Starting from zero is hard for one simple reason. Nobody knows you yet.

And because nobody knows you, nobody trusts you yet either. That means when you’re trying to get your first clients, you’re solving two problems at the same time.

You need to get noticed, and then you need to get trusted enough to be hired.

Those are two very different things. You can get thousands of views and still have nobody hire you. You can have a small audience and have people who trust your work enough to pay you.

I learned this the hard way.

In 2022, I would have told you that getting clients without an audience was almost impossible. And to whoever I gave that advice, I greatly apologize.

I was wrong.

In 2026, I know better because I’ve worked with marketing professionals who make companies millions but have 236 followers on social media. I’ve worked with companies that barely get 50 likes on a post and still make a whole lot of money.

So no, you don’t need a huge audience before you can get clients. But you do need people to notice you, understand what you do, and trust that you can actually help them.

That is what marketing needs to do when you’re starting from zero.

1. Get in front of the right people

Let’s start with the obvious one.

If nobody knows you exist, they can’t hire you. It doesn’t matter how good your service is. It doesn’t matter how much experience you have. It doesn’t matter how beautiful your website looks.

If the people who need what you do never come across you, nothing happens.

This is where you put yourself in positions to be discovered.

You could use:

• Your website
• Google
• YouTube
• Social media
• Email
• Local events
• Referrals
• Online communities
• Ads
• Direct outreach
• Networking

You don’t need all of them. Actually, please don’t try to do all of them.

One of the fastest ways to make marketing miserable is to decide that you need to be everywhere.

You don’t.

Figure out where the people you want to work with already spend time and start there.

• A business consultant might find clients through LinkedIn, referrals, networking, email, and their website.
• A photographer might rely on Instagram, Google, referrals, and events.
• A local service provider might get most of their business through Google, referrals, and their website.

Your business will be different. The point is to give the right people a chance to find you.

But getting noticed is only the first step.

2. Give people a reason to trust you

This is where I think a lot of marketing advice falls apart.

We’re very good at talking about attention. Get more views. Get more followers. Get more reach. Get more traffic.

Okay.

Then what?

Because getting someone to look at you is not the same as getting them to trust you with their money.

When someone is considering hiring you, they’re probably thinking:

Can this person actually help me?

Have they done this before? Do they understand my problem? What does their work look like? What happens when I hire them? Can I trust them to do what they said they would do?

You need to answer those questions through your marketing.

And you don’t answer them by repeatedly saying, “I’m an expert.”

You show people.

Show your work. 

Show how you think. 

Explain problems you understand. 

• Share what you’ve learned from doing the work. 
• Answer questions. 
• Share examples. 
• Show what you would do in a real situation. 
• Collect testimonials when you have them. 
• Create case studies when you have results you can share.

Your potential client needs something they can look at and say:

“Okay. This person understands what I’m dealing with.”

That’s trust.

3. Do Good Work

This might be the most boring marketing advice I can give you.

Do good work.

But it matters.

If someone takes a chance on you and you do a good job, you now have something you didn’t have before.

Proof.

Maybe they give you a testimonial. Maybe they refer you to someone else. Maybe they hire you again. Maybe you can show the work in your portfolio. Maybe you can turn the project into a case study.

Now the next person doesn’t have to take quite as big a risk on you.

That’s how trust builds.

One client at a time.

And if you don’t have client work yet, create your own proof.

If you want to be a web designer, build a website. If you want to be a copywriter, write the copy. If you want to be a marketer, create a marketing plan. If you want to be a video editor, edit something.

Create the thing you want people to hire you to create.

You don’t need to pretend it’s client work. Just show people what you can do.

There’s a big difference between saying:

“I can do this.”

And saying:

“Here’s how I would approach this problem.”

The second one gives people something to judge for themselves.

And that’s important when you’re starting from zero.

You don’t have a long list of clients telling people you’re good. So give them other reasons to believe you.

4. Let people see how you think

Your content should not only be about getting attention.

It can also help people decide whether they trust you.

If you’re a business coach, talk about the problems you see business owners making. If you’re a web designer, explain why some websites make it harder for people to buy. If you’re a copywriter, explain why certain websites make you want to leave. If you’re a marketer, talk about what you notice when you look at a business’s marketing.

You’re giving people a chance to see how you think.

And I think this is much more useful than trying to sound impressive.

Your potential client isn’t just asking:

“Who is this person?”

They’re also asking:

“Does this person understand my problem?”

That is what your content should help them figure out.

And please, sound like yourself.

Your customers have already seen enough recycled advice on the internet.

You don’t need to repeat what everyone else is saying just because it got a lot of likes.

Talk about what you’ve actually experienced. Share what you’ve learned. Have an opinion. Explain things in your own words.

Your experience is part of what makes your work yours.

5. Go where people are already looking for help

You don’t always have to create an audience from scratch.

Sometimes people are already looking for someone like you.

They’re asking questions on Reddit. They’re asking for recommendations in Facebook groups. They’re talking about problems on LinkedIn. They’re searching Google. They’re asking friends who they should hire.

Go where they are.

Listen to what they’re saying.

Pay attention to the exact problems they’re trying to solve.

Then be useful.

If someone says their website isn’t getting leads, answer the question. If someone is struggling to price their service, share something useful. If someone is trying to get their first customers, explain something you’ve learned.

You don’t need to jump into every conversation with, “I can help! DM me.”

Sometimes the best thing you can do is simply help.

Because now someone has seen you solve a problem.

That’s another little piece of trust.

6. Stay visible long enough for trust to build

Someone might discover you today and not hire you for six months.

That’s normal.

They might not need you yet. Maybe they’re still trying to solve the problem themselves. Maybe they don’t have the money yet. Maybe they’re comparing their options. Maybe they’re not ready to make a decision.

That doesn’t mean your marketing isn’t working.

Sometimes your job is simply to stay around.

This is one reason I like email.

When someone joins your email list, you have a direct way to stay connected. You can share your ideas. Talk about problems you understand. Show your work. Teach something useful. Tell people about your services.

Then, when they eventually need what you sell, you’re not a complete stranger.

They’ve been hearing from you. They know what you do. They’ve seen how you think. They’ve had time to decide whether they trust you.

That is very different from trying to convince a stranger to buy from you the first time they see your name.

7. Make it easy to hire you

• You’ve gotten noticed.
• You’ve shown people what you know.
• You’ve done good work.
• You’ve shared your thinking.
• You’ve stayed visible.

Now don’t make the final step confusing.

If someone is ready to work with you, they should be able to figure out what to do next.

Your website should make it clear what you do. Your services should be easy to understand. Your contact information should be easy to find.

If you have a consultation or another way to get started, make that clear.

You don’t need some complicated funnel with 14 steps.

Just give people somewhere to go.

• Someone discovers you through YouTube. Send them to your website.
• Someone reads your blog. Give them another useful thing to read or a way to join your email list.
• Someone meets you at an event. Follow up with them.
• Someone has been reading your emails for months and is finally ready. Tell them how they can work with you.

Don’t make people guess how to become your customer.

So how do you actually get hired when you’re starting from zero?

You don’t need to become famous first.

You don’t need thousands of followers.

You don’t need to wait until your business looks impressive.

You need to solve two problems.

Get noticed.

Put yourself in positions to be found.

Get trusted.

Show proof of competence like work done, testimonials, case studies etc.

Then make it easy for them to take the next step.

That’s it.

Notice → Trust → Hire.

And the trust part matters just as much as the attention part.

Because the goal of your marketing isn’t simply to get people to see you.

It’s to get the right people to see you, understand what you do, believe that you can help, and feel comfortable enough to say:

“I want to work with you.”