Work?

[Rizande]

Hey guys, i'm in the process of starting my own web design business, i was wonder how to i get costomers. I mean obviously through posting my site on all the major search engines, but other than that i'm sort of stumped on how to get business. Is there anyone out there who designs web sites for a living that can let me in on how to get some more clients? Thanks for you help!

[John Scott]

Word of mouth is the best. But, since we're online, build a website that convinces prospects to hire you. Then promote the website.

[cltwebs]

True word of mouth is the best. I started out by showing friends the benefits of having a web site (for family pictures and communications) then I moved toward small businesses helping them aware the need for web sites.

Most people who I have worked with is also local. Market local makes it much easier and think you will see more rewards trying to tackle the who internet will be hard.

[Braada]

Shameless self promotion at every oportunity and through every outlet. It doesn't matter what you are doing or what you are selling. You must in some way shape or form put your name somewhere in the face/mind of every single person on the planet. O.K. that is a little extreme but you get my point. There is NO wasted promotion! Word of mouth, business cards, SEO ranking, signature links, etc, everything counts.
I've heard too many people say "well I was doing this, but it wasn't generating enough sales so I don't advertise that way anymore".....MISTAKE!!!! If you pass out 1000 business cards and it generates even 1 client the campaign was a success!
How can that be, the BC's cost more than I made on the job they generated? Simple. Every person tells ten. Take good care of that customer and he tells 10 by word of mouth. Those 10 now have the confidence in you that comes with WOM.
Promote, promote, promote!

I personally hate her, but I saw an nice indepth interview a few years ago on Madonna. She became the "Pop Icon" that she is by shameless self promotion at every opportunity.
If you want success, you have to work hard at it and get your name everywhere by any means possible!

[Fender963]

Alhtough I agree partially with you Braada, I have just one thing to say.
Getting your company out there is a good thing, but it can be a bad thing as well. After a certain point, and I think this is especially important on the internet, please start losing respect for you. "Spam" for the lack of a better word isn't going to much for you company's rep.

Specifically for you webArtist04, you need an extremely clean, professional site, that will appeal to your customer. Also keep it simple and easy to read/understand/navigate. Then start creating a portofolio. Use this to "splurge" and show off your skills.

Hope that helps!
Kyle