Are you tired of the constant struggle to find and keep clients in the freelance or video production industry? It can be a boom or bust industry, which means that even while work is flooding in, you have to be on your game to make sure you’ll have leads ready for the lean months, too. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with these five steps to help you find — and more importantly, close — jobs and clients for consistent work you can count on.
First things first, make yourself a known commodity. Yes, networking is important, but it’s equally important to make yourself known as a commodity. Not just who you are, but what you do and how well you do it. If you operate in a specific film or video niche, for example, it’ll help if you’re known as a documentarian, or a run-and-gun guru, or the RED Dragon master.
Once you have some connections and leads, it’s perfectly alright to be persistent in checking in and making yourself part of their business. Don’t pester, but sending a text or email every week or so (or heck even a call, if you’re old school) is a great way to stay on your client’s radar, in case a need or problem might come up that you could fill or solve.
Another great way to “close” clients and secure jobs is to do a lot of the research yourself. If you’re focused on a specific industry, you can and should do your own research. See what their competitors are doing with video. Look for some of the best, most successful examples of a project you’d like to pitch diving into, then provide some solid insights into how and why it would help your clients out.
You also want to be ready for any opportunity the moment one pops up. This is a fast-paced industry, and for better or worse, it’s why a lot of veterans get burned out or simply move on to other, more consistent roles. The young and hungry will always be the ones to be the most successful, mostly due to their eagerness and responsiveness to opportunities.
Perhaps the biggest mistake that many freelance videographers make when working with clients is treating every project as a one-off job. There are no one-off jobs in the video world. If a client needs you or your company for one video, there will undoubtedly be more video needs in the future. At worst, it might be a yearly job if it’s for a specific event. But more often than not, if you do a good job and your work gets results, there will most probably be more jobs for you in the future. It’s just up to you to stay engaged, communicative, and always ready and responsive for when that next opportunity presents itself.
So, there you have it, the five steps to finding (and closing) video production jobs for consistent work you can count on. Don’t forget to check out some of our other articles for more video industry advice and tips.
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