How to Find Clients for WordPress Services

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Why you should forget about marketing. . .at first​

The problem:​

1. It takes time
2. It’s not that easy
3. It’s very passive

How to really get your first clients​

A much better idea is identifying your clients in advance and getting in contact with them directly.
However, it’s a bit more complicated than “write an email, get hired.” To get to the point where you can suggest another party to work with you, first a number of things have to happen:

1. Defining your service
2. Identifying your clients
3. Figuring out how and where to reach them
4. Establishing contact and pitching your services

Side note: start small! Keep in mind that the goal is not to attract 1000 clients from the get-go (a common misconception which leads many down the marketing rabbit hole). Instead, make your goal to attract your first three paying customers.

Land your first clients​

What you should be left with is a list of people or businesses you could potentially work with. Now it is time to work on your pitch.

Step 1: Create a portfolio​

Talk is cheap. People like to see proof of what they are promised before committing money and other resources to it. Being able to present a portfolio of things you have done in the past is always good in terms of credibility. This doesn’t have to be sophisticated. One to three links to some former work is usually enough — personal projects and websites included.

But what if you are just starting out and don’t have anything to show for yourself? In my experience a portfolio is not an absolute must (otherwise nobody would ever get a start as a freelancer). If you make a convincing argument for yourself (more on that below), the pitch can work without, however, generally people like to see things in advance.

Step 2: Do most of the legwork in advance​

In order to have any chance of succeeding, your pitch needs to be more sophisticated than merely writing an email saying “hey, I make websites with WordPress and was wondering if you had any needs in that area.” This makes it very easy for them to say no.

A much better idea is to identify problems your clients don’t even know they had and offering up your own services as the solution. For example, if you are a specialist for WordPress SEO, you would go ahead and analyze the website of potential clients and write up a detailed report on how they could achieve better ranking. Not general advice, but tailored to their website.

Now imagine you pull out that report when you sit down with a business owner to talk about your services. Several pages, neatly written up with exact steps on how to add massive value to their own business, right there on the table. All they need to do is say yes. How much more likely is it that they will?

Sure, that means you need to do a lot of the legwork in advance. But it is absolutely worth it. Customers can only say yes or no. Your job is to make it easy for them to say yes.

Step 3: Be personal​

As a service provider, prospects want to feel that you understand their problems and have the ability to solve them. However, your skill set is not the only criteria. When clients are deciding between very similar proposals from different people, nine times out of ten they will hire the one they like most personally.

Therefore, if you are dealing with prospects and clients, make sure you’re likeable. I don’t mean be a stereotypical slimy car salesman. Just be a real person in your communication.

Whether on the phone or by email, show some humanity. Ask about the weather where they are. Mention a piece of news from their area that you heard, schedule calls relative to their time zone. Just be accommodating and have an interest in other people’s lives. It works wonders.

Summing up​

To get a start for your WordPress business, going on a full-on marketing rampage is not the smartest way to go. Social media and blogging are medium- to long-term ways of attracting customers with a lot of overhead. A better way is to get precise about the kind of service you are offering and figuring out who could most benefit from it. This allows you to get in touch with the right people directly. When dealing with prospects, a large part of the work is done before the pitch.