Find Your Perfect Client

As a freelancer, you have the opportunity to work with anyone you like from anywhere you want. That's awesome, right?

However, not all clients appreciate your work or align with your ideals. While you are grateful for having clients, something may not feel right and you might get stressed working with clients you don't get along with.

We at Job Studio designed this guide for you to find the clients that suit you best and match your expectations. Let's get going!

Stay Away from Work that Doesn't Fit your Values

Be careful about accepting every work offer. You should always look for work that matches your values and aligns with your professional goals. Here are some red flags to consider when communicating with potential clients:

If your client is requesting a job that isn't consistent with your message

Be picky when it comes to requests and avoid doing something that isn't in line with your message as it can negatively impact your brand trust and integrity.

For example, You are a social media manager and a client requests to engage in unethical practices, such as buying followers or using bots to inflate engagement metrics.

If a client doesn’t appreciate your time

Constantly disregarding or undervaluing your time is a big red flag. Your time as a freelancer is your most important asset, therefore avoid working with clients that don't value your time.

For example, Last minute cancelling and rescheduling, constantly responding late and expecting you to be constantly available outside of agreed-upon working hours.

If a client has a poor reputation

It is important to research a potential client before agreeing to work with them. You can do this by a simple Google search of their name or checking freelancing websites and LinkedIn. If you find poor feedback, negative reviews, or complaints from other freelancers, it is wise to approach the client with caution and consider the potential risks involved.

Register an account at JobStudio and check out our jobs section, where you can find your client’s details, job expectations and location before making a decision.

Identifying Your Ideal Client

If you are targeting everyone, you are targeting no one.

While providing your services to as many clients as possible is great the truth is, you are distracting yourself. Instead, look at the clients you have right now and think about what is in common between them, this could be their location, age or sex, education level, etc...

This is your target audience (try to think of them as one ideal customer in your head) and you should focus your efforts on serving those clients in the best way possible.

Now you might think, what do I get out of making an ideal customer, and what happens if I don't? Having an ideal customer is VERY important for your marketing, but more details on that later in the article.

Pricing Strategy

How you price your services has a huge impact on your freelance business. You must charge what you are worth and at the same time stay relevant in a competitive market, so it can be quite tricky. A good pricing strategy should::

Include your skills, knowledge, and experience. The more specialized your skills are and the more in-depth knowledge you possess, the higher your rates should be.
Market research: Conduct research by comparing your offering with other freelancers in your country (in this case it's Iraq). Check their skill level, expertise and pricing, and this will give you a general idea of the price range.
Value-based pricing: Instead of solely basing your pricing on hours worked, build up your brand, acknowledge your unique selling points and value proposition, and price your services according to that. This will allow you to charge higher rates but at the same time forces you to allocate more time into marketing.
Adjust pricing over time: As you gain experience, expertise, and reputation, you can gradually increase your rates. Regularly assess and adjust your pricing strategy to reflect your growth and the value you offer. It also helps to share client testimonials so that there is a justification behind the higher pricing.

Having a hard time pricing your services? Read our article on pricing strategy here.

Reach your Clients Before they Reach you

Marketing marketing marketing. If you want to attract the right customers and secure more deals, you have to increase your promotions and marketing. The first step in marketing is finding your ideal client and you do that by making a persona, see this picture below which explains all the important elements of a client persona

Once you have identified your ideal client it is time to ask, how do I reach them?

The answer is:

Start sharing your beautiful portfolio: Your portfolio is like the front door of your business. A good portfolio should include your best projects, customer testimonials, ways to contact you, your unique selling point, and your value. Whenever you feel ready, don't hesitate to share it on the internet and social media. You can even send emails and offers to clients whom you think would be interested in your services, read more about email marketing here.
Network: Most people work with people that they have trust in. This trust can be achieved by being in their network, having professional relations with possible clients and/or getting referrals and recommendations from your past clients. So make sure to attend events, build professional relationships, and ask previous clients to give you feedback and recommendations.
Invest in creating useful content: Marketing by content has proven to be one of the most successful approaches for freelancers. Try to offer free consultations, make a public blog or generally provide any useful resources publicly. Not only is it a great marketing approach for you, but it can benefit many others as well. Marketing strategies need planning, research and studying, so do your homework and figure out the best way for you to utilize marketing in your favour. Don’t sit and wait for clients, but find them yourself.

Identify your Niche

We have talked a lot about the freelancer's side but what if we switch to the client's side?

To target a specific group of clients (the ideal ones) you need to have a specific skill set in your field. A client that pays well and offers a top-notch experience expects a freelancer who is skilful and specialized in a certain area of their field.

Examples of niches can be:

A copywriter who is specialized in TV commercials and billboards. This type of freelancer usually targets large corporations due to their ability to create such advertisements.
A graphic designer who specializes in creating and developing visual branding elements of a business, this type of freelancer usually targets newly established businesses.
A social media expert who specializes in small business online presence development, and usually targets small business owners themselves.

Identifying your niche and ideal client are not separate activities, each one is dependent on the other.

Conclusion

The search for the ideal client is a never-ending, evolving process. But with a strategic approach, you can significantly increase your chances of finding clients who align with your values, appreciate your work, and contribute to your growth as a freelancer. Remember to stay true to your values and put the effort into marketing as it will pay off later.

Job Studio wishes you all the luck on your journey and has a range of clients looking forward to working with you on the Jobs section.