How to pitch to international clients as a freelancer (+ tips from expert freelancers)
Working with international clients as a freelancer is a great way to increase your income, build a solid portfolio, and promote your brand globally. But first, you’ll need to know how to get such clients, which is where pitching comes in.
Pitching is undoubtedly an effective means of getting clients. It allows you to stand out from the competition, decide on the kind of project and client you’re willing to work with, and test your marketing skills.
Through pitching, freelancers have won full-time and freelance jobs in international companies worldwide. For instance, Chima Mmeje, a Nigerian content marketer, credits her growth (income and skill-wise) to her relentless pitching in her first year as a freelancer.
In this article, you’ll learn how to find foreign clients, build the confidence to pitch to them and learn one or two extra tips, thanks to the insights from successful freelancers that will take your freelance career to the next level.
Table of content
Places to find international clients
Apart from freelance platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, here are five other places to connect with international clients:
1. Freelance job sites
Like Marketerhire, Mayple and Harlow provide access to clients hiring freelance marketers worldwide.
2. Freelance newsletters
A great example is Kaitlyn Arford’s weekly newsletter, in which she curates a list of freelance and full-time marketing job opportunities.
3. Online communities
Professional communities like Smarketers Hub, Superpath, and Peak Freelance have Slack channels that allow members to share job posts. Sometimes, the opportunities you see on social media come first from these channels or end there.
Freelance job post on Superpath’s Slack channel
4. Social media
You can hunt for freelance gigs on Linkedin and Twitter through keyword search. Simply go to the search bar and type in words like “seeking for freelance xxx (your role of choice),” hit search, and browse through the result. You’ll get something like this.
Other keyword variations for finding job posts include “looking for xxx,” “we’re hiring xxx,” “seeking pitches for,” and “interested in working with freelance xxx.” You can then use the filter options to select the most recent posts and ensure you get results from a particular location.
5. Google search
This process is similar to that of social media. All you have to do is run a Google search for freelance marketing jobs and use the filter options to narrow your search.
Alternatively, you can set Google alerts for particular opportunities so you get the results directly to your email.
How to send a freelance pitch to international clients
Here’s a step-by-step process for pitching to international clients in a way that will get you hired:
1. Draw up a client profile
A client profile is simply a description of your ideal clients. Without having an idea of the kind of client you’ll work with, you’ll end up responding to every call for freelancers you stumble on. Such a spray-and-pray approach will leave you burnt out from making random pitches. Or worse, you’ll end up working with clients you resent or industries you care less about.
So, before pitching, decide on the industry, pay range, and working terms you’re willing to accept.
2. Do your research
You won’t go to war without weapons and intel about your rival, right? So why fumble a chance at making an excellent first impression with your client due to a lack of adequate information? Irrespective of the number of freelancers applying for a particular gig, having enough information about the company, project requirements, and goals will increase your chances of standing out.
Let’s say you’re a content writer who would like to work for Beam Content, an agency owned by Brooklin Nash. Your pitch shouldn’t be about your SEO skills or how well you play with words. Because a closer look at Brooklin’s profile and even his agency’s website will show you that his content strategy involves using expert insights for creating content.
Stating anything contrary to your ability to deliver quality content in line with their style disqualifies you, as it shows your lack of preparation.
Hence, for a start, ensure you know the basics about your potential client, such as:
Brand’s target audience.
Role requirements(skills, goals, experience).
Ways to improve or maintain existing work standards.
More importantly, you must be able to organize all the information succinctly enough to grab their attention and persuade your prospect to give you a chance on their team.
Oluwatosin Faith Kolawole, a freelance writer, recommends going through the client’s website to find problems and see if you can solve them. Then, she suggests sending a pitch that commends the company for its work, mentions ways you think you can improve, and is specific about the solution you’ll offer.
3. Put together your portfolio
Your portfolio is essential to the pitch and should feature elements that make a good case for you. For beginners who don’t have anything tangible to present as a portfolio, create mock projects similar to what your ideal client will hire you for.
When submitting a portfolio or samples, ensure they align with the client’s request and are relevant to the brand's goal. For roles like social media management, it’s best to highlight your work managing similar brands or show how your expertise managing a different brand is transferable.
Limit your portfolio size to three to five samples, or work with the client's request. And, the portfolio or samples should be in a skimmable format; we don’t recommend using a Google Drive folder as your portfolio.
4. Send the pitch
A standard pitch consists of:
Personalized greeting: For example, “Hi X” or “Hello X”(X stands for the client’s name).
Introduction: One or two sentences stating who you are and your interest in the opportunity.
Offer: State the service you’ll render and why you’re a good fit.
USP: Make your offer more convincing by stating your experience or anything extra you bring to the table that makes you a better fit for the role.
Portfolio: Add a link to your portfolio or samples.
CTA: End by inviting the client to respond or take the next step to move the discussion further.
To illustrate, here’s a pitch I sent to a client earlier this year:
Anatomy of a standard freelance pitch
You can find similar pitch samples and other message templates within our pitch playbook library, which makes it a lot easier to communicate with prospects at every stage of your pitching journey.
5. Keep track of your pitches and follow-up
Tracking your pitches will help you stay accountable, improve your chances of success, and build your pitching skills. However, try to space out your follow-ups and know when to give up on an opportunity so you don’t come off as desperate.
To make this step easier, use the Smarketers Hub free pitch tracker in the pitching playbook.
Here’s the Notion version of our pitch tracker
Google sheet version of the pitch tracker
There are also email trackers which allow you to see if someone has read your email.
Tips for sending the right freelance pitch
To improve your chances of getting results through pitching, you need to do the following:
1. Identify your unique strength and play it up
Nowadays, almost every call for freelancers gets several responses. Some are from freelancers with more qualifications and experience. So, how do you stand out enough to convince the client that you’re the best fit for the role? By playing up your uniqueness.
To figure out what this may be for you, look at positive reviews you’ve gotten from clients and colleagues in the past. Examples of such unique qualities that can help you stand out are your:
Research skills
Resourcefulness
Communication skills
Ability to meet deadlines
Previous experience with clients
Ability to work with industry tools
Track record of excellent work from previous jobs
For beginners who lack such information, all hope is not lost. You can conduct a personal SWOT analysis or ask friends and family for feedback on what you’re good at.
Tamilore Sonaike, a content strategist who also offers freelance writing services, states that her experience writing for top companies has helped open doors to more freelance opportunities for her. Here’s an example of a pitch she sent to a client highlighting this:
Tamilore’s freelance pitch
Tamilore's client's response
2. Anticipate objections and handle them in advance
An excellent way to evaluate the strength of your pitch is to look for loopholes in it. This could be in the messaging, your profile, or anything that can discredit you. Location and the accompanying payment issues are usually stumbling blocks for African freelancers.
In most cases, the client will raise the issues themselves, which you can address in your response. However, the best clients provide enough details in their job posts to attract the ideal candidate, including payment options that work for them, especially if location is not a barrier.
On payment issues, provide options for payment platforms that work for you. Sometimes, they may be open to trying out your options; other times, they may not be open to such flexibility, so you’ll just have to move on. Thankfully, there are several options for receiving international payments in Nigeria for you to consider.
Dorcas Adisa, a freelance copywriter residing in Nigeria who works with foreign clients, states the biggest objection she has gotten from a client has been about her location.
She says,
3. Personalise your pitch
Although you should try to stay professional when pitching, it’s also nice to show your personality and your understanding of the client’s personality.
A great example is this pitch I sent to a client sometime last year. Here’s what the job post:
Freelance hiring post from a professional slack channel
And this was my response
My email pitch
Notice my use of her keyword in the pitch and how I gave her the impression that I’d be a fun person to work with.
The prospect's response
Although I didn’t get the job, it was worth the shot, and my pitches got better after that encounter.
Ehigbai Ohiwerei , a Nigerian content marketer who started by freelancing on Upwork but now owns an agency, has this to say:
Furthermore, the communication channel and familiarity with the prospect influence how you personalize the pitch. With email, you can add a catchy subject line, share gifs, and add a document or an image—all elements that can have a personal touch and make a good case for you. However, on social media or when applying through a job portal, you should limit your pitch to a few sentences, but always include your portfolio, irrespective of the channel.
4. Get your timing right
Timing your pitches involves two things:
Sending them in time, if possible, within the first 24 hours.
Sending them when whoever is in charge of responding to them sees them.
You can use the time zone difference to your advantage for the second point. Use a world clock or any other app to target your pitch delivery to a time when your point of contact is active. This is usually from 9 a.m (the client’s time), but not at night, so the next day’s tasks don't overshadow it. Also, avoid pitching during the holidays, weekends, and, if possible, Mondays.
Again, this may be difficult to figure out, so you should send in your pitch as soon as you stumble on an opportunity, just before their inbox or DMs get filled.
Chris Bibey, who compiles a newsletter on freelance writing gigs, constantly emphasizes this. He says:
Pitching is a numbers game, so stay relentless
The more pitches you send, the more responses you’ll get and the better you'll get at pitching. Aim for at least ten quality pitches per week and track them. However, picking up “low-paying” gigs to build your portfolio and earn an income to survive while you wait to catch a whale client is okay.
Ready to pitch your way to a successful freelance career? Start by downloading our free pitching playbook, creating a list of realistic and dream clients you’d like to work with, and using the steps in this article to pitch. You can make it more interesting by doing it with a friend or a colleague and having a mini-pitching challenge amongst yourselves.
Happy pitching!
Don’t forget to share your results on social media or within the Smarketers Hub’s Slack community.
How to pitch international clients as a freelancer FAQs
What to include in your freelance pitch?
Your freelance pitch should include your background, work experience, the value you offer to your client, and portfolio.
How do I negotiate freelance rates with foreign clients?
It’s best to start by having an idea of the market value of your service. Then, define the project's scope by breaking it into milestones and charging per project.
How do I respond when a brand rejects my pitch?
When a brand rejects your pitch, you stay professional by thanking them for feedback and moving on to the next prospect. Something like this from the Smarketers Hub cold pitching playbook templates works:
“Hi [Name], appreciate your time in considering my pitch. I’m here if your needs change or for future projects. Wishing you success with your current endeavors!”
What do I do if a potential client is offering less money?
If a potential client is offering more money, try out any of the following options:
Walk away.
Offer options of other freelancers the prospect can reach out to.
You can accept the offer in return for a longer contract or more projects.
Accept the lesser pay but reduce the scope of the project. You have to communicate this to the client.