The Bulletproof Cheatsheet to Get Your Website Attracting High-Paying Freelance Clients
Freelance writing is all about marketing.
It’s not about whether or not you have impeccable grammar or you know your oxford commas from your serial commas. It’s not about exceeding deadlines or having a project management system in place. No, it’s not. It’s about having a solid marketing strategy that will get your name out there and have the clients come to you.
This is called inbound marketing and it’s the best type of marketing for you because it doesn’t require any pitching or hustling. And when this happens, you can be choosy about who you want to work with and can demand higher rates.
Your writer website
A great marketing tool you have in your arsenal is your website. Your website can help you easily gain some writing clients quickly. I strongly suggest you buy a URL and hosting and start building your money-making website. I’m not joking — you’re website will make you MONEY. And not just right now, but in the long-term. But you can’t just slap up a website with a free theme and expect emails from prospects to land in your inbox.
It takes time, but not a lot of time. You might’ve heard inbound marketing takes months and months to pan out. Not from me. Within two months of having my website up, I received my first inbound query:
While this didn’t result in a writing gig, it was proof enough for me that what I was doing was working. And I’m all about helping you succeed!
Attract those high-paying clients
I went through my notes — because I take notes on everything — and found the precise and only elements you need to take your writer website from making dollars to hundreds of dollars. My first “real” freelance writing client — that I pitched and landed — hired me for their content needs because they not only read my effective pitch, but they also saw my website. My first client yielded me $400 for a month’s worth of content.
My bulletproof cheatsheet for a client-magnetizing site
One thing you need to remember about your entire website is it’s all there to sell YOU. How can you help the client? Why are you so special?Having this client-centered focus is the first step to optimizing your website.
Effective copy
You don’t need to be a copywriter to have copy that sells on your website. You just need to know what to target on each page of your site:
Landing page
Your landing page is what will help a prospect know if you are the right freelancer for them. To ensure this happens do these three things:
- State clearly what you do for the client — “I’m Elna, a B2B writer for Saas businesses. I help businesses get noticed with colorful and innovative content.”
- Indicate an outcome of your services — “Want to give your business a boost with custom content?”
- Use a call-to-action — this can be a link or a button. You can have a CTA that says, “Let’s collaborate,” “contact me,” or “Let’s talk.” Always direct them to hiring you.
Your landing page should be short and to the point. You may put more copy on your page — like I do — but it’s not necessary. I also included listing my services.
Your about page
Your About page isn’t about you. Surprise, surprise! It’s still about the client. So, how can you include the client in your About page, but still talk about you? A good tactic is to state a problem and then mention the solution. So, my headline on my About page reads:
Are you running your own business alone? Do you find you don’t have enough hours in the day to get everything done?
I go on to give a solution that hiring me will give them more time and save them more money. To include some personality in your About page, you can include a “fun facts” about yourself. This can stand out when a prospect reads your page and can help you land that gig.
Your hire me/services page
It’s up to you if you want to call your page, “Hire Me,” or “Services.” I used both, but stuck with “Hire Me.” This page is ALL about the client and what YOU can do for them. You want to mention how your content will increase sales, drive traffic or increase their visibility online. It also clearly states your niches or topics you want to write on. You can use a bullet list as this makes it easier to read and doesn’t look too wordy.
Where I’m writing logos
Many popular freelance writers have a place on their website — primarily their landing page — that displays the logos of the places they have written. Now, what if you don’t have any published pieces? Well, you’re going to have to wait until that happens! Guest post on a few sites and use those to show where you’re writing.
Showcasing your writing portfolio this way helps you establish your credibility as a freelance writer and can also boost your perceived value as a writer. For example, since I started writing for Blogging Wizard, I’ve been receiving numerous emails for my content services. I can charge a premium because I can prove my writing can generate many comments and hundreds of social shares. So, when a prospect views my landing page and sees the Blogging Wizard’s logo, they can immediately tell the quality of writer I am.
A headshot
Would you hire someone online if you didn’t know what they looked like? I bet it would be difficult. Something about seeing a person gives the sense of trust. And if you’re conducting business online, “seeing” the person you’re going to pay helps in having them trust you.
So, have a friend or your partner take some photos of you! You don’t need a fancy camera, but you do need good lighting and a neutral background. I suggest placing your headshot on your landing page and another image on your About page.
Portfolio
If you’re brand new to freelancing, how can you show your experience? Your portfolio of your work is big currency for prospects as it can show the value your content can bring to a site.
When I first started, I didn’t have a portfolio page. I just had a Samples page of some documents I uploaded. But, once I landed my first guest post and many more after that, I made sure to include those in my portfolio. If anything, put up your latest blog post on your portfolio page or link to a Medium post you have to show you are a legit writer.
There you go — the elements to a website that will attract high-paying clients easily.
