{"id":163072,"date":"2017-05-26T13:00:58","date_gmt":"2017-05-26T13:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/premium.wpmudev.org\/blog\/?p=163072"},"modified":"2017-05-23T03:16:48","modified_gmt":"2017-05-23T03:16:48","slug":"get-consistent-freelance-development-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/get-consistent-freelance-development-work\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Actionable Ways to Get Consistent Freelance Development Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the tight competition in the freelance WordPress development space, you shouldn’t expect paid work to just fall in your lap. You need to go after it.<\/p>\n

But finding clients and sourcing consistent work is a challenge. Especially when you\u2019re just starting out and you haven’t developed a network of connections you can tap into.<\/p>\n

So in this post, we’ll explore the following tactics you can use to create a steady and diverse stream of clients and projects:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Send Cold Pitches<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Form Partnerships<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Seek Referrals From Past Clients<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Use Job Boards<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Join WordPress Talent Pools<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Speak At WordCamps\/Meetups<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Work Toward Getting Organic Leads<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Tactic #1. Send Cold Pitches<\/h2>\n

    Several SaaS startups have been built on cold pitches and even you can start and run a thriving freelance WordPress development business with just cold pitches.<\/p>\n

    Yes, a lot of people balk at the idea of sending cold pitches. They say it\u2019s intrusive, pushy, and so on. But what these people don\u2019t understand is that cold pitches don’t have to be “salesy” when done right\u00a0\u2013 and a client who needs your services will actually appreciate you reaching out.<\/p>\n

    Using cold pitches to generate business:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Takes discipline,<\/li>\n
    2. Is usually a lot of work, and<\/li>\n
    3. It’s no fun when potential clients don’t reply.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Yet these setbacks shouldn\u2019t stop you because while you may get rejections, just one positive response could get you work and potentially more work through word of mouth.<\/p>\n

      Here’s a three-step process to get started with cold pitches:<\/p>\n

      Step #1: Make a List of Prospects<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Don\u2019t think of all the people who use WordPress as your prospects. To find quality<\/em> prospects, you need to focus sharply on your niche.<\/p>\n

      For example, if you\u2019re a WordPress developer who specializes in building online stores, your prospects would be people who run their stores on WordPress using a\u00a0plugin like WooCommerce.<\/p>\n

      A quick way to find some of these people is to visit WooCommerce\u2019s website and check out the\u00a0customer showcase<\/a>\u00a0section.<\/p>\n

      Right now, the showcase section lists about\u00a080+ prospects. These are high-quality prospects because:<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. They use WordPress, and<\/li>\n
      2. They run an online store powered by WooCommerce<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        So, they could have plugin development and customization needs you could fill.<\/p>\n

        To further qualify the prospect, you could use this tip from James Dunn<\/a> in which he suggests looking for sites that run outdated WordPress installations. He says this could mean that they\u2019ve worked with developers earlier (and so could consider hiring you):<\/p>\n

        If someone is running WordPress on an outdated version it can mean one of several things:<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. They are trying to do it themselves<\/li>\n
        2. They hired someone to build it, but they didn\u2019t hire someone to keep it updated<\/li>\n
        3. They hired someone to keep it up to date, but they\u2019re not doing their job<\/li>\n
        4. They just don\u2019t care \u2013 their website is up and they\u2019re good<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          The first three categories are potential clients (the fourth is not), but category #2 and #3 are your best clients \u2013 the low hanging fruit.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

          Now instead of WooCommerce, pick some other WordPress eCommerce product. In fact, repeat this process for all the popular WordPress eCommerce products and you’ll likely end up with dozens, if not hundreds, of prospects to reach out to.<\/p>\n

          You can rinse and repeat this process for any kind of WordPress development service. Just\u00a0think of the products your potential clients could be using and visit the different product sites for prospects.<\/p>\n

          Step #2: Find Contact Information for All Your Prospects<\/strong><\/p>\n

          The next thing you need to do is search for the contact information for your potential clients. It\u2019s best if you can find the site admin\u2019s email because contacting the admin will mean that the right person will read your pitch.<\/p>\n

          If you can\u2019t find the right person to contact via email, use the contact forms on the website.<\/p>\n

          Step #3: Send a Cold Pitch<\/strong><\/p>\n

          The last and the most important part of cold pitching is the actual cold email itself. Ironically, an effective cold email is one that doesn\u2019t look like a cold email at all. It reads as if the person who\u2019s sent it took the time to get to know the recipient and their needs.<\/p>\n

          So, to get the cold email part right, you need to study the prospect\u2019s website: Look for things like an outdated WordPress version, outdated plugins\/themes, slow loading times, or error messages.<\/p>\n

          Also pay special attention to issues that a client cares about like security (outdated products), speed (slow loading times), and missing functionality (that could boost sales\/business).<\/p>\n

          Once you\u2019ve found such an issue with a site, write a short email of how you could improve the client\u2019s website and what it could mean for them.<\/p>\n

          Tactic #2. Form Partnerships<\/h2>\n

          Teaming up with complimentary service providers or agencies in another way to gain work.<\/p>\n

          For example, if you\u2019re a WordPress developer specializing in building online stores, you could partner with a designer who specializes in online stores. Or you could partner with agencies that offer WordPress design and WordPress services and specialize in online stores.<\/p>\n

          The only problem with this tactic is that there\u2019s no quick\u00a0and easy way to find the right freelancers or agencies to partner with \u2013 you\u2019ll have to do some deep research to source potential partners, but here are some quick tips to help you with this:<\/p>\n

          1. Start with basic Google searches. When you search, make sure to look for partners who are located near you because they\u2019ll be more likely to hire you. So just Google terms like \u201cweb design + [city]<\/i>\u201d. For example: \u201cweb design + San Francisco<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n

          As you can see, the first result page itself brings up many potential leads for partnerships.<\/p>\n

          \n
          \"Search
          Search results for “web design + San Francisco.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

          Ideally, before contacting these businesses you should put together a\u00a0spreadsheet and list all of the agencies you find. This way, you\u2019ll be able to track your outreach as well.<\/p>\n

          You can fill your spreadsheet manually or with a Chrome extension like Data Scraper<\/a>. Basically, Data Scraper lets you scrape data from Google\u2019s search result pages and download it as a spreadsheet.<\/p>\n

          In addition to Google searches, you should also check out the listings in the \u201cWeb Site Design & Development<\/i>\u201d section of platforms like JustDial<\/a>.<\/p>\n

          Once you have a solid list of potential partners, contact them about possibly outsourcing work to you. \u00a0You could send them a simple email using a template like this one:<\/p>\n

          Hey [first name],<\/em><\/p>\n

          You seem to be doing some great work in [niche]. Just wanted to tell you that I’m working in [niche] freelance development and I specialize in [service]. If you ever need a hand with any project, just let me know. Would love to help!<\/em><\/p>\n

          Thanks,<\/em><\/p>\n

          [your name]<\/em><\/p>\n

          You could also partner with fellow freelancers because they too pass work on to each other when busy. In fact, Freelancers Union found\u00a0about 81% of freelancers refer work to fellow freelancers and about 51% team up on projects<\/a>.<\/p>\n

          Tactic #3. Seek Referrals From Past Clients<\/h2>\n

          Your past clients are potentially some of the best sources for finding and securing future work. So reach out to them and ask them to recommend you to their connections who could use your services.<\/p>\n

          You could use the following template for reaching out:<\/p>\n

          Subject line:\u00a0Know someone who could use my service?<\/em><\/p>\n

          Email:<\/em><\/p>\n

          Hey [first name],<\/em><\/p>\n

          Just wanted to check in and ask if you could recommend me to any of your contacts who could use my services.<\/em><\/p>\n

          As you know, referrals make great leads. So, if you know someone who could benefit from my service, I\u2019d really appreciate an intro.<\/em><\/p>\n

          I\u2019d be very grateful for your favor.<\/em><\/p>\n

          Thanks,<\/em><\/p>\n

          [your name]<\/em><\/p>\n

          Just copy this email and send it to ALL your past clients. If you have the time, make this email even more effective with these\u00a0power tips<\/a>.<\/p>\n

          Tactic #4. Use Job Boards<\/h2>\n

          Job boards are always full of hot leads. But to make the most of these leads, you need to have a speedy application process. Which means you should stay updated about new jobs and once you see a relevant ad, you should be able to quickly write a winning application<\/a>.<\/p>\n

          To get started, add a bookmark folder to your web browser and call it \u201cjob boards<\/em>\u201d or something similar. Next, add these\u00a015 WordPress job boards<\/a>\u00a0to it. And add these\u00a0job boards<\/a>\u00a0as well. And then add more job boards as you come across them.<\/p>\n

          Now each time you want to check out these job boards, all you need to do is open all the bookmarks in this folder, which you can do with a single click. Not only that, the entire process of scanning jobs will take under 5 minutes.<\/p>\n

          In case you find a listing that you can\u2019t commit to right away, for example, if you like a part-time gig but aren’t sure about it, add it to your prospects list. Who knows you might reconsider in future\u2026 and you\u2019ll still have the application instructions if you take note now.<\/p>\n

          Remember, when you need work, you need to tap all<\/em> sources. Even Craigslist. Luckily you don\u2019t have to manually search for every city in the world. Just go to SearchTempest<\/a>\u00a0and fine-tune its search engine to search every Craigslist listing for your keywords.<\/p>\n

          Here\u2019s a sampling of what SearchTempest could find for you:<\/p>\n

          \n
          \"An
          An example of a SearchTempest search.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

          Also, add Twitter to your job boards folder because a lot of people post about openings on their blogs rather than job sites, and then tweet about the posts. If you try looking for a keyphrase like\u00a0\u201chiring a WordPress developer\u201d,\u00a0<\/i>you might find some interesting listings.<\/p>\n

          Include LinkedIn job search<\/a>\u00a0as well to your job board list \u2013 you could find some excellent leads for keywords like \u201cFreelance WordPress Developer\u201d <\/i> or \u201c WordPress contractor.”<\/i><\/p>\n

          Tactic #5. Join WordPress Talent Pools<\/h2>\n

          In addition to job boards and crowdsourced platforms like Upwork and Freelancer, clients often use platforms such as Codeable for hiring experienced and expert-level WordPress developers. Which means if you list your services on such platforms, you could get hired for some great projects.<\/p>\n

          Because these websites have a highly vetted talent base, you\u2019ll be required to pass screening tests or interviews. If you aren\u2019t sure about your skillset right now, consider applying to these after a year or maybe two. Generally, the projects on these platforms pay well \u2013 so they could bring lucrative business whenever you\u2019re ready.<\/p>\n

          These are three such sites:<\/p>\n