The Best and Worst Places to Find Clients for Your Online Business

*Updated July 2025

As an online business owner, we survive off finding clients and selling our services. But where do we start? What are the best places to find clients so we can continue serving our audience and making a living?

I started my business as a virtual assistant, and now I offer blog writing and SEO services. I’ve tried what feels like everything to get new clients.

I’ll share what worked well for me, and some strategies that weren’t worth the effort.

Finding the right clients is tricky, but once you find marketing strategies that work for you, they’ll be rolling in.

Key Takeaways:

• A few things to have in place before looking for clients
• Lead generation strategies that didn’t work for me
• My favorite places to find clients

What to Do Before You Start Looking for Clients

Before you start looking for new clients, make sure you have these things in place!

1. Know Your Target Audience

You need to know who you’re talking to before you start attracting new clients.

Think about these questions:

• Who do you want to work with?
• Who do you NOT want to work with?
• What problems do you solve for them?
• Why are you the best person to work with above others?

2. Have a Website

Your website is the digital storefront of your brand.

It’s where people go to find more information about you and your services.

It needs to be available and optimized for your audience before you start booking clients.

3. Clarify Your Offers

And set boundaries around them! If you have set packages, how much wiggle room will you allow prospecting clients? Will you offer discounts? Will you do any services outside your packages?

Considering these questions will make sure you attract the people you actually want to work with.

Lead Generation Strategies that DIDN’T Work for Me

This isn’t to say that they won’t work for you! I spent a lot of time trying to find clients in these places and nothing panned out. Try something different than what I did!

Facebook Groups

I found a couple of clients in Facebook groups when I was first starting as a VA.

The problem I ran into, however, was that people posting job opps were looking for something very specific to their business.

Which makes sense. They have a laundry list of things they want someone else to take care of for them. Fair enough.

But now that I have set packages with specific deliverables, they often don’t exactly fit with what someone is looking for.

The other problem with Facebook groups is that they’re super competitive. Sometimes hundreds of people are applying to one job (just like the corporate world 🙄) It’s almost impossible to get an interview in those situations, even if you’re qualified for the job.

My last beef with Facebook groups is the rules that some groups have. They are SO specific about what you can post and when.

So even if you wanted to just promote your services in a Facebook group, you’re often very restricted in what you can post (so people resort to slimy sales tactics) or you have to pay to be a “VIP member” and have posting privileges.

I decided to give up my Facebook group efforts.

Upwork

I’ve never found a client on Upwork or Fiverr. It takes some serious commitment, and I found luck elsewhere.

Similar to Facebook groups, you’re application is in a pool with hundreds of others and you’re fitting into a specific job role, rather than educating the client about what they need to get the results they want.

It just never worked for me, but I spent a lot of time trying to make it work.

Scout Local Businesses

Can I be honest?

I’ve never actually done this.

The introvert in me says that’s a hard no.

I know a few people who have visited local business to pitch their services, but it’s been on a very organic level – as in, they already knew the business owner and could easily set up a meeting.

Cold pitching without first providing value or having a connection with them is almost impossible.

The Best Places to Find Clients

Now onto the good stuff! These are the ways I’ve been successful in finding clients or new opportunities (which is just as valuable as a new client!)

1. Referrals

Referrals are the best way I find clients online. After working with a client for a few months and we have a good relationship, I ask them to recommend me to people in their network who may be interested in my services.

It’s a super easy ask, and if they’re happy with your work, they’ll be more than happy to recommend you. You just have to let them know you’re open to more work!

Here is the EXACT template I send my clients to ask for referrals!

“Hi (client name),

I wanted to send you a quick message and let you know how much I enjoy working with you and your brand. I currently have space available to take on new clients if you know of anyone who is looking for social media management, email marketing, blogging, or Pinterest services.

I would be so grateful if you passed my information along. If you’d like, you can refer people to my website to learn more about the services I offer. 

Thank you for being such a wonderful client!

Warm regards,

Eden”

I’ve had clients upsell themselves after I mention the services I offer. One client had no idea I offered Pinterest services (at the time) and decided to upgrade her package the next month. Even though she didn’t have a referral for me at that time, I still got new business out of the email.

And referrals don’t often happen right away. Sometimes just putting it out there puts the idea in someone’s mind. Then if the opportunity comes up, they’ll recommend you.

2. Pinterest

You really have to dedicate yourself to Pinterest, but it can be a worthwhile investment. Pinterest is a different beast from other social media platforms because pins can appear in searches for years rather than minutes or hours (ehm, Instagram). 

I recommend starting on Pinterest when you feel you’re producing enough content to stay consistent. But once you start, your content and any links you choose to promote will be on Pinterest for a long time!

Here are some pin ideas to improve traffic to your website:

• YouTube videos
• TikTok videos
• Blogs
• Services
• Quotes
• Lead magnets/freebies
• Low-ticket offers
• Physical products

I outsource my Pinterest management to Laurel at Vineyard Creative Co and recommend her to everyone!

3. SEO and Your Website

By optimizing your website for search engines, you’re improving your chances of ranking in search results.

As you start to earn more trust and credibility with Google, it will start to send more high-quality traffic to your website.

And when you get traffic that’s actually interested in your services, you typically see higher conversion rates for new clients.

How do you bring new traffic to your website with SEO?

You guessed it – blogging!

Every new blog you post is another opportunity to rank in search results.

Blogging and SEO is something all entrepreneurs should invest in.

4. Email Marketing

I truly believe your email list is one of the most valuable things you can have to get new clients.

I use Flodesk to email my list weekly and have sold some low ticket offers to them.

I’ll admit that I haven’t booked a client from my email list yet, but I know it’s very possible!

I’m staying top of mind by sending them an email every week and I make my emails super engaging (and hopefully kinda funny.) They’re learning more about me and my expertise. I’m building trust with them.

Even if they don’t book my services, they might know someone who could benefit from them and refer me.

5. Meet People in Person

I’ve been making an effort to meet my online friends IRL when I can, and it’s been so amazing!

You have more organic conversations in person. You can talk about life, goals, plans, and just see where the conversation takes you.

I met a client for lunch just last week. We were talking about our businesses, and she mentioned that she was considering creating a Pinterest and blogging package and wanted to know if I would be interested in partnering with her on it.

DUH!

So we started brainstorming what that would look like (coming soon!)

I had coffee with a fellow student in an SEO membership last month. She was asking my advice on keyword research for a super niche client. She finally said, “Would you be willing to just do this for me?”

Yes, yes I would be.

So I sent a contract and invoice that day and worked with her on a short keyword research project.

I didn’t go into these meetings with the intention of booking new projects. I wanted to hang out with them and chat!

Meeting people in person builds trust so much faster. The conversation flows more easily. You can talk about more in a shorter amount of time.

The Best and Worse Places to Find Clients

I hope these gave you some good places to find new clients! I recommend starting with seeing if your current network knows anyone and building your SEO. These are the most efficient and effective ways to get new clients.

Alright, you have the tools. It’s time to get to work!

FAQs About Places to Find Clients

How to get a client for free?

Leverage your network and ask for referrals. See if they know anyone you could reach out to or if they’d be willing to make an introduction. Reach out to past clients, online friends, IRL friends and family, and former colleagues.

What to do when you don’t have any clients?

This is actually a blessing in disguise. You can get your systems and strategies in place before you’re too busy to think about it. Spend time batching content for social media, blogs, and emails.

I also recommend doing some outreach for guest podcasting or guest blogging opportunities. Do whatever you can to get in front of a new audience.

Do I need to be on every platform to find clients?

I think it’s helpful to try out different platforms to see what you like best and what your audience responds to. However, you don’t need to be on every platform to find clients. Pick a few where your ideal clients hang out and show up consistently.