Facebook Pixel
Join our Facebook Community

How to Use Blogging to Get Clients Flocking after You

This guest post is by Onibalusi from YoungPrePro.com.

I have been writing for others as a freelancer for over seven months now and within that period I have made over $20,000 just by writing for others. I keep on getting new client requests every month and due to an agreement with my current and main clients, I have rejected almost ten clients in the past six months.

I have also noticed that in the blogosphere and in the freelancing world, less than 20% of the people get 99% of the results, so I decided to write an article on how to use blogging to get more clients to your business.

Before I continue I’d like you to know that the tips in this article won’t help you get “cheap clients” who really don’t care about the quality of your work. I’ll be giving you tips that can help you get high paying, recurring clients that you can choose from.

I’d also like you to know that every aspect of this article is essential. Don’t think you can skip my first point to go to the next and then expect the results to come. This is definitely not the ultimate guide on getting clients—I’m far from someone to write an ultimate guide on the subject. The tips in this article can also be modified to give you better results than I’m getting, but some people like to skip the main parts and try to rush into it for the money, then expect the results to come. That just won’t happen!

Okay, let’s get to the tips.

Focus on what you’re best at

Try to put yourself into the shoes of your client first. Let’s say you’re a small business with a tight budget and you want to get the word out about your business. You think the best thing to do is to hire a marketing consultant to give you advice based on your business model and you decide to go out in search for one.

You came across two people—the first is someone who is really desperate to make money and is therefore claiming the title of a “marketing consultant” because he hears that others with that name are making it big. The other, however, is a dedicated marketing consultant who lives, eats, and breathes marketing and who has helped several people with marketing their business. Which of the two will you go with?

You might try to play smart and think clients won’t be able to see through you but as someone who hardly advertises my service but keeps on getting client requests regularly, I will tell you that the best thing to do is to focus on what you’re best at. Doing so won’t only increase your chances of getting a lot of clients, it will ensure you’re paid double what you’re worth, and it will also ensure your clients stick with you for a very long time.

After all, the only thing your clients want is results, and once you can give them a lot of those, they will happily stay with you forever.

Know which kinds of clients you want and tailor your blog posts to them

I’m not trying to tell you to start writing blog posts every day inviting clients, or to be writing aggressive blog posts with the sole aim of getting clients. I’m taking about being specific about what you talk about, and letting potential clients see you as an expert on your subject.

Take a look at Darren Rowse, for example. If a big client is looking for someone to give the best advice about building successful blogs, you can be sure they will hire Darren. Not only does Darren have three very popular blogs in different niches, he also has the most successful blog in the blogging niche (which has been the most successful for several years now). That alone speaks a great deal to show that this guy knows what he’s talking about.

If you want clients to hire you to do their website design work for them, you need to be blogging about web design, and doing case studies that help analyze other people’s blog designs for better results. The more you can show someone that you know your stuff, the higher their chances of hiring you will be.

I try to know how my clients have found me, and I have noticed that every single one of them discovered me through my blog posts about guest blogging, which assures them that I know my stuff as far as writing is concerned.

Be a living example of what you have to offer

If you’re a web designer who wants to have clients flocking after you, having a very poor website design won’t help you go far. The best way to get clients is by letting them know that you know your stuff—and what better way to do this than to be using your services yourself?

Why will people ever hire you to write for them when you don’t even have a blog? Why will people hire you to help design their websites when you have never designed for someone else and the website template you use is one of the worst they’ve ever seen? Why will people hire you for SEO when you hardly get any visits to your blogs from the search engines? Why will people hire you to write their copy when you can’t even convince them to use your service?

Since I’m human, just like you, I’d like to tell you that my number one concern isn’t my mother, it isn’t my siblings, it isn’t you either. It is me, and since every human thinks alike, I’d like to believe this is the same for everybody. Our major concerns are ourselves, and we think about ourselves before others. No one will hire you if you can’t prove to them that you’re an example of what you have to offer and that hiring you will be their wisest decision.

Market yourself

You will notice here that I’m not actually saying you should market your service.

I’m not against marketing your service altogether, but my point is that being a living example of what you have to offer is enough marketing of your service in itself. So spreading the word about yourself will let a lot of people see you, and will result in them asking to buy your services.

Look for the best tactics that those who are getting results in your industry are using, and start making use of them yourself. Don’t just rush after guest blogging because people in the IM niche says it is working for them. Facebook might be what’s working in your niche. Search engines might be the best friend of those getting the most results in your niche.

So instead of following the general approach to marketing, try to take a look at how some of the people getting the most results in your field are marketing themselves. Then, start marketing yourself using the same approach.

Use your blog

Getting clients flocking after you isn’t as difficult as most people think. It isn’t about joining one freelancing site or the other. Blogging is the most powerful tool at the disposal of everybody, and you can easily make the best use of it to your own advantage. Utilize the tips above to get clients flocking after you—and let us know how you go in the comments.

Onibalusi Bamidele is the founder of YoungPrePro.com, a blog where he teaches people how to write for traffic and money. Get his free 7 series eCourse on How to Build a Successful Online Writing Business

About Guest Blogger
This post was written by a guest contributor. Please see their details in the post above.
Comments
  1. Great article Onibalusi. I found it very insightful, cheers :)

    • Truly, I’m glad that we finally have an article on writing from somebody who knows.

      Not that the other posts haven’t been good, but it’s nice to see another writing focused post on Problogger =)

  2. Great tips! I think it’s best to know what’s your strongest point, and then work your way around that. If you can identify what you can superbly offer to your future clients, then they will easily identify it themselves, and weigh it, if it can fit in their company.

  3. Thanks for sharing this info. I like the wordplay on the title too :)

  4. in the case of social media, i think it’s very important to pick what works for you and stick to it rather than try to jump on the bandwagon every time a new platform develops. it’s kinda hard trying to stay on top of all your online presences but what works for me is my blog, facebook and twitter. recently, I created a google+ profile but am not really tearing my hair out trying to familiarise myself with every nook and cranny of it simply because I don’t have the time!

  5. Very sound advice indeed. Never come across as pretentious or try to be who you aren’t in your brand communications. Customers relate better to sales pitches that are genuine and answer directly to what they need. It’s not about how good yor product/service is; it’s about what you can do to solve their problems.

    As a freelance Copywriter, I’m always looking at the aspects that can boost the growth of a business by walking in the shoes of the owner. Then I put myself in the perspective of its customers by examing what they really need. This way, advertising collaterals do not turn out cold and impersonal.

  6. That’s some serious income! Thanks for the tips.

  7. Hi Oni,

    All great tips.

    My fave: be a living example of what you have to offer.

    When you embody your purpose, when you embody your service, you become unstoppable. People flock to you in increasing numbers, because what you think, say and do are largely in harmony.

    Thanks for sharing.

    RB

  8. “Why will people ever hire you to write for them when you don’t even have a blog? Why will people hire you to help design their websites when you have never designed for someone else and the website template you use is one of the worst they’ve ever seen? Why will people hire you for SEO when you hardly get any visits to your blogs from the search engines? Why will people hire you to write their copy when you can’t even convince them to use your service?”

    This has sunk deep in me. I will now focus on removing all my errors regarding these questions. Thanks for highlighting and making us aware of our mistakes.

  9. Love your work and enthusiasm Oni! Another great piece of work from you :D Loved the living example statement as well :)

  10. Fantastic advice!

    I used to just blog for blogging sake. Now I am more focused and although I blog less frequently it is always about a topic that I have more knowledge on!!

    I have to say I have been enjoying it a lot more and it seems my readers have been enjoying it more as well!

    thanks for the great tips!

    Simon

  11. Great blog on authenticity and well written, too. I can see why clients are beating down your door.

  12. I agree this is a interesting and helpful article, but what I REALLY love was following the link to your site and exploring some of your guest blogging articles. You Rock Onibalusi! Clearly one very important element to your success is the volume of valuable information you provide – I especially like your article “101 Ways to Get Quality Backlinks” … some days it feels like this subject has been done to death, but I ended up bookmarking your article because there are SO many new and creative ideas!

  13. Onibalusi,
    Nice article. I love “Focus on what your are best” & “Market yourself” both are awesome and very practical.
    When you become unique, success will surely follow. Thanks for sharing. Manickam

  14. More trouble in paradise. I successfully followed your “change administrator login” directions, and my new log in is the only user and administrator. However, now when I try to draft and edit a post, some of my editing features/buttons are missing. Like “paste from MS Word”, change font color, etc…

    Any idea why?

  15. I agree with you. I’m having better results now that I’m writing longer posts and giving more explanations and lessons to my readers. After reading a few blog posts here at Problogger, which showed me the importance of quality content, I decided to concentrate my attention on writing better posts, especially because writing is one of my best qualities.

    I’m not a good marketer. I hate wasting my time with promotions.

    I’m glad for realizing that I can get more traffic and a better conversion rate by improving the content I write in my daily blog posts, instead of trying to do many things at the same time without having extraordinary results in any point.

  16. “I’m not against marketing your service altogether, but my point is that being a living example of what you have to offer is enough marketing of your service in itself.”

    I love this point. As Amber (a developer I admire) always say, people will judge your aesthetics first always, even if you’re not a designer. Looks matter.

    Portraying the depth of your knowledge is key to convincing the minds of others that they should utilize your skills and knowledge. Just as a math student seeks out a math professor.

    Right now I’m developing my website, portfolio, and establishing a layout for what will be a blogging area. I love writing and plan to deeply integrate my blog posts into my design. Perhaps link it to my portfolio as well, showing my process to completion for various clients and the results I brought them. I can’t wait to start writing, I’m so excited. Since I gathered years of experience in my field, I know I’m ready.

    I’ll let my categories for blog posts start off at my services and have an area for book reviews. For freelancers, blogs/portfolios/testimonials are all essential marketing tools. However, when combined….it creates an unstoppable winning formula. A good portfolio to show your work (no matter your field), along with a blog to write out your experience with comments from the people you’ve worked with. Everyone should seek that in their chosen field.

  17. I never see google of this relevant to blogging not until a came across a few blogs which has this kind of topics and it is really helpful and informative.

    – Jack Leak

A Practical Podcast… to Help You Build a Better Blog

The ProBlogger Podcast

A Practical Podcast…

Close
Open