Image licensed via Adobe Stock
It’s all very well offering advice in theory, but how do freelancers and studios actually find their dream clients in practice? We asked the Creative Boom community, and we share their best stories here.
When you look at your list of clients, we all have a favourite. They may be a big, global brand that pays well and gives you kudos. They may be a small mom-and-pop shop that you personally click with and get a deep sense of fulfilment from helping. Or they might be anything in between. Either way, you can’t believe your luck in getting them as a client, and they make a huge difference in making you feel good about your work and career.
Or perhaps not. Maybe you’ve not yet reached that nirvana and are instead still plugging away with flaky clients who mess you around and keep changing their minds about projects. And fail to pay on time.
In which case, we’ll start by saying: it gets better. Keep working hard, following the
Often, that will happen pretty much by accident. “One of my favourite clients was landed through a still unbelievable series of random factors, along with a case of mistaken identity,” says design consultant
Creative director
At other times, though, it takes positive action to find your dream client. So to give you some inspiration, we’ve asked the Creative Boom community to share the stories of how they did it. We share the highlights below, and you can
1. Networking
We’ll start with the obvious: to find your dream client, you must get out there and meet people. “My biggest clients have all come from networking,” says commercial photographer
When you think of networking, you think about attending events, joining online communities, and connecting with people in your industry. And that’s all good. But it’s important to remember that networking can happen anywhere.
“Just take a deep breath and talk to people,” advises graphic designer
Designer and creative director Tom Muller also turned a personal passion into successful networking. “I used to hang out on comic book forums telling people politely I could do the design of their books better than them and that we should work together,” he recalls. “More than ten years on, I’m still working with most of them, and it has opened many doors.”
UX designer
2. The direct approach
Networking is a relatively loose, scattergun approach to finding clients. But if you already know who your dream clients are, then why not contact them directly? It’s pretty simple, really: just send a tailored email introducing yourself and your work.
This worked for illustrator
Illustrator-painter
You may, of course, have to be patient. Illustrator
The thing to remember is that if they’re your dream client, chances are that you’re their dream freelancer too. So lean into it. “Reaching out to clients with personal work that speaks to me as what I want to do has been foolproof for me,” says illustrator
3. Use LinkedIn
While we at Creative Boom still love Twitter, many of you tell us it’s no longer such a good place to hustle for work. With algorithms continually being tweaked, we also hear that Instagram and Facebook aren’t so useful either. So where are creatives heading? Well, increasingly to LinkedIn. And many of you say it’s where you’ve found your dream clients.
“Linkedin helped me a lot,” says UI/UX designer
David Webb of
4. Be humble and open
Sometimes a dream client doesn’t appear so at first glance. So it’s important to stay humble and open. Because what might at first look unpromising, well… it may turn out to be worth sticking with.
Interior and architecture photographer
Freelance copywriter
Similarly, saying yes to something small can sometimes lead to something big. Brand designer
Sometimes a dream client doesn’t appear so at first glance. So it’s important to stay humble and open. Because what might at first look unpromising, well… it may turn out to be worth sticking with.
5. Share personal projects
Personal projects are fun, a way to kick back, and a great way to expand your creative horizons beyond regular client work. Plus, sharing them can often end up landing clients who wouldn’t otherwise have discovered you.
Creative director, photographer and filmmaker
Illustrator
Illustrator
6. Follow what makes you happy
If there’s a theme that runs throughout these stories, it’s summed up best by designer
He explains how a dream client came to his studio via their website form. “They wanted a series of services, and we kept saying no to most of it. They got aggravated and said: ‘Why don’t you offer all these services your competitors do?’ I said, ‘Honestly, because it doesn’t bring us joy. We love doing this one thing, and you will get the best out of it because of the love. You can then hire all the rest to do the other stuff.’
“They loved that concept, and it has been the best experience with the client. Because we acknowledged our love for the things, we are experts in and left the noise out of it, which resulted in some amazing outcomes.”
Artist and illustrator