When starting out as a freelancer, pick a couple of products and services that you can practice and begin offering. Stay focused, specific, and perfect that niche while developing clients, a portfolio, and testimonials. This allows time and space for freelancers to also work out the flow of communication, payment methods, and workflow schedule. The more services, or variations on a few select services that one can offer, the bigger the pool of customers one can attract.
Begin with 1-3 service offerings of different types. They can be similar but should be distinct enough that they may draw different types of clients. For example, if one is a writer, one could offer a service to write blog posts for businesses, as well as press releases, and website landing pages. While all of these are interconnected because they serve the writing content needs of business that are trying to promote themselves, they all address separate elements of the business and provide opportunities to engage with a variety of customer needs.
Once a flow of business is established, increase the service offerings to more than five services, and break down pricing packages within each one so that there are a variety of pricing tiers. Within one service, offer a basic, standard, or premium version so that customers can pick something that truly caters to their needs, and so that no potential customer base is alienated by the prices or options available. Within this, offer the option to develop custom packages based on the services you provide, but catered towards the specific needs of the client for bespoke projects.
When considering which services to add to the menu, start by thinking of interactions that have happened with customers when they have asked for a service that you didn’t offer at the time. Are people looking for social media content in addition to the typical marketing packages? Are they looking for podcast scripts when they come to you for YouTube scripts? Consider the gaps in one’s current business offerings versus the current customer base, and how those gaps could be filled. Once can always talk to some of their most valued customers to find out what might be a useful service to offer to further cater to their needs.
Assess the current selection of services that you offer, as well as your new offerings, and consider what may pair well together to further develop bundled packages. Would the resume-writing service pair well with a LinkedIn profile writing service? Do marketing clients also want Instagram reels created? Look for the synergies and the logical connections, always thinking from the client’s point of view and asking if I was looking to buy this, what else might I also need?
