Have you set up a website for your freelance business, expecting your inbox to be flooded with emails from freelance clients wishing to book your services, only to find that… nothing happens?

Crickets.

And you think to yourself (while pouring yourself another glass of wine), “what the heck! I put in all this effort to create a website, but nothing has happened. “The internet is a lie!”

Don’t fret, my friend. I’m here to tell you that your website can help you get freelance clients… what you need are a few tweaks.

Your website should be a sales machine that works 24/7. Its purpose should be to attract and convert your freelance clients.

If your freelance website isn’t filling your calendar with ideal freelance clients, we’ve got your back. Here are 8 steps to improve your freelance website and begin getting clients.

8 Ways to Attract Freelance Clients Through Your Website

#1 Include a CTA on every page

A call to action is referred to as a CTA.

It’s essentially a button or a clickable link that contains the most important action you want a website visitor to take. It’s how they get from where they are to where you want them to go – like your “Hire Me” page!

Your call to action could be something like: 

• Hire me!
• Let’s collaborate!
• Please contact me.
• Buy now
• Sign up
• Please send me my guide! (for opt-in to a lead magnet)
• Book a consultation call!

If your site lacks CTAs, you’re leaving it up to your website visitors to decide where they want to go – which is never a good idea because they’ll most likely leave. You must guide them on what to do next.

If your process begins with a free consultation call, include a CTA on every page to book a free call. Make it as simple for people to hire you as possible.

#2 Use a booking calendar

Nothing is worse than the awkward back-and-forth email exchange when scheduling a meeting with someone.

Set up a booking calendar, such as youcanbook.me, Calendly, or Acuity scheduling, to completely avoid this hassle.

You can use these tools to set your available times so that your freelance clients can see when you’re available and book a time that works for them. You can set up automatic email reminders with a paid plan, so your clients never miss an appointment again. You can even accept payments through the calendar if you charge for sessions.

A booking calendar not only makes things easier for you but also makes you appear more organized and professional to potential clients. It’s an instant win!

#3 Display your best work in your portfolio

Before hiring you, most clients will want to see examples of your work. A strong portfolio indicates that you’re always ready to demonstrate what you’re capable of.

Your portfolio should ideally show freelance clients your best work and the type of work you want to do in the future.

If you want to work on large website projects as a designer, then feature your best website projects in your portfolio. Don’t include 5 examples of your social media/eBook/logo/PDF designs If you don’t want to be hired for that.

Alternatively, prioritize those jobs if you’re a freelance writer looking for a sales page copy. Remove any irrelevant blog articles that don’t demonstrate your conversion copywriting skills.

Upload your best work so that clients feel compelled to let you work on their projects as well.

#4 Create an enticing Value Proposition

A value proposition is essentially a headline that tells potential clients why they should hire you over other freelancers. It focuses on who you are, who you work with, and the advantages of working with you.

When someone visits your website, the first thing they should see is your value proposition.

In about 2 seconds, website visitors decide whether or not to stay and learn more about you. Your value proposition should convince potential customers that they’ve come to the right place.

Start by identifying your benefits or unique value before writing your value proposition. Perhaps you have a one-of-a-kind two-week design process. Perhaps you’re a writer with social media experience who wants to get more people to read your clients’ articles. Determine why your freelance clients enjoy working with you and use that as a jumping-off point.

Writing a value proposition can be challenging, but here are a few pointers to consider. A value proposition:

• Isn’t a tagline 
• shouldn’t have buzzwords
• can be a headline with a few supporting sentences or bullets, so don’t worry about cramming it into one sentence
• shouldn’t be a meaningless slogan

A strong value proposition will immediately resonate with your ideal clients and keep them on your site to learn more about you.

#5 Create a design that appeals to your ideal freelance clients

Your brand and website should be created with your ideal freelance clients in mind.

Consider colors, images, graphics, and fonts that may be appealing to your target audience when designing your website.

This is determined by your ideal client avatar.

If you want to target health coaches, your website will look very different from targeting B2B tech startups. A website aimed at health coaches may use bright and fun colors, script fonts, and images of healthy people or food, whereas a site aimed at a B2B tech founder will most likely use cool colors like blue and grey, modern sans serif fonts, and images of people working on laptop computers.

When browsing freelance websites, think about what your ideal client is looking for. You should always design for their preferences, not your own.

#6 Describe the experience of working with you in your services page

One thing that distinguishes good freelancers is their process. They walk their clients through a process to ensure that they’re doing the best possible work together.

Having a process shows a client that:

• You’ve done this type of work before and know what you’re doing.
• You’re a professional.
• You’re organized and will keep their project running smoothly.

Discussing how you work with clients, your process, and everything they can expect during their project is a great way to gain their trust and confidence.

Add a “How this works” section to your services page to give clients an inside look at your business… and place a CTA right next to it to schedule a consultation!

#7 Use social proof to build trust

A good testimonial can help clients move from a “maybe” to a “yes.”

Testimonials help potential clients who have never worked with you before to trust you.

Do you think you don’t have any testimonials? You can make use of:

• LinkedIn recommendations
• Positive reviews from freelancing sites such as UpWork and Fiverr
• Praise you’ve received for your work on social media posts.
• Nice emails from freelance clients thanking you for your work. 

Always ask for testimonials and get permission to post them on your website. People like to see human faces when they read a testimonial, so you get extra points if they let you use a headshot. It helps them visualize the story they’re reading.

#8 Create an email list

Creating an email list allows you to stay in touch with people who visit your website but aren’t quite ready to hire you. Once they’re on your list, you can send them more valuable content to establish your credibility and allow them to get to know you. They might just need a chance to know you before they’re willing to hire you.

An email list also allows you to later diversify your business by selling products, eBooks, courses, other services, or anything else you can think of!

To grow your list, you’ll need an email marketing service (we recommend ConvertKit) and an opt-in form builder (we use Bloom for this).

Make a lead magnet that answers your target freelance clients’ most pressing questions and offer it as an incentive for them to join your mailing list.

Question: Is your website equipped with all eight of these client-converting must-haves for freelancers? Let us know in the comments section.