How to get web design clients: 15 awesome tips

The competition in this market is tough. There are lots of freelance designers and developers out there from across the world. There are also more places to find them. Finally, there are lots of freelancers who live in countries with an incredibly low cost of living, so competing on price alone is never enough!

You can be an excellent web designer but when it comes to selling your services, this requires a different set of skills. If you don't have the skills to sell yourself well, you may find yourself not knowing where to begin when looking for more web design clients. 

​15 Effective Ways to Attract New Web Design Clients
Here are some effective ways to attract new web design clients. Each has proven workable for freelancers and small businesses across the world. Best of all, they are free, or at least, mostly free!

1. Keep an eye out on job boards and marketplaces in your niche
Every industry has a jobs board or series of jobs boards. Setting the more popular boards as shortcuts and visiting them regularly can help you secure more work.

Job boards include Mediabistro, Smashing Jobs, Coroflot, RemoteOK and Krop.
Freelance marketplaces, by their very nature attract companies and or clients which are looking for web design and are literally in "buying mode". Given the volume of clients and the fact that they are looking to hire, you should always endeavour to create your own profile on the popular freelance developer marketplaces.

We've looked extensively at how to hire developers from marketplaces here.
While marketplaces may be competitive in nature, they are still one of the best and sure-fire ways of finding new clients. You still have to project a professional image though and these tips should help:

1.   Take the time to create a highly detailed profile.
2.   Check out the following video which discusses the difficulties of creating a good profile and how to achieve this result:
3.   Describe all your skills and experience, attach examples of your projects, especially the ones which can show your most marketable skills.
4.   Be sure to include the value that your projects have brought to your clients.

For example, if you've implemented extra functions or implemented specific value-added functionality, ensure that you list these.
You should mention such differentiating factor as:

• Built a full sales funnel
• Implemented email marketing or drip marketing campaigns
• Implemented a full conversion and / or CRO exercise
• Full eCommerce setups including such stuff as Cart Abandonment, scarcity tactics and ways to increase the total value of purchases
• Site structure implemented using keyword research which is optimized for SEO
• Landing pages optimized for PPC campaigns
• Specializing in certain niches or markets

Given that you are competing with thousands of other profiles, you have to find ways to differentiate yourself from the rest. Creating a profile and application which is different, and helps you stand out from the crowd is key to winning business.

Once your profile is ready, you need to get proactive. You need to methodically sift through submissions and regularly apply for jobs yourself. Dedicate time to find projects which make sense for you, then craft a proposal or application which pushes your strengths that would benefit that specific project.

It is critical that you customize the application towards the specific project, so that your application stands out!

Freelance marketplaces offer lots of opportunities to take on short-term projects. But you need to take the process seriously and dedicate enough importance to it.

If you are still getting started, there is another way to differentiate yourself. This is by bidding lower than most other freelancers. This isn’t a sustainable practice but in those early days, or when you have no other work, such that you can improve your portfolio. Do a good job, get positive feedback and other clients should follow.

As your portfolio improves, you can then start to increase your fees and use previous projects as examples and positive reviews as reasons why a client should pay more.
Here are the most popular freelance marketplaces you should consider joining:

• Fiverr
• 99 Designs
• FreeeUp
  
• Freelancer
  
• Upwork (formerly oDesk)
  
• Guru
  

Also : Toptal vs Upwork - Which Site Is Best For Hiring Developers?

2. Pay attention to your own website
No one would trust their new website to a company that can't optimize their own online presence. It goes without saying that the design and functionality of your website should be 100% on point. Make it as user-friendly and intuitive for the user as possible. However, this is not the most important factor.

To be able to get new web design clients via your website the clients need to be able to find it.
Optimize your website to show up in the SERPs. If necessary, set up a few Pay-Per-Click campaigns on Google Ads. Target your niche and local-based searches around your niche.

Remember that to influence your position in search engine results you need to have your name mentioned throughout the web.
Here are several simple steps you can take right away:

•         Use portfolio websites like Dribble.
  
•         Ask your friends, colleagues, and acquaintances who have their own blogs, websites or accounts on social networks to link to your website.
  
•         Reach out to popular web design blog owners and offer to write guest posts for them.
•         Join online communities, groups and forums relevant to the web design niche. Be helpful in such groups and establish a reputation for being helpful.
  

To be aware of how things stand right now, Google yourself. It is always interesting to know what other people find when searching for you. It will also give you the opportunity to right any wrongs, correct any errors and fill in any obvious gaps in your coverage.
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for the other 14 tips, read more via Collective Ray