Survey Says: Here’s What Works Best in Getting the Clients You Deserve

Survey says

For most freelancers, marketing is getting harder, according to my 2025 freelance marketing survey. But if you focus on what works best in getting the steady, high-paying clients you deserve, marketing will be much easier and more effective. See what the survey says.

Five years ago, getting steady, high-paying clients was easier for freelancers. Now it takes more time and effort to get and keep the attention of clients and to build a stable, successful freelance business.

Over the last five years, the percentage of freelancers saying marketing is a challenge has skyrocketed.

In 2021, 83% of freelancers said marketing was a challenge.

By 2023, that number climbed to 93%.

And in 2025, 99% of freelancers said that marketing was a challenge, according to How Freelancers Market Their Services: 2025 Survey.

Survey results on marketing

Almost every freelancer is struggling to find good clients, get noticed, and stand out. And 75% now say it’s their biggest challenge or a major challenge. That’s a 20% jump in just two years, according to my survey.

What’s Changed?

So, what’s changed? The growing freelance workforce is the biggest reason marketing a freelance business has become harder.

In the United States alone, about 64 million Americans freelanced in 2023, according to Freelance Forward 2023. This is 38% of the entire U.S. workforce and 4 million more freelancers than in 2022. Globally, there are between 1.56 and 1.57 billion freelancers worldwide, making up 46.7% of the global workforce, according to Genius and DemandSage.

survey says

The number of freelancers has been growing fast:

In 2020, there were 59 million freelancers, accounting for 36% of the U.S. workforce.
By 2023, this number had increased to 64 million, representing 38% of the entire U.S. workforce.

Looking ahead, projections suggest this trend will continue:

By 2027, it’s estimated that 86.5 million Americans will be freelancing.
By 2028, this number is expected to reach 90.1 million, potentially comprising more than half of the total U.S. workforce.

What Does this Mean for You?

More competition for quality projects and clients means that standing out in a sea of freelancers takes so much more effort now. This creates pressure to differentiate yourself and provide clients with more value.

Marketing is harder.

But you can build a stable, successful freelance business—if you do more and the right marketing.

That’s where How Freelancers Market their Services: 2025 Survey comes in. Survey results show what works best in marketing a freelance business—so you won’t waste your time or effort.

Fielded from February 11 to March 3, 2025 and with 267 respondents, the survey asked freelancers about what works best for them in marketing their businesses, the challenges they face, their use of social media for business, membership in professional associations, and more.

Free content and tools from The Mighty Marketer and paid courses and coaching can help you learn how to market your freelance business. Along with focusing on what works best, you’ll learn to focus on what your clients need and how you can help them. So your marketing will be professional and comfortable, not pushy or sleazy.

Read the survey results
How Freelancers Market their Services: 2025 Survey

What Works Best in Getting the Clients You Deserve?

The best clients come from:

LinkedIn
Networking
Direct email.

survey says

While these have been the top three sources of the best clients since 2019, the order has shifted.

LinkedIn is more important than ever to freelancers.

More clients are now searching for freelancers on LinkedIn and checking us out before deciding whether to contact us about freelance work. That’s why LinkedIn is now the #1 source of the best clients for freelancers.

LinkedIn has replaced networking as the top source of the best clients. Between 2023 and 2025 alone, 26% more freelancers reported LinkedIn as a top source of clients:

LinkedIn is the #1 social network, and 83% of freelancers who use social networks for business are on LinkedIn.
81% of freelancers who use LinkedIn say it’s “important” or “very important” in getting clients, a 20% increase since 2023
57% said LinkedIn was their #1 source of the best clients.

Learn more about LinkedIn
The Ultimate LinkedIn Profile for Freelance Success This Year
3 Steps to Getting More Clients on LinkedIn: Your Ultimate Guide
Mighty Marketer posts about LinkedIn

Networking is rising in importance too.

Clients want to work with freelancers they know and trust or freelancers someone they know and trust referred to them. Since 2019, networking has steadily risen as a source of the best clients: from 75% to 90% of freelancers:

46% of freelancers rated LinkedIn the #1 source of the best clients
26% of freelancers rated it #2.

Learn more about networking
Networking for Freelancers: The Ultimate Guide
Mighty Marketer posts on networking

How Important are Referrals and Repeat Business?

Referrals and repeat business from current clients are easy ways to build a stable, successful freelance business.

Clients trust recommendations. They’d rather work with someone a colleague trusts than gamble on a stranger. That’s why referrals are one of the easiest ways to get the clients you deserve.

But few freelancers are taking full advantage of referrals:

Just 33% of freelancers get at least 51% of their business from referrals.
42% of freelancers get less than 25% of their business from referrals.

Learn more about referrals
Word of Mouth: The Best Way to Get Better Freelance Work

Freelancers are doing great in getting repeat business from clients.

77% of freelancers (198) get at least 51% of their business from repeat business from clients. This is a 4% increase from 2023 and the same as 2021.

Steady work that you can count on is the main benefit of repeat business from current clients. Other benefits include less admiistrative work, less marketing, and much less stress.

Many freelancers are already getting much of their business from repeat business:

77% of freelancers get at least 51% of their business from satisfied clients.
Just 8% of freelancers get less than 25% of their business from satisfied clients.

Learn more about repeat business
How to Make More Money and Do Less Work: Repeat Business

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