41 Getting Clients
Learn how to think like a client, adjust your website, and position yourself for long-term freelancing success
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Client CommunicationMarketing & Positioning
How to Cold Email Freelance Clients (Without Damaging Your Reputation)
Learn how to do cold outreach without sounding desperate or spammy, especially if you’re introverted and prefer attracting clients through your website.
Career TransitionsMarketing & Positioning
Freelancing Through Economic Turmoil — A Guide to Life After Layoff
Laid off from your tech job? Learn how to pivot into freelancing with practical tips on mindset, money, positioning, and building momentum.
Career TransitionsNews & Opinion
10 Years Since I Started Freelancing Full-Time (My Story and What I Learned Along the Way)
On the 10-year anniversary of going full-time freelance, Matt Olpinski reflects on the journey from college side projects to a six-figure business and the lessons new freelancers need to hear.
Marketing & PositioningNews & Opinion
How AI is Reshaping Freelancing (and What You Should Do About It)
Understand how AI is reshaping freelancing and learn strategies to stay valuable in an increasingly automated environment.
Client CommunicationProposals & Contracts
How to Stop Freelance Clients from Ghosting You
Have you ever been ghosted by a freelance client after spending time writing a proposal? Learn how to win more freelance clients by adjusting your sales process.
News & Opinion
Why I Switched from Google Analytics to Plausible Analytics
Plausible Analytics is a breath of fresh air compared to the dumpster fire that Google Analytics has become. Find out why I switched and why you should too!
Payments & InvoicingPricing & Rates
Hourly Rates vs. Fixed-Pricing
Pricing freelance projects can be a confusing and even contentious topic. But all types of freelancing pricing strategies fall into two distinct categories: time-based or fixed pricing.
Client CommunicationProject Management
How to Prepare for Client Calls (and Avoid Nervous Rambling)
You're on the phone with a potential new freelance client. The conversation is going smoothly until they ask about cost and timeline. Suddenly, your anxiety kicks in...
Pricing & RatesProposals & Contracts
How to Estimate the Cost of a Freelance Project
Estimating the cost of a project is one of the most important requirements of freelancing. You'll need to calculate hours, set a rate, and present a proposal to the client.
Payments & InvoicingPricing & Rates
Should You Ever Work for Free as a Freelancer?
Sometimes it makes sense to work for free. Other times may require more discernment. Either way, you should always receive something of value.
Career TransitionsGuest ArticlesMarketing & Positioning
How to Market Yourself During Your First Year of Freelancing
If you want to make real money as a freelancer, you have to start treating your career like a business – and that begins with learning how to market yourself.
Career TransitionsNews & Opinion
Why I Took a Full-Time Job After 10+ Years of Freelancing
On November 29th, 2021, after more than a decade of freelancing, I started a full-time job as a Senior Product Designer II at Instacart.
Guest ArticlesProductivity
How to Stay Organized and Determine Priorities as a Freelancer
Organization skills are key for freelancers. If you know how to stay organized, you can track work projects and complete them on schedule. You're also well-equipped to set priorities and stick to them.
Getting ClientsGuest Articles
How to Get Your First 10 Clients as a Freelancer
The gig economy is growing faster than ever, but breaking into the freelance lifestyle can feel like a daunting task. These expert tips will help you get your first 10 clients.
Getting ClientsPortfolio Websites
How to Supercharge Your Website’s Contact Form (and Attract Better Freelance Clients)
If your websites contact form only collects name, email, and message, you're missing out on a huge opportunity to get high quality freelance leads.
Getting ClientsProject Management
What is Project Roadmapping and When Should You Use It?
Don't waste hours talking with a freelance clients only to have them "go in a different direction". Use Project Roadmapping to build trust, provide value, and get paid to plan the project!
Guest ArticlesPortfolio Websites
4 Ways To Get Better Testimonials From Your Freelance Clients
When businesses look for a freelancer, they’re looking for someone they can trust. Great copy and a nifty design aren’t enough. You need to demonstrate your worth using testimonials as social proof.
Getting ClientsGuest Articles
How Instagram Can Help You Attract More Freelance Clients
Building a business requires you to see everything from a marketing perspective. Using a popular platform such as Instagram, you can build your online presence, attract more freelance clients, and earn more money.
Guest ArticlesLifestyleProductivity
How to Avoid Creative and Mental Blocks as a Freelancer
Freelancers often face the consequences of burnout, stress, and fatigue to stay ahead. These healthy life tips will help you avoid creative and mental blocks when freelancing
Pricing & Rates
How to Price Your Services as a First-Time Freelancer
Create a strong pricing framework for your services. Build confidence and improve client relationships with a clear pricing strategy.
Client CommunicationGuest Articles
How to Systemize Communication With Leads (+ 11 FREE Templates!)
When I first started freelancing, I'd spend hours of precious, billable time writing the same responses to the same requests and questions practically every day, which added up to lot of wasted time and…
Client CommunicationGetting Clients
7 Questions to Ask Your Freelance Clients Before Starting Work
Almost every major conflict you'll face as a freelancer will stem from asking the wrong questions to your clients before starting a new project.
Getting ClientsProposals & Contracts
What’s the Difference Between a Proposal and a Contract?
Freelance proposals and contracts serve different purposes and should be presented to the client as two separate documents. Find out what to include in each of them!
Marketing & PositioningPortfolio Websites
5 Reasons Why You Need to Have Your Own Portfolio Website
Have you ever wondered why you should have your own portfolio website? Having your own website will increase your online visibility and help you get more freelance clients
Getting Clients
How to Earn Freelance Income Without Any Clients
Did you know that you can start earning money right away, without any freelance clients? All you have to do is sell your own work!
Getting ClientsMarketing & PositioningPortfolio Websites
Why Thinking Like a Client Will Change Your Freelancing Career Forever
Most portfolio websites are focused on the wrong person. Thinking like a client might be all you need to kickstart your freelancing career. Find out how seeing myself from the perspective of a paying…
Getting ClientsMarketing & Positioning
How I Earned My First $10,000 as a Freelance Web Designer
It took me a full four years to earn my first $10,000 of freelance income. I didn't know what I was doing, but I didn't let anything hold me back. When it comes to…
Client CommunicationGetting ClientsProject Management
How to Avoid Working With Bad Freelance Clients
I only experience problems with clients when I break my own rules. Accepting that position, attitude, and perspective is what enables you to learn and grow from your mistakes and make better decisions in…
Career TransitionsPayments & Invoicing
How I Turned One Small Freelance Project Into Years of Predictable Income
There's nothing more valuable than having predictable income when you're a freelancer. Unreliable income holds us hostage to our business even if we've managed to free ourselves from past employers.
Getting ClientsMarketing & Positioning
How to Find More Freelance Clients
If you're trying to find more freelance clients, you've got it all backwards. Instead, spend time giving potential clients more ways to find you.
Client CommunicationGetting ClientsProject Management
How to Politely Decline a Freelance Project (With 3 Examples)
You won't be a good fit for every project, but don't leave your clients empty-handed. Learn how to politely decline projects while guiding them toward success.
Getting ClientsMarketing & Positioning
How to Market Yourself to Startups as a Freelancer
Over 100 million new businesses each year are trying to stake their claim in the startup world, but with so many businesses trying to create "the next big thing", finding the right startup to work…
Getting ClientsMarketing & Positioning
Should you call yourself a freelancer or a consultant?
Before deciding what to call yourself, it's important to understand how people perceive consultants and freelancers, but at the end of the day, the way you position yourself is more important than what you call…
Pricing & RatesProposals & Contracts
How I Sold a $6,000 Website to a Non-Profit Using Value-Based Pricing
Find out how I sold a $6,000 website to a non-profit using value-based pricing and why they agreed to pay 100% of the total cost upfront.
Payments & InvoicingPricing & RatesProposals & Contracts
Why You Should Charge 100% Upfront (and How to Actually Do It)
Have you ever been stiffed by a client? You convinced them to hire you, everyone was eager to get stared, and everything seemed to be going great, but the client either paid you late or…
Getting ClientsMarketing & Positioning
How to Identify and Attract Your Ideal Freelance Client
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have the perfect clients always reaching out to you for work? It’s not only possible, but completely attainable for any freelancer. The key to attracting the right clients starts…
Client CommunicationGetting Clients
How to Convert Your Leads Into High-Paying Freelance Clients
As freelancers, we put a lot of time and effort into getting new leads, but we often forget how to close the deal once they arrive. A new lead isn’t much to brag about…
Getting ClientsProposals & Contracts
How to Write a Winning Freelance Project Proposal
Writing a winning proposal starts long before the proposal is written. You have to ask qualifying questions and determine if the client is a good fit. Then present the project in the most effective…
Getting ClientsMarketing & PositioningPortfolio Websites
Get Hired With The Perfect Online Student Portfolio
If you are pursuing a degree in any digital or creative field, it is no longer optional that you have a personal website to show off your best work to potential employers. Thanks to many…
Client CommunicationGetting Clients
10 Signs You’re About to Work With a Difficult Freelance Client
It's difficult to know which clients to work with and which ones to avoid. It's not always easy because that can sometimes mean rejecting potential income and a new portfolio piece, but working with the…
Getting ClientsMarketing & Positioning
The Golden Question No Other Freelancer Is Asking
Most freelancers overlook this one question that instantly builds trust, uncovers real client goals, and helps you win better projects. Here's how to use it.