How to Attract Your Ideal Client as a Squarespace Designer
Have you ever had a client who was just the “wrong fit?”
Wherever you’re at in business as a Squarespace designer or freelancer, most people will have this happen at least once. You know the ones, the clients that sap your time, energy and potentially your will to continue in the business.
It would be cool to think you will always be serving your “ideal client” but most people go through the “wrong” client before discovering what “ideal” means. The good news is that this usually gets better over time, especially if you implement strategies to attract the clients you want…
Free download: Define your ideal client
Hone your messaging
What you say and how you say it is important in terms of the types of clients you attract. We’ve all been in the position at some point where we say “but, I just want to get my first (second, or third) client, shouldn’t I be open to anyone?”
We get it, there’s a tricky line when you need the work but you’re unsure how you’re going to get the ideal clients onboard. Sometimes you take one or two projects that aren’t what you normally want to be doing because you still need to pay rent!
It’s important to target your messaging toward those you really want to serve from the beginning though. Why? Because otherwise you’ll probably get more and more queries from “poor fit” clients and you won’t get to build up your portfolio and references with those you want - the types who will attract comparable clients.
If you start to get too many clients who aren’t your ideal, you can end up in a cycle where you’re constantly working on things you don’t want to do, or for people you don’t want to work with. In the long run, this takes your focus away from attracting ideal clients.
We wrote an article a while ago, “Not Just Another Squarespace Agency,” and the message in there is just as important for freelancers as it is for agencies. Make sure your messaging is specific: “I make cool Squarespace websites” says what you do, but not who you do it for.
Getting specific might exclude some people who are looking for a Squarespace website, BUT it can attract exactly who you want to work with. Focus means you’re not burning too much of your energy on responding to “wrong fit” queries because you’ve made it clear in the first place.
Show the work you want more of
What do you have on display in your portfolio? Is it a list of every single project you’ve ever done, or does it reflect the work you really want to do?
It is absolutely worth taking the time to curate your portfolio so that it displays the projects you want to attract. A carpenter that enjoys building a mountain home doesn’t usually display their renovations on old Victorians in the same place.
This can be tricky when you’re starting out - you might have done a few projects that aren’t really your long-term goal. If you have time, it can be well worth creating some “sample” projects of the type you enjoy. Mock sites still show people what you are capable of and the type of client you want to work with.
Some of the best website portfolios have just a handful of sample websites, something like six to 10. People don’t look through your entire portfolio anyway - it’s not an expectation to have it stuffed with projects.
Price for your ideal client
There can be a lot of angst around pricing your services, especially in the early days of your business. One of the most common questions is “how much should I charge for this?” There’s no one right answer, but how you price and how you put packages together can definitely correlate with the sorts of clients you get.
First, know your worth and charge accordingly. It tends to follow that if you lowball your prices, you get clients who want everything for one small price. You will rapidly burn out if you’re working hard and undercharging.
Consider offering different levels of service to avoid this situation. For example, maybe you do consider having some lower-budget clients, but you offer them a lower budget package. They probably can’t afford a full-blown custom design, but maybe they will purchase a template and a couple of basic services that get them up and running.
Packages have the advantage of being able to spell out your services very clearly before customers accept them. They know exactly what they get for their money. On the other hand, packages might exclude some projects that will involve a lot of custom work. It’s important to consider how you want to spend your time as custom quotes also tend to take more time to do properly.
Another thing that set packages can help with is to encourage “wrong fit” clients to self-select out of your services. They can see what they get for each package, so for example, if they tend to want a lot of back and forth and can see that you specify just two rounds of changes, they’ll look elsewhere.
Price for the clients you want.
Be where your clients are
When you set up shop, it’s not a case of “build it and they will come,” you have to be active about finding your ideal clients and bringing them in.
How can you do that? Consider the following strategies:
Be in the online groups where your ideal clients hang out. For example, if you build websites for authors, be in writer groups.
Build a list of ideal clients that you can find. Let’s say you build websites for restaurants; maybe you make a prospect list of restaurants that need a new website and approach them by email.
Have business cards and hand them out when you meet people who could use your services.
Join local groups where your ideal clients hang out (for example, business networking groups).
Try targeted paid advertising. For example, Facebook advertising allows you to segment your audience and be very narrow about who sees your ad.
Brand and market for your clients
Separate to your messaging, what is your overall look? Does it appeal to your target audience? For example, if you want to build websites for authors but your own website looks like something a financial institution would prefer, then you’re not really speaking the language of your target clients.
It’s important to have a coherent style for your own website, a look that brands you as the ideal Squarespace designer for your target audience. This helps your target audience to picture what you might be able to do for their website.
Have a consistent “look” across any other channels where your clients might find you. For example, any social media accounts that you use for business purposes should follow a set brand strategy.
“Consistent” is the bottom line. Know the voice and look that speak to your ideal client and stick with it.
Download our “ideal client” exercise here
Final thoughts
As a Squarespace designer, being able to attract a steady pipeline of “ideal” clients is the dream. When you spend too much time on clients that aren’t who you want to be working with, it can drain your energy and focus.
It can be scary to consider deliberately leaving out some potential clients when you’re in the early days of business, but as we’ve seen repeatedly, it does pay off. You’re able to focus on those you really want, and doing so tends to attract more of those clients.
What about you? Do you have any particular strategies to land your “ideal” clients? Drop a comment below...
