One of the most frequently asked questions regarding live question-and-answer sessions or group queries is how to acquire clients. Although I’ve shared the exact method multiple times, I believe there’s still some confusion. So, that’s why I am addressing this question in this blog post.
Firstly, if you’re a newbie, you must start with local clients. It is not compulsory but advisable because of many reasons. As you don’t have any industry experience, local clients might offer you work at a minimal rate. So, you can build your portfolio while you move on to the international client.
Also, as you’re new to the industry, you don’t have the professional mannerism and ethics to deal with the clients. Acquiring local clients will give you confidence and will develop a professional attitude. Although dealing with local and international clients is considerably different, for a newbie who hasn’t dealt with any client before, having experience will be helpful.
Having said all of this, you can’t rely on the local market forever. Firstly, you have a limited scope in the local market because of the market size and the limited budgets of small businesses. Secondly, no matter how good your payment is, you’ll still earn in rupees instead of dollars.
So, sooner or later, you’ll have to tap into the international market if you need to start scaling or want to earn in dollars.
How to get international clients for Digital Marketing?
Now that we have seen the importance of the international client and the right time to move towards the international market, it is integral to discuss the exact method of international client acquisition for digital marketing from Pakistan.
I’ll discuss a few different options here using different platforms.
Freelancing platforms
One of the best methods to get international clients is through freelancing platforms. To connect buyers and sellers, you can create accounts on Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, and other forums. Here you’ll have to adapt to the best practices recommended for each platform to grab clients.
In some cases, you’ll find the clients immediately, while a few of you might struggle to rank your gigs and write effective proposals.
But once you have an established profile, you can access international digital marketing clients worldwide.
One of the cons of using this method is that you’ll have to bear the platform fee on every transaction. You can consider it a business expense or raise your price to compensate for the transaction fee.
LinkedIn is a goldmine when it comes to acquiring international clients. You can search for the CEO of small businesses and start adding them as your connections. People usually connect on LinkedIn without much hassle, but you must not start conversations with everyone randomly. There are privacy norms and professional etiquette that you must maintain when it comes to LinkedIn.
Meanwhile, you must keep on posting your wins on your post. So, people in your network know who you are, what you do, and your skill level. If any of these connections need digital marketing services for their businesses, they’ll have you in their mind because of the authority you would have established in your community through regular posts and discussion of the value-driven strategies.
Also, you can apply for remote jobs in the “Jobs” section of LinkedIn. Not all companies will want an Asian resource as a full-time member, but the people looking for contractual positions might give you a job.
The con with this technique is that you’ll have to spend time building your authority and network. Even if you opt for the Job Search approach, you’ll have to apply to hundreds of job posts before you get a reply. It is not because you aren’t capable but because US companies can’t hire a full-time remote employee without a work permit. But the positive here is that you can do all of it free of cost.
Social Media Platforms (Organically)
Another way to get international clients for digital marketing in Pakistan is through social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. On Facebook, you can join international groups where the discussion focuses on the growth of small businesses, digital marketing, and freelancing.
Similarly, on Instagram, you can follow entrepreneurs from different countries. Just like the strategy I discussed for LinkedIn, you need to create value for the readers, engage with different posts and provide solutions to different problems. With this strategy, you’ll gain visibility, and people requiring digital marketing services will contact you.
But one thing to note here is that approaching others’ inboxes without their permission is unethical and can get you removed from the group. Similarly, using links on your post or self-advertisement is also prohibited in some groups. So, ensure you read and comply with the group policy to gain the most benefit.
Social Media Platforms (Paid)
As a digital marketer, you must be able to utilize this option to your benefit very easily. You just need to create a page for your business/services. Create some engaging posts on your page that provide value to the users. Ensure you have a few followers on your page and some reactions to the individual post before proceeding with the ads.
After posting regularly for 10-15 days, you can start running the paid ads. As my student, you would already know how to complete the process and run ads. You can set the desired country to grab international clients and have multiple leads within days. Now it is up to you how you close these clients and convert these leads into customers.
This method might cost a few dollars, but you can consider it an investment to get clients. You might not even need to convince such clients of your expertise because your own ad will be enough proof that you can get the right audience for the business through your expertise.
Lastly, I’ll discuss Google as the source of getting international clients for digital marketing in Pakistan. There can be two methods here, paid and organic.
Let me discuss the paid one and its prerequisites first. To run Google Ads, you need a website. If you have one, you can utilize the exact procedure I taught in the Google Ads class and get your clients. Again you’ll have to spend some money to get your clients, but the method pays off, and you won’t regret making this investment. But before you opt for this method, don’t forget that your website must be fully optimized and professionally created to grab the audience. Otherwise, ads won’t be of any use.
Another issue with the paid method is that you might not have a website, so you can’t run the ads. You can surely make one easily, but if you don’t want to spend more time on it, you can move to the organic method.
Using the organic method is simple too. You can go to Google Maps. Finalize a business sector where you want to provide your business services. Search the sector on the maps and set the location to the United States or any other country where you want to provide your services.
You’ll find a list of businesses working in the particular city. One by one, visit the website of each of these businesses, search for their social media pages, and check libraries to find if they are currently running ads and if their ads are of high quality. If they don’t have any, you can pitch them your ideas and how to help them earn more. You’ll surely have to spend a lot of time finding clients, but as this method is free, you wouldn’t be spending any resources other than your time.
Summing up
You can land international clients using all of these or any of the methods above. There are free methods, too, so you don’t have to start by spending money. Start with the free ones, and once you find a few clients, you can move to the paid methods.
If you want to learn digital marketing or more methods for client acquisition, you can enroll in Aamir Ahmer Academy and start your successful digital journey today!
