I Tried Something Different Last Year. It Changed How Clients Found Me.

If Clients Aren’t Coming to You, Read This

Last week we talked about starting the year with clarity. Picking one client channel instead of juggling five. Getting clear on your process. Putting real boundaries around your time and your pricing.

I hope at least one of those steps landed. Even a small one. Even a quiet one that only you noticed. Those are the kinds of changes that don’t make noise at first but somehow make your shoulders drop an inch. And honestly, that counts.

the face my client is stick with as my internet drops out on Zoom

This week, I want to talk about something that sounds obvious, feels uncomfortable, and quietly changes everything when you actually do it.

Intentional outreach.

Not the frantic kind. Not the “let me just apply to 47 things and hope something sticks” kind. The kind that’s calm, specific, and rooted in the belief that your work is actually useful to someone right now.

Because here’s the pattern I see over and over again.

Most freelancers are waiting.

We wait for a post to take off.
We wait for someone to notice our consistency.
We wait for the right client to stumble across our website at exactly the right moment.

We tell ourselves things like:

“I’ll just post more and they’ll come.”
“If I keep showing up, someone will find me.”

And sometimes that happens. But most of the time, it doesn’t. Not because you’re bad at what you do, but because your future clients are busy. They are not scrolling with curiosity. They are dealing with a problem that needs solving now.

So instead of waiting to be discovered, we get a little more intentional.

Here are a few outreach approaches I tested last year that actually worked. Not perfectly. Not instantly. But consistently enough that I kept going.

Take your business IRL

This one surprised me the most.

Make a short list of five local businesses that could genuinely use your services. Not “any business.” Businesses where you can already see the gap. The outdated website. The inconsistent branding. The social feed that hasn’t been touched since 2024.

Then do something radical. Go to them.

Walk in. Take your passion. Start a real conversation. Lead with what you noticed and why you think it matters. Keep it human. No pitch deck required.

You’re not begging for work. You’re offering help. That mindset shift changes everything.

Job boards, but with intention

Job boards are not the enemy. Burnout is.

Pick one or two boards. That’s it. Check them every two or three days. When you apply, slow down just enough to add sentences throughout your entire application that prove you actually read the post.

That attention to detail does more work than ten AI-generated generic applications ever will.

Network strategically

You don’t need to join every Slack group or attend every event.

Choose one. An online community like Freelancing Females, or a local meetup, or a virtual event happening this week.

Go in curious. Ask people about their challenges. Listen longer than you talk. You don’t need to pitch yourself immediately. Relationships compound. Pressure kills them.

But here’s the quiet truth. You don’t need to do all of this.

Doing just one of these consistently for a week can feel like a breakthrough. Not because clients suddenly flood in, but because you stop feeling invisible. You’re in motion. You’re part of the conversation.

And momentum loves consistency.

If you feel like it, tell me what outreach styles have worked for you. Someone reading the comments might need exactly your perspective today.

You’ve got this 🤍
Sara

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