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How to Get Your Name Out There

Online side hustles are some of the easiest side hustles to get started. What’s even easier nowadays is the ability to get your name out there.

Let’s say that you’re thinking about starting a side hustle. How do you get your name out there to find clients?

Create Your Own Website

Creating your own website is not required for all side hustlers, but have a search-engine friendly can help you launch and accelerate your side hustle.

Let’s say that you plan to offer a service as a side hustle. Any service you could potentially offer another person can be marketed on your own website. Creating a website is easy and inexpensive with a service like Squarespace.

Website Alternatives

If you’re offering a service, like dog walking, you could simply start with your own Facebook Page. Facebook Pages are free and easy to share with your friends and family. Depending on your side hustle, a free Facebook Page might be all you need to kick off your side hustle.

Creating a LinkedIn profile will help you connect with prospective clients, if you’ll be offering a B2B side hustle. LinkedIn also has its own publishing platform, Pulse; you can publish content on Pulse to market yourself and the services you offer to your ideal clients.

Craigslist is another great alternative for side hustlers. Whether you’re selling product or a service, you’re likely to locate customers on Craigslist. Potential customers post ads or they’ll search to find the product or service prodider they need. If you’re trying to reach potential customers in your region, Craigslist is a great start.

Advertising

Depending on your side hustle and target audience, there is likely an advertising opportunity that will work for you.

Facebook is a great place to run ads for those side hustlers looking to sell a service to friends, family members, and neighbors.

LinkedIn is great for B2B side hustles. If you want to offer a service like virtual assisting or digital marketing, you might consider running ads on LinkedIn to your target audience.

With advertising, it’s a “pay to play” model, so while it might be tempting to run ads to everyone who might be in your target audience. Start with a small audience and a small budget to test your ads before you spend thousands on ads that might not be converting into clients.

Prospecting

Whether you’re an experienced side hustler or just trying to kick off your side hustle, prospecting is a tool you want to keep in your back pocket.

Prospecting involves building a list of prospective clients, those you aren’t working with yet or clients you worked with in the past that you’d like to work with in the future. Basically, your goal with prospecting is to build a list of your ideal clients so that when you have time in your schedule, you might have some clients to work with.

To build a list of prospective clients, it helps to start with your criteria for your ideal client.

First, consider your niche; what do you do to help others?

Second, what industries have you worked in that would be interested in your service?

Third, what geographical area will you serve? This is especially important for those who want to offer a service as a side hustle because there will be more clients than you can serve as a side hustler. Make a list of criteria for your ideal client to help narrow your list.

Lots of services out there will ask you to buy a list. However, you don’t have to buy that information. I’ve found plenty of information using these free resources:

Data.com/connect

LinkedIn

Hunter.io

I use Data.com to find a list of target customers based on location. Then, I use LinkedIn to identify who works at these companies today. Once I know who works at these companies, I use Hunter.io to locate their email addresses.

With prospecting, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the volume of information out there, which is why I recommend trying all the other strategies I have for finding clients before you try it.

Meetups

Meetup.com is my go-to resource for locating networking opportunities in my area. There are categories for just about everything you can imagine. Some meetups are dedicated to networking while others might be just for fun. Regardless, you’ll likely find a group that can connect you with potential customers/clients.

When you’re considering your side hustle and the people you want to help, consider this TEDx Talk, “Everyday Serendipity.” You just never know where an experience, a chance meeting, or a new perspective will lead.

Ready to Start a Side Hustle?

About Claudia Pennington

I'm Claudia Pennington and I've been in marketing for more than 10 years. Between downsizing our home and side hustling in digital marketing & SEO, my husband and I paid off 100% of our debt in just two years! Our side hustle has CHANGED our lives!