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Everyone, and I mean everyone who has run a business, has a hyper specific POV on how to get clients.
Don’t do email. Do email.
Don’t pay for leads. Pay for leads, but only from X.
Instagram doesn’t work. My entire business was grown on Instagram.
It’s confusing, isn’t it? And then of course, there’s the friend of mine who is wildly successful and told me they’ve never done a day of marketing in their life. (They post daily on Instagram.)
WHY CAN’T THE CLIENTS JUST FIND US?
I am screaming into the void, but of course, if you’ve got a POV, throw it my way. You’ll find an equal number of people who agree and disagree with you.
I can’t tell you exactly what to do, but I can tell you what worked (and didn’t work) for me, and what conditions I think have to be true for you to be successful.
If that’s worth something, which I hope it is, let’s go for it.
Part I: What did not work for me
1. Instagram
Did it work? No
Do I recommend? Yes, but with stipulations
Ahhh, Instagram. The platform I suspect most of you have fled from (in addition to LinkedIn) to come to Substack.
I went all-in on Instagram a couple years ago when I was running my brand agency. I signed up for a cohort to help me do this organically, which was $2500. I did not make a penny of it back - at least not in the way I expected. (Incidentally, I still recommend the cohort!)
Instagram will work for you if:
You like creating video and visual content
You have your offer shit together. I mean it. You have at least one very clear offer that you can reference via DMs, LinkTree, etc. as well as freebies and lower-cost services that ladder up to your main offer. If you need to start on an offer, start here:
You will take time to understand how the algorithm works (trending audio, short videos/long captions, visual hooks) and incorporate this knowledge into content
You are willing to post consistently or spend substantial money on ads
At the time, I was running a branding agency. My brand people didn’t want to actually create the content, which was the thing we were selling. My offer wasn’t clear. I also don’t love being on camera.
But I will say that the Instagram attempt forced me to sharpen my offers and put myself out there even more, which eventually got me more clients. So in that sense, it was a win.
2. Paid Leads
Did it work? No
Do I recommend? No
There are many agencies out there who claim to get you qualified leads for whatever service you do. I had a friend who got some work with one of these agencies, so I tried it.
In my case, I paid the agency every time I took a meeting. I think it was like $299 a pop.
What people don’t tell you about these setups is that the potential client is also being paid to be on the meeting. This could work one of two ways:
The client is motivated to find someone to help them with their problem, and being paid to find a good fit is an added bonus
The client is never going to hire anyone because they are spending all of their time on these prospect calls as opposed to running their business
I met with people who fit in #2. They weren’t gonna hire me - they wanted their $100 for showing up to a meeting and listening to a pitch.
I will say I think my cold pitching skills improved during this time. But this has diminishing returns if your audience isn’t actually interested and you are spending nearly $300 an hour.
Part II: What Kinda Worked For Me
3. Cold Email
Did it work? No, and then kind of
Do I recommend? Eh? I can’t decide.
Cold email requires a lot of technical setup. It’s not a barrier, but you need to know that upfront before you start sending thousands of cold emails and crash your domain/get tons of undelivered emails. I’m not here to write about this, but just put that in your back pocket. Happy to discuss it during Office Hours.
Now- I tried cold email first when I had no clear offer. It did not work. (Are you sensing a pattern here?)
Then I tried it for a client, we had insane open and click rates, but no actual closers- though we did get a meeting with Netflix out of it.
I’d give cold email a go if:
You have a clear offer
You can write a killer subject line that will get people to open it (DO NOT USE AI TO WRITE THESE. THEY ARE CONTRIVED.)
You have links to your website/offer that you can track
You have a very clear target
4. Catalant, MarketerHire, and Similar
Did it work? Not yet
Do I recommend? Eh? I don’t have enough information yet.
I think you should be on sites like this if you can be. Just because they haven’t worked for me doesn’t mean they won’t work for you. It’s a low barrier to entry, you get your name out in more places, and occasionally a job may match.
Part III: What Did Work for Me
You know this is the part that’s gonna be behind a paywall. I’ll make it so you can use you free one to preview it.
Business [Comma] Woman is for anyone who gets hives at the thought of marketing themselves or having to go get clients. If you’re building a business around your skills, don’t let the marketing part get in the way. Whatever you’re good at: accounting, tarot card reading, window washing, marketing, therapy -if it’s legal, I want you to make money at it. If this article was helpful, please share it!