Many people are choosing freelancing because they get to work at their own pace. And, thanks to social media, there’s a growing trend of freelancers. But getting gigs can be hard. It takes a lot of time, hard work, and resources. Even when you’re qualified, there’s still a struggle with things like impostor syndrome, visibility, location barriers, and more.

How do you overcome these challenges and make international clients trust you enough to hand over a business task to you?

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HOW TO GET INTERNATIONAL CLIENTS

As a freelancer, many times you’re knee-deep in tasks, while sometimes you experience dry spells. Having a global clientele expands your reach, opens you up to more opportunities, and increases your income. Here are a few things you can do to make yourself more attractive to international clients.

BUILD YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE

It’s important to have a personal brand as a freelancer. With social media, it’s easy to build a personal brand. Pick a platform you’re comfortable with to show what you do. Talk about the gigs you’ve completed and take your audience through your passion projects. Social media algorithms can take your content to places you can’t even imagine.

Remember to keep our social media professional and optimise your profile for the gigs you’re looking for. Also, engage with other people who do the same thing as you and follow topics and conversations that relate to your niche. That way you can establish yourself as an expert.

PRIORITISE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR GIG SEARCH

Aside from using social media to showcase your skills, it’s also a great place to search for gigs. Platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn are often used for job postings.

Use them to look for gigs. Don’t limit your search to jobs that say “freelance”. Reach out to clients looking for full-time professionals and sell your skills to them while explaining that you can work with them on a project basis.

Here’s a trick we learned on YouTube: search for freelance content writers (or any role you’re looking for), check for the ones who have their portfolio on their profile or the ones who have jobs they’ve done in their bio, and reach out to those brands/companies. If they hired one freelancer, chances are they’ll need more.

KEEP UP WITH OLD CLIENTS

Don’t complete gigs and ghost your clients. Keep up with the people you’ve worked with in the past. Send them personalised check-in messages once in a while to stay top of mind so that when they have new projects they come looking for you. You can also ask them for referrals.

NETWORK

Go outside. Attend creative events, seminars, conferences, webinars, etc., and talk to people. Collaborate with other freelancers. You need to be part of a solid community, so join one or two or more and develop relationships that can pay off in the form of referrals.

COLD CALL OR COLD EMAIL

Don’t just wait for clients to reach out to you. Pitch yourself to brands you admire.

Make a list of businesses you can work with and reach out to them. Find out what social media platforms your clients are using the most, send them a DM, and also send them an email. Please do your research before you send them a message. Is there a product they’re pushing? Is there something wrong with their website? Tell them you can fix it. That way you add value to your pitches.

USE GIG SITES

Fiverr, Upwork, Toptal, Freelance.com, and Guru.com are websites that list gigs from clients all over the world. You can sign up on these platforms and pitch to clients or apply to work with them.

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Overcoming challenges and building confidence

We mentioned some of the challenges that freelancers face in their careers that hinder them from looking for global opportunities. To thrive you have to overcome these challenges and build confidence.

Impostor Syndrome: Impostor syndrome is a condition where you doubt your skills, talents, and accomplishments. You can remove this fear by continuous learning and practice. The more you do, the more confident you are in your abilities.

Navigating cultural differences: Be mindful of cultural and language differences when reaching out to clients abroad. Do research on the language of the client you want to work with. Ensure your pitches and work are error-free. Also, be mindful of time zones when sending your message so you don’t send messages at odd hours.

Deliver exceptional service: When you get your clients, ensure you give it 100% and they’ll come back for more.

Negotiating: Many freelancers are not sure what they should be paid. To be sure you’re being paid well, research the rates for the gigs you’re applying for. Also, ask your network or community. Remember to add value upfront so you can ask for as much money as you feel is fair.

Use a trusted global payment platform like Geegpay to make it easy for clients to pay you. You can also withdraw from your Upwork and Fiverr accounts into your Geegpay virtual cards and wallet.

Register now and get a USD bank account for free that you can share with your clients.

Deliver exceptional service: When you get your clients, ensure you give it 100% and they’ll come back for more.

It’s easy to lose hope when looking for clients. Building a global clientele may not happen overnight, but with consistency, it’s achievable.

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