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Freelancer woman working from home It can be challenging to land new clients as a freelancer. But it can be even more difficult to scale your business and increase revenue - especially when you only have so many hours in the day and are a team of one. Side Hustle Nation found that the biggest challenge for side hustlers and freelancers is growing their business, with limited time coming in second. According to freelancermap, as many as 34% of freelancers are dissatisfied with the amount of money they make. While your earning potential can be influenced by your niche, demand for your services, and location, here are five key strategies any freelancer can utilize to make more money. 1. Utilize LinkedIn Marketing Investing in your marketing is essential, and LinkedIn can be one of the most powerful marketing channels for freelancers. The Mighty Marketer found that the number of freelancers using LinkedIn as their top source of clients increased by 26% from 2023 to 2025. Here’s how you can utilize LinkedIn to attract new clients and increase revenue: Optimize your profile. Your profile is a landing page that can either repel clients or help sell you as the expert they need. Ensure you clearly convey the problems you solve and the value you bring to clients. Post content that illustrates your expertise and brings value to your audience. You could share case studies, client wins, testimonials, key frameworks you use or insights into your process. Connect with your target audience. You could reach out to potential clients using direct messages or InMails, or send connection requests with a brief introduction. MORE FOR YOU 2. Leverage Your Network And Referrals Sometimes, people in your network can be looking for what you offer, and you don’t even know it. Don’t be afraid to inform friends, family, local business groups, your social media followers, and any sports or hobby groups that you’re involved in that you have the capacity to take on new clients. Also, don’t forget to follow up on leads that went silent and proposals that got ghosted - you never know, they may have just gotten busy! Next, ask your existing clients or past clients for referrals. This doesn't have to be awkward or overcomplicated. After completing a project, ask your client if they know someone else who would benefit from what you did together. You can offer a referral incentive, such as a discount on the next project, for every successful referral. 3. Upsell To Existing Clients For many freelancers, it may be easer to sell another service to an existing client, rather than trying to acquire brand new clients. Zippia found that companies have a 60-70% chance of selling to an existing customer versus a 5-20% chance of selling to a new one. This is because they already know you and trust you. So, one way to make more money is to upsell to your existing clients. For example, if you’re a freelancer who primarily does “done-for-you” services, you could upsell clients to a consultation, strategy session, online training, or an additional service. 4. Raise Your Freelance Rates There are many great reasons for increasing your rates, beyond just making more money. Inflation and the cost of living may have increased, you may be in high demand and booked out in advance, or you are highly experienced and skilled at what you do. Consider your current rates and evaluate whether you need to simply increase the price or change the way you charge. For example, it may be more profitable for you to swap from a per-hour rate to a per-word or per-project rate. Or, swap to monthly retainer-based packages for recurring revenue. To lower the chance of losing existing clients, make it a gradual change, or only apply the new rate to new clients or new services. If you do increase the rates for your current clients, notify them with plenty of advance notice. 5. Create And Sell A Digital Product With limited time being a challenge for most freelancers, one way to make more money is to create and sell a digital product. This is where you turn your expertise into a PDF guide, e-book, online training or course that helps solves a problem for your audience. Digital products can be sold on autopilot at any time of the day or night, making it a smart way to scale your revenue without adding more hands-on client work to your busy schedule. Making more money doesn't have to mean endless hours of client work or getting into a state of burnout. Try these methods to help grow your business and financial stability, so you can better enjoy the freedom and lifestyle that comes with being a freelancer. Editorial StandardsReprints & Permissions
