4 Ways To Attract New Business Leads With Project Catalog

Building the business of your dreams means filling your schedule with the work you enjoy most. And that means finding a regular stream of customers.

Getting a pipeline of consistent work takes time, effort, and a plan for something called lead generation. Lead generation is the process of building connections with potential customers, whether they need your services now or may need them in the future.

Lead generation can be approached in many different ways, from networking and content marketing to paid advertising and social media tactics. On Upwork, you have a shortcut to new business opportunities through a powerful tool: Project Catalog™.

Project Catalog is designed to simplify new business connections. It helps potential clients get to know you on your own terms—to draw inspiration from your portfolio of work, to see your expertise reflected in the projects you offer, and even to get one-on-one insights into their next steps.

Let’s explore how Project Catalog can work for you.

How Project Catalog can help with lead generation

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“95% of the clients I have now have found me through Project Catalog.”
—Sinchan Golder, Logo Designer

Over 17,000 professionals like you have added predefined projects that clients can browse, customize, and begin—all with just a few clicks.

• For clients who have an outcome in mind and may need help getting started, Project Catalog is an easy way to get things done with defined expectations, a clear scope of work, and up-front pricing. It’s also a source of inspiration and a way for clients to learn what else is possible when working with independent talent.
• For independent professionals who want to grow their business, it’s a potential stream of inbound leads to proactively help you win more work

At the core of an effective Project Catalog listing is a deliverable that has a standardized scope, cost, timeline, and process. Once you decide what service you want to list, use the following options to help clients customize your offer to better fit their needs:

• Tiered packages (i.e., starter, standard, and advanced) for clients to choose from
• Optional add-ons (i.e., faster delivery, additional deliverables) that enable clients to fine-tune the scope of work
• Multiple listings (i.e., types of deliverables, varied scope of work) created to target different potential customers

See full project: Responsive WordPress website, blog or eCommerce store using Divi theme

We asked five independent professionals to share how Project Catalog has helped grow their business on Upwork.

1. Fill your pipeline with your favorite projects

After trying a number of different specializations over the course of 10 years, Sinchan Golder found his niche as a logo designer. In Project Catalog, he’s found an ideal way to promote his services—it’s landed more than 100 new projects for him since its launch in early 2020.

“With Project Catalog, clients see my project and my portfolio, they feel confident about the services they’re going to get, and then they contact me directly,” Golder said. “I rarely apply to job posts any more—I’m already busy.”

“Project Catalog is an excellent platform to find new prospects which can then turn into long-term clients. All I have to do is deliver my best work and the rest is left to Upwork.”
—Faisal Parvaiz, Resume Writer and Video Editor

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For Faisal Parvaiz, a resume writer and video editor, Project Catalog has become a great starting point.

“Resume writing is mostly a one-time project, but Project Catalog has helped grow that into other opportunities,” he said. Some clients have come back to him for other projects, such as video production and content writing.

“Project Catalog helps me showcase my work in a way that is easy to understand, with pricing and delivery time clearly mentioned,” Parvaiz added. “I don’t need to explain project details or negotiate over budget. It is ready to purchase and [start] work.”

2. Standardize your most in-demand projects

Randy Michels is a U.S.-based attorney who specializes in trademark applications. Project Catalog has been an ideal way to offer his most popular projects—U.S. trademark applications and searches—as flat-fee services.

“It makes the trademark application process easy, convenient, and affordable,” Michels said. “I’ve had repeat clients because they appreciate the ease and convenience of the process.”

Clients still typically find data visualization expert Nate Page through the more traditional talent search, when they’re creating a job post. To streamline these leads, he’s turned his most popular requests into listings he can share directly for new inquiries.

“It’s a good option because they can see that there’s no ambiguity in my pricing,” Page said. “They see that it’s the same for all clients.”

Example: Nate Page can direct potential customers to check out his most popular services on Project Catalog.

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3. Kick-start new relationships

If you feel that your skills don’t lend themselves to standardized packages, consider breaking them into smaller deliverables that could feed into more complex projects. For example:

• What’s the first phase of work you typically do with new clients?
• Could you offer a “trial project” to simplify the onboarding process in the future?
• Can you deliver an audit or needs assessment to help potential clients decide how to move forward?

Graphic designer and marketer Kunal Munjal has 20 different offerings on Project Catalog. Some are very specific, such as adding subtitles to a video. Others are broader in scope, such as monthly social media management.

“Project Catalog helps me communicate all the details from the start, so the client understands all the technicalities and expectations that can sometimes get missed in the [proposal process],” he said. “They can check out my previous work and reviews [from past clients], then contact me if they think I’m a good fit for their project.”

Some clients that have engaged Kunal Munjal for one project over the past year have since turned into repeat clients. He said that, while the introduction helps, it takes consistent effort to see a long-term impact. “There are no shortcuts. Just keep giving your 200% and you will get results.”

4. Establish yourself as a reliable subject matter expert

To move their most important work forward, many clients are looking for guidance. Guidance that you, with expertise and insights gained through years in your industry, can provide. To help clients book time with you and tap into that knowledge, we’ve recently added a new consultations offering to Project Catalog.

These consultations of 30 or 60 minutes enable you to position yourself as a trusted advisor to clients who may need more advice or hands-on support down the road. And they give you and your clients an early start on clearing potential hurdles and removing possible roadblocks if you decide to continue working together.

Consultations are available for independent professionals in specific skill categories, with plans to expand in the coming months. Learn more in the Upwork Community.

‍Feeling inspired? Add your own project listings and find out how Project Catalog can work for your freelance business! Click here for more information about how to get started.