Finding high-paying clients online has to be one of the hardest things to do. In an age where the internet makes all things accessible and remote work is becoming more of a norm than the exception, you’d think it’d be easy to find clients online.
And it is! (You didn’t think that I’d throw you a curveball, did you?
It is easy to find clients online. Every day, thousands of job postings are made by aspiring entrepreneurs – but that doesn’t mean that you should be applying to all of these listings. No matter where you look, you’ll quickly find clients that look to pay less for more – especially if you’re starting out.
They underpay you for tasks that require specialized skills and experience
Whether it’s because of a lack of knowledge or just outright disrespect, you deserve better than that.
You deserve to find high-paying clients that respect your expertise and pay you well for it.
Here’s how you can find the best clients online.
Table of Contents
How To Find High-Paying Clients Online
1.) Job Boards
Probably the most obvious answer, finding high-paying clients online requires you to look for these clients through online job boards. A quick google search immediately shows the hundreds of job sites on the internet that connect you with people looking for freelancers.
Sites like ProBlogger, UpWork, and Freelancer, for example, allow freelancers and agencies to apply for job listings that clients create. However, there are also sites that work the other way around, like Fiverr, where freelancers create “gigs” and advertise their services, clients can then message these freelancers to inquire about their services.
The trick here is to filter out those that underpay. Make sure to read the job description and understand just how much work they want to be done in return for the amount of money you pay. Create a quick estimate of the number of hours that this would take you and assess whether this job is worth your time.
2.) Build An Audience
While the returns for this step would naturally take longer, building an audience is perhaps the most rewarding investment you can make for your brand. Building an audience not only exposes your work to a wider audience (and potential clients) but also builds your reputation and online presence.
Now, what do high-paying clients want to look for in a freelancer? That’s right: a strong positive reputation and quality work.
By building an audience, be it through Youtube or a blog, you’re showing high-paying clients proof of both – making you the more attractive candidate.
3.) Ask Clients for Referrals
After you get that first 5 figure project, why would you want to go back to projects that pay less than $1000?
Once you find your first high-paying client, you don’t want to go back and you shouldn’t have to.
Ask yourself, how do you leverage your first high-paying client to find more? The answer is simple: referrals.
Simply ask your client if they know anyone who needs the services you offer. High-paying clients are known to frequent the same communities. They are involved in communities that uphold the same values and ideals. They’re more likely to know other high-paying clients that understand the value you can provide.
By simply asking your client to refer you to people know, you’re telling the client two things: you’re a hard worker and you value their opinion.
They might not have anyone come immediately to mind but if they do, you’ll be the first to know. Plus, it’s a means to keep the conversation going and build genuine trust with your customer.
Referrals leverage the power of social proof – the most powerful tool used to convert potential leads. Once a lead hears praise from someone they trust (a.k.a. your client), they’re more likely to avail of your services.
4.) Start Cold Emailing High-Paying Clients
This may not be a highly praised lead generation tactic but cold emailing works. I’ve found great success and gotten to create and nurture relationships with like-minded people through cold emailing.
It’s a personal message that specifically addresses the lead’s problem, making it five times more convincing than any other sales method. It might seem daunting at first so here are a couple of tips to make sure that your email gets opened:
- Make it personal – you’re emailing one person here. So make sure that you create a custom message. Don’t spam.
- Make it interesting – make sure your subject line makes the recipient want to open your email. You don’t have to be overtly professional, just keep it interesting.
- Make it clear – don’t beat around the bush. Get to the point. Make sure that after your lead opens the email, they know what they’re getting and what you receive in return.
If you want more tips on writing cold emails that convert, click here.
5.) Join Online Groups
Joining online groups and forums that are frequented by your target clientele is another great way to generate leads and find high-paying clients online. Be it through Facebook, Reddit, or Quora, a quick search on any site would immediately pull up hundreds of results.
The trick here is to be an active member and post frequently – but don’t spam or immediately drop a link to your website. Be genuine in asking questions or answering and only leave a link if it makes sense or if the person asks.
Online groups have been leveraged by many to connect their community members and find like-minded people.
6.) Partner with Competitors
Clients love to be provided value, especially if they believe that they’re getting more of it by paying less. By partnering with competitors, both indirect and direct, you’re providing more value to your client by increasing the resources of your business.
You can also use this option to expand your service offerings. For example, if you’re a content writer, you could partner with a web developer to create fully-fledged websites that generate tons of traffic and leads for your customer. This creates convenience for your freelance client and better justifies the high pay that you’ll ask for.
7.) Run Ad Campaigns
This may not be as popular as the other options but running ad campaigns on social media like Facebook or Instagram is a surefire way to make sure that your product offering can be seen by high-paying clients.
As the saying goes, “you have to spend money, to make money.”, so make sure that you have a lot of free time in your hands and you can take up a lot of work because running a successful ad campaign will definitely bring you a lot of inquiries from leads.
8.) Leveraging Offline Connections
Finally, remember that despite the fact that you work online, you could still leverage offline connections such as friends and family. While this may not be a surefire way to find high-paying clients, it’s definitely an option and as an added bonus, you get face-to-face contact with your potential client which has been proven to generate trust between people.
When leveraging offline connections, make sure that you’re not coming off as someone messaging friends and relatives simply because you’re looking for work. I cannot stress enough the importance of being genuine – create a relationship and mention your service only when there’s a problem to be solved.
Otherwise, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
On Finding High-Paying Clients Online
Finding high-paying clients in an online setting isn’t the easiest thing to do, especially if you’re only starting out. However, it’s entirely possible. There are a plethora of great clients out there, but they’re reserved for great freelancers.
To generate leads and convert clients, you need to offer something that’s valuable. Focus on yourself and prove the value that you can offer, the high-paying clients will come.
