Most beginners chase clients with the widest possible pitch — 'I do social media, design, and a bit of everything.' That's the opposite of what gets replies. Narrow your offer to one clear outcome for one type of client: 'I help local dental clinics fill their appointment calendar with Meta ads.' Specificity signals expertise, even with a thin portfolio.
Before you pitch anyone, build one solid proof piece — a mock project, a redesign of a real business's page, or a case study from a friend's business done for free or cheap. One concrete example beats ten vague claims about your skills.
Then go where your ideal client already is: a tight, personalized cold outreach list of 20 businesses beats a generic post to 10,000 strangers. Reference something specific about their business in every message, and lead with the outcome you'd create, not a list of services.
Pricing at $1,000 is less about your experience and more about the value of the outcome to the client. A campaign that brings in $5,000 of new business is cheap at $1,000 — reframe your pitch around their return, not your hours.