Freelance Guide to Building a Client List

I don’t know what your writing focus is.

I don’t have to. When it comes to finding freelance writing clients, there are quite a few similarities in how most writers market. No matter what marketing mix you use.

But first, you have to know who you’ll market to, don’t you?

I can’t help you too much with what kind of client you want, but I can offer this advice:

Look at the clients you’re working with or have worked with whom you have loved. What about them do you love? What would make the other clients ones you love just as much? What do these great clients not have that would make them even better?

You’ve just defined who you’ll be marketing to. Finding them is easy — they’re all over social media. They’re being written about (those press releases you keep seeing come in handy at this point). They’re quoted in articles. And yes, you should be reading articles in whatever area you want to be writing in.

There they are.

Now, how are you building that list?

[bctt tweet=”How are you finding the #freelancewriting clients you really want to work with?” username=”LoriWidmer”]

Here’s where to look:

The website.

Duh, right? You should be doing this anyway, but give yourself a few minutes browsing their website to see if they really mesh with who you are. For instance, you may be a hardcore environmentalist. Are you comfortable working with a company that invests heavily in oil and gas?

The website also reveals other things, which you will need: contact information.

That leads us to the next place to look:

The website news area.

They may call it their Newsroom or their Contact section or their Resources area. But somewhere in there you may find press contacts. You may have to open a few press releases or read a few blog posts to see who might be handling the marketing.

And there’s the first item you need from that website:

A marketing contact.

When you market to a company, you want to be in front of the person who makes the decisions about marketing budgets and contractor help. In many cases, that’s your marketing director, marketing manager, business development head, or hey, the CEO or president if it’s a small company.  I default to the marketing contact when there’s no clear indication of who’s in charge. All you need is an email.

Here’s where frustration sets in. There are a maddening number of company websites that do not include a single email address. Zip. But if they have a phone number, that’s what you put on your marketing list. At that point, you can call the main number and ask who’s in charge of marketing and what their email might be (you may/may not get that info) or their direct number. (Good luck during COVID-19 shutdowns, but do try.) You’re not selling anything at this point. You’re building a list.

The social media links.

Another important area of the website is where they post. Not all companies have a social media presence, but those who do often put that info prominently on the page. If not, check the Newsroom or Contact page. These could provide your first contact with this prospect.

Other websites.

For me, I find a lot of contact information on aggregate lists. Membership sites often do not share this info as folks pay a hefty price for mere access to such things, but there’s a workaround.

Conferences often have lists of exhibitors. Yes, it limits you to those companies that are exhibiting, but depending on the size of the conference, that could be a pretty big list. In most cases, trade shows will include the email of some company rep, often sales folks. That gives you plenty of info — company summary and address, and often some form of contact info, frequently including email. And that tells you even more; it reveals how the company emails are typically set up (firstname.lastname@company.com, for example) and more importantly, it gives you access to a real human. You can send the contact an email asking who the appropriate person would be to contact about marketing.

Also, don’t overlook other websites, including trade publication sites. Loads of thought leadership pieces are out there, and some include direct contact info for the author. Not only that, it’s also insight into what they’re talking about and what they want to present to their customers.

Professional forums.

Forums can provide loads of contacts. They also provide a way for you to meet and connect with these contacts. Plus, you get to see what they’re talking about before you ever decide if you want to pursue their business. You probably won’t get an email address, but you have the ability to meet them in their comfort zone, which is golden.

Online searches.

This is one of the “if all else fails” options for finding client contact info (except for magazines — this is a great way to find editorial contacts). Open your favorite browser. Type in a company name or, if you’ve located a contact’s name but no email, type that in. Or try searching for “COMPANY media contact” or “MAGAZINE editorial guidelines” (assuming you’re also building a list of editorial contacts). If you’re really lucky, you’ll find the info. Also, try searching for “COMPANY email” to see what happens.

Your own in box.

If you’ve been working in a certain focus area for any length of time, you’re on someone’s email list. Guaranteed. Search your email for that company. There’s a really good chance they’ve already been in touch, which also gives you something to introduce yourself with. It happened to me not long ago — I searched that website and could not locate one mention of one media person. Then I thought Wait, didn’t they send me something a few months ago? There it was — an email from their marketing person with the email address right in front of me.

It’s one reason I don’t empty my Deleted folders for months. You never know when you’ll need that press release for research, and those contacts could have already contacted you. And besides, you know you’ll need something the day after you hit Delete Permanently.

Building a client list takes some effort. But the time you put into locating clients you want to work for puts you one step closer to building relationships with people you’ll love to be working with.

Writers, how have you built your client list?
What’s your tried-and-true method of finding prospective clients?