How To Get Your First Freelance Client: [The Ugly Truth]
Hello everybody, no matther where you are in this world, if you are a freelancer you lready had the same problem. I deffinetelly can affirm this, and most of you can confirm that finding your first freelance client feels like trying to get a date when you’ve been single for three years, or more:)
You’re confident in theory, but when it’s go time, your inbox is emptier than your fridge before payday, yep, not a funny joke, but a reality check.
But hey,can’t escape the process, because every freelancer starts here. You just need the right strategy, the right mindset, and the right way to market yourself (without sounding like a desperate robot).
If you’ve been Googling “how to find your first freelance client”, congrats, at least you’re trying to give yourself the best shot, and you’re already smarter than 90% of beginners who think clients just appear out of thin air.
Step 1: Build an identity before you sell anything
Most beginners make this mistake: they rush to find clients before they even know who they are as freelancers. Ask yourself: would you buy from you? Is your service even needed that much, or for that much money?
Define your niche. Not “I can do everything.” No, you’re not Santa Clauss, to know everything!
Pick one skill you can get paid for, even if you’re not perfect at it yet. Hint – this needs to be something you enjoy doing, or at least you can tolerate and find a bit of excitement in there.
✅ Example niches that pay well for beginners:
- Social media post design
- Blog writing or SEO content
- Video editing for YouTube Shorts
- Website bug fixes
- Virtual assistance for small businesses
💡 Pro tip: Go on Fiverr or Upwork, look at what beginners are selling, and note which gigs have “Recently Delivered” tags. That means people are buying right now.
🎯 Step 2: Optimize your profile like a mini-website
Think of your freelancer profile as your personal landing page, because that what it should be, and you also need to have that too (not only a profile on a few freelancing platforms)
If you can’t convince a stranger in 10 seconds that you’re the solution to their problem, they’ll move on.
Use these 3 copy tricks:
- Start your bio with what they need, not who you are. “I help small businesses grow through social media design that actually converts.”
- Add real metrics, because people remember numbers not words, if you can (“helped 3 clients grow engagement by 40%”).
- Use a friendly call-to-action: “Let’s talk about your project today, I usually reply within 1 hour.”
💬 SEO tip: Sprinkle phrases like freelance services, hire freelancer, and remote design help naturally in your description. These increase visibility on Upwork and Google alike.
Step 3: Craft proposals that actually get replies
Everyone says “write a personalized proposal,” but nobody explains how.
Here’s my proposal formula:
- Hook: Mention something specific about their project. “I checked your website and your images load slowly, that’s killing conversions.”
- Value: Explain how you’d fix it, fast. “I can compress and optimize your media while keeping quality intact.”
- Proof: Mention experience (even fake projects count). “I’ve done this for 3 small business sites this month.”
- Soft CTA: “Want me to show you a 30-second preview of how I’d do it?”
That one line (“Want me to show you…”) triples your chances of getting a reply. Ok, ok, maybe not tripple, but it deffinetelly helps a lot!
Step 4: Don’t wait for clients, go where they already are
The biggest freelancing lie? “Clients will find you.” Yeah sure, like the one with – women will find you haha – not if you’re ugly, or broke, or both lol.
And right now, with no experience and a portfolio that looks like a chicken without feathers, you’re basically all 3: poor, ugly and old! Trust me, I know from my own experience:))
Take this as a motivational monday guru quote, and move on!
Here’s where your first freelance client might actually be hiding:
- LinkedIn: Engage on posts from business owners. Comment something valuable.
- Reddit: Subreddits like r/forhire, r/smallbusiness, r/startups – goldmine if you’re not spammy.
- Facebook Groups: Search “[your niche] + entrepreneurs”. Answer questions, build trust, DM smart.
- Twitter/X: Offer value, show mini case studies, and tag people who need what you offer.
- Under a Rock: Literally …because why not? Yes, you may find your client in a park (AKA Central Park) drinking a coffee and talking at the phone about a service that you’ll provide, but you need to have your business card on you, a lot of guts to approach people in public and also luck, but we all know that’s not you, so let’s move on!
💡 Bonus: Use Google Search Console and Quora to find questions related to your niche, then answer them and plug your services naturally.
Step 5: Create your “fake momentum”
Nobody wants to be your first client. Sad but true. So you need to fake it till you make it, I mean even rappers have fake chains and everything, so why not freelancers fake a little bit of success too?
So here’s the hack: don’t look like a beginner.
Build 3–5 mini projects and post them like real case studies (these can be your own websites, family member that don’t know they need a 3D video of their basement coach to sell on Facebook Marketplace and so on):
- “Client needed a rebrand, here’s how I redesigned their logo.”
- “This website was losing traffic, I fixed their SEO titles.”
Even if the “client” was your cousin or your cat, it builds credibility. Yes, your cat needs food – Bingo! You create cat food ads now, see? Everything clicks in a few seconds!
💬 SEO tip: Post those projects on your own blog or portfolio with titles like:
“Freelance graphic design for small business branding”
This helps you rank long-term for freelance-related searches.
Step 6: Offer micro value first, then upsell
This one’s straight from the OG Husslers Playbook.
Offer something tiny but tangible for free, like a logo sketch, a short audit, or a rewritten headline. Notice I didn’t say it needs to be free! You should still charge for that, but not too much!
Once they see your skill, they’ll ask what else you can do.
That’s when you upsell naturally, getting clients is like fishing, so just relax and enjoy the process! Let the tools to the job for you, and so on.
Step 7: Consistency over perfection
Finding your first client isn’t about luck, altho you may need it, or like in my case it was not only luck, but God Himself show up and brought, my first client to me exactly on Christmass Day! I know, its hard to believe, but I have proof from the sale email for those of you who wanna check – just contact me here 🙂
It’s about volume + learning. Here’s what ChatGPT told me LOL:
✅ Send 5 proposals a day! Nah FT, send as many as you can!
✅ Engage with 3 new people on LinkedIn! are you serious? What are those 3 people suppose to do, give you a like? You need to pump those numbers kid!
✅ Post one new mini-project per week. Clearlly my boy ChatGPT wanted to say per day, but it was scared our new generation won’t like it.
Do that for 30 days and your chances of landing a client skyrocket. Maybe do that until you get your first client, right? Right!
Remember, most freelancers quit after sending 10 proposals. You just have to outlast them.
Dude, or madmoiselle freelancerice – I send 5 proposals just while I’m drinking my coffee for the love of game, to see what else I can get today 🙂
Bottom Line
I hate this expression – bottom line, it means you’re basically dead, or almost, so whatever. If you’re serious about freelancing, stop looking for shortcuts, like in life all shortcuts are trouble.
Your first freelance client isn’t waiting, they’re maybe just looking for you, but you’re invisible until you start showing up.
Make your profile a magnet, your proposals human, and your energy consistent.
If you need help with your profile looking like a superman/woman, go here and let’s see what we can do.
