The Easy First Step to Start Getting Clients
By Levina Kusumadjaja
One of the things I have done from previous years to get clients was to email and DM branding agencies that I don't know to ask them about potential collaborations. I would write something along the lines of, '“Hey, I'm a writer, is there any possibility of us working together maybe in the future? Do you need copywriting help?'“. I almost never got a response, at max some of them who were very kind replied to me with an apology for having no available projects.
I didn’t realize my method wasn't working until I hopped on a call with a designer from the UK. I told her I wrote for Melinda Livsey and she knew who this Melinda was, so she was interested to get to know me. In the conversation, she asked me what I have been doing to get myself out there, to get people to know about my services. When I shared to her my attempt to email a bunch of strangers, she said something profound that changed everything: “Yeah, when you do that, you're just another e-mail.”
Ouch. She was right.
What I did didn’t get me clients because I was focusing on the wrong things: strangers—people who are far from me, people who are outside of my own circle and community. So, I shifted my energy towards the one community of designers that I know. It's not a big community and it only has around 40 people when I joined, but those are the people that I have real connections with. To them, I am not “just another e-mail”.
I started having more and more conversations with them, asking them how I can help and contribute to their lives and creative work. I frequently offered help for free and served them as intentionally as I could. I stopped trying to reach for projects that I don't yet have and gave my all for projects I already had. And in just a few months, I got several referrals to the point that I had to ask several potential clients to wait for a few months because I have my calendar full already. Wow! What a shift of results.
When you start with people within your reach, you start with people who already trust you. People who have personal relationship with you, who see more than “just another e-mail”. You exist to them beyond just wanting to offer a service and get paid for it, but you exist to them as a friend—someone sincere who wants to help. It is this group of people that will help lead you to your ideal clients, to your tribe, and to your endless collaboration opportunities.
Instead of focusing on wanting to reach the whole world and gain a huge following, start by staying faithful to those you have in your circle and community. Find ways to serve the people you already know. Use your time and energy to give value and help solve people's problems, even if there are only 3 people within your reach. These are still meaningful relationships that matter, relationships where you can be more than just another e-email.
Cheers!
Levina
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About the author:
Levina is a writer based in Indonesia. Because of Melinda Livsey, she recognized the power of brand strategy for every creative. She is sharing about her learnings as she goes to help creatives have fun in their growth and journey of building brands. Connect with her on LinkedIn and say hi!