This is Day 4 of 31 Days to Start a Freelancing Career (or Make Yours a Better One).
Today you’re going to decide which clients you’d like to work with, and what they really want in somebody they outsource work to.
So the first question you need to ask is, “Who’s my ideal client?” The best way to answer this question is by figuring out:
- who wants your services
- who is willing and able to pay what you want to charge
Take note that I used the word “want” and not “need.” These are two different things and the distinction is very important.
You want a client who wants your services rather than one who needs it but may not be aware of it. A client may need your services but not want it. In that case, you’ll have to educate that client and work that much harder to get him or her to want your services.
On the other hand, with clients who want your services, your only task will be to convince them that you’re the best person for the job.
Who Is Your Target Client?
Determine as many specific qualities as you can about your target client, such as:
- gender
- age
- marital status
- family situation
- residence
Also think of your target client’s
- occupation
- annual income
- industry
- life goals
- hobbies
- organizations they belong to
- what books and magazines they read
- TV shows they watch
- which podcasts they listen to
- people they admire and listen to
My copywriting mentor, Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero, goes so far as to give her target market (or “tarket” as she calls them) a name and an image. Do the same if it works for you.
Or think of specific people you know who fit into your idea of your target client.
That is only the first step. The next step is to find out what your target client wants.
What Does Your Client Want?
Getting to know your target client is now much easier than ever, thanks to the Internet. If you can identify 2-3 specific people online who fit the profile of your target client, your market research will get much easier. Here are some things you can do:
- Follow them on Twitter and listen to their Twitter stream.
- Read their blog. Comment and start interacting regularly.
- Subscribe to their newsletter.
- Be a fan of their Facebook page.
If you’re feeling up to it, you might even request a quick Email interview. Ask three questions, tops, so choose your questions well.
Even if you don’t have specific people in mind, you should, at the very least, research the general industry you’re interested in serving.
- Go to Google and look for the most relevant sites, blogs and forums in the industry.
- While you’re in Google, set up your Google reader to send you daily Emails with the latest updates on the industry.
- Search for the industry term in Alltop.com.
- Use Tweetdeck or Twitter search to see what people are tweeting about
But wait, don’t forget about offline sources, too, such as:
- books and magazines about the industry
- industry association meetings and conferences (you won’t be able to do this today, but do attend them whenever you can)
As you’re doing all this, take note of the problems people are stressing about. Do any of your skills address these problems? Also be on the look out for mention of service providers who seem to be doing well in your target clients’ circles.
By now you should have a pretty good idea of what your target clients want. However, this is an ongoing exercise. You need to keep track of your target clients and the industry they’re in. Set aside a few minutes every day or every week to visit the sites, blogs and forums you discovered.
What about forums you have to pay to join? If your budget allows it, join the best one. It’ll be well worth it if the forum allows you to interact with your target clients. But we’ll discuss this more later on.
For now, keep that image of your target client in your mind. He or she will be the most important person in your freelancing business from now on.
What did you think of today’s task? Did you discover something about your target clients that you never knew before? Do share by posting a comment below.
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This is a good one here, and it’s something I need to improve upon. Thanks for the tips, they have been great so far.
Chris Anderson´s last blog ..Todoodlist Review
RT @lexirodrigo Day 4: Get Inside Your Clients’ Head | The Savvy Freelancer http://bit.ly/aOkyN
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Thank you, Chris!
Effective communication begins with knowing our audience and getting inside their heads. This is a step that you can’t gloss over. The better we know our target clients, the more successful we can be.
Lexi
Hi Lexi,
This is great stuff; I just found your site a few days ago. I started your “31-days” today as a sort of crash course, to re-start my freelance business after a long time of inactivity. Day 4 is excellent! Can’t cram this one, so I’m taking notes and stretching it out in sections (plus it’s an ongoing thing anyway). So today I’m doing 4 days…
This is exactly what I needed! Structure, a plan. Thank you. Thanks especially for the plug-ins on day 15! I am SO cheating and taking care of some of that stuff PRONTO
Best,
Leah
Thanks for the feedback, Leah! I’m glad you’re enjoying the content and finding it really useful. Let me know if there are any other topics you’d like to read about. And do keep us posted on your progress
This is the biggest challenge for me…to figure out who my clients should be. Still not sure how to do it, but thank you for this helpful post, I’m going to dive in today!
Hi Emma! It can be hard at first to zero in on one niche or segment of the market to focus on. Just get started with one, preferably one where you already have contacts, keeping in mind that you can always expand to other niches/market segments when you’re more skilled and comfortable about marketing your services. Hope that helps!
Lexi, I’m freelance graphic and web designer specialized in Joomla CMS in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Thank you for the 31-days series! You sure are a mentor for me! It’s been a great help so far. Day 4 kinda scared me at first but I’m reading this post over and over until I get the most of it. I’m having doubts, though, because I feel I can serve any industru. Currently I have clients from diverse walks of life.
Hi Elvis, I am very happy you’re finding the 31-day series helpful. It IS scary to put yourself out into the world and freelance. However, anything worth doing is scary at first.
Let me know if you have any questions. Cheers!
Hello Lexi, thank you for your reply!
I understand my target client is the client who wants my services. To figure this out, I wrote down in further details what my previous clients asked me to do. This helped me improve my skill list from Day 1 and 7. (I’ve been going back and forth the days). So far, I realized my clients are an individual or a very small company. They use my service once and come back after a long period. I service diverse industries. Most my clients are males, they own or preside their companies/institution and they demand web services from me (I also offer illustration and training). Still, I’m not sure how can I use this information to land new clients… Thoughts anyone?
Hi Elvis, You’re making good progress! Here’s how you use this: anytime you communicate with your prospective clients — whether you’re putting together your business card, or on your website, or anything else — you imagine this Ideal Client in your head. You essentially write or talk to him. Also, knowing what problems they go to you for will help you further refine the types of services you offer, because your services are the solutions to their problems.
Of course having a specific Ideal Client doesn’t mean you’ll be turning down anyone who doesn’t fit this profile. It only means you’ll be focusing on your Ideal Client when you market your services.
Hope this helps!