When I took the plunge and quit my day job to work at home, my worst fear was being unable to find steady freelance work on the internet. What I quickly discovered was if you put yourself out there and learn to take advantage of the avenues available on the web today, looking for new clients can actually be a simple and fun process! So here is what I have learned so far. I hope this can help some new freelancers out there.

Personality is 70% of the gig

This may be the single most important aspect of freelance. Never interact with a potential client via a bland copy-and-pasted script asking for their business. Most people can see right through this and they figure, if you don’t take the time to address them personally, they will keep looking for someone who will.

So, if you are sending an email or proposal to a potential client, always hand write it. I have went up against 30 other freelancers and been chosen simply because my proposal letter stood out. Seriously, this is important.

Use Craigslist

Craigslist is the first place I would recommend looking for new freelance gigs. I generally stay under the gigs >> computer or gigs >> creative section. I don’t recommend searching for specific types of gigs. Just start browsing by date and you’ll eventually find a gig that seems like it was made for you. When that happens, write an email with that personal touch that tells the potential client that you are excited about the project and can’t wait to work with them. Be sure to link to a personal website or online portfolio if you’ve got one. If not, pasting a list of links to recent projects into the email is fine.

Freelance websites

Using a freelance website like Elance.com, Freelancer.com, oDesk.com, etc can be a great way to find new projects and clients but can seem intimidating at first.

I would recommend starting with Elance.com. Of all the freelance websites I have used, I have had the best luck with this one. What makes Elance work so well, in my opinion, is the fee structure. Every account level allots a freelancer a certain amount of “Connects”. Every job you submit a proposal to costs you a given amount of these Connects. This helps keep the market from being saturated by low-ballers who will do an entire website for $75 because you providers have to pick and choose which jobs to use their Connects on.

Here are a couple points that I believe will help you find success on Elance:

1. If you are new to Elance, let the provider know that you understand the risks of hiring someone new and that you are just looking for that first job so you can prove yourself and start building a reputation. Providers can usually sympathize with this.

2. If you reside in the U.S. and you notice that most of the proposals submitted have been from offshore providers, don’t be afraid to let them know that you understand how difficult it can be working with an offshore provider and that you speak English as your native language.

3. Write each and every proposal by hand. Include some remarks about the specifics of the job. This helps the potential client feel like you have read through the post and are not simply copy-pasting a reply.

Put yourself out there

If you want to get noticed and start making a name for yourself online, you have to get out there and interact with people. Use sites like Digg, stumbleupon and delicious and comment on any interesting articles you find. If they are good enough you might even subscribe to their RSS feed or retweet it. Generally, if you show interest in others, they will show interest in you.

Another good way to get your name out there is to build a blog and write about the tech topics you think are important. If the article has decent content, you will notice an increase in traffic from Google searches alone. Be sure and include your personal info on every blog post so readers can subscribe to your blog or follow you on Twitter.

Build a brand

While there are many out there who prefer to work with a single freelancer, there are also many who do not, which may lead some freelancers to operate under a company name. This can help if you are trying to portray a certain type of professionalism to your potential clients and in my opinion will will likely attract larger companies, which may be the goal for some freelancers.

Another option is to keep your entire team virtual. If some work comes in that isn’t in your area of expertise, send it to a friend who can take care of it for a cut of the price.

Overall, it comes down to being proactive and making an effort daily to become a part of different communities online and interact with others who you feel are creating great content!

That’s all I have for now. If you have any questions or criticisms feel free to leave them in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!