Before you can get your first client, you need to identify your ideal client.

An ideal client is basically just the perfect client for you. An ideal client is someone who finds the perfect solution to their problems in the services or products that your business provides.

Your ideal clients:

• can pay you what you ask for your work
• are within your desired niche
• help you earn what you want, give you a well-respected byline, or get you major exposure

How to find your ideal clients

There are two ways to figure out who you should write for. You can use lists that already exists (the easy way, IMO) or make your own list by brainstorming.

Research

You can find your ideal clients on Crunchbase, industry directories, the B-corp Directory, niche retailers (like REI or Sephora), or anywhere else that rounds up a bunch of companies.

Brainstorm

Think of every product, brand, place, service, activity, and publications that would fit in your niche. Get super creative and do a deep dive. Don’t be afraid to use Google for this exercise.

Once you know the types of companies you want to target, find specific brands and companies. Come up with as many specific copmanies as you can.

Create an ideal clients list (a.k.a. Prospect)

Now that you have a bunch of companies in mind, add them to a list in a Google Doc, a notes app, or a project management tool like Notion or Asana. For example, if you want to write about camping gear and you thought of camp stoves and tents as products within that niche, you could put Coleman, MSR, Big Agnes, REI, and Six Moon Designs as ideal clients. That list could go on for a long time, there are tons of brands in that category!

Pro tip: to find high-paying clients, find companies in your niche that recently received Series B funding (try a crunchbase free trial).

Start doing Direct Outreach (a.k.a. Outbound Marketing)

Now that you know who to target, it’s time to start sending letters of introduction (LOIs) to people who work for those companies. If you’ve been around for a while, you’ve definitely heard me talk about LOIs before.

An LOI is a short note that you add to a connection request on LinkedIn or in a direct message on another social media site.

Step 1: Optimize your LinkedIn

Before you send out any LOIs, get your LinkedIn up to date and polished.

1. Fill in ALL work experience from your past (and I mean everything; mine goes back to 2010...), any volunteer stuff, and your education.
2. Write your "About Section" – you can edit it later; I recommend updating it every 3-6 months.
3. Optimize your headline with keywords your clients might use, like "content writer," or "copywriter," or "freelance writer," and your industry.
4. Upload a nice headshot for your profile picture and create a simple graphic in Canva for the banner behind your profile picture (It can just be your whole name or a business name if you already have one in mind).
5. On the homepage, share any work you've already done as a post (you can do them all in one day at first, timing doesn't matter much) OR upload your portfolio pieces as "articles." Then, add your work to your profile's "Featured" section.
6. Add a work experience titled "Freelance Writer" Fill in your services. Then, under that experience, link your portfolio pieces.

Step 2: Research

Pick a company to send your first LOI to. Before you send it, take 5 minutes to do some research. Go to the ideal clients’ website. Find their “About” page or “Blog” to find out who’s on their marketing team or who’s writing for them. Look for titles like:

• Content Marketing Manager
• Content Senior Coordinator
• Email Marketing Manager
• Marketing Manager
• Email Marketing Lead
• Content Marketing Lead
• Content Writer
• Copywriter
• Sales Manager
• Sales Coordinator

If you can’t find this info on their website, you can also search for the company on LinkedIn, click “employees,” and then look for that job title.

Pro Tip: Use “control + F” or “command + F” shortcuts to search web pages and look for the people with the titles you need. You’ll probably find who you’re looking for faster.

Step 3: Find the point of contact on LinkedIn (or the social media of your choice)

The people with those titles will become your “point of contact.” Once you’ve found one of the titles on this list, go back to LinkedIn and put their full name in the search. If they don’t come up in your first search, you can add the company they work for to the search to find them.

Go to their profile and peruse what’s on there. Find some way to start a conversation with them.

Step 4: Click “connect” and (if you can) “add a note”

Copy and paste the LOI template you want to use or write an LOI from scratch in the message box. Make sure you don’t forget to customize the LOI before you hit “Send”!

If you don’t have any more “add a note”s to send (LinkedIn limits them if you’re not subscribed to premium or sales navigator), that’s okay! You can just send a plain old connection request. Once someone accepts your connection request, DM them to thank them for connecting and add your LOI to that DM.

Step 5: Follow Up

Once someone accepts your connection request, thank them for accepting your request and try to keep the conversation going if they seem open to it.

Follow up 14-30 days after they connect with you. If you are sending LOIs and following up consistently, you'll build major momentum.

I recommend following up five times (obviously, if they respond with an opportunity, you don’t need to keep following up). Don't stop after the first follow-up (even if you don't get a response!). After your first follow-up, start spreading them out, though. You can follow up quarterly or whenever you're looking for a new gig.

I’ve gotten clients over the course of a year, following up with them every quarter. On my fifth follow-up, I got a gig! You never know. Be persistent.

Try This:

Write your own letter of introduction template! You can use this quick process to make your own letters of introduction. This is how I’ve contacted almost every client I’ve ever had. You can too! Use these every time you connect with someone on LinkedIn to make a good impression.

The LinkedIn connection note box is character limited, so keep it under 300 characters. Aim for about 3-5 sentences.

Look for things on their profile (or portfolio) to start a conversation, like:

• Projects they've worked on
• Connections you have in common
• Companies they've worked for
• Something you're curious about
• Physical location
• Articles they've posted
• Certifications or schools on their profile

Don't be afraid to be casual. Use contractions. I use a lot of exclamation points and I sometimes even use smiley faces!