How I Get Clients as A Freelance Creative

The freelance market is tough. Talented creatives are struggling to find work, while brands are struggling to find creative talent.

How’s that possible? Well, one reason is that we creatives are great at marketing, but terrible at marketing ourselves.

So today, I’ll share everything I’ve learned about finding clients.

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TL;DR

Okay, let’s dive in.

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My Personal Experience

Hi, I’m Shlomo. I’ve been a freelance copywriter and creative for about six years. I started my career working with big ad agencies and brands like Siemens, Michelin, and Coke.

Then, I switched to B2B tech, making ads for Semrush, AppsFlyer, Riverside, HiBob, and dozens of small startups.

I’ve landed every single one of my clients using one of the methods below. And I believe that any talented creative can do the same.

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So, first, the basics.

Hiring conditions

Three things need to be true for a client to hire you:

1. Trust: The client trusts you as a person.
2. Pain: The client has a problem you can solve.
3. Taste: The client likes your work.

And each method below relies on one or more of these three conditions.

I’ll start with trust because, in my experience, it’s the biggest barrier.

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Method I: Friends and Family (Trust-First)

At 21, I decided I wanted to become a copywriter.

So I sent a message to my Middle School triathlon coach and offered to write SEO content for his team’s website.

Even though we hadn’t talked in 7 years – and neither of us really knew what SEO meant – he said, “Sure, yeah, why not?”

That was my first writing client. And he taught me an important lesson:

You see, hiring a freelancer is risky.

Clients are paying thousands of dollars to someone who might waste their time, money, or both.

So, hiring someone they know is often more important than their skills.

The nuggets effect

It reminds me of how, during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Usain Bolt only ate chicken nuggets from McDonald’s because he didn’t want to risk getting an upset stomach from unfamiliar local food.

So when you reach out to relatives, friends, or ex-colleagues, you eliminate the trust barrier.

That’s how most freelancers I know found their first client.

But now you might be thinking…

Great question! This leads us to our second method.

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Method II: Intros and Referrals (Trust-First)

Once you’ve built a basic portfolio and a small network, it’s time to chase better clients.

And I don’t know if the Six Degrees of Separation theory is true, but a warm intro can definitely take you far.

How to ask for an intro

Asking someone to introduce you is asking them to risk their reputation for you.

So don’t just ask for a favor, show them the value you’ll bring to the client. Here’s the template I use:

And a good intro should look something like this:

And once you get the intro, it’s quite similar to cold outreach, which we’ll discuss next.

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Method III: Cold Outreach (Pain-first)

Business owners and executives get loads of spam. Like this email I got last week:

So when I send cold outreach, I don’t ask for work. I do the work.

I research, find a problem, and then show exactly how I’d solve it.

The more bullish I am on the deal, the more time I spend on my pitch.

Example: my WordPress dev, Ridwan

1. He found a real problem on my site.

2. Then, showed me his step-by-step solution.

I hired him on the spot. We’ve been working together for two years now.

Don’t stop following up

Some people don’t reply on the first try. Or at all.

But I keep trying until I get a no.

I’ve learned that follow-ups are annoying only if they don’t add any value.

When I add more ideas or send fun emails, clients actually appreciate my persistence.

One client was interested at first, but then stopped replying after the holidays. This meme got the conversation going again:

“Isn’t it like working for free?”

Yes, but it pays off. I love the mindset of this 17-year-old who used cold outreach to land a $150k job:

“If they hire me, great. If they don’t, also great! I’ll try the same idea on another client or just have a new piece of content for my portfolio.”

And speaking of content…

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Method IV: Content Creation (Taste-First)

Sharing your work online matters. Ben Stiller found this artist on Instagram and hired him to create the opening credits for Severance.

Another example is Karen X Cheng. She started posting random video experiments.

Brands liked it, and now she’s making ads for Adobe and Google.

And I’ve built my audience on this principle too. My first viral posts were just me creating spec ads for Tinder and KeepCup.

These got me my first serious clients. So share the work you want to create, and if it’s good, the right clients will come.

It can be a:

• Dribbble/Behance profile
• Social Media Account
• Blog/Newsletter
• Podcast

Sure, content creation is not for everyone. But before you give up on this, consider an easier option:

Communities and groups

Helping people in a small Facebook group or in your coworking space’s Slack channel is also “content.”

And it’s often even more effective than just posting on social media.

In a Facebook group about the course-creation software I’m using, there’s a guy who posts guides and helps people with their questions. It’s a small group, but he gets tons of clients from it.

And once you start sharing content online, I also recommend presenting it in front of a live audience. Here’s why…

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Method V: Speaking (Taste-First)

I used to buy tickets to every industry event, but the same thing happened every time:

I’d go there, have awkward networking small talk, eat a dry sandwich, sit through a bunch of talks, and go home without meeting a single client.

But then, I got invited to speak at a small marketing event in Berlin.

There were fewer than a hundred people in the room, but I got 3 solid freelancing offers.

Since then, public speaking has gotten me 50% of my clients.

Getting speaking gigs isn’t easy without a corporate job title.

But if you create good content, someone will let you speak.

How to find events you can speak at

I use this Perplexity/ChatGPT prompt template:

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Pro Tip: Stack Methods

Each method above works by itself, but combining them increases your chances even more.

A few months ago, I wanted to work with one of the fastest-growing startups in the world.

Here’s what I did:

1. Outreach (pain): I spent 20+ hours finding missed opportunities and writing a growth plan with content strategy and ad examples.

2. Content creation (taste): I added links to my previous ads and content.

3. Intro (trust): I found out that a friend of mine knows the founder and added a photo with her to my pitch.

It was a big bet, but to my surprise, it worked.

We met for coffee the next day, and I got the gig.

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Bonus: Choosing Your Clients

Freelance work is like LEGOs. One piece sits on top of another.

Clients refer to each other. People will hire you based on your case studies.

So don’t try to save sinking companies. Instead, try to find underrated products that already have strong demand.

For example, my friend Eddie always checks if a company has a high-quality email list before working with them. He sets himself up for success. That’s why he’s a top 1% freelancer.

More than money

The money you’re paid shouldn’t be the only value you get from a project. Strong portfolio pieces, solid case studies, and referrals often matter way more in the long run.

Julian Shapiro, one of my favorite bloggers, outlined seven ways you can get value from a project:

So I try to choose projects that help me learn, grow my audience, and build meaningful connections.

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Methods I haven’t tried

These methods work too, but I haven’t tried them myself.

• Free audits and consulting: Offer free calls on websites like Growth Mentor, then convert people into clients.
• Paid ads: If you’re ready to scale or sell a premium service.
• Freelancing platforms: Upwork, Contra, Fiverr, etc.

You made it!

Writing this took way too long, but if it helps even one person land a new gig, it was worth it 🙂