount, it’s fair for everyone.
Method #5 – Media PR
By writing articles about your business, addressing the needs of your potential audience, and publishing them in the media, you can effectively showcase your expertise to a nationwide customer base who prioritize trust over impulse buying.
For example, if your company specializes in private home construction, an article on selecting and monitoring contractors, as well as identifying the best materials for specific situations, could demonstrate your professionalism and competency to a potential customer.
Although not a free or easy method for all, incorporating PR into your marketing strategy can be worthwhile for owners who enjoy writing engagingly. Alternatively, hiring a contractor-editor to assist in topic formulation and idea generation is an option.
The cost of finding a decent article writer typically starts at $150, but for around $300, a good author can be hired whose articles will be readily accepted by media outlets.
Using PR for a small local business can be challenging. A coffee shop in the area, for instance, can post about itself in a local public group, but it’s unlikely to experience a surge in customers with high checkouts as a result. A more effective strategy would be to offer a free cup of coffee to the first visitors or arrange a cumulative discount. Conversely, a psychologist who conducts online sessions or sells B2B services can benefit from PR.
Generating leads from an article isn’t a guarantee. However, if it’s engaging and meets the audience’s expectations, it can attract several potential customers. Additionally, the cumulative effect occurs as customers read several articles and start to perceive you as an expert. When they’re in the market for a purchase, they’ll remember you.
“Interesting” or “useful” are subjective terms in article writing. Typically, readers appreciate materials with unique, valuable information that isn’t readily available elsewhere. For example, you could discuss the pitfalls you faced while implementing a project, which aren’t typically found in textbooks or on the Internet.
To provide commonly known information that is more convenient and easier for the reader to understand than other sources, one can consider another option. Start by examining the first five to ten articles in search results and identifying areas for improvement, such as relevant examples and well-presented visual information.
Writing for media outlets that potential clients read is crucial, including social media communities, forums, or Telegram chat groups.
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