As a freelance software developer, where should you be looking for clients?

I am a freelance developer and have been for years, I get asked by others a lot on where they should be looking for clients, here are some of the places I have used.<br><br>* **Upwork** - This is probably the most well known freelance site, you can get a lot of work from here and it's where I've gotten a lot of my clients from. I've heard some stories of some of the clients on here being horrible, luckily I've never had this issue. <br><br>* **Freelancer** - Similar to Upwork, it's not as well known but you can still find work here.<br><br>* **Fiverr** - I use Fiverr more as a way for leads to find me, rather than finding leads myself.<br><br>* **Chambers** - There are a lot of people hiring other developers on chambers, you should check out _r/roosterteeth_ , _r/metalforhire_ and _r/webdev_ , I have gotten multiple long term clients from here.<br><br>* **Personal Projects -** I have gotten a lot of clients from my personal projects, I have made multiple applications for my University, it's a great way to get your name out there and you will have something to talk about during interviews.<br><br>* **Word of Mouth -** Probably the best and most profitable way to get new clients is word of mouth. If someone you worked with previously finds out someone needs a developer, they will suggest you. Pretty much all of my clients have been through this.<br><br>* **LinkedIn -** Recruiters will quite often see that you're a developer and reach out to you, these can be good opportunities and you should definitely reply to them, even if you're not interested.<br><br>* **Careers Pages -** Sometimes you will find a job that you're interested in on a careers page, these typically pay the best as they are usually long term jobs.<br><br>* **Online Communities -** Similar to Chambers, look for people looking for developers in your local online communities.<br><br>* **Friends -** Sometimes you will find a friend of a friend is looking for a developer, here's a story to illustrate. One day I got a message from a friend of mine, they had a friend who's dad was looking for a developer, my friend recommended me and said I did great work and they hired me. I did great work, got paid a lot for it and it helped me get my name out there. This was a job I would have never found if not for word of mouth.<br><br>You should also know how to pitch yourself and negotiate, if you're a student, you're going to most likely be paid less, this is because the client doesn't really know you and thinks you're not good at your job. You will have to do some work for free or cheap to get your name out there and the more time you put in, the more likely you are to get offers.<br><br>&#x200B;