Businesses rely on a growing client base to stay successful, and many find their potential clients online. Whether you’re a freelancer or a marketing executive, knowing how to find new online clients is vital for the continued life of your business. You can use many different strategies to discover and connect with potential clients. In this article, we discuss 10 key strategies for finding new clients online in any industry.
How to find new clients online
Here are 10 steps you can use to find new online clients for your business:
1. Leverage your current client base for referrals
Your current clients can be a great resource for you as you build your business. They have experience with your product or service and can often direct you to other people who find your products or services useful. Consider offering your current clients a referral bonus or other incentive for recommending your business to potential new clients.
2. Follow up with “lost” leads
A “lost” sales lead is a prospective client who did not purchase your product or service. If you have their contact information, you can reach out via email or phone. Before you reach out to a lost lead, consider creating a list of conversation topics or questions you would like them to answer. You might ask them why they didn’t purchase your services or how you might earn their business. A conversation with a lost lead may lead to an eventual sales conversion. It’s also an opportunity to get honest feedback about your sales and marketing strategy.
3. Consider your SEO strategy
Many potential clients start their product search online using a search engine, so it’s important that they can find your website quickly and easily in online searches. SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of improving your website’s ranking in search engine results pages, which can increase your website’s traffic. Although you can buy ad space to help your website rank higher, you can also improve your SEO organically, which can naturally increase your website’s rankings in search engine results.Some methods to improve your SEO organically include:
- Researching keywords that your potential clients search for and using them on your website
- Linking resources within your site
- Creating unique website content, like blog posts, videos and e-books
4. Create insightful content for your website
An effective website supplies potential clients with your prices and locations, plus content that answers their questions and draws them into a conversation with you about your services. If potential clients find your website to be a valuable resource for them in their search, they may be more likely to choose your business when they make a purchase. Plus, quality content using keywords and internal linking increases your website’s SEO, which means more clients see your website.The type of content you create depends on the needs of your prospective clients, but some common resources include blog posts, testimonials and tutorial videos. Consider making your content shareable, either via download or direct link. That way, your clients and partners can share your content via social media, which may increase the traffic on your website.
5. Consider using a lead capture on your website
A lead capture allows potential clients to enter their contact information directly to your website. Once you’ve gained a lead’s contact information, you can connect with them directly to engage them in a conversation about their needs. To encourage potential clients to fill out your lead capture, consider offering exclusive content to anyone who gives you their contact information. Here are some examples of content you can offer potential clients in exchange for contact information:
- Recordings of past webinars
- Access to e-books or PDFs
- Interactive content like quizzes or surveys
- Entry into a drawing for a special offer
6. Launch a lead-generation campaign
Lead-generation campaigns are a good way to increase the number of potential clients in your audience. In a lead-generation campaign, you might offer a free resource, event or service for people who sign up within a specific period. Usually, the lead-generation sign-up is on your website, but you could advertise the event on social media and through email. A lead-generation campaign’s goal is to gain as many leads as possible within a set time, like a week or month. That allows you to map your client’s life cycle, including how long it takes for a lead to become a client.A lead-generation campaign often offers bigger incentives to get contact information, like an exclusive webinar or trial period of service. The shorter period of a lead-generation campaign encourages your potential clients to act quickly, especially if your website, social media and email remind them that the offer is temporary. A well-advertised offer can draw in lots of leads who can become clients if your follow-up marketing is effective.
7. Use social media wisely
Social media can be a rewarding long-term strategy. It’s important to develop a social media marketing plan before creating social media account to maintain focus and brand consistency. If you consider your audience and their needs, your content can appeal strongly to your ideal client. Just like website content, strong social marketing content encourages potential clients to engage with your business.Most large social media platforms have business account options, so you have different options for your business’s social media presence. An ideal social media platform has a high usage rate of people who fit your ideal client in terms of age, gender and interests. Consider linking your website and social media to each other using a banner or button on both pages. That way, potential clients can click through and engage your services easily.
8. Develop effective calls to action for your potential clients
A call to action directs potential clients to complete a specific action after they read your emails, interact with your social media posts or visit your website. A strong call to action brings your potential client into a more in-depth conversation with your business. Here are some effective calls to action that you can add to your client-facing communications:
- Signing up for a webinar
- Downloading a resource
- Contacting a sales representative
9. Try cold emailing
Cold emailing involves reaching out to people or businesses who haven’t interacted with your business before. Cold emailing works best when your ideal client is a business or other organization because institutions have public contact information. Compiling a prospecting list manually takes time, but it can result in a high-quality list of potential clients.When writing an email to a prospective client, personalize your message based on their needs. Your emails can offer the recipient a glimpse into your business and what it can do for them. If you send out a cold email, consider adding a call to action that drives them into a further conversation with you.
10. Get involved in your industry and community
The more connected you are with your industry, the more your potential clients may see you as an expert in the field. One way you can get connected is by joining a professional organization in your industry. Being a member of a professional organization can offer the opportunity to take part in marketing events, like webinars and conferences. These associations often have online membership directories, which can bring your business to the attention of potential clients. Membership in these organizations often allows you to put their seal of approval on your website.