How Freelancers Can Attract Clients With an Online Quiz

You don’t have a freelance business unless you can attract clients, but how do you convince client leads that you are the real deal?

Since 35% of working professionals are freelancers, there’s no shortage of competitors. How do you stand out when it seems like you offer the same thing as every other freelancer in your industry?

It’s all about finding ways to differentiate yourself.

Chances are you have a different approach, process, philosophy, and client experience behind all of your freelance services. This is what makes you unique, but you’ll need to successfully communicate what sets you apart through the way you market your freelance business.

Personalized marketing is one of the best ways to attract clients who understand not only what you do but why you do it. If you can show client leads that you’ve understand them and can give them value, you’ll be closer to winning their business.

How can you personalize your marketing in a way that connects with your ideal clients? A perfect place to start is by building an email list of people who fit your ideal client description so you can prime them for your freelance services.

Question 1: How do you convince client leads to sign up for your email list?

In order to build your email list as a freelancer, you must give people a reason to join in. Vague email offers like “sign up for the latest updates” won’t get the traction you’re hoping for.

You have to give your ideal clients something worth trading their email address for, and everyone loves getting something of value for free.

via GIPHY

The more valuable your opt-in is, the more confident your ideal client will be that they signed up for your email list. It starts your relationship with an extra dose of trust. This is why many freelancers will use lead magnets to entice their ideal clients to sign up for their email list.

Lead magnets⁠—like worksheets, ebooks, templates, and personality quizzes⁠—give your ideal clients a tangible gift for signing up. You’ll want to make sure that no matter what you offer, it is something that can be useful in your ideal client’s business.

Interested in learning more about using lead magnets and quizzes to grow your email lists? Read How to Create a Quiz Lead Magnet and the Beginner’s Guide to Creating a Lead Magnet Like a Pro.

Question 2: Why use an online quiz as your main lead magnet when building your email list?

With most lead magnets, you’ll see an average opt-in rate of 2-5% on the lower end and 25% on the higher end (when you’re using a landing page). But quizzes are anything but average.

The results we see from our users are, in a word, INSANE. Jen at Tonic Site Shop has seen a 78% opt-in rate with her quiz, over three times the highest industry averages. Lindsey Scholz, another freelance designer, was able to grow her email list by 300% with her quiz.

cocktail background and quiz cover
lindsay scholz

My own brand voice style quiz helped me generate 700+ subscribers in ONE day when I first launched the quiz and has generated well over 3,000 subscribers since then. My opt-in rate is around 45-55% (depending on the month) and it’s the highest performing lead magnet I’ve ever created.

quiz cover with woman typing on computer

As I’ve grown my freelance business over the last four years, I’ve created dozens of different lead magnet of all types. The list includes ebooks, worksheets, video trainings, audio series, email courses, and so many more. But none were more successful as the quiz.

After a while, you realize that it’s not about creating the most amount of lead magnets. It’s about creating a lead magnet that works really well and can run on autopilot so it doesn’t take you away from working with freelance clients. That’s exactly what you get with a quiz.

Question 3: How can an online quiz help with selling freelance services vs. products?

Too many content creators think they have to sell evergreen digital products in order for an  online quiz to generate sales. Quizzes can also be useful (and successful!) for service-based freelancers.

When you’re selling freelance services, you only have so much time on your calendar. This means you’ll want to find the most ideal clients to work with. How do you go about finding them?

The first step is to be proactive with your marketing. Potential freelance clients aren’t usually looking for one-size-fits-all solutions. They want to work with a freelancer who “gets” them and can offer the best solutions to their problems. You need to provide upfront value in order to win their business.

What better way to make an impression than to offer a quiz that helps your ideal clients better understand themselves and their needs? Since 72% of people are uninterested in marketing that doesn’t relate to their personality or past purchases, quizzes work to bridge that gap in a fun, interactive way.

infographic showing consumers want marketing related to them

Question 4: What’s the easiest way to get started with building an online quiz?

The best way to begin the quiz building process is to consider what freelance service you want to highlight in your quiz. For example, a freelance social media manager may want the quiz to lead to an ongoing community management package, whereas a freelance illustrator may want to create a quiz that highlights their custom illustration work.

Once you’ve chosen a specific service type or package, consider who is the perfect fit for your freelance service. Who is your ideal client? What problems are they currently struggling with, and what solutions are they looking for? When you’ve answered these questions, you can move on to the next step: choosing a quiz topic!

Some quiz topics are easier to think of than others. We get it!

man with mouth open and a caption of HELP MEEE!

If you are looking for a quiz topic ideas, take a peek at our quiz templates and live quiz examples. We’re always here to help!

When you have a quiz topic chosen, the next step is to create a quiz title. It’s one of the most important elements of your quiz. Instead of trying to come up with something ultra clever, remember that it’s more important to be clear and concise. (However, if you can mix in some signature cleverness while staying clear, more power to you!)

We love how Lynn of Wild Fleurette, a wedding florist, created a simple “What’s Your Bouquet Style?” quiz to help her attract clients. She included photos of her beautiful floral arrangements and asked strategic questions that help her understand what kind of style each bride is looking for.

quiz cover with image of women holding bouquets and quiz description
subscribe form to get results

Once the bride becomes a client, the couple can easily articulate what they’re interested in, making Lynn’s job a lot easier. At the end of the quiz, Lynn also points each quiz result to a landing page that shares all the bouquet styles she offers with a button to view her portfolio.

two different bouquets with quiz result descriptions
two bouquet styles and quiz results description

This quiz works because it is easy to take and points her ideal clients in the direction of her freelance services. It also gives them language around what kind of floral arrangements they are looking for so the discovery call goes a lot smoother. Your quiz doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective!

To review, here’s everything you need to get started with an online quiz:

  • Know who your ideal client is
  • Decide on a quiz theme and idea
  • Create a title for your quiz
  • Write engaging quiz questions and answers
  • Create personality results that fit your ideal clients
  • Lead ideal clients to your freelance services in your call-to-action

Ready to create your own quiz? Start building your email list with a quiz today!

Question 5: How can you make sure your online quiz stands out?

Let’s take some notes from Chanteuse Marie on how to stand out with your quiz because she has been successfully using it to find her ideal clients as a launch copywriter.

There are a few things we love about her “Which type of product launch are you?” quiz, so we’ll break it down piece by piece so you’ll be able to walk away with some new ideas as you create your own quiz.

As a freelance copywriter, Chanteuse doesn’t offer a service that easily lends itself to visuals. That didn’t stop her from choosing a theme and running with it!

In addition to talking about product launches (which makes sense for the freelance clients she wants to work with), she decided to weave in elements of the red carpet and Hollywood to give the quiz a bit more pizazz. You see it in the main graphic on her cover page, the GIFs she includes with each quiz question, and the copy she uses throughout the quiz.

quiz cover with woman and a purse graphic
quiz question about launching on the red carpet with picture of movie star and Miss Piggy

She makes finding your product launch personality fun and light-hearted. This is important since most of her ideal clients probably feel stressed and a little burned out when they come to her because they’ve been working tirelessly on their launch marketing. Adding a casual tone to a more serious topic is smart!

After someone takes her quiz, she follows up with a dedicated landing page (like this example) that describes the type of product launch personality you are. The copy is concise, engaging, and memorable. She even gives a movie title that each type can resonate with.

subscribe form for product launch
pink background with results from product launch quiz
product launch quiz results 2

Then she takes time to introduce herself right underneath the personality result description. She adds a photo of herself to create a more personal connection and gives some extra tips for this product launch personality type.

To attract clients, she also puts a call-to-action at the end of her bio that says, “One last thing… should you need copy help, feel free to chat with me about my The Quick and The Deadly Emails service.” This is the perfect way to lightly introduce her freelance services without taking away from the value of the quiz.

image of woman and copywriter description

Of course, you’ll want to explain more about what you provide your freelance clients when you write a follow-up email sequence for your quiz, but adding a brief mention on your landing page is a great way to prime your ideal clients.

The best value Chanteuse gives is at the very bottom of her landing page which is a product launch blueprint that her ideal clients can download and use. You’ll notice that it doesn’t give all of her secrets away as a launch copywriter but it gives her audience a better idea of what they should be creating for their product launch.

minimum viable funnel flowchart

Here are some of the key takeaways from Chanteuse’s quiz:

  • Pick an engaging, interesting theme for your quiz
  • Get creative with the copy of your quiz questions and answers
  • Add extra value with a dedicated landing page for each quiz type
  • Introduce who you are and what you offer as a freelancer

Follow up with an email sequence that gives more information

Question 6: What tips should you keep in mind to attract clients with your online quiz?

As you put your quiz together, think about the kinds of questions your ideal clients will be asking themselves when they land on your quiz. If they are interested in the services your offer as a freelancer, what do they need to know before making the decision of who they want to work with?

You can answer these questions proactively with your quiz by adding valuable resources, writing personality descriptions that resonate with your ideal clients, and personalizing every aspect of your email marketing after the quiz.

Every decision you make while building your quiz should help you intentionally attract clients who fit your ideal client profile. The words you use, the imagery you include, the topic you choose—all of it matters to your ideal client.

Here’s an additional list of tips you can use to build a stand-out online quiz:

  • Turn your quiz title into an engaging question that your audience wants to answer
  • Include 6-10 questions when creating your quiz to keep your audience engaged
  • Define what your personality types are before creating your answers so creating your online quiz logic is straightforward
  • Keep your personality description length concise with 3-5 sentences
  • Stay positive when providing your audience with their personality result
  • Collect email addresses at the end of your online quiz to build your email list

Now you’re ready to start creating your own online quiz!

Kayla Hollatz

Kayla Hollatz is a copywriter and website strategist for entrepreneurs and content creators who want their words to connect and convert. Few things make her happier than ghostwriting for her clients or dreaming up her next conversion experiment in her studio, aka a three-season porch with a lake view.

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