Hello there, you are welcome to my thread.

I am Onyekachi Ofoefule and I deal in Virtual funds (PayPal and Payoneer). The purpose of this thread is to interact with the freelance community and hopefully get customers while I'm at it .

My services include:



So, please reach out to me if you are ever in need of any of these services.

In the course of this thread, I'll be sharing some freelance tips I've garnered over the years (2017 - 2021).

Please keep interactions cordial and be kind to other contributors on the thread.

Welcome once again.

Tips on Getting more Freelance Clients

A couple of months ago, I polled freelancers on the Smart money Empire group on Facebook
where I asked freelancers about the most pressing issues they had in their careers (the areas where they needed the most help in their freelance career).

As an exchanger, I had hoped it would be something about issues receiving funds or how to
request funds from their clients without issues, as this would present opportunities to market my
services.

However, the poll responses were clear. The most pressing issue for Freelancers in Nigeria
was...

You guessed it, getting more clients.

As an exchanger, this was not my forte per se. But I was a freelancer before I was an exchanger
and besides, I have a couple of friends who are killing it in the freelance space despite
the apparent drought that plagues us all.

So, from the kindness of my heart , I've decided to share a few of these strategies here today. If

Then you should grab a chair because I am going to be spilling some hot tips I've garnered over the years.

This is going to be an informative read and it'll be worth your time. Let's dive in!

1. Deliver Quality Services

This should be a no-brainer. But some people don't seem to get the gist. As a freelancer, you're

rewarded for the quality of work you deliver. If you do good work, you'll be rewarded with positive reviews, higher pay and a larger client base. If you deliver low-quality work, you'll gain a tonne of negative reviews and lose the few clients you've gotten.

This is called Matthew's law - read it up.

I see lots of freelancers deliver low-quality services and then complain that they're not getting enough clients. The truth is, no one wants to promote a mediocre product. Not Fiverr, not Upwork, not even an office boss.

So, before venturing into the corporate world, sharpen your skills, take courses, watch tutorials, learn!

Make sure you've got a good product to sell.

In summary, if you want more clients, deliver quality services.

2. Communicate Effectively

So, this is another tip that took me about 2 years and thousands of dollars worth of gigs to learn. It is imperative that you communicate effectively with your clients

When you work remotely, your clients cannot see you physically. They cannot assess you the way they'd assess an employee working in a physical office.

So, they have to communicate with you all the time because they're worried if you can do a good job. They're worried if you understand the nature of the job you've been given. They are not sure if they've hired a fraud.

As a professional, you have to communicate properly to soothe these worries. However, lots of freelancers don't seem to get this - I know I didn't when I first started.

Sometimes you find yourself late for delivery and you just avoid the client altogether, because you do not want to have that awkward conversation about why you're late.

However, not responding to your clients when he/she contacts you is a sure way to make a bad situation worse. You don't want to go down that road.

Even if you're late for a job. Talk to your client. Communicate with them. Let them know that they are talking to a human being who understands them, reassure them of your competence. They'll thank you for it.

If you don't believe me on this, here's an assignment for you. Go on Fiverr and read through the positive reviews on some seller's profiles. You'll most likely always find

"He/she was very responsive", "S/he answered all my questions promptly, highly recommend"...

3. Choose your Niche wisely

This tip is based on the law of supply and demand. When the supply of a particular service is more than the demand, there is bound to be a drought.

Imagine 1000 graphics designers offering their services to 50 clients. You can almost predict that there'll be a limited number of jobs available for everyone.

And the few that eventually get the jobs would have to settle for scraps because the supply is too much.

The solution to this is to:

A. Specialize in your skills: Take more courses, go for training, and get certified. This way you can signal to the clients that you are more competent than the rest of the lot.

B. Find a niche with less supply: Find a niche where the demand is higher than the supply and render those services.

Do A and B: That is, find a niche where the demand is higher than supply and specialize there. If you do this, then you'll be running from clients by the end of the month.

I have a friend who made up to 7 thousand dollars this last month from Fiverr. What did he do?

He found a niche where the demand was high and the supply was low and he sharpened his skills to meet the demand. And bruh, he's doing well.

Don't ask me what his niche is, I won't tell you . The gist is, find your own niche.

4. Don't give your clients payment issues

This is for those that are in the process of moving their clients from Fiverr/Upwork to private chat, WhatsApp, or email to avoid the Fiverr 20% tax.

The thing is, people are very careful when it comes to money. Fiverr gives them the security that their money is safe, which is why they would prefer to carry out transactions there.

However, when moving them from Fiverr, you deprive them of this security. That's the first strike. Then you're probably using a foreign account. So, they probably can't call you, or video chat with you. That's another strike.

You can see that you've already put the client on the edge. If you start getting clumsy with payment. That'll be the third strike and then you lose the funds, the client and potential future earnings.

If you intend to move your client from Fiverr, then you
need to be organized. If the payment procedure is not straightforward enough. You'll mostly likely lose that client. They'll probably not work with you anymore - not even on Fiverr.

So, get someone competent to handle your payment needs for your out-of-platform clients.

Ps: I am always available to receive payment from your clients. So text me if you have any such deals.

5. Build a portfolio of your work

A portfolio can come in handy when you're trying to convert prospective clients. People want to be sure that you can do what you say you do.

What better to reassure them of this than to present evidence of previous jobs?

Your portfolio is the equivalent of your CV. If you wouldn't go job hunting without a CV, why should you look for freelance clients without a well-optimized portfolio.

Your portfolio makes it easy for your past jobs to speak for you. Those things make your experience apparent to a customer who has never met you. If you don't have a portfolio yet, leverage upon your friends' portfolios.


6. Be Original as you can be
By now, you've probably heard the gist, "Nigerian accounts no dey get order". So, most people create foreign accounts using VPNs and foreign numbers.

This is understandable, as foreign accounts have an edge over local ones. Especially if you're in niches like writing, social media management, etc. This however comes with a cost. You lose your originality and the possibility of connecting with your client on a deeper level.

Clients want to talk to you on the phone. They want to do more than text, they want to video chat with you and see your face and call your name and make jokes with you. I don't know whey they are that way. But that's how they are.

The tip is, try to be as original as you can be - it'll make your life easy, trust me. If you change your nationality, try to retain your name. If possible have a 'legit' Nigerian account on the side.

This way you get some wiggle room

I'm just saying this so you don't miss out on potential opportunities to connect with your clients at deeper levels and earn more money

7. Keep the Clients you Get

On becoming a successful freelancer, keeping the clients that come your way is more important than getting new ones - because, it cost less resources to retain a client than to get a new one.

As a freelancer in Nigeria, you MUST keep your clients at all costs. Render quality service, communicate effectively, do whatever it takes to keep the clients you get.

This way, you won't be stranded in times of drought and if your service is good enough, your clients may even refer you to other people who need your services. Talk about organic growth.

You can get all the clients in the world, but what good is that going to do you if you can't keep them?


8. Learn how to Convert

It'll be difficult to unpack conversion in this article. But here are some steps I used to increase my conversion rates back then.

* Prompt them to tell you about their business:

"Hey ClientName, nice to meet you. Can you kindly tell me about your business"?

If possible, ask them for a link to their site/business so you can review it for yourself. This makes you come off as genuinely interested in their business and give you an edge over other potential bidders out there.


* Next, ask them to tell you precisely what they want from you.

"Okay... If I understand clearly, you do ..., so what exactly do you want me to do for you? I need you to be as precise as possible so I can give you exactly what you want".

* When you're sure that you've understood them, you tell them that you would like to do some research to generate ideas for the project. This will give you an air of professionality

This way, the prospect gets the perception that you're a competent professional who is genuinely interested in their business. And that's something you really want.

9. Increase your reach

To do well as a freelancer, you will then need to start seeing your job as a career. Searching for a client shouldn't end when you log out of Fiverr. The internet is a huge arena with potential clients everywhere. If you want new clients, you'll need to cast a wider net than Fiverr and Upwork. There are lots of freelance platforms out there, some do not accept Nigerians, others do.

Check them all out.

Explore before you say there are no jobs.

I compiled a list of platforms where you can bid for jobs. I'll attach the list of platforms that accept Nigerians somewhere under this post, if you guys are interested.

Note: Increasing your reach goes beyond freelance marketplaces. Check out communities where people who require your services interact. Forums like Facebook groups, Quora spaces, Twitter comment sections, etc.

Spread your tentacles. There are people who require your services, who are not on Fiverr yet, find them.

You've come to the end of my TED talk. It's been a pleasure. Drop any questions you have here, I'll do the best I can to answer them.

Here