Where I Find E-Design Clients Online

e-design resources Oct 16, 2022

I know when starting an online business, the size of the internet can feel very overwhelming, and you feel so small and insignificant as a solo entrepreneur just starting out. If you search around for other E-Designers, you also might feel like the market is saturated, and that potential clients won't be able to find you within the crowd.

The truth is, there are so many potential clients out there, that there is plenty of business for all of us! However, just putting out a website for your business does not guarantee that people will "stumble upon it" on the internet and hire you for your services, you will need to "find" clients, in a way, for them to be able to get to know you and choose you to help them.

It helps to narrow down the internet to a few places that you can find potential clients, so I have listed out the places that I, personally, find clients online. This list is certainly not exhaustive of the places you can find people who will want to work for you, and you can choose your own social media outlets that you'd like to network in. These are just the places that I have chosen to focus on (it might feel like you need to be in ALL of the places, but narrowing down to a few will be so much more manageable when you first start out! I would truthfully start with just one, and then work up from there as you get the hang of it).

Here are a few of the places I get clients online:

1. Instagram

Instagram is my #1 source for online clients. This is the social media outlet that I have chosen to focus the most of my energy on (you can find my design account @larkinlivingspaces). By showing a good deal of my work and my business, what it's like to work with me, as well as a lot of free advice, I am able to showcase what I do and have clients that want to work with me.

2. Facebook

My second source for online clients is Facebook. Now, I don't go overboard with this, as I mostly just repost from Instagram, but I have a large network here of people that I know personally, so that is a great pool of potential clients (note that my Facebook friends are not necessarily the ones who actually hire me, but if they know about my business and have a friend looking for a designer, I'm usually the first one they mention since they keep up with me on Facebook).

4. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is another great social media option, as there are a lot of engaged users, and you can use it a bit differently than you would with Instagram or Facebook. It has a less "personal" vibe, so it's not as easy to get to know people, but having your name out there with your connections and having them see your posts will keep your name front and center when they have a need for your services.

5. Social Groups

I network within social groups on the internet, and I am able to make connections with people that want to work with me. It's important to be genuine when networking and not try to "sell" to everyone that you meet.

I hope knowing where my clients come from can help you to feel a bit less overwhelmed in starting to find your own clients online. Note that you did not see "paid advertising" in my list. For very small businesses like ourselves, paid advertising can be challenging, and you need a good bit of money to start and test ads, so I do not recommend using this method at this time. Truthfully, I have never gotten a client from running a paid advertisement. I tried this method a few times at the very beginning of starting my E-Design business, but it was really a waste of money, so I hope you will learn from my mistake and try these other methods instead.

These are some of the places my clients come from online, but at this point in my business, my clients are coming mostly from referrals from previous clients. It's important to note that having an excellent client experience for your current clients is actually the best way for your business to grow! But, I know that if you are reading this article, you are probably very new in your E-Design business and don't have many clients yet to give you referrals (don't worry - it takes a bit of time at first, but then you will find the clients just pouring in without having to spend much time on social media at all! 😄)

My online course, Your E-Design Business Roadmap, has an entire Module focused on finding and booking clients online, including lessons on "Successful Social Media", "Organic Networking", and "Sales for E-Design" so your business can grow into your dream career. Be sure to check it out here!