How I Attracted Content Strategy Clients When I Was New to Freelancing
/When I started freelancing in 2017, I wasn’t new to content strategy — but I was new to finding, pitching, and onboarding my work myself.
Plus, about 30% of my work was on content strategy and 70%, on writing projects. From the start, I intended to flip that ratio.
Luckily, I discovered that I enjoyed the process of attracting clients — it didn’t have to feel forced, with the right techniques.
If you’re new to freelancing, or if you’re new to selling content strategy as a service, then you may be in the same boat.
If that’s the case, then try these three methods for acquiring content strategy clients early on.
3 ways to get CONTENT STRATEGY CLIENTS EARLY ON
These aren’t the end-all-be-all methods! There are so many more.
They’re just the three that worked best for me, when I was new to selling my freelance services.
1. I STARTED SMALL
My content strategy framework includes three components:
Research and insights
Strategy setting
Activation
But when I first worked independently, sometimes I just pitched the research.
For example, I’d propose a content audit instead of a full strategy:
“I see that you have 50+ blog posts. I would like to do a blog audit and give you recommendations to optimize and republish the top-performing articles.”
In another example, I might pitch a competitive analysis:
“You have a lot of competitors creating great content. But I’ve noticed none of them are doing video. Can I do a competitive analysis to test that theory? If I confirm that hypothesis, I will also share ideas on videos that will stand out.”
These smaller projects were an easy “yes” from the client. They have a clear end result and a lower price point than a full content strategy.
My challenge to you: Decide which smaller projects you’re most excited to try.
2. I UPSOLD RETAINER WRITING CLIENTS
I often pitched those small projects to my retainer clients that I was writing for.
These clients already knew and trusted me.
I always kicked off the conversation with:
“I noticed that….”
For example:
“I noticed that long-form blog posts perform best. Can I investigate that further?”
“I noticed that this website page is driving a lot of organic search traffic. I’d like to learn which keywords are driving the traffic and share recommendations for more content on those topics.”
Because I had a retainer scope in place, fitting these projects in was easy. I’d simply rearrange my scope for the upcoming month.
For example, let’s say I was scoped for 4 blog posts and a newsletter per month for a client.
Instead, I’d write 2 blog posts + the small project in a month for the same price.
My challenge to you: Look at your retainer writing clients — or, your repeat writing clients. Ask yourself: What should they learn about their content?
3. I LEANED ON THE “CONNECTORS” IN MY LIFE
Think about the person in your life — whether in your family, friend group, or professional life — who thrives off saying “Oh, I know the person for that!”
Connectors truly enjoy introducing people from different parts of their lives.
I turned to 2 wonderful connectors in my life when I started working independently. They both knew I wanted to write less and do content strategy more.
They introduced me to clients that were good fits for content strategy work. Better yet: Because they’d made the introduction, the trust was already built.
My challenge to you: Uncover 1-3 connectors in your life. Ask yourself: Do they know what I do professionally, and what I’d like to do next? If not, schedule a catch up.