How to Be First in Line for Freelance Work

When you meet or market to a client and they tell you they want to work with you and then don’t hire you, you probably think they’re blowing you off. They’re not. Because up to 90% of the time, clients aren’t ready to hire a freelancer when you first contact or meet them. But many of these interested clients will hire you—within a year or so—if they think of you first when they’re ready to hire a freelancer. You can make sure these clients think of you first by staying in touch with them regularly.

Key Takeaways

Regular follow-up keeps interested clients aware of your availability when they are ready to hire.
Helpful resources, such as reports, surveys, podcasts, and industry updates, give you a useful reason to contact prospective clients.
Send a first follow-up email 6-8 weeks after a client expresses interest, then continue contacting interested clients every 2-3 months.
Use a tracker to record interested clients, schedule follow-ups, save useful resources, and track responses.
Follow up with interested clients for at least one year, and consider continuing for about two years with high-priority prospects.

Stay in Touch with Interested Clients Regularly

If you stay in touch with clients regularly, they’ll think of you first when they need a freelancer. I call this targeted follow up. It’s easy to do, only takes a few hours a month, and really works.

But most freelancers rarely or never follow up. There are many reason for this:

You don’t want to bother or annoy the client
“Selling yourself” is so hateful that you can’t bear the thought of doing it again anytime soon . . .
Being rejected hurts.

Not following up is a real shame, because you’re much more likely to get freelance work from a client who already knows about and is interested in you than from a brand-new prospective client.

And targeted follow up isn’t about “selling yourself.” It won’t annoy clients.

Even if the client never hires you, this isn’t rejection—it’s part of running a freelance business.

Clients make decisions for many reasons that have little to do with your skills or experience. Often, projects changes or disappears altogether. Or someone at the company insists on using “their” freelancer.

The goal isn’t to win every opportunity; it’s to keep showing up, building relationships, and staying visible until you connect with the clients who need your help.

Be Professional and Helpful

Targeted follow up isn’t about “selling yourself.” It’s about being helpful and building trust, mostly by sharing useful resources by email. Useful resources include blog posts, reports, podcasts, and industry updates, surveys, and reports.

Template for General Targeted Follow-Up

Here’s a template you can use to send a useful resource to an interested client.

Subject: Thought this [type of resource, e.g., report, survey, podcast] on [topic] might be helpful

Text:

Hi [Name],

I hope you’ve been well. I came across this [type of resource, e.g., report, survey, podcast] on [topic] and I thought it would be useful to you.

[Title, with link and brief description, including why it’s relevant to the client.]

Best regards,

[Your name]

Send a Friendly Reminder About Your Services

Once or twice a year, send interested clients a friendly reminder that you’re available for freelance work. But this must be part of your follow up process and not the only time you contact interested clients. Usually, you can share the same resource with multiple clients.

Clients are used to quarterly planning, so emailing an interested client about your availability in the last month of any quarter feels comfortable and natural.

Template for Services Reminder Targeted Follow-Up

Here’s a template you can use to send a reminder about your services to an interested client in the last month of a quarter.

Subject (choose one): Freelance Support for the Next Quarter

Text:

Hi [Name],

I hope you’re doing well. I’m planning my schedule for the next quarter and wanted to follow up on our earlier communication about potential freelance support. I was wondering if you expect to need any help in the coming months.

If so, I’d be glad to support your team.

Thanks so much, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

[Name]

Build a Follow-Up System that Keeps You First in Line

Make the process consistent and manageable by developing a list of interested clients, a resources library, and a tracker with a schedule for following up.

Schedule your first follow up email when you add someone to the tracker. Send the email about 6-8 weeks after the client expressed interest in working with you.

Create and update your resources library

Choose 4-6 good sources for your resources library. Sign up for enewsletters so that resources will come right to your inbox.

Sources of useful resources include:

Professional associations like AMWA
Medical associations and societies like the American Society of Clinical Oncology or the American College of Cardiology
Medical news services
LinkedIn posts.

Set aside about 30-60 minutes a week to review your resources:

Check newsletters and other emails/alerts.
Scan your key websites.
Save relevant resources in your resources library
Track your follow up.

Every quarter, review your sources. See which are most relevant for your follow-up, which are too much work to review, etc.. Add any new sources you find and delete any that don’t work for you.

Schedule time for targeted follow-up

Set aside about 60 minutes a month to send your targeted follow-up emails. Send all of the follow-up emails at the same time

If you have a lot of people on your list, you can divide this up and send the emails every two weeks instead of monthly.

Follow up with interested clients every 2-3 months.

Block time on your calendar for targeted follow-up—and treat it like a deadline for a client. Depending on the number of people on your list, you can send all of the emails at once or divide this into two or three work blocks.

Track your follow up

Use your tracker to schedule your follow up and track any responses. As soon as you send one follow up email, schedule the next one.

Most clients who are going to hire you will do this within about a year of your first contact. But many freelancers, including me, have gotten great clients by following up for longer.

Follow up with all interested clients for a year. For high-priority clients, those you really want to work with, you can follow up for about two years.

Turn More Warm Leads into New Clients

Professional, helpful follow up with interested clients puts you first in line when they’re ready to hire a freelancer. It’s a fast andeasy way to return more warm leads into new clients—and build a successful, sustainable freelance business.

Learn More About Being First in Line for Freelance Jobs

The Surprising Thing That Will Get You More Freelance Work: Follow Up

FAQs

What is targeted follow-up for freelancers?

Targeted follow-up is a regular process for staying in touch with clients who have shown interest but are not ready to hire. It usually involves sharing a useful resource or sending a friendly reminder about your availability.

How often should freelancers follow up with interested clients?

Follow up with interested clients every 2-3 months. Send the first follow-up 6-8 weeks after the client expresses interest, then schedule the next contact after each email.

What should freelancers include in a follow-up email?

Share a relevant resource, such as a report, survey, podcast, blog post, or industry update. Explain why the resource may help the client, and keep the email brief and helpful.

How long should freelancers follow up with a potential client?

Continue following up for at least one year because many clients do not hire when they first make contact. For high-priority clients, you can continue the process for about two years.

Last updated July 10, 2026.

Lori De Milto is a freelance medical writer and marketing coach who has helped freelance medical writers and editors get the clients they deserve since 2014. Through her proven process, she teaches freelancers how to market with clarity and confidence so they can build stable, successful freelance businesses.