Why You Should Ditch Freelance Job Sites and Find Your Own Clients

Fierce competition for every job and low pay on freelance job sites hold you back from getting the clients you deserve.  Here’s a better way to build a stable, successful freelance business.

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Using a freelance job site like Upwork and Fiverr to choose projects that clients need help with may seem like an easy way to make a living as a freelancer. But it’s not.

Fierce competition for every job and low pay can weigh you down and drain your energy. By finding your own clients, you take control over your freelance business and your income. You can build trusting relationships with clients that lead to steady freelance work and build a stable, successful freelance business.

The Drawbacks of Freelance Job Sites

Most clients who list jobs on freelance job sites offer ridiculously low fees. Here are a few of the freelance writing jobs I found:

• Newsletter: $10-$20 an hour
• Medical research papers, clinical reports, educational materials, and patient-facing documents: $26 to $50 an hour
• Blog post: $15 (for the entire post).

And here are the 2024 market rates according to two professional associations: the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) and the Editorial Freelancers Association.

• AMWA average hourly rate: $131, according to the AMWA Medical Communication Compensation Report
• Editorial Freelancers Association 2024 rates: $50 to $100 per hour, depending on the type of project:
  • Business and marketing writing: $62.50-$100 an hour
  • Blog posts: $50-$79 an hour.

Even if you don’t mind the low pay on freelance job sites–and you should mind–there’s stiff competition for every freelance job. You’ll be competing against thousands of other freelancers, and wasting lots of time and energy trying to develop compelling proposals for each one.

Freelance job sites create a “race to the bottom” pricing structure, encourages clients to go with the cheapest option. So clients often overlook talented freelancers in favor of the lowest bid. Staying competitive on freelance job sites would mean constantly lowering your rates to get work.

And underpricing your skills and your time is no way to build a freelance business.

Fees and Hidden Costs

The ridiculously low fees are even lower than they appear because freelance job sites take a big cut from every project you complete, usually 10% to 20% of your earnings. Some have hidden fees for things like payment processing or paid bids just to apply for jobs.

Project fees and hidden fees add up and can wipe out a big chunk of your income. When you find your own clients, you keep every dollar you earn.

Loss of Control

When you rely on freelance job sites, you lose control over your freelance business. Instead of finding steady, high-paying clients, you take whatever work comes along. And that work, when you get it through a freelance job site, won’t pay you what you’re worth.

Freelance job sites prioritize generalists over specialists. That will hold you back from finding your ideal clients and building your freelance business—because clients want to work with experts who understand and meet their specific needs. They want to work with specialists.

Why Finding Your Own Clients is Better than Using Freelance Job Sites

Unlock more and better opportunities by finding your own clients instead of relying on freelance job sites.

Get Steady, Long-Term Clients

Most of the clients who use freelance job sites aren’t even close to ideal clients. Despite the top companies listed as clients on Upwork like Microsoft and GE, when you read the ads on Upwork or Fiverr, most clients are small companies and individuals. These clients usually don’t value our work, which means they won’t pay us what we’re worth. And even if they recognize our value, most can’t afford market rates.

Working with steady clients is much easier and less stressful than constantly looking for new clients. Yet, the small companies and individuals that use freelance job sites don’t need a lot of freelance help. Many jobs are one-off projects.

When you find your own clients, you can focus on clients who are likely to need a lot of freelance help and can become long-term clients. As you work with the same clients repeatedly, you build trust, which is the lifeblood of a successful freelance business.

Make More Money

Instead of competing in price wars on freelance job sites, you set your rates and can charge what you’re worth. And without the service and hidden fees imposed by job sites, you keep more of what you earn.

Full Control of Your Business

When you ditch freelance job sites, you gain total control over how you run your business. You set the direction of the work, the terms, and the timelines.

And you can develop marketing that helps you stand out from other freelancers and shows clients that you understand and can meet their needs. This will help you get more steady, high-paying clients.

How to Find Your Own Clients

Many freelancers turn to freelance job sites because they don’t know how to find their own clients.

If you’re one of them, this isn’t your fault. Most freelancers never have a chance to learn about marketing.

But you can find the steady, high-paying clients you deserve. Marketing isn’t hard if you know what to do.  Let’s cover what work best for freelancers in finding clients and building a stable, successful freelance business.

Based on my survey How Freelancers Market Their Services: 2025 Survey Results and my work with hundreds of freelancers through Finding the Freelance Clients You Deserve, networking, LinkedIn, and direct email work best for freelancers in getting stedy, high-paying clients. 

How to get great clients with networking

Who you know—your network—can be more important than anything else in getting high-paying freelance clients.

That’s because clients want to do business with freelancers they know and trust—or freelancers that someone they know and trust referred to them. And it’s not as easy as you probably think it is for them to find competent, dependable freelancers.

Building a trusting, strategic network will help you:

• Get more referrals
• Meet more clients
• Get practical advice and support from other freelancers.

How to get great clients on LinkedIn

More and more clients are searching for freelancers on LinkedIn. And when clients meet or hear about you, they want to check you out, usually on LinkedIn, before contacting you about freelance work. Colleagues also want to check you out before they refer work to you.

To get steady, high-paying freelance clients on LinkedIn, you need to:

• Develop a complete, compelling, client-focused profile
• Build a big relevant network (500+)
• Be active.

How to get great clients using direct email

Direct email, also called cold pitching, can feel intimidating. But when you do it right, it really works—because you make yourself irresistible to your ideal clients.

There are three steps to direct email:

• Research your prospects: Create a list of clients you would like to work with.
• Know who you’re reaching out to and what they need. A personalized approach shows potential clients you’ve done your homework.
• Write customized, client-focused emails: Customize each email to the client and focus on how you can help the client. Keep it short but compelling.
• Follow up: Send a polite follow-up email if you don’t hear back initially. Persistence (without being pushy) gets results; Most new clients come from the follow up emails.

Another benefit of direct email is that doing the research helps you learn more about your ideal clients. This helps you become the expert that great clients are looking for when they hire a freelancer.

Get tips on how to use networking, LinkedIn, and direct email to get the clients you deserve
3 Easy Ways to Get the Freelance Clients You Deserve in 2025

Take Control and Start Finding Your Own Clients Today

Making the switch from relying on freelance job sites to finding your own clients can feel like a huge leap. But if you want to become a better marketer, you can. It really is as simple as that.

You can successfully market your freelance business, if you want to do better and are willing to feel the discomfort of learning things that seem strange and hard and won’t work right away,

A growth mindset and grit will help you. If you have a growth mindset, you believe that you can change your freelance future by learning new things—like marketing, being persistent, and taking the right actions. You’ll be willing to work hard to reach your goals.

Grit is the perseverance and passion to stick with your long-term goals—like building a stable, successful freelance business—until you reach them. If you have grit, you’ll be able to keep going even when you make mistakes or don’t feel like you’re making progress.

Build the freelance business of your dreams by ditching freelance job sites and finding your own clients. By taking control over your freelance business, you’ll be able to get steady clients and do the work you love for clients who pay you well and treat you right.

Learn More About Freelance Job Sites and How to Find Your Own Clients

How to Make More Money and Do Less Work: Repeat Business

7 Ways to Grow Your Freelance Business with Steady, Long-Term Clients

The Easy Way to Become a Better Marketer

The Superhero Power You Need to Know About: Grit

5 Easy Ways for Freelancers to Develop the Growth Mindset

3 Easy Ways to Get the Freelance Clients You Deserve in 2025

How to Get Steady, High-Paying Clients with Direct Email

How to Choose Your Clients Instead of Taking Whatever Work Comes Along