The freelancer’s smartest growth strategy in 2025 that will not cost you a single dollar
If you’re like me, you’ll probably relate to my story and understand how it feels to become consumed by what you want. Six months ago, after four and a half years as a digital marketer, I came up with the idea of running my agency. Unlike most people today, who simply want to start an agency for the pride of running one, I already had about six clients in hand. I needed more clients, and I needed skilled workers to execute the projects (that’s what I thought at first). I decided to start an agency, hoping it would solve my problem.
Aside from the tedious work that came with starting an agency suddenly without any clear plan on how to manage it (don’t forget I had severe client jobs at hand). I was juggling paid ads, content posts on social media, and cold emails, not to mention endless DMs. I did everything I could to not just grow my agency but also to manage it. While my skills were sharp and my delivery rate was very good, I got burned out.
Having to do both outbound marketing and trying to deliver on your promises all by yourself will wear you out. This is why I wanted to start an agency. The worst part is the back-and-forth between new clients and me during the onboarding stage. Most of my leads came through cold outreach. Having to convince or reassure them that I can deliver results takes longer than expected; sometimes it takes me a month or more to conclude with a client. To deal with the stress of outbound marketing, I came up with the idea of hiring a team for cold outreach through freelancer platforms like upwork
, but it was fruitless.
Ever heard that phrase that says, “You manifest what you fear the most”? Well, that was exactly my situation. Despite having a few long-term clients, I still face the drought I dread the most. I normally have one busy month and a silent next one. A perfect situation of “seven fat cows and seven slim cows,“ just that in my case it was chronological order rather than the animals eating each other at once: This vicious circle continued for months. By “cow,” I mean one month of an influx of clients (fat cow) and another month of no clients (slim cow).
If you will learn anything from my story, let it be the question, what could the problem be?
Well, I asked myself the same question. After having to expect a different result from following the same routine, which is the definition of insanity. I found out that the primary problem was trust. You see, all businesses are conducted not just on mutual benefits but on trust. You trust Medium to show your content to the right audience; that is why you are here in the first place. If you want just money, you should be doing something else. The same is the situation with every client who could not trust me enough despite seeing my portfolio.
The cold prospect didn’t know me; that’s a default response you expect from anyone to be skeptical, especially when it comes to hiring someone online. Conversely, every client I got through a casual referral was closed faster without stress, paid more willingly, and intended to stay longer. The funny thing is, I don’t ask for a referral or set up a paid program for referrals; my clients, based on their experience, refer me to their friends, and that’s it.
The experience taught me something, which is the reason why I decided to write this article to help you build a network early as a freelancer. Remember I mentioned that I usually have one month with an influx of freelancers and another month where I struggle even to get a $5 gig? If you ask me, referrals shouldn’t be accidental. If you want to have a constant inflow of clients, you have to be intentional about it. This starts from having a client-centric view. When clients express their pleasure about a job well done, you can be rest assured that such a client will tell his/her family and friends about your service.
I helped a client scale his e-commerce brand through email marketing. I wasn’t surprised when his customers were making severe purchases. He had a gold mine, and he didn’t know how to extract the value. A client who never made $3000 in a month suddenly bangs over $14,000 from a campaign. I didn’t have to ask for a referral; he surely does have other struggling companions who also need answers to their questions.
How were you able to make sales through email marketing? Can you help me?
Oh yeah, you guessed right; he will refer them to me! (In another post, I will tell you how to make money through email marketing as an e-commerce owner.)
I had over six more clients from just one person. All of them were in different niches, and guess what? There was a cell of referral, which continues to date. What changed? I became intentional about referrals! No, there was no follow-up funnel, no follow-up email, no ad budget, no long story, and no cold call. It was just satisfied people talking to their network about my service.
Here is how I did it
-
- I listen attentively: From the very first moment I began to talk with a client, I made sure I paid close attention to their needs. This is very important; pay close attention to every delay and every piece of information about what the client wants. This will help you understand your clients’ needs and how to address them.
- Deliver Results: This is the most important part. Don’t do a job that you feel is ok. This is why I said you need to listen to your client well. You need to know exactly what your client needs and target to overdeliver. I always tell my students to over-deliver; if a client asks for “A”, make sure you add “B” in a way that will leave the client speechless.
- Don’t Make Everything About Money: Yes, I said it! The major reason why I include this point is that in today’s world, there are a handful of people from third-world countries who will deliver your job cheaper with far better quality than you can even imagine (capitalism in a nutshell). However, such talents are rare, but they exist. Clients know such people are out there; some clients will prefer to keep testing the waters until such a talent comes their way, while others want results instantly. In any case, the internet is full of people who just want the money and never deliver on their promises. Chances are, you have been such a person; that’s why you struggle to retain clients or get referrals. The higher the quality you deliver, the more likely you are to get recommended.
- ASK: The last piece of the puzzle you must not miss, and yes! You don’t need to be shy or ashamed to ask for a recommendation. Once you have overcome the need to hold back, you will see how your referrals will grow within a short time.
Why Referrals Are One of the Smartest Strategies to grow a regular customer base
A few days ago, I came across a YouTube channel that talks about how to generate revenue from email marketing. This middle-aged man had so much potential and talent. I was drawn to his page because he surely knows his craft so well. A day after, my YouTube subscription expired. Unlike before, YouTube refused to take the money from my card, and my premium membership shows at the top of my account. However, I was seeing ads. and I hate it when I get interrupted by ads.
Guess what?
Google began to show me video ads of the same guy I just watched his video. I asked myself, ‘This is a YouTuber with over 20,000 followers who is spending money on ads to attract more clients, which makes me wonder how much he will have to spend consistently to capture clients’ attention.’ The reality is that not everyone has the resources to chase such a dream. Unlike him, if you do your job diligently, you won’t need to spend thousands on ads to grow loyal customers. You don’t need to go viral to get anyone’s attention. The truth is that sometimes, the answer isn’t about more marketing but rather a deeper relationship with your clients. Take my case, for example: one client opens doors to many more clients. This helped me to reach my goal for the year.
If this helped you in any way, kindly share it with your friends, and if you ever gained a client through a referral, I’d love to hear your story.