Best way to get your name out there

[bcarl314]

As the title suggests, I'm interested in know what methods you use to get clients. I've tried a few different methods and know what works for me, but I thought posting a poll for all might be a good idea.

[boxer_1]

Interesting poll . IMHO the best way to get clients is by getting some of your work out there to see. The more the better, as long as each piece of work speaks well of your abilities.

Often times, a good start is to do a couple of free sites for a good cause / non-profit organization, such as a local public aid center. Something that will get traffic and reflect positively on you and your work. If there's a town nearby that doesn't already have its own website, offer to do one for them for free. Often included in town / city websites are a business directory (ie: listings for local resturants, auto repair, specialty shops, etc.). The site gets a good percentage of the local traffic (and traffic from abroad, such as people planning to vacation nearby) and the businesses listed in the directory you created are sure to visit. If impressed, they're likely to come to you somewhere down the road should they decide on having a website for their products / services.

When building a free site, build it as though you were getting paid top dollar. Whatever you build becomes a business card of sorts for all to see. So even if you're designing a site for Mr. & Mrs. X to display their seashell collection, design it well. You never know who is going to happen accross it .

Think of a mechanic, if he does 10 great repair jobs and one terrible job, you can bet the terrible job will get more exposure than the 10 great ones (I know, kinda bad example, but all I could think of right now).

Just get some work out there even if it's non-profit at first, make sure it's the best you can do, and paying client won't be far behind .

[QuackHead]

I completely agree with what Boxer said...

Specifically, that every website you make is a 'business card of sorts'

Be assured that even if you think it's a 'small' site, people are going to see it and if they like your design, they'll like your 'company' but if they hate the design, that's the image they'll get of your business.

Volunteering to do someone's site for free is a great way of getting started. MY suggestion would be to figure out which kind of site you'd like to design (say, a website for a car dealership or something) and go after the opportunities. When you're designing something that YOU are personally interested in, it'll make the job much easier, and a whole lot more fun.

Good luck

~Quack

[bcarl314]

Yeah, the experience thing is the biggest one. I left it out as kinda a no-brainer. But I guess I should've included it. I've done alot of sites for free now, and am starting to charge for my work. (People acutally pay me too, go figure <shrugs>)

[QuackHead]

hehehe

good to hear you're makin' some dough

good luck man!

[boxer_1]

Originally posted by bcarl314
Yeah, the experience thing is the biggest one. I left it out as kinda a no-brainer. But I guess I should've included it. I've done alot of sites for free now, and am starting to charge for my work. (People acutally pay me too, go figure <shrugs>)

You must be doing something right then . I'd be willing to bet that the the majority of your paying clients became the latter because of the 'free sites' you mentioned. Did you find that to be the case or did you aquire you paying clients via one of the other choices you included in your poll?

[bcarl314]

Well, so far my paying clients come from 2 sources:

1) Direct mailings to new businesses in the area (about 0.05 response rate, very low )

2) Referrals from freinds and family.

I do see that newspaper ads got a vote, I'm toying with that option right now.

[robertseo]

Internet Marketing

I really think the best way to cheaply yet effectively get your name out there is with internet marketing bringing potential clients to your website, then having a good convincing way to capture their information so that you can call them back promptly. I don't think this will change for a while since more and more people are spending more time online.