The truth is that starting your own business or becoming a freelancer can be the most empowering and freeing experience but IT IS HARD WORK. The first few months can definitely be quiet and you may feel doubtful, discouraged or unsure of how to grow your business and online visibility. Landing clients may seem impossible!

I know, I have been there!

The dream is to be loving what you do on the daily with clients lining up outside your door wanting to work with you, getting new enquiries in your inbox every day and booking out your calendar – am I right?

But building your online business in this digital age and trying to stand out from the crowd can be overwhelming, to say the least. There are so many different social media platforms and marketing strategies out there that you may sometimes feel pressured to be doing all of it.

I’ll let you into a little secret… you don’t!

You don’t have to be active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and LinkedIn.

You don’t have to be making freebies to build your email list and then send tons of email campaigns or send cold emails or even cold calls.

You don’t have to be attending all of the networking events in your area or being overly active in your Facebook groups.

You don’t have to be writing a new blog post every day or sending millions of proposals on freelancing websites like UpWork or PeoplePerHour.

It is simply impossible to do all of this by yourself, and honestly, it is not worth it. This is not the reason why you started your business and by dividing your time and attention between all of these different marketing strategies you are spreading yourself thin and you are going to constantly feel run down and burnt out.

The secret is focusing on two long-term marketing strategies that you enjoy doing and do it consistently.

 

STEP ONE: Choose a niche.

It is so important for every business to have a niche. When you really focus on your target audience/ideal client, you are more able to communicate with them and create content that they value and need. Landing the right clients will seem effortless!

“If you try to talk to everyone, you’ll end up talking to no one.”

 

Read my other blog where I explain this more:

 

STEP TWO: Choose two long-term marketing strategies

Once you have your niche, choose the platforms that will connect with your ideal clients the most or which your ideal clients use the most. If you are able to create valuable content to share about your niche for you ideal clients, which would be the best method and format?

First of all, what do I mean by ‘long-term marketing’

Long-term marketing are strategies that you can start creating now and sharing via different platforms that will still reach your ideal clients for years to come. For example, if you wrote a blog about your niche and shared it on Pinterest (both long-term marketing strategies) then you could be fully booked with clients for the next six months and not have the time to keep creating content but your blog will still be there for other clients to come across.

This is a more successful way to book clients in the long run as opposed to freelancing websites like UpWork where you spend a certain amount of time writing new proposals for every new job and possibly get one client.

If you look at the amount of work you do and time spent on it and the potential outcome, a short-term marketing strategy may land you clients for a short time period, whereas a long-term marketing strategy may still be landing you clients in the next few months or even years.

What are the types of ‘long-term marketing’?

• Social Media – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube etc.

• Email Marketing – Building an email list & sending email campaigns.

• Networking – attending events, being active on Facebook groups, meeting people and directly putting yourself in front of your ideal clients and building relationships.

• Blogging / Podcasting – Sharing your knowledge & expertise with your audience.

The key is choosing the platform that you enjoy and what you are good at!

If you have fun and enjoy creating your content, then your audience will enjoy seeing it.

 

STEP THREE: Post valuable content consistently.

The best way to land yourself paying clients is by providing them with information to help teach them and solve their problems. Sharing your knowledge not only brings eyes to your content but makes it valuable to your clients. In this day and age, people only do something to be able to gain something back. If you can show through your marketing strategies that you are an expert in your field, that you can help solve people’s problems, then your clients will appear and they will trust you enough to invest in your business services.

 

 

I hope this has helped all of you new female entrepreneurs out there!

Let me know if any of these tips have helped you grow your client list and land clients.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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