How to Build a Steady Stream of Clients in 5 to 10 Minutes a Day
By Cindy Cyr

Do you ever wonder how freelancers like Bob Bly, Dan Kennedy, and Ted Nicholas

always seem to have a long list of clients eagerly waiting to pay them for their services?

Do clients flock to them simply because they are well-known within the industry?

I'm sure their high profiles don't hurt. But the fact is, their schedules were full before anyone knew who they were and before they had major successes under their belts.

They did it by taking consistent "self-marketing action" every day.

The good news is that getting clients doesn’t have to be time-consuming and difficult.

So, how do you get your schedule overflowing with projects?

I want to answer that question by tackling three of the commonly-held myths of the freelance world which could be holding you back. I’ll follow up with some easy shortcuts you can use to fill up your calendar in no time.

Myth #1: “I just need to complete this project I’m working on first, then I’ll contact Mr. Prospect.”

Truth: We are taught to do things sequentially: Step one, do this. Step two, do that. However, truly successful people have discovered the key to not only consistent income, but breakthrough income, is NOT to do things sequentially. You do it simultaneously. If you wait until you finish or are close to finishing a project, a course, etc., before you make contact or follow up with a possible new client, you’ll not only find it more difficult to create consistent income, you’ll stunt the growth of your income.

Myth #2: “I might get too busy if I continue contacting clients while I’m at capacity.”

Truth: Contacting clients consistently every day and simultaneously even while you are up to your eyeballs in projects is the key to keeping your project pipeline full. Even better, it gives you the ability to pick and choose the best clients, the most interesting projects, and the highest-paying assignments.

And, if you have more offers for work than you can handle … you can always offer to schedule them out in advance. Or, offer to “copy coach it” by bringing in someone else and taking a cut of the project. Or, you can simply choose to turn it down.

Myth #3: “Client-getting activities are time-consuming.”

Truth: If you think you need to dedicate a lot of time to contacting customers and following up with them, I want to introduce you to the secret to making customer contact easy and seamless.

In fact, once in place, the strategies I’m going to show you will take you no more than 5 to 10 minutes per day. In some cases, you’ll be able to set and forget them.

Here are 5 strategies for FAST and easy client attraction:

1. Create processes you can re-use repeatedly. Making first contact with a prospective client or following up on a lead doesn’t have to take a lot of time. The key to making it a 5- to 10-minute strategy is to have a process already in place.

Take a few minutes to plan what you’ll need. For example, you might have a direct-response letter, as well as an email, ready to send out to prospects, along with a ZIP file with samples, a few phone scripts, and five follow-up emails.

If you don’t already have these together, don’t worry. Simply collect your lead-gen postcards, letters, and emails that work as you go along and keep them in a file so you’ll always have the perfect response ready to go with a few minor edits to personalize it for your client.

2. Swipe proven client-getting ideas and follow-up systems. Rather than re-creating the wheel, simply transfer the best ideas you see to your own campaigns for a quick shortcut. Look inside AWAI’s archives and within the many resources they provide.

Also, look outside the freelance world for successful campaigns. For example, let’s say you see a great email from your dentist reminding you about your six-month check-up. You could swipe the idea and create an email to past clients that says, “It’s time for your six-month Copy Check-up” and offer a free six-month check-up of their current website using ideas from Pam Foster’s program, Site Audits Made Simple.

3. Add Credibility Indicators to your signature line. A simple way to encourage dialog is to include some testimonials or a list of companies you’ve worked with (or both) under your signature.

Beneath your signature block write, “What people are saying about (your name),” followed by several of your best testimonials. Or write, “Some of the companies I’ve worked with” followed by a list of your most recognizable or most relevant companies you’ve done business with.

4. Use Autoresponders. Use Jay White’s Autoresponder Apprentice: How to Become a Successful Copywriter Without Writing Sales Letters program to create a sequence of emails that will automatically be sent at regular intervals after you’ve captured a prospect’s email address on a web form.

5. Forward a relevant article. Another quick way to make contact is to send a relevant article. Two ways to make this fast and simple are:

• Set up a Google Alert with a key phrase relevant to your target audience, so you’ll constantly have instant access to the most recent news about your prospect’s topic.
• Collect timeless articles that educate your client about direct response and relevant topics. You or other authors can write these. This gives you a collection to pull from based on what your prospect’s project focus is and can easily be sent in a quick email.

For example, if a prospect is interested in building a landing page, you might send an article that discusses why and what you should test when creating landing pages. Look for articles that tell them what to do, not how to do it.

When you commit to contacting prospective clients once a day, you’ll ensure your “project well” never dries up while building up to better and more lucrative projects. And, by putting these fast-track processes in place, you’ll be able to quickly and easily continue your client-getting activities, no matter how busy you are.