Getting Clients on Social Media: A Guide for Freelance Writers

A little over two decades ago, social media was still a concept in the minds of innovators. People had to meet in person, business had to be conducted in brick and mortar stores, long lost friends would remain lost, and advertisements were only seen on TV and other traditional promotional means.

But now, social media is an economy by itself. It offers people a platform to speak their minds, reach millions of people, make friends, advertise their businesses, and share news. Some businesses are completely operated on social media platforms. 

You might wonder how one can create a writing business out of these social sites. Given that more than 2.8 billion people are on these platforms, it is obvious that most consumers of products spend their time there. As a result, brands are establishing themselves on these platforms to connect with their customers. And because these brands are your potential clients, finding them on these platforms is straightforward.

This guide will show you how to find clients on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Reddit.

Getting Clients on Twitter

People tend to be highly opinionated on Twitter than on any other site, and that is because it was initially made for news and opinions.

Occasionally, you will see a person tweeting about being jobless. Then in a day or two, their tweet becomes popular, and they get multiple offers from many companies that want to share in the PR.

You can achieve a lot on social media, including making a brand popular, expanding your network, learning new information, and even getting clients for your writing business. 

Follow the various job boards on Twitter related to writing. They include @Write_Jobs, @WhoPaysWriters, @JJobs_tweets, and others. Keep checking them out and applying for jobs.

Search for various keywords that can assist you in landing a writing gig. Such keywords include: writing gig, writer, writer wanted, writing job, content writer, and hiring a writer, among others.

Don’t forget to feature Twitter in your long-term strategy as well. Doing this requires you to get quality followers who can:

• End up being potential clients
• Promote your brand on Twitter and other social platforms. 

Get quality followers by following influencers in your writing niche. Participate in the various discussions to showcase your writing skills. Advertise your brand. 

Consider asking current clients to follow you on Twitter.

As your following grows, you want to ensure that your followers don’t get bored. Be sure to tweet regularly regarding trending topics, ask questions, and include useful links. Remember to have a mix of content, like videos, photos, and texts.

As you implement all these strategies, you need to ensure that your Twitter profile is optimized. Have a brief bio that describes what you do. Include a link to your website. Upload an image that reflects your brand, such as a company logo. 

Getting Clients on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a social media site for businesses, which makes it perfect for seeking potential clients. Here, brands can connect, partner, and hire one another for services.

As you create your profile, make sure you use keywords that will help potential clients to find you. As a writer, use keywords such as freelance writer, writer for hire, best writer, health writer (if that is your niche), and others as you write the description. 

Ensure you have a beautiful LinkedIn profile picture. 

Use an optimized header image. Include your social media statistics, major blogs where you have written, or anything that will make you stand out as a writer. You can use canva.com to edit the banner to your specifications.

When a client views your profile, you can know by checking the sidebar of your page. While some functions of this feature might be limited for free LinkedIn profiles, you can still contact some of the prospects that have viewed your profile. 

Let them know that you are responding to them as a result of their viewing of your profile. Ask them if they would like your services as well. You have higher chances of landing them as your client if they’re in your niche.

If you have a website, which is highly recommended for a freelance writer, share your blog posts on LinkedIn. If your prospects like your posts and need a writer, they may contact you.

Many companies looking for writers post job ads on LinkedIn, and most of the times, the ads are exclusive to the platform. Therefore, you can search for quality clients right there on LinkedIn.

You can contact prospects using LinkedIn’s InMail feature. This is a premium feature that you can use to contact people who you’re not connected to.

Just like Facebook, LinkedIn has niche communities for you to join. A community like LinkEds & Writers will help you learn how to find clients, negotiate with them, and charge them. Another useful group is called Writing Professionals Group.

Getting Clients on Facebook

Facebook has over 2.4 billion users worldwide. As the largest social site, it offers a goldmine for potential clients. But you will not just find customers by having a Facebook profile, you need to reach out to them. One of the most powerful ways to do this is through Facebook groups.

People with similar interests and in the same niche can be found on Facebook groups. If you pose a question, numerous people may answer you. Therefore, you can be smart and ask about the challenges that most entrepreneurs in your niche face. If someone says that content is a problem for them, be quick to offer your writing services as a solution.

Additionally, businesses and writing agencies will look for writers to hire in these communities. Hence, you need to be online, so you can be one of the first people to apply for these positions once they are advertised.

Some great Facebook groups to join include:

• The Smart Passive Income Community 
• The Business Lounge Mastermind 
• Christian Entrepreneurs: Building Your Business with Purpose
• Copywriting Jobs

Other than reaching out to clients on Facebook groups, you can also have clients reach out to you. To accomplish this, you need to create a Facebook page. 

Have a professional photo of yourself and a cover photo that shows your brand. Then include a description of what you do and a link to your site on your bio. What’s more, you can include additional tabs for your portfolio and testimonials. Remember to keep the page active by making regular posts. These can be text updates, links to great blog posts, images and videos.

Once your page is up and active, like pages that you think your audience likes. If your niche is health, look for health-related pages and like them. Comment on posts. Make the comments valuable to the audience there. This way, your comments will have more likes, and Facebook will put them at the top of all the other comments, which increases your visibility. It will then be easy for potential clients to go to your page and reach out to you about your services.

Lastly, network with other reputable freelancers, regardless of their line of work. You might end up getting offers to partner with them on their projects.

Getting Clients on Pinterest

Pinterest is a popular social media platform in the US, which is one of the regions where you can find high-paying clients. Its 300 million active users include people from all industries, including content marketing. This provides you with an opportunity to get clients who need your services.

Pinterest understands that having a community in a social media platform is essential, and that is why it has group boards. To find prospects, join group boards in your niche and post pins regularly. If the group has a massive following, then your pins will be seen by numerous individuals, among them potential clients.

Here are some few group boards you can join:

• Location Independent Job Ideas
• Work from Home Job Leads 
• Freelance Fierce 

…and more

Check out this list of group boards compiled by Elna Cain, a freelance writer like you.

So, how else can you use Pinterest for your freelance writing business? Once your site is ready, convert your personal Pinterest account into a business one. Then compile a list of keywords that are mostly used by businesses in your niche to find a freelance writer.

Now, include those keywords as you write a compelling bio. Also, remember to include a link to your site. As you pin content from others, create your board and pin personalized content. To create pins, use a simple design tool like Canva. It can create appealing pinnable graphics. Ensure your pins are valuable to your ideal audience and make sure they complement your website. And remember to follow other pinners in your niche.

Getting Clients on Reddit

Reddit is a favorite for many writers looking both short-term and long-term projects. This platform is unlike all the other social sites. You don’t need to have a picture or a compelling bio for you to land customers. Having friends and followers is not necessary. 

You only need to join various communities called subreddits. 

For instance, as a writer, you can join these:

• /r/ForHire
• /r/HireAWriter
• /r/WritingOpportunities 

…and others. 

In these communities, you are allowed to advertise your services. But you have to follow the rules. These rules vary, and you need to take caution as you can be removed from them if you break their rules. You will also see various posts by clients looking for writers to write for them. Requirement? Just direct messaging them.

Join other subreddits in your niche and contribute to them. Provide insightful posts and make useful comments. This way, you will build credibility, and brands may reach out to you.

Conclusion

This guide is proof of the power of social media for writers. It will not only help you with the challenges that you are facing as a writer, but also offer you new insights and opportunities to find clients for your writing business.

In fact, you can use these tips in other forms of freelancing. Here’s a handy freelancing guide.

Optimize your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest profiles to reflect the image that will get clients coming to you. This includes uploading a professional picture, writing a short description of your offering, including a link to your site, and making regular posts that your potential clients might like.

Make sure all your social sites reflect your brand. From there, you can create a schedule of how you will be using them. For instance, you can use Facebook and Twitter on one day, then LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Reddit on another. You can do this for at least one hour daily. That’s enough time to work on getting leads.

To make things easier, you can use scheduling tools to set up posts for a week (or longer). So, you only need to organize everything in one day, and you’re sorted for that period. But monitoring and commenting on groups will need to be done daily so that you promptly respond to clients.

You can do great on social media. Keep in mind that CONSISTENCY is key! Start today and make it a habit.