How to Get Web Design Clients - 101 Ways That Worked
Unedited stories told by freelance designers and developers in their own words
This is how web designers and developers REALLY get freelance work. It isn't always easy, fast, or cheap, but here you can learn about reliable methods for how to get web design clients.
Browse all the ways freelancers use to find clients, or filter the stories for specific strategies, tactics, type of clients, etc.:
= beginner-friendly
The top two strategies are networking and cold outreach.
Web Page | Type of Clients | Type of Freelancer | Beginner-Friendly | Get Clients Fast | Get Local Clients | Marketing Strategy | Action / Tactic | Cost | What They Had to Offer | Online/Offline | Where? | How to Get Web Design Clients | Credit | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Networking | Reply to Questions Online | $0 | Free, Personalized Tips at Expert Level | Online | Monitor Questions & Complaints on Social Media This is how I built half of my business in six months just with this strategy alone: Every social media platform is filled with complaints and questions. Pick out a topic or problem that your clients have, and then monitor that social platform for those types of questions and/or keywords. When when one hits, jump into that thread and share a link, a resource, or just a helpful answer. | Jason Resnick | Rezzz Web Developer | 2019 | |||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | Cold Outreach | Cold Calls / Cold Emails | $0 | A Free Website Review | Online | Include a Targeted 1-Page Case Study to Your Cold Emails In the first seven months of my freelance career, I managed to close $12,030 of business from a few batches of cold e-mails. … Before you ever send out a single cold e-mail, it is essential that you have a case study [single page]. … Your case study must:
| Jake Jorgovan | Jake Jorgovan Founder of Content Allies & Lead Cookie | 2017 | |||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Yes | Cold Outreach | Find / Research Leads to Contact | $0 | Online | Google Maps | Use Google Maps to Identify Local Businesses in Need of Help I look around town on Google Maps and check out local businesses. The 'gold nuggets' are the companies that
| David Miller | Start Bootstrap Front end web developer and founder of Start Bootstrap | 2013 | ||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Content Marketing | Publish Blog Posts | $0 | Ready-Made Answers to Frequent Questions or Problems | Online | Write Content That Answers Potential Clients' Most Common Questions … I would recommend is starting a blog if you don't have one. Target an area and post on it often. But research first. That is what I did. I researched the heck out of the market I am in and saw what people were concerned about the most.
| Lesley Paone | designhaus 42 PrestaShop Certified Developer & Owner | 2015 | ||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Yes | Tripwire Products or Services | Take on Small / Boring Jobs | $0 | Get Your Foot in the Door by Taking on Tasks No One Else Wants Start with small jobs to build trust and rapport with the client. Get your foot in the door by taking on tasks no one else wants.
| Greg Jorgensen | Typical Programmer Developer, debugger, code fixer, database expert, Unix/Linux system admin. Represented by 10X Management. | |||||
HtGWDC | Agency Clients | Designer | Advertising | Advertise (Paid) | Help Them Handle Overflow Work / Staffing Gaps | Online | Buy LinkedIn Ads to Advertise Your Services to Decision Makers at Creative Agencies I have a $10 daily budget for super targeted ads only to specific job titles and it seems to work well. My conversion rate is low once they are on my site but all it takes is one. | Cal Hart | Raven Digital Owner at Raven Digital | 2013 | |||||
HtGWDC | Agency Clients | Developer | Yes | Yes | Cold Outreach | Cold Calls / Cold Emails | $0 | Offline | Visit Local Agencies First I would track down all the marketing agencies within an hour drive of you and either pop in or give them a call and ask if they need any help with whatever your expertise is. Face to face goes a long way, and people WANT to hire local.
| Chad Tiffin | Chad Tiffin Web Development Web Developer | 2018 | |||
HtGWDC | Agency Clients | Designer | Yes | Cold Outreach | Find / Research Leads to Contact | $0 | Help Them Handle Overflow Work / Staffing Gaps | Approach Agencies That Have Lost Staff Recently Iʼm currently working on a job for a small web dev agency. They recently lost their full time designer and were looking to hire a new one. I told them I wasnʼt interested in a full time position, but Iʼd happy help them fill the gap by contracting to them for a few projects until they found a new designer to fill the role.
| Benek Lisefsk | Benek Limited Interactive Art Direction & Web UX/UI Design | 2018 | ||||
HtGWDC | Agency Clients | Developer | Yes | Yes | Cold Outreach | Find / Research Leads to Contact | $0 | Help Them Handle Overflow Work / Staffing Gaps | Online | Adapt & Email Your Resume to Local Agencies Cold-calling agencies is another matter entirely - it's much easier to do, because they're expecting to receive that kind of contact out of the blue.
| mwilke Frontend Developer | 2015 | ||
HtGWDC | Agency Clients | Developer | Yes | Cold Outreach | Cold Calls / Cold Emails | $0 | Contact Small Development & Marketing Agencies One piece of advice that has worked really well for me: contact small dev and advertising agencies. Let them know that you're available for work, list out your skillset, and link to your portfolio. Most small shops are always looking for good, reliable contractors, so you can get a lot of work that way.
| dalek_999 Freelance Web Developer | 2014 | |||||
HtGWDC | Agency Clients | Developer | Yes | Yes | Cold Outreach | Find / Research Leads to Contact | $0 | Contact Local Dev Shops and Ad Agencies Also, let me reiterate the value of contacting local dev shops and ad agencies, and letting them know you're available. You may not get immediate work, but their having your name on file never hurts.
| dalek_999 Freelance Web Developer | 2014 | ||||
HtGWDC | Agency Clients | Developer | Yes | Yes | Networking | Expand Your Network | Offline | Rent a Desk From Well-Situated Business I 'positioned' myself back in 2013 by renting a desk from a business consultancy / PR firm in my local hometown, right next door to one of the leading design agencies in Scotland. As a result, I get a constant stream of qualified leads with decent budgets.
| Geoff Wordpress Consultant | 2019 | ||||
HtGWDC | Agency Clients | Developer | Networking | Expand Your Network | Offline | Look for Recruiters That Put You in Teams Rather Than in Solo Projects I work freelance both via agencies and directly to client. And 90% of the time I get work because someone I've previously worked along side of recommends me to their current employer. | Rickard Petersen | Rickisen Freelance Web/App Developer | 2018 | ||||||
HtGWDC | Agency Clients | Developer | Yes | Yes | Networking | Nurture / Follow-Up With Your Existing Network | $0 | Keep in Touch With Past Agency Colleagues Iʼve worked at some great digital & design agencies in my area (Aberdeen, UK) before going freelance so they all give me overflow work. Also when people move from these agencies they “take me along” as a consequence of having worked with them in the past. (This in particular was key to me surviving year 1 of freelance. Having worked in the industry already.)
| cowboyecosse Web Developer | 2018 | ||||
HtGWDC | Agency Clients | Designer | Yes | Networking | Expand Your Network | $0 | Make New Connections All the Time Iʼve made an effort this year to get myself out there and create a lot of new relationships with colleagues, web development shops, and design agencies, and itʼs already paying off with many new exciting projects that I would have never had the opportunity to be involved with before. Nothing is more valuable than a good long-term relationship that continues to bring you repeat business.
| Benek Lisefsk | Benek Limited Interactive Art Direction & Web UX/UI Design | 2016 | |||||
HtGWDC | Agency Clients | Developer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Networking | Expand Your Network | $0 | Offline | Take Temporary Onsite Agency Jobs Through Creative Staffing Agencies Take jobs from a creative temp agency like Aquent. …
| mwilke Frontend Developer | 2015 | ||
HtGWDC | Agency Clients | Developer | Yes | Networking | Nurture / Follow-Up With Your Existing Network | $0 | Stay in Touch with Previous Employers My next major client was through my previous employer. I left the employer, taking project knowledge with me (I had written hand-over documentation, but I still knew the system better than anyone else), so when that client came back my previous employer looking for more work, that work got passed straight on to me as a subcontractor.
| Samuel Levy | Determined Development Software Engineer, Consultant, MD of Determined Development | ||||||
HtGWDC | Agency Clients | Designer | Networking | Nurture / Follow-Up With Your Existing Network | $0 | Keep in Touch with Agency Contacts I'm heading into year 7 of full-time contracting with a bang- and all those connections I made when I did work at an agency are where I get most of my work these days.
| Kate Winsor | House of Winsor UX Strategist & Consultant - House of Winsor | |||||||
HtGWDC | Agency Clients | Designer | Yes | Strategic Giveaways | Give Away Services Strategically | $0 | A Free Website | Do a Free Website for an Agency I once did a free website for a talent management agency in London (calculated bet), she has since put tens of thousands of pounds of business our way.
| Conor Ashcroft | Metal Potato Web Designer | 2014 | ||||
HtGWDC | Clients from Freelancing Platforms | Developer | Yes | Bid on Projects Posted Online | Bolster Client Testimonials / Reviews | $0 | Online | Upwork | Build a Client Base on Upwork I started web development 8 or 9 years ago. I was still learning and decided to try Elance (now Upwork). Getting initial clients was pretty hard. I sent 120 bids to get the first project, which was the development of a basic Wordpress website. Took me 2-3 weeks and the pay was $240.
| Nick Surmanidze | Everycode Full-stack developer @ everycode.net | 2018 | |||
HtGWDC | Clients from Freelancing Platforms | Developer | Yes | Bid on Projects Posted Online | $0 | Online | Codeable | Join a Specialized Freelancing Platform I recently made the transition from a "real job" to full time freelance with the help of Codeable.io, if you're a WordPress expert I'd recommend you give them a try … It's nice to be part of platforms like this because there are new projects leads coming in all day, every day. … thatʼs where I find the majority of my freelancing clients. LinkedIn sends a few leads my way every now and again as well.
| Nathan Reimnitz | Nathan Ello Certified Expert WordPress Developer | 2015 | ||||
HtGWDC | Clients from Freelancing Platforms | Developer | Business Listings | Optimize Your Online CVs / Personal Bios | $0 | Online | Upwork | Set up a Specialist Profile on Upwork I've completed a total of 1 job on Upwork. I don't go searching, the client found me due my skills in a unique niche. I don't invest time on marketplace sites like Upwork because the competition is too much and its a race to the bottom in pricing.
| Chad Tiffin | Chad Tiffin Web Development Web Developer | |||||
HtGWDC | Clients from Freelancing Platforms | Developer | Yes | Yes | Online Reputation Management | Bolster Client Testimonials / Reviews | $0 | Online | Codeable | Establish Yourself on Codeable.io by Completing as Many Small Tasks as Possible An overwhelming majority (90%) of the projects Iʼve been hired for are those that I can complete within 1 day… To be crystal clear, Iʼm talking about projects at or below the $500 range.
| Nathan Reimnitz | Nathan Ello Certified Expert WordPress Developer | 2017 | ||
HtGWDC | Clients from Freelancing Platforms | Developer | Yes | Yes | Online Reputation Management | Bolster Client Testimonials / Reviews | $0 | Online | Upwork | Establish Yourself on Upwork by Bidding Low I've been freelance for the last 4 years, and worked on web dev also before that. What I've done was:
| Ngelx Web Developer | 2015 | ||
HtGWDC | Clients from Freelancing Platforms | Designer | Yes | Yes | Online Reputation Management | Bolster Client Testimonials / Reviews | $0 | Online | Start with Easy Fix Work to Build Up Reputation Many are (cheapskates,) but not everyone on there is. Part of the nuance is finding good job requests. It's no harder than cold calling, or asking past clients to put you in contact with businesspeople that they know. I like it because I can find people who are ready to get started quickly. I've heard a lot of people put the site down, but with some selective bidding I haven't had any issue getting paid well.
| Redditor Web Designer | 2014 | |||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Advertising | Advertise (Paid) | Online | Target Your Competitor's Potential Client's via Google Ads Target your competitors domain keywords and have your site above theirs via Ads on direct searches. That's the fastest way I know to make friends!
| Daniel Seymour | Clemson Web Design Front End Web Developer, Designer, Photographer, Writer & Entrepreneur @ Clemson Web Design | 2017 | ||||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Yes | Bid on Projects Posted Online | Respond to RFPs | $0 | Online | Bid on Projects From State RFP Sites I started with a part-time contract position for a local school system and did a good job. Eventually I had a niche and a good reputation and got a lot of work through word of mouth. I eventually had enough of a reputation that I had to start turning down gigs. I just quit my full time job last week. It's scary but great.
| Redditor Freelance Developer | 2015 | |||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Yes | Bid on Projects Posted Online | Respond to Local Classifieds | $0 | Online | Kijiji | Find Local Leads on Kijiji Check your local classifieds - I found good leads and projects on Kijiji :) … Look for the local opportunities, working with local business allows you to offer more value, so you are not just selling a commodity (your time) but offer some value (help to research business needs, come up with online lead generation strategy, etc)
| Andrei Filonov | Smart Foxes Freelance WordPress developer | 2015 | ||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Business Listings | Submit Your Company to Business Directories | $0 | Online | Wix Arena | List Your Business on the Wix Marketplace If youʼre a print designer whoʼs been dying to figure out how to add web design to your service offerings, Wix might be the perfect answer for you. ...
| Ian Gay | Ignite Design & Creative Freelance Creative | 2019 | ||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Yes | Business Listings | Submit Your Company to Business Directories | $0 | Online | Submit Your Business to Free Directory Listing Sites When i went freelance, I expected to get most of my business through freelance sites such as upwork / peopleperhour etc. I thought it would be a waste of time adding my details to online directories, as I live in a rural area.
| Gavin Coates | Nighthawk Software Ltd Web Developer | 2019 | |||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Business Listings | Submit Your Company to Business Directories | $0 | Online | Shopify Experts | Apply for a Public Listing in the Shopify Experts Directory I get 2-5 leads per day through my Shopify Experts listing. It's been phenomenal in growing my business.
| Kurt Elster | Ethercycle Shopify Expert since '11. Host: The Unofficial Shopify Podcast | 2014 | ||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | Yes | Cold Outreach | Find / Research Leads to Contact | $0 | A Paid Ready-To-Use Website | Online | Google Maps | Use Google Maps to Find Local Service Businesses with Crappy or No Websites Hereʼs a real tactical tip for you:
| Patrick Antinozzi | Rapid Web Launch Web Designer | 2019 | |
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | Yes | Cold Outreach | Find / Research Leads to Contact | $0 | Trawl Through Local Results Past Page 10 or 20 to Starting Finding the Gold Google is your friend here. Search the hell out of the industry youʼve picked to start making a list of potential matches. …
| Benek Lisefsk | Benek Limited Interactive Art Direction & Web UX/UI Design | 2018 | ||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Yes | Cold Outreach | Cold Calls / Cold Emails | $0 | Online | Rotate out Targeted Email Campaigns to Certain Industries I've always been shaky about this, as I don't like to be bothered myself and if you were to cold email no matter how good the message or offer, I'd delete it right away (I guarantee it). However, not everyone is as experienced with internet communication as we (tech people) are and they do actually read the emails sometimes.
| ghuster903 Web and Mobile Developer | 2018 | |||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Cold Outreach | Cold Calls / Cold Emails | $0 | Focusing on Your Local Region Is Better Than Upwork The amount of time and effort freelancer's put into bidding for jobs on these platforms [Upwork, etc.] could be used to find clients in the wild.
| ghuster903 Web and Mobile Developer | 2018 | |||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Cold Outreach | Find / Research Leads to Contact | Online | Buy Leads from Lead Generation Services This is going to sound cheesy, but I've found rock solid leads buying from lead gen shops on places like Fiverr and other small-time gig marketplaces.
| ghuster903 Web and Mobile Developer | 2018 | ||||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Yes | Cold Outreach | Cold Calls / Cold Emails | $0 | Online | Send Cold Emails to Hundreds of Local Businesses Cold emailing - you know what? This did work a few times.
| JD Fillmore | JD Front End Developer | 2017 | |||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | Yes | Cold Outreach | Cold Calls / Cold Emails | $0 | Online | Send Emails to Local Businesses I send about 5-10 emails a week to businesses near me. I've heard back from about 3/50 or so. I'm working with one now though. So, it does work, but in my experience it seems like a lot of companies with bad websites made a website and just kind of forgot about it along with the email address linked.
| Nick Morris | Nick Morris Freelance Web Developer | 2017 | |||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | Cold Outreach | Find / Research Leads to Contact | $0 | Offline | Target Businesses without Gatekeepers Going after businesses that can afford 5k websites, which is literally any business with 4 employees ever. Those types of businesses don't have gatekeepers. You just call the guy in charge and start chatting.
| JesusxFuckingxChrist | 2016 | ||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Cold Outreach | Find / Research Leads to Contact | $0 | Offline | Call Companies With 20-50 Employees Your best targets will be where the decision maker is not too far organizationally from the person who answers the phone. Company sizes 20-50 employees are a sweet spot, in my experience.
| Spencer Phillip Young | sPYoung Freelance software engineer and consultant | 2016 | ||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Yes | Cold Outreach | Find / Research Leads to Contact | $0 | Online | Browse Local Advertising Magazines for Potential Clients Got my first work through my girlfriend's step-dad, but landed my first "real" client last month. To be fair, I think I got lucky… I was browsing a local advertising magazine, and e-mailed a couple of businesses with non-responsive websites, explaining how a fresh re-design and a mobile-friendly site can benefit them. The second place I contacted gave me a call back within five minutes and agreed that their site "did need re-doing", and the rest is history.
| Redditor Web Developer | 2015 | |||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | Yes | Cold Outreach | Find / Research Leads to Contact | $0 | Online | Contact Local Businesses with Crappy Websites Check every business in your area that has a crappy website. I canʼt tell you how many clients I have who really wanted a new website and had no idea who to call.
| guruscotty Web Designer | ||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Cold Outreach | Find / Research Leads to Contact | $0 | Help Them Handle Overflow Work / Staffing Gaps | Online | Kijiji | Look for Gap Positions on Kijiji 4th Year full-time freelancer here.. Kijiji (like Craigslist in Canada) was the single biggest source of jobs for me. At the beginning nearly 100% of my clients were found by trolling the jobs ads for people looking for web designers/developers, and I would spend a lot of time replying to those ads with a quick summary of my expertise and how I could help them.
| Chad Tiffin | Chad Tiffin Web Development Web Developer | |
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | Cold Outreach | Find / Research Leads to Contact | $0 | Expand Their Offerings / Know-How With Your Skillset | Target Your Current Employer's Competitors Before I went freelance, I had been working part-time for a small business as their web and graphics guy. …
| MontegoBarbados Web Designer | |||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Content Marketing | Publish Blog Posts | $0 | Online | Write Industry-Specific Content to Help Prospects Like & Trust You Start a blog and say interesting/insightful things about your industry. Having a good blog has helped me to seal contracts a few times because it shows that I'm interested in the industry, not just "working a job", as such. It puts me in a position of reasonable authority, because I know enough about the industry I work in to write intelligent things about it.
| Samuel Levy | Determined Development Software Engineer, Consultant, MD of Determined Development | 2013 | ||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | CRO | Optimize Your Website for Inbound Inquiries | $0 | Instant Response to Pre-Sales Questions | Online | Offer Live Chat on Your Website Having conversations with potential customers through our website chat tool, Drift, has made a huge difference.
| Aloke Pillai | Pastel Designer/Co-founder at Pastel | 2018 | |||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | CRO | Optimize Your Website for Inbound Inquiries | $0 | Online | Share a Site With a Co-Operative of Creative Professionals We find a well populated website, with a clear 'menu' of the services we offer get's us enquiries every single day.
| James Adams | Designers Up North Director at Designers Up North Ltd | 2017 | ||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | CRO | Optimize Your Website for Inbound Inquiries | $0 | Instant Response to Pre-Sales Questions | Online | Offer Live Chat on Your Website Because I can honestly say, it now ranks up there in my top three lead generation tactics. Seriously.
| Bianca Board | Web123 Facebook Messenger Marketing Expert | Chatbot Strategist | Lead Generation | Revenue Growth | Chief Marketing Officer | 2016 | |||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | Yes | Networking | Expand Your Network | $0 | Offline | Advertise Your Services On a T-Shirt Ok, this one sounds silly but it helped me get my business off the ground.
| Mark Des Cotes | Marksman Design Owner of Marksman Design | Owner of Podcast Branding | Host of the Resourceful Designer Podcast | 2018 | |||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Networking | Nurture / Follow-Up With Your Existing Network | $0 | Get Work from Old Co-Workers Who Move On It's been 5 years since my last "real job" and I still get work from old coworkers who have moved on to new jobs where my services were needed. … My advice to you would be to build up a network of other skilled people who know that you do good work.
| mwilke Frontend Developer | 2015 | |||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Networking | Reply to Questions Online | $0 | Online | PM Answers to People on Reddit On reddit someone was asking about developer rates, I PMed him and ended working for him for 5 years. | uazaa Freelance Developer | 2015 | ||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Networking | Nurture / Follow-Up With Your Existing Network | $0 | Online | Continually Reach Out to People You Meet at Events When you follow up with people, you are showing that you care about the relationship you started [at the event.] But it doesnʼt end there. I continue to follow up with people.
| Brandon Yanofsky | MyWPexpert Freelance Full Stack Developer | 2015 | ||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | Networking | Nurture / Follow-Up With Your Existing Network | $0 | Online | Whenever Someone Connects on LinkedIn, Send Them a Short Personal Message One of my best sources for clients has been LinkedIn. Whenever someone connects with me, I send them a short personal message, letting them know that if they ever need help with WordPress or a website, or anything else for that matter, to not hesitate to contact me. Extremely simple, but it works, because so few people actually do it. I've got over 500 connects on LinkedIn, and very rarely will I get a note from someone I connect with unless I send one first. Most people just connect and move on, so if you actually engage with the people you connect with, you stand out. | Dave Soucy | Barefoot Web Designs, LLC Freelance WordPress Consultant | 2014 | ||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | Networking | Nurture / Follow-Up With Your Existing Network | $0 | Free, Personalized Tips at Expert Level | Online | Follow Up With Your Network I followed up [by email] with an entrepreneur I met a few years back, who had recently founded a company. He asked for my feedback on his product and any advice I had. I hopped on a call with him to discuss, and he later hired my consultancy for some internal design and UX work.
| Abhinav Marla Web Designer | 2014 | |||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Yes | Networking | Expand Your Network | $0 | Offline | Invest in Getting Your Name Out Yeah, it sucks. As a massive introvert, it's really tough for me. But get yourself out there. Go to local meetups, chamber of commerce meet and greets, conventions, whatever. Get your name out there.
| dalek_999 Freelance Web Developer | 2014 | |||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Yes | Networking | Expand Your Network | $0 | Offline | Local WordPress Meetup | Go to Local WP meetups Start going to your local WP meetup -- there are often potential clients there. Go to every WordCamp you can get to.
| dalek_999 Freelance Web Developer | 2014 | ||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Yes | Networking | Expand Your Network | Offline | Take Local Entrepreneurial Courses Take some local entrepreneurial courses -- guess what, all those people will be starting a business, and will need websites.
| dalek_999 Freelance Web Developer | 2014 | ||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Networking | Nurture / Follow-Up With Your Existing Network | $0 | Stay in Touch With Contacts That Change Employers Some of my existing clients have moved to other companies and have then called me up from their new offices.
| crazybones | 2014 | ||||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | Yes | Networking | Expand Your Network | Offline | Join a Co-Working Space, Position Yourself, and Be Approachable Shared Workspaces / Incubators - Huge. Establish yourself as a master of one topic or another, and be approachable.
| Tommy Geoco | Geoco Strategy & Design Product Designer (UX/UI) in Advertising Technology | 2014 | ||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | Networking | Ask Your Network for Leads | $0 | Always Tell Your Family & Friends that You Need More Work I always made it a point to tell all of my clients, friends, and family that I was always looking for more work. It turned out that someone always knew someone that needed my services.
| MontegoBarbados Web Designer | 2014 | |||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | Yes | Networking | Expand Your Network | $0 | Offline | Startup Weekend | Socialize at Local Startup Weekends I stopped freelancing a while ago, but when I did I would hit up local Startup Weekends.
| SeattleEsports Web Designer | 2014 | ||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Networking | Reply to Questions Online | $0 | Free, Personalized Tips at Expert Level | Online | Help People Out on LinkedIn Posting status updates [on LinkedIn] that are relevant to my field of work or commenting on new technologies/techniques as far as web development goes have also allowed me to find work easily. … | Rozo-D Web Developer | 2013 | |||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Networking | Reply to Questions Online | $0 | Free, Personalized Tips at Expert Level | Online | Help People out on Online Forums Posting to forums brings in a lot of work. When you constantly are answering questions for people, and your name keeps coming up, it does stick with people. | Lesley Paone | designhaus 42 Prestashop Developer E-commerce SEO Specialist | 2013 | |||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | Yes | Networking | Nurture / Follow-Up With Your Existing Network | $0 | Offline | Talk to Friends/Family/Acquaintances About What You Do My primary source is those I meet in day to day life -- friends, acquaintances, referrals from past clients or people in my social circle who know what I do.
| Benjamin Falk | Falken Creative Designer & Developer | 2013 | |||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Networking | Reply to Questions Online | $0 | Free, Personalized Tips at Expert Level | Online | Help People Out on Reddit I've received a few jobs via Reddit either by commenting in threads or messaging people directly that are in need of assistance. Basically show people that you exist AND that you know what you're talking about with a solid portfolio to back it up. I got a lot of gigs just by commenting in /r/webdev and people messaging me asking for help. | Rozo-D Web Developer | 2013 | |||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | Networking | Expand Your Network | Offline | BKK Web | Start Your Own Targeted Networking Event If you do not find any interesting groups in your town, you could create your own group.
| Jeremie Tisseau | Morphosis Apps Co. UI/UX Designer | 2011 | ||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | Yes | Networking | Nurture / Follow-Up With Your Existing Network | $0 | Reach out to Former Co-Workers Reach out to connections youʼve made during your corporate years. People youʼve worked with have also moved on to new companies, and there are always opportunities to be found through them.
| Elizabeth Manning | elm DesignWorks Owner / Designer at elm DesignWorks | |||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Online Reputation Management | Bolster Client Testimonials / Reviews | $0 | Online | Use Linkedin Recommendations for Proving Your Awesomeness I have gotten a ton of work from LinkedIn because I have a ton of awesome recommendations on there. | dalek_999 Freelance Web Developer | 2014 | |||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Promotions | Give Away Services Strategically | $0 | Online | Use a Contest to Give Away a 4-Hour Support Package Contests, yeah, we give time away for free.
| Lesley Paone | designhaus 42 Prestashop Developer E-commerce SEO Specialist | 2015 | |||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Referral Marketing | Crediting on Client Sites | $0 | Online | Request a "Designed by" Link on Client Websites I always ask to put a link to my portfolio in the footer of anything I'm working on, most people say yes. I always get a couple calls from that (usually from people in the same industry as the project they see it on). Also "he's got a link at the bottom of my site" is much more likely than someone writing down my name, email, phone, and / or site for a buddy of theirs.
| Redditor Web Developer | 2015 | |||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Referral Marketing | Pay for / Reward Referrals | $0 | Earn Referral Fees Paid by You | Pay Cash Bonuses to People That Refer Business Look after the people that send you business. Show them you appreciate it otherwise they might stop.
| Bianca Board | Web123 Facebook Messenger Marketing Expert | Chatbot Strategist | Lead Generation | Revenue Growth | Chief Marketing Officer | 2013 | |||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Designer | Yes | Yes | SEO | Local SEO | $0 | Online | Include Task, Geographical Location, and Type of Person in All Web Page Titles Iʼve been trying to work backwards in figuring out why I getting so many leads? … and I think a lot of that has to do with SEO.
| Matt Olpinski | Matthew's Design Co. Web & Mobile Design Consultant | 2017 | |||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Strategic Giveaways | Give Away Digital Assets | $0 | Free Digital Assets | Online | Give Away WP Themes, scripts, etc. on Your Blog One thing that really worked for me was to write a blog and offer free content on it (free Wordpress themes, jQuery or mootools scripts, icons, tutorials...).
| Jeremie Tisseau | Morphosis Apps Co. UI/UX Designer | 2011 | ||||
HtGWDC | Direct Clients | Developer | Yes | Yes | Tripwire Products or Services | Sell Small Digital Assets | $0 | Online | CodeCanyon | Sell Small Files on Online Marketplaces I sold some small files on codecanyon and met clients that way.
| Ryan Sadwick Application Developer at Qurate Retail Group | 2014 | ||
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Developer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Bid on Projects Posted Online | Expand Your Network | $0 | Online | JobServe | Apply for Contract Positions Through Recruiters Iʼve found nearly all my work for the last few years through JobServe, which is essentially just a job listing site, but very hot in the IT market. Bang some CVʼs at agents through that and let them do the legwork. Find an equivalent site in your country/region and get applying.
| Steve Mitchell Front End Architect | 2018 | |
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Developer | Yes | Yes | Networking | Expand Your Network | Referrals From You | Rent a Single Desk in a Co-Working Space I've worked part-time (1-3 days a week) in three different coworking spaces, two of them for a bit over a year, and the other for about nine years. …
| Paul Silver | Silver Web Services Search Engine Promotion and Web Development | 2019 | ||||
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Developer | Networking | Nurture / Follow-Up With Your Existing Network | $0 | Referrals From You | Refer Prospects That Can't Afford You to Other Developers One of the things you have to learn with sales is that you need to qualify your leads ASAP. … I ask for the budget upfront after the first conversation by sending them a questionnaire that specifically asks for their budget range. … Typically an unqualified lead will either stop filling out the form at that question and never respond to me again or simply respond back that I am out of their budget (I start at $2000). This helps to avoid wasting each other's time.
| ghuster903 Web and Mobile Developer | 2019 | |||||
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Developer | Yes | Yes | Networking | Partner up with Local or Industry Suppliers | $0 | Expand Their Offerings / Know-How With Your Skillset | Target Local Services for Small Businesses Find local businesses that merge well with yours and offer your services to them to sell to their clients. Examples: IT companies, computer stores, copy stores, or other places that serve small businesses. They're not likely to offer websites directly, but might be willing to contract you for it, or pass your info on to interested customers.
| dalek_999 Freelance Web Developer | 2014 | |||
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Designer | Yes | Networking | Ask Your Network for Leads | $0 | Remind Your Family & Friends to Drop Your Name I hit up friends and extended family, not for work, but for leads. You'd be surprised how diverse most families are and how willing they can be to drop your name when they hear of an opportunity.
| Andrew Nolte | Agile League Partner / Creative Director | 2014 | |||||
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Developer | Yes | Networking | Expand Your Network | $0 | Referrals From You | Work in Conjunction With a Couple of Designers I'm a shitty designer. I know that. So, I work in conjunction with a couple of designers, and we feed each other work. If I have a client that needs design work, then I contract the work out to one of my designers.
| dalek_999 Freelance Web Developer | 2014 | ||||
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Developer | Yes | Networking | Expand Your Network | $0 | Target Marketing Consultants Marketing Consultants have been a huge source of business for me as well. In fact, about 75% of my annual income in 2013 was from 3 marketing consultants alone!
| Frank Burder | Burder Creative TPA / Designer / Web Developer / WordPress / Shopify | 2014 | |||||
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Designer | Yes | Networking | Expand Your Network | $0 | Earn Referral Fees Paid by You | Target Event Managers Keep a lookout for anyone who manages events on a regular basis. They are forever in need of new websites for all the new events and contracts they manage. […] We have a handful of really great Event Managers as clients and one of them has brought us over 20 websites!
| Bianca Board | Web123 Facebook Messenger Marketing Expert | Chatbot Strategist | Lead Generation | Revenue Growth | Chief Marketing Officer | 2014 | ||||
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Designer | Networking | Expand Your Network | $0 | Referrals From You | Refer Work to Programmers Although I know my way around WordPress, I can't write an app from scratch. So, on a few occasions I've partnered up with a developer to build everything from an iPhone app, an intranet from scratch, and even a few Drupal sites. Sometimes I'm the one bringing work to a programmer, but a few times programmers have brought work to me.
| Paul Jarvis | Paul Jarvis/Fathom Analytics Designer/Author | 2014 | |||||
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Designer | Yes | Networking | Expand Your Network | $0 | Earn Referral Fees Paid by You | Target Business Coaches, Marketing Consultants, etc. Form strategic alliances with business coaches, marketing consultants, event managers, business advisory centres, copywriters, SEO companies and the like for a steady flow of inbound leads.
| Bianca Board | Web123 Facebook Messenger Marketing Expert | Chatbot Strategist | Lead Generation | Revenue Growth | Chief Marketing Officer | 2013 | ||||
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Developer | Networking | Expand Your Network | Referrals From You | Develop Close Relationships With Tech Suppliers For example: There are IT support companies out there that specialize in servicing dental practices. If you've happened to do websites for a couple of dentists, I would reach out to them and network. Find a way to refer business back and forth. | Redditor | 2013 | ||||||
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Developer | Yes | Networking | Expand Your Network | $0 | Help Them Handle Overflow Work / Staffing Gaps | Partner up With Other Web Developers Just started doing eCommerce, web design, and web dev as freelance 2 months ago. Its been slow, and its been hard finding clients. My background is that I've been full-time in web design/dev for 10+ years now, Magento Developer Plus Certified, worked on tons of high profile eCommerce sites, getting my MBA right now, and have 3+ years experience with WordPress, Joomla, & Drupal, can make themes for all from scratch. Its been tough, but is slowly coming along.
| gloomis120 Web Designer/Developer | 2013 | ||||
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Designer | Yes | Yes | Networking | Expand Your Network | $0 | Help Them Handle Overflow Work / Staffing Gaps | Get to Know Your Local Developers I've also found it super helpful to know others in the web industry in my local area. I often handle overflow work or have people pass on leads to me that they can't take on.
| Benjamin Falk | Falken Creative Designer & Developer | 2013 | |||
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Developer | Yes | Networking | Reply to Questions Online | $0 | Free, Personalized Tips at Expert Level | Online | Help out With API Issues on Freenode freenode on IRC.. I used to hang around #facebook on freenode and I'd help people with the API. Whenever people came in looking for a developer to hire, people would refer me.. There is definitely #ruby and other technology specific channels too.
| Dave Web Developer | ||||
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Developer | Yes | Networking | Expand Your Network | $0 | Help Them Handle Overflow Work / Staffing Gaps | Partner up With Other Web Techies Personally, I've found partnering up with people with complimentary skills, and being referred overflow work have been great ways of getting work. Both tend to involve less sales work than something like cold calling as you're pursuing a warm lead.
| tenpastmidnight Web Developer | |||||
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Designer | Yes | Strategic Giveaways | Give Away Services Strategically | $0 | A Free Website | Offer Free Sites + Paid Maintenance Plan to Build up a Client Base I did a number of sites for free, with a contract of what would be done, mock-up, etc., the whole deal. Part of the contract was a maintenance plan. I maintain the site, help with small things, and get a monthly fee. In the contract I also offer a great rate on future changes to the site or new projects.
| cant-make-this-up Website Designer/Developer | 2019 | ||||
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Developer | Yes | Strategic Giveaways | Give Away Services Strategically | $0 | A Free Website | Do a Free Website for a Pro Bono Organization I did a free website for a non profit organization. One of the advisors of said organization recommended me as a contractor with a business development company (grant writing, web site design, analytical marketing, social media, etc.) which he was best friends with the director of. That company contracted me out for three years throughout college.
| Skyler Roberts | Bizarre Media Web Developer | 2015 | ||||
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Designer | Yes | Strategic Giveaways | Give Away Services Strategically | $0 | Do Free Design Work for Pro Bono Organizations So, early on before I made the full freelancer shift, I donated my time to causes I felt strongly for. I did work for animal shelters and literacy programs and literary journals. It was a blast, I was able to do some fun book covers and get some basic web experience, which rounded out my portfolio. I made multiple contacts that turned into paying work later. It's a fine line to walk though, you don't want to devalue your own services.
| Andrew Nolte | The Agile League Partner / Creative Director | 2014 | |||||
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Designer | Yes | Strategic Giveaways | Give Away Services Strategically | $0 | Do Free Web/Graphic Design Work for Pro Bono Organizations I recommend doing some pro bono work.
| coaxial-flutter Web Designer | 2014 | |||||
HtGWDC | Referral Sources | Designer | Yes | Strategic Giveaways | Give Away Services Strategically | $0 | A Free Website | Barter a Website with a Graphic Designer in Exchange for Referrals The greatest client I have in terms of getting further clients is... a graphic designer. We had a barter for her website and she in turn has always looked out for me
| blandastical Web Designer | 2014 |
How to Get Web Design Clients