How I attract clients I actually want to work with

When I first jumped into the freelancing world, I said yes to literally every project that came my way.

I thought this approach would serve me in the long run and allow me to build:

• A big, rapidly growing client base

• Earn more money

• A jam packed portfolio

While this strategy helped me initially and I'd recommend it to newcomers as a way to build experience and discover your project preferences, I held onto this mindset for too long, and problems began to surface.

The problems…

• I didn’t like the work I was producing because the brands weren’t in industries that excited me.

• I kept attracting low-ballers who only wanted me to “push out pixels.”

• My enquiries were mostly from stereotypical corporate brands or businesses obsessed with neutral aesthetics (and if you know me, that’s just not my jam 🤷)

My creativity and passion for growing my business were fading with each project, and I knew something had to change before I burned out completely.

With my motivation fading, I found myself doing what most procrastinators do… scrolling social media.

At the time, there was a popular trend on TikTok where videographers created product videos from their homes (this was during COVID when the world shut down).

People would find ordinary objects around their house and transform them into cinematic, fun product videos. I even watched someone use a spoon as their subject.

One creator doing this was Grace Wells. While she has a massive following now, she was just starting out back then.

On her page, I watched how she used everyday objects to push herself and improve her videography skills while locked inside.

Then one day, after following her journey closely, I saw her announce that she'd been hired to create a product video for a major company, all because they'd seen her TikTok videos and were impressed.

Seeing this gave me inspiration: If the type of clients I wanted to work with weren't coming to me, I had to get in front of them.

Create the Work I Wanted to Book!

So, I started by creating a list of businesses I'd love to work with. (The goal wasn't to land huge clients, instead, I wanted to attract businesses in similar industries who shared that kind of vibe.)

With those clients in mind, I created passion projects that felt authentically me.

For the first time in ages, I felt excited looking at my work. Rather than churning out projects that uninspired me, I was creating designs that reflected who I was as a designer.

This shift reignited my passion, boredom disappeared, and I found myself genuinely invested in every design.

I knew these portfolio pieces had the potential to attract the clients I wanted to work with...

...and they did. There wasn't a single car valet logo request in sight (something I had grown accustomed to in my early days) 🤣

Instead, I heard from businesses that loved my style, wanted to be bold, and were eager to take creative risks.

I was finally attracting the kinds of clients I wanted to work with.

As I mentioned at the start of this newsletter, if you're just starting out in freelancing, take on every project that comes your way. Use these opportunities to build experience, develop your client communication skills, improve your design abilities, and figure out what you enjoy working on.

However, know when it's time to move on from that strategy and start creating a more curated list of clients that make your work fulfilling. (use passion projects or "fake brands" to do this).

When you work on projects that ignite your passion, you'll see the difference, not just in your creativity and motivation, but in the calibre of clients eager to work with you.

Stuck on Where to Start?

I know what you're thinking: This all sounds great, but how am I supposed to come up with cool passion projects when my creativity is at rock bottom?

Don’t worry. I’ve created a FREE resource just for you:

Brief Bank is packed with captivating concepts across a variety of industries to spark your imagination and help you dive right in.

You can access it HERE.

I’d love to see what you create, so feel free to tag me in your posts!

Have fun,

Abi 😊

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