In this blog, I share my 15-year journey in the video industry, transitioning from an overworked agency head to a thriving freelance videographer, media trainer and video marketing consultant. I have summarized the key strategies to find and get clients. These strategies, combined with persistence and adaptability, can help videographers or any creatives navigate the competitive market and build a successful freelance business.
How did I start freelancing?
I’ve been in the video industry for 15 years now. Starting my journey as a video assistant, which basically meant I was the one buying everyone lunch and setting up tripods but not really allowed to touch or operate the camera. I loved it. I was 21 years old, and I had this vision of progression. Working for an agency was a very good way to enter the industry, allowing me to work on big projects across different countries. You learn a lot, and you learn quickly. I’ve made every single mistake in the video industry (apart from forgetting to hit the record button).
This is my journey. Your journey may be entirely different, but you can always learn something from someone else and decide which way fits you best.
After six years, the reality hit me. I became the head of video production but I was overworked, underpaid and burnt out. There was nowhere to climb for me anymore, professionally or financially. I moved to London because they say if you make it there, you can make it anywhere. I realized it’s all the same stuff: the same kind of clients, the same problems, but a bigger city and definitely a harsher way to break through. You really need to be smart and confident to get clients.
I started my freelance business, and let me tell you, there are infinite potential clients in London who need a videographer. The bad news is that there is an infinite number of videographers too. Everyone who just bought a camera considers themselves a professional and is looking for clients, potentially even working for free.
After 6 years, I made yet another change and I moved back home to Slovakia. The pandemic and AI changed my industry forever and I decided to adapt for more remote work. Such as doing online consultations or training worldwide on video marketing, social media, video editing, filming, equipment you name it.
What kind of clients do you want?
There are ways to do it quickly and ways to do it slowly. You need both. Doing it slowly will last longer and eventually run on its own, like SEO. In other words, this is your branding. However, it’s a lot of work. But now we have AI to help us!
The first thing you need to clarify with yourself is what kind of clients and projects you want. Personally, I didn’t really care. Anything that paid. I wasn’t niche. If you are niche, great; now you can focus on a certain kind of client. When you start out, you will need to go through a lot of weeds until you find a nice flower. Clients will sense that you don’t have enough experience, and some of them will bully you. Whether it’s not paying you at all, asking you to do something extra for free, or giving you ten edits every email going back and forth. Hell.
It will get better, don’t worry.
If you are serious about freelancing then you gotta get my ebook to save yourself headaches and mistakes. I have laid everything on the table. Get it by clicking here.
Do you need a website with a showreel to get clients?
First of all, you need a logo. Something that you put everywhere, including your equipment in the form of stickers for example. By the way, people love free stickers. You can get your logo done quickly and professionally for under $50 on Fiverr. I’ve done it myself and I couldn’t be more surprised and happy with the result.
You do need a website and a showreel or showcase some of your videos describing the project. Having a website is a really professional way to show that you’re serious about your work. Also, using your website domain email is better than emailing from Gmail. Setting up a website is easy if you spend some time on it, even for free with WordPress. No excuses. Social media is great, but you do need a website. Also, for SEO in the future.
When you have your website, you need to start blogging about the video industry. You need to attract traffic to your website with a well-maintained and optimized site for Google and AI search. You will see the results in a year or two, but it will pay off. I managed to rank my website as number one, and I get inquiries daily from potential clients. It is passive; the clients come to me. If you have a website but you don’t know how to rank it, you can get my SEO audit and I will send you a tailored pdf with all the steps you need to do.
How to write a compelling blog to attract clients?
Blogging is a huge part of SEO, so you’d better start now. Make sure your blogs are ideally around 1,000 characters. You can write about new tools, tutorials, and anything for the general public but also for people searching for videographers or whatever niche you are in. Remember, it has to be high-quality content. Valuable information, not just generic nonsense. With my SEO audit, you will also get recommendations on what kind of blogs you need to write. Once your blogs rank in the future, when people search “videographer” or whatever keyword you want, your website might come up.
Everything you do online is part of SEO. You essentially need to do it all: YouTube, social media, Medium blog, Substack, and linking back to your website. All this builds authority and all this is also linked for your website and you to end up in the AI search results.
Social media will help you get clients
A little bit more about being active on social media. Firstly, Facebook got me some early clients. There are many groups for videographers and people who need videographers. It’s usually last-minute projects, so you need to be ready anytime. Check those groups religiously.
LinkedIn is a great way to find clients. Not only by updating your profile, and trying to get many reviews and acknowledgments but also by engaging with other posts. Every time I comment under someone else’s post, there are people checking my profile. I got some new clients this way. It was so random and unexpected but it worked.
YouTube is a long-term game, but posting tutorials got me many long-term clients too.
The most effective recently is TikTok. It got me the most clients and money after some of my videos went viral. This platform is a must for anyone. Not only Gen Z, who don’t have money, is on this platform! It’s full of people of different ages. All my TikTok clients are 40+.
You can learn everything about Tiktok with my online course and e-book. Join my Youtube membership today and get instant access.
Email marketing is not dead
Email marketing is a tough game because we all receive so many emails daily. It’s a thin ice, and many people will hate you. Also, you need to make sure you’re not going against GDPR. If you email potential clients, their email needs to be displayed on their website for any inquiries. You also need to make sure they know that if they don’t want to receive more emails from you, they won’t. I have gained clients for life through email, but I have also been called bad names with email marketing. I sent 120 very specific and tailored emails, and I got two clients from it. It takes effort.
Cold call?
It used to be a TikTok trend when Gen Z started their businesses by cold calling companies trying to sell them their videography or other kind of services. You would be surprised how effective it was. Of course, it’s similar to emails. You call 100 people, and you get two clients. If you’re afraid of how much work you need to put in to get clients, this game is not for you.
It’s a shark tank
Building a business from scratch is beyond full time work. If you want something for zero effort, forget this game. This is a wildlife. The strongest eats.
Create your own podcast
I have acquired some new clients through my podcast too. It’s a very good way to ease your way into someone’s business. Essentially, you’re trying to help them spread the word about their business. You build a relationship with them, and if they need videos, they know who to contact! The best part is that it can be a podcast about football! It can be anything you want, just make sure your guests are business owners too. I also have an online podcasting course that teaches you everything from scratch: pre-production, production, post-production, marketing.
You need to acquire many new skills beyond what this article mentions. Learning never stops.
The most underrated skill for videographers
Soft skills. How you communicate, how confident you are, and how you can resolve problems are all part of the process of getting clients. Once you find a client who is interested in working with you, you need to have a meeting with them. You need to make an impression. It took me a long time to know how to do this properly. As mentioned earlier, clients can sense if you’re desperate. They will bully the hell out of you.
Learn how to be super confident but not arrogant. You need to believe you are the best solution for them but never try to convince them. You literally tell them whether they want you or not. This is how I do it: this is my style, this is my equipment, my experience. You take it or leave it. I don’t want to waste your and my time.
It’s like dating. The more desperate you look, the less attractive you look.
Contact me at nicole [at] nicoleven.com to book online consultation/mentorship with me or fill in the contact form here.
Why do you need to learn soft skills?
You need to almost look like you really don’t care if you get the project. And to be fair, you shouldn’t even care. If you get it, great. If you don’t, great. Now you can move on. Keep your pipeline full. Nobody wants to work with a shy, quiet, no-personality, introverted videographer. My clients told me every time I made a recommendation, they always highlighted the personality rather than the equipment and experience. I can show you 10 videographers who all produce fantastic work, so what will be my criteria for hiring one of them? It is a personality contest whether you like it or not.
If you need to work on your soft skills, you need to read some books, enrol to courses, or do anything that improves your soft skills. This is crucial. You can be the best videographer on this planet, but nobody will hire you without good soft skills.
Check out some of my useful links for more resources.
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