Can we all agree there’s nothing fun at all about “chasing clients”?
(Seriously, if you ask me: It’s about as fun as running four miles in stilettos – and honestly, as dangerous too, for your bottom and bottom line.)
If you’re sliding into many-a- strangers’ DMs, playing an intense game of “tag” with potential inquiries and never getting a firm yes or simply stressing about where your next client is actually gonna come from, it might time to rethink the ways money is coming into your biz.
Here’s a lil’ secret: There are tons of easier ways to increase your income that don’t require you to do the whole song-and-(TikTok)dance necessary to sign new clients.
From leveraging the heck outta your existing client relationships to implementing brand new income streams that have big revenue potential (with a little elbow grease), here are a handful of go-to ideas you can implement to make more money without new clients, stat:
1) Upsell Current Clients
Sounds obvious, but it’s true: Your current clients are already obsessed with you and your work. They know, like and trust you to deliver the results you promise. And all that combined makes them the perfect people to approach first if you have open space in your schedule or need a little cash influx.
Offering your current peeps additional services or coaching is a surefire way to pocket more moolah-without needing to find a brand new client to collab with.
Almost anything can be an upsell, if presented correctly. Website copywriter who offers a signature 5-page website package? Let your clients add-on extra pages for an additional cost. Coach who usually signs 3-month contracts? Ask your clients currently in month two to add an extra session a month or an intensive VIP Day. You can also upsell your clients into completely different (and more premium) packages.
You don’t have to just upsell services or coaching, either. You can also offer upsells for digital products and courses. If someone buys your $97 mini-course, you could present an upsell into your $997 signature course via an automated email sequence or even a cart bump or tripwire.
Basically, you can bake an upsell into any funnel, for any offer. And it’s arguably the easiest way to add more income, without adding more names to your client roster.
2) Offer Retainers or Ongoing Maintenance
Retainers are a fantastic way to leverage your existing client relationships. They’re also a fantastic “gateway” for transitioning out of client work and into digital products or more scalable offers. How so? Because retainers provide you with a solid, stable income from month-to-month. And all that time you’d normally need to spend on trying to market to and lock down new clients can be put toward developing delish digital products instead.
Not sure how retainers work? Basically, your clients pay a monthly fee and receive access to either a set number of deliverables or hours of your time.
For example, let’s pretend you’re a copywriter whose client usually wants between two and four SEO-optimized blog posts per month. You could offer them a retainer that includes up to 4 blog posts every month. The “up to” piece is key. Since it’s a retainer (you know, like lawyers use), you’re paid upfront for the number of deliverables (or hours) regardless of whether your client actually needs them all that month.
Maintenance packages also work well to stabilize income – and don’t require you to book new clients. Once you complete the initial service they signed up for (like a Pinterest audit), you then offer your client ongoing services every month (like a set number of hours of Pinterest management).
Retainers and maintenance packages both relieve the pressure of needing to find new clients all the time, plus your clients get exactly what they need – no more and no less.
3) Create an Exclusive Subscription
If done-for-you (or consult-with-you) retainers aren’t your vibe, you have another option for steady cash flow: Let your current clients subscribe to your content (or receive limited access to you) with an exclusive subscription. Think of it like a micro-membership, but specifically for past clients. For this to work, you’ll want to keep the features light and minimal – like one monthly Q&A call, a weekly check-in/accountability email, or a simple monthly template.
This is one of the fastest & best ways to turn potential one-time clients into long-term, recurring revenue.
4) Reward Referrals
Okay – so this one technically does include working with new (to you) clients, but doesn’t require you to track them down (which is still a win, right?).
Just think about it: How many times has a client told you how much they loved working with you? If they’re telling you, it’s likely they’re telling others – or they would, especially if there was a little reward involved! That said, why not offer referral rewards, like a discount, “bucks” or points to use toward future purchases, a special bonus or a referral fee or commission for every successful referral?
Referral programs are pretty easy to set up, especially if you keep ‘em simple. You don’t need fancy software. You just need a signed agreement and a payment processor. Plus, clients that come in via referral (especially when they’re referred by a client you already know & adore) tend to be the most aligned, lovely ones.
5) Raise Your Current Rates
Do your rates reflect your current expertise and experience? If it’s been a minute since you added a few zeros to your product and/or services price tags, it might be time to do just that – and boost your income without additional client work in the process.
6) Finesse Your Funnels
Optimizing your funnels isn’t necessarily a super-quick way to bring in more income, but it is one way to make money without clients. So, let’s chat. Are your sales funnels actually bringing in sales? If they’re more “leaky faucet” than “fountain of fortune,” you’re definitely leaving (easy) money on the table. Try sprucing up your main funnels by either by adding updated or brand new calls-to-action for relevant offers, updating outdated facts or information (like product or service features or benefits) or even just including new (or more) testimonials.
And while most people think email marketing when they hear “funnels,” but funnels exist literally anywhere your people find you and get into your world. This includes your social media profiles (do you need to update your IG “link in bio” page?), podcast or anywhere else you create or share content.
You can also experiment with everything from cart bump offers to tripwires to offering a limited time discount the first time someone visits a sales page for an offer (if you’re not already).
7) Package Your Expertise into a Digital Product
Want to ditch the clients-for-dollars cycle altogether? Whip up a passive digital product that delivers your knowledge in an eBook, course, template or other digital download that doesn’t require ongoing client interaction.
You could even host live workshops, webinars or masterclasses. All of these easy-to-create income streams don’t require new clients, although they do require a bit of upfront work.
8) Join (or Create) Joint Ventures
Don’t want to find clients on your own, but don’t mind potentially working with more? A joint venture might be right for you. Of course, you’ll want to seek out joint ventures with a biz owner or company who offers complementary services (or products). For example, if you’re a graphic designer who specialized in irresistible brand identities, you might reach out to website copywriters to see if they’d like to offer your brand identity package to their website clients as an add-on. You could even collaborate to create a package that includes both.
You can also join more passive joint ventures, like getting involved in another biz owner’s bundle.
Who says you need to constantly attract new clients to make a solid income online? Hope this post proves there are other routes to take to turn up the volume on your earnings – without the dreaded client chase.
