Lead Generation is the Blood of a Freelancer

Being a freelancer means taking the reigns on every aspect of your career. Things you would worry about in a 9-to-5 job become non-issues. But aspects that wouldn’t be given a second thought suddenly become problematic. As an employee, your employer will provide you a steady stream of work. You are, after all, being paid on a salary. Freelancers unfortunately don’t have this stability. Successful freelancers put effort into their lead generation tactics constantly.

This short list will give you an overview of prime opportunities for lead generation as a freelancer.

1. Website Landing Page

Your website’s landing page could be the best source of lead generation you have, if you play your cards right. Optimize your landing page with SEO to make sure your target audience can find you. Then streamline the page’s user experience to get visitors clicking your Call-To-Action. Funnel all potential clients from your marketing assets back to your website. By using Google Analytics, you can address their journey’s pain points every step of the way.

Look for pages under the Content tab of Google Analytics that perform better than others and turn them into landing pages. We find that the most underrated part of freelancers’ websites is their About Page, which can be used as a strong lead magnet.

2. Partner Up

If you’re funneling visitors from your social media networks, you’ll get a very specific audience to your website. If you want to quickly expose yourself to new audiences, partnering up and doing guest blogs can speed up the process. Providing another website or company with content can land you invaluable click-through traffic to your own website. Take advantage of these brands’ existing user bases by partnering up and reaping the benefits.

3. LinkedIn

No social media network has a higher rate of click-through to the user’s website than LinkedIn. As an online source of lead generation, it is only second to an optimized landing page. Make sure all your information is up to date, with solid references and skills listed. Writing a strong LinkedIn bio is key to high performance. The most important part is to link your website so interested parties can find out more about you by going to the source.

4. Offline Networking

Offline networking takes more time but has a higher success rate overall. Potential clients don’t need to pore over your online copy to find out what kind of person you are. In the flesh, deals are much more easily made and people are much more likely to remember you. Attend local business events through Meetup.com. Join a coworking space to surround yourself with like-minded people and attend the events hosted there. Pretty much every business community has regular networking events, so you should plan ahead and learn to work the room.

5. Become An Authority

Why not let your leads come to you instead of vice versa? If you posit yourself as an authority, leads will find you. To achieve this, you need to be more than a face in the crowd. Both offline and online. Instead of attending a meeting, why not speak at one? If you’re part of a coworking space, why not start a community within that space with others? If you have a website, why not write or do video blogs about your expertise? There are many ways to stand out, and being self-confident and knowledgeable will get you the leads you want.

It’s Never Been Easier

If you follow these ways to get leads, you’re already well on your way. If you’ve got a good grip on all 5 ways, you can make your freelance business sustainable. You’ll need to master both online and offline lead generation if you want to stand a chance. But coworking spaces and websites such as LinkedIn have made things a lot easier. Just remember to streamline and optimize your presence, and put the best version of yourself out there.