Freelance Opportunities in Marketing

Over the past 9 years, I’ve acquired 1,000+ clients for my agencies. If I were starting over today, here’s exactly how I’d land my first 10 clients: Step 1: Start with the right data The biggest challenge when starting out? Finding highly targeted prospects who are ready to buy. Here’s how I’d solve that: Google Maps. Yes, I said Google Maps. Why? Because it’s an untapped goldmine for qualified leads. With over 4,000 B2B categories, it’s packed with local businesses and SMBs often overlooked - or missing - from LinkedIn. These are hidden gems waiting to be discovered. Scrap (https://scrap.io/s/9MYK) transforms this goldmine into actionable leads by extracting from Google Maps listings: - Emails, phone numbers, & websites - Social media profiles - Website technologies - Even Google Maps ratings & reviews Filter and focus on your ideal targets in just 2 clicks. For example: - Restaurants with 4+ ratings but no Instagram. - Local businesses with websites but no ad pixels. - SMBs in specific niches or locations. Scrap’s real-time data extraction ensures you always have the most accurate info - and it’s available as a Chrome Extension for instant insights. Step 2: Personalize your outreach Generic outreach doesn’t work - relevance is everything. Try this playbook: - Subject Line: Use something attention-grabbing like “Quick question about [business name]” or “Idea for [service].” - Personalize: Reference their Google Maps reviews, website, or niche. For example: “Congrats on your 4.9-star rating - I can see why people love your café.” - Partner Up: “I help cafes like yours boost foot traffic through email marketing. I noticed a few opportunities I’d love to share.” - CTA: End with a low-pressure ask: “Does this sound worth exploring?” Pro Tip: Pair the emails from Scrap (https://scrap.io/s/9MYK) with LinkedIn outreach - connect or engage with their posts to build trust. Step 3: Stay consistent and scale your efforts Build momentum through persistence: - Follow Up: Most responses come after the 2nd or 3rd touch. Example sequence: Email → LinkedIn connect → Follow-up email → Call. - Track Metrics: Monitor open rates, replies, and booked calls. Aim for a 20%+ email response rate and 10%+ meetings booked. - Leverage Referrals: Once you’ve landed a few clients, ask, “Know anyone else who might benefit?” and share testimonials like, “We helped a local coffee shop grow foot traffic by 20% in 30 days.” - Automate: Use Scrap for fast lead gen and a CRM to manage outreach. Recap: - Use Scrap (https://scrap.io/s/9MYK) to turn Google Maps into a lead-gen machine for local businesses, SMBs, and niche prospects. - Personalize your emails with insights and a clear CTA. - Stay consistent by following up, tracking results, and leveraging referrals. - And remember: Your first 10 clients lay the foundation for scaling. #ScrapPartner

Freelance tip: Does cold outreach to direct clients (pitching your freelance services to people you don't know) work, for translators and interpreters? Yes! And: 🪁Your messages have to be highly targeted 🪁 You have to contact individuals, not info@ addresses 🪁 You have to do a lot of cold outreach to see results It's hard to even assess the results of cold outreach until you contact at least 100 people. Of those 100, expect that 80-90 will not respond at all, 10-20 will respond, and 1-3 of those will become clients. Here's what a highly targeted message looks like: "Hello Kira, I hope you're doing well! I'm a French to English translator specializing in the development sector. While researching NGOs working in Haiti and West Africa, I came across your website and was impressed by your upcoming polio vaccination project in Senegal. I'd love to support your efforts, if the project calls for French to English translation of funding proposals, employee materials, reports, or other documents you may need. Would you be the right person to discuss whether my services might be useful?" I'm not the world's greatest e-mail pitch writer (follow Ed Gandia for that!) but you get the point: ditch the "I'm a translator, do you need me? And by the way, here's my life story," and say something very specific about the intersection between this potential client's needs and your expertise. In the U.S., you can e-mail people directly (search LinkedIn, their website, or Hunter.io for addresses); for other countries, use your judgment about their receptivity, or start on LinkedIn and then move to e-mail. If you find this helpful and you're not on the Training for Translators mailing list, hop on over to my blog and join! https://lnkd.in/gUvmHqK3

I'm a big believer in building full-time, in-house marketing teams (yes, even as a fractional marketer). However, startups, especially early-stage ones, don’t have it easy when it comes to marketing. Here's how to think about your first marketing hire as an early-stage startup: - Hire a junior marketer when: You've reached product-market fit and have clarity on your ICP, messaging, and initial channels, and when you have some repeatability. You (the founder) are providing the strategy and direction; you just need execution bandwidth. - Hire a marketing leader when: You're at a predictable revenue and can invest in headcount. You need someone to own the entire marketing function, build strategy, and scale execution. Marketing needs to operate beyond founder-led growth. - Go fractional when: You're pre-PMF or early post-PMF without clear marketing strategy. You don't have the budget for senior full-time headcount but need expertise to figure out positioning, channels, and messaging. The founder lacks marketing background and needs strategic guidance. The sweet spot for most early-stage startups: Fractional strategist plus junior executor. Your fractional leader builds the strategy, sets KPIs, and defines what success looks like. Your junior hire executes campaigns, creates content, and handles day-to-day operations. The fractional person mentors your junior marketer so they develop faster. You get senior-level thinking without burning runway, plus someone learning and growing with your company. This approach lets you punch above your weight without burning through runway. Once you hit product-market fit and have predictable revenue, transition to a full-time leader. Most early-stage founders try to choose between strategy and execution when the budget is tight. The smarter play is structuring your first marketing investment to get both.

3 tactics that helped us work with top clients and scale OWLED. "Clients only care about affordability" - most freelancers believe this. I am saying this because when I started out I also used to think the same. However, I realized that turning prospects into clients isn't only dependent on pricing. So while building Owled we applied these tactics that you must also try: 1) Giving them performance-based guarantees.  ROI is the prime importance for everyone. If a client is investing an amount they need returns on it. We showcase the ROI-based case studies to our clients so they can trust us easily. 2) Explaining how instead of what. A person running a business surely knows what they need to do to grow their business. We don't educate them about why they need to go digital. Instead, we show them strategies that would help them build a digital presence and generate business via it. 3) Showing them the potential. Sometimes the prospects want to trust and experiment with the ideas. However, they are just concerned about the results. Our first non-negotiable is believing our own ideas and showing the bigger picture to the client. Basically, we sell and promote results instead of the idea. Financials do matter for businesses. But what also matters is the result and impact. Selling the right way can convince the prospect to take the risk and buy from you. Remember: You get paid a premium when you give premium results.

How do I get clients as a freelancer? LinkedIn, SEO, referrals, my courses, writing articles, and pitching new and existing clients. Here are some of the more effective methods I've used over the last twelve years worth trying out: 1️⃣ Pitch your existing clients and ask for referrals An underutilized approach to generating new business is simply asking your current clients if they'd be interested in additional services from you or could refer you to their colleagues. Since they're already satisfied with your work and trust you as a partner, this is going to be a more effective route for getting a positive response that turns into new opportunities. On the pitch front, it's appropriate to occasionally reach out to current customers with expanded offerings or a completely new service of relevance to their needs. For example, a fellow freelancer just offered her existing project management clients the option to receive new training and consultation on integrating AI with their project management functions. She was able to tailor the pitch to their specific needs, given she's already got behind-the-scenes insights into their circumstances and recognized this was a value add. The pitch was a success because she anticipated a need, upleveled her skills in this area, formulated a relevant offering with pricing, and wasn't afraid to pitch the client despite them not directly asking for this kind of support. In terms of referrals, I'd recommend asking your existing clients to keep you in mind if their colleagues internally or externally need additional support related to your expertise. This can be informally in conversation as you're wrapping up a project like this, "I'd appreciate it if you'd refer me when any future editorial strategy projects come across your desk, either here or with a colleague elsewhere. It makes a big difference for me as a small business." 2️⃣ Build relationships with other freelancers I can't advocate enough for building a tight-knit circle of other freelancers in and out of your industry, who you can befriend, support, and rely on for companionship. Some of your fellow freelancers will merely be colleagues and others friends, but what's most important is that these are genuine connections and not purely transactional relationships. In the long haul, you're likely to receive referrals from the other freelancers you know and get the inside scoop on what is and isn't working in terms of business development, sales, and marketing. You'll need to reciprocate referrals or offer other kinds of support as it's the right thing to do. If you're unclear on where to start, find other freelancers that deliver similar types of work or operate in the same industry, and have shared interests, giving you plenty to go off of. Read on for the other four suggestions in last week's edition of the Career Freelancer newsletter: https://lnkd.in/ewwX8PBW 🧡

If I were to start my career in social media right now, here’s what I would do: ✨ Create a social media manager portfolio. Even if you don’t have experience yet, this is your space to show your skills and creativity. You can build mock projects like content for your favourite brand or your own mini campaigns. I’d recommend using Canva so you can easily share a link and add it straight to your CV. ✨ Focus on building your skills. As social media managers, we wear a lot of hats. The more skills you can develop early on, the more confident you’ll feel and the more you’ll stand out. Think copywriting, video editing, creating graphics, data analysis, content creation. These are things you’ll grow into over time, but if you can start now, it’ll help massively. When I started, I was already comfortable with video content and editing. The rest I’ve learned over the last four years. ✨ Join marketing communities. I wish I’d done this earlier. Communities give you real insight into the industry and help you connect with others who are on the same path. A few to look into: Pretty Little Marketer Insiders Club, Girl Power Marketing, Grad Girl Marketing, Girls in Marketing. ✨ Keep up with social media news. Even if you aren’t managing accounts yet, it’s important to stay up to date with what’s happening in the industry. It’s also a great way to stand out in interviews, when you can talk about what’s going on. Some of the newsletters I read include Social Media Today, LLC, Pretty Little Marketer, Annie-Mai Hodge and HeyOrca. ✨ Start a social media account of your own. This isn’t about being an influencer or becoming a full-time creator. It’s about choosing a topic you’re passionate about and learning to create content around it. It’s the best way to practice creating content, building an account and growing an engaged community. It also shows that you can actually grow a social account. This is what I did. I started a food and travel TikTok and managed to grow it to 5K followers, with several videos hitting over 500K views. It taught me so much about the foundation skills needed for this career. I know breaking into the industry right now is tough, but I want to make sure we’re helping those going through the job hunt feel more supported and a little less overwhelmed.💖 To my fellow social media managers, is there anything you would add?💡

The Time I Cracked the Chicken and Egg Dilemma 🐣😍 Many of us face this frustration when changing careers: I can’t make the change because I don’t have enough experience, and I can’t get the experience because I haven’t made the change. I’ve been there. As a senior production engineer, I wanted to pivot into marketing but had zero formal experience. Here’s how I overcame it—and how you can too: 1️⃣ Gain Knowledge Before Experience I pursued an executive MBA while working full-time and researched B2B social media for my thesis. I interviewed 12 senior marketing professionals (thank you, Susan Emerick, Todd Wilms, Kirsten Hamstra, Alli Soule, Krista Kotrla, Rebecca Lowell Edwards to name a few), gaining real-world insights. 2️⃣ Leverage Transferable Skills I used my engineering skills—research, problem-solving, project management—and applied them to marketing. Your current skills are more transferable than you think! 3️⃣ Build Credibility While Transitioning I turned my thesis into a business book, which became a top-seller on Amazon UK. This showcased my expertise before I even had hands-on experience. 4️⃣ Create Opportunities I pitched a pilot social media project to my boss, got a small budget approved, and proved what I could do. The pilot project became the foundation of my marketing career. 5️⃣ Adopt a Growth Mindset I stopped waiting for permission and started creating opportunities to learn, build, and demonstrate my potential. If you’re feeling stuck, remember: Start where you are. Knowledge, skills, and credibility can open doors—even before experience catches up. So, what’s your first step going to be? 😊 #YOstories #CareerMoment

One of the biggest mistakes I see new founders make? Hiring full-time employees too early. 👀⏰ When we started Pizzana, our marketing needs were polished food photography and paid ads. That was it. Today it's storytelling, organic content, creator partnerships, community building. And it's already shifting again. If I'd hired a full-time marketer in year one based on what I thought we needed, I'd be paying a salary for the wrong role by year two. That's why I've become a real believer in fractional and contract talent, especially when you're still figuring out what the business actually needs. You get the right expertise at the right moment, without locking your team into a role it may outgrow. And honestly? Some of the sharpest people I've worked with don't want a traditional in-house seat anyway. Full-time hires have their place. The question is whether you actually know what that role looks like a year from now. 🗓️ Founders, how has your hiring approach changed as your business has evolved?👇🏻

What people think marketing is: ~ A few trending reels. ~ A good-looking feed. ~ Maybe some hashtags. What it actually is: A multi-disciplinary skill stack that takes YEARS to master. Here’s just a glimpse: ~ Psychology – understanding why people buy ~ Copywriting – saying the right thing, the right way ~ Storytelling – building emotional connection that drives action ~ Branding – shaping perception with consistency and clarity ~ Sales Strategy – guiding people from interest to decision ~ Funnel Design – structuring steps that convert browsers into buyers ~ Analytics – interpreting data to optimize performance ~ Design Thinking – creating content that’s not just pretty, but purposeful ~ Positioning – making your brand stand out in a crowded market ~ Content Strategy – knowing what to post, when, and why ~ Market Research – understanding your customer better than they know themselves ~ Offer Creation – crafting irresistible value ~ Community Building – turning audiences into loyal fans ~ Platform Algorithms – knowing how IG, LinkedIn, YouTube actually work ~ Crisis Management – protecting brand reputation under pressure ~ Email Marketing – building trust and nurturing leads long-term ~ Retention Strategy – keeping customers coming back ~ Collaboration & Influencer Strategy – extending reach through trusted voices ~ Trend Analysis – jumping on what’s hot without losing brand identity ~ Time Management & Systems – juggling 10 things at once and still delivering excellence Marketing isn't “just content.” It’s a full-blown ecosystem. The best marketers? Strategic. Creative. Data-obsessed. Respect the craft. If you're in the game— 👉 Which one took you the longest to master? Drop it in the comments. Let’s show ‘em what this work really takes. 💥

How can you land your first marketing offer in Australia? Valeria Rubina and Harith Lal are two Monash University graduates who secured marketing roles within 3 months of finishing their Masters. Here are 5 key takeaways from our deep dive that’ll (hopefully) help you land a marketing job: 1. Universities are underrated experience platforms. Most students overlook this, but university societies and clubs function like small marketing teams. Events need promotion, messaging, partnerships, and post-event analysis. If you can say you were involved in planning and promoting an event that attracted 180 attendees, you are no longer positioning yourself as a student. You are positioning yourself as someone who has executed marketing activity. Bottom line: Use university clubs and societies to build experience. 2. Technical skills are table stakes. Google Analytics, Paid ads, Mailchimp, SEO. They are hard skills that 80% graduate digital marketing roles require. The mistake many graduates make is believing a university degree alone creates employability. It doesn’t. What matters is proof that you have used these tools in a real environment, even if that environment is a university club, a friend’s startup, a freelance or a volunteer project. 3. Agencies optimise for adaptability. Marketing agencies serve multiple clients across completely different sectors. Hiring managers are not expecting you to understand every industry. They are looking for signals that you can ramp up quickly. Candidates who had worked with different stakeholders, audiences, or campaign types stood out immediately. Range beats specialisation early in your career. 4. Marketing is one of the few fields where you can out prepare everyone. Do not just show up to interviews ready to answer questions. Show up ready to demonstrate thinking. A few keyways you can standout: - Audit their social media. - Review their campaigns. - Identify gaps. - Recommend improvements. When you walk into an interview with observations and ideas, the conversation shifts from “Should we hire you?” to “When can you start?” 5. Most graduate marketing roles are execution-heavy. Roughly 80% of entry-level work is operational: building campaigns, scheduling content, analysing performance, coordinating stakeholders. Yet many students chase strategy projects because they sound more impressive. Strategy without execution experience is rarely trusted. Learn to run campaigns before you try to design them. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- KPMG’s graduate applications open on 16th Feb. In my next newsletter, I’ll break down exactly how strong candidates prepare before applications even open. Link in the comments.