How to find clients without social media, with guest Paige Brunton
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Thinking about launching a web design business, but can't imagine constantly keeping up with all the social media platforms?
You're not alone. Many people dream of becoming a freelance web designer (or insert any service here) but dread the idea of having to show up on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, ––or whatever the latest platform is every single day.
Turns out, you really don’t have to. Yes, REALLY. And who can tell us that better than Paige Brunton, the Queen of Content Creation and successful web designer who grew her business using none of those platforms?
In a truly fun & insightful conversation with Paige, we dove into her tried-and-true methods for growing her web design business, building a client base, and yes—doing it all without being buried by social media. So sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and press play, because we’re about to dig deep into a goldmine of insights & advice that will show you exactly how to become a successful web designer & find clients the smart way.
How to Become a Successful Web Designer without Social Media—Tips from Paige Brunton
The Early Struggles of a Web Design Journey
Let me take you back to when I first started in my web design business as Studio 1862 (old name, obvs). It was 2015 when I first started freelancing, and I was hitting wall after wall —hard. Like, granite-rock hard. I was totally stuck making what felt like 1,001 decisions, feeling completely overwhelmed, and not sure how to find clients and grow my business enough to leave my 9-5 job. Sound familiar?
Now, I wasn't without tools, tips, or information in general. I Google'd the hell out of EVERYTHING, but promptly got overwhelmed by the bajillion voices and opinions contributing to those search results each time I asked Google a new question.
By 2018-ish, I found Paige Brunton’s blog, and in 2019 I decided to take her online courses (Square Secrets*, and Square Secrets Business™️*). Spoiler alert: they were game-changers & I don't use that word lightly!
The foundational information Paige taught in those courses, quite literally revolutionized the way I was able to design & set up my business to fit ME, hold healthy client-boundaries, and even run smooth & on-time client projects, ––with ideas & concepts that I still use in my business now.
Even though I had some knowledge of design already, from my in-house design job & my college graphics classes, I still struggled with the business side of my side hustle. Paige taught me the basics of attracting the right clients and balancing the different tasks as a solopreneur. Once I started learning Paige's strategies, especially around blogging as a marketing tool, things started to click and I became more confident in myself.
Fast forward to now, ––I've had the honor of teaming up with Paige as one of the co-coaches in her program's monthly Q&A calls with her students!
Getting Involved in Paige's Student Web Designer Community
After soaking up Paige’s knowledge from her courses, I became very active in her student Facebook group... and maybe-obsessively answered questions from other web designers struggling with the kinds of things I had just figured out for myself.
After a few years of this, her team noticed that I was a well-received & constant helpful presence in the group. So in early 2022, they reached out to see if I wanted to become an official co-coach with Paige on her monthly student calls!
I want to point out here that when you're really engaged in a community, you may get noticed. 😂 I had NO intention of helping in order to get noticed because I just enjoy troubleshooting & helping other people. Helping others isn't just good karma—it also helps build your credibility.
So, if there's one thing I can recommend to anyone starting out: get involved in your various in-person &/or online communities & build a network of relationships! Answer questions. Build friendships. You may be surprised where it could take you!
How Blogging Became Paige's Secret Weapon for Marketing
Now let’s get into the heart of Paige’s marketing strategy: blogging.
Yes, blogging. Not TikTok, not Reels, not LinkedIn—just blogging.
When Paige was starting to grow her web design business & start finding clients, she was posting twice a week, even while juggling client projects.
I know what you’re thinking—how is that even feasible? The trick, according to Paige, was creating a “repeatable process” for her client services that allowed her to work on one project for about two weeks at a time, then make room for her marketing efforts in free moments alongside the projects she worked on.
You don’t need to post a new blog every single day. But if you want to learn how to become a SUCCESSFUL web designer, you’ve gotta think about your time management and really nail that down. Once you have a system in place, you’ll be able to "find" or make time for marketing more easily!
DIY Content Attracts Clients—Yes, Really
A common misconception is that “If I teach people how to do something, they’ll just DIY it and never hire me.” Sound familiar?
Paige busted this myth wide open! (And I have too, TBH.)
The truth is, not everyone you teach is going to DIY their website, and that’s where DIY-ers turn into potential clients. Some people start out thinking they’ll build their own site, run into a dozen roadblocks, and eventually say, “Okay, screw it, I’ve got to hire a pro.” When they arrive at that conclusion, guess who they could end up hiring? The same person whose blog they’ve been stalking for months. (Hint: That could be you!)
For post/content ideas, Paige would write blogs like “How to Build a Squarespace Photographer Website” or “Squarespace vs. WordPress: Which is Better?” and bam—traffic comes rolling in, as long as the topic of the post is answering something that potential clients are asking & searching for the answer to.
The best part is that a portion of those readers weren’t actually going to finish their DIY plans—they’d reach out and hire her to do it for them instead!
It's a genius way to get clients: you basically just chip away at their frustrations until hiring you becomes the obvious choice. And the cool thing about web design as a service, is that with higher prices per project, you don't need to 'sell' that many to make a decent income and so you don't need a huge audience! (Unlike selling products, which is a whole other ballgame & Paige & I discuss that in this post.)
Picking the Best Blog Post Topics
What kind of blog topics actually attract paying clients? Paige shared some awesome examples. She focused on things like:
Showcasing Photographer Websites on Squarespace (ie: examples of specific industries using Squarespace for their website)
Comparing Squarespace vs Showit (or whatever other platform you're comfortable comparing)
How to do X in Squarespace (make a drop down, start a blog, add a contact form, etc.)
Thinking from your client’s perspective, what questions are they Googling? How can you answer them in a helpful, engaging way?
Answering questions that are actually being asked is a great way to mine for blog topics that will actually bring you website visitors (which could turn into potential clients!)
A Lazy Girl’s Guide to Email Marketing (It Worked!)
Email marketing is one of those things that everyone says is “crucial,” but let’s be real, most of us waaaay overthink it. Paige’s email strategy, on the other hand, is refreshingly simple: just copy and paste the blog post's first couple of paragraphs, link to the post in the email, send it out, and call it a day.
For the longest time too, Paige didn't write 'custom' emails per blog post. She used the emails only as a way to amplify her blog content & let her audience know a new post was published. No need for fancy automations... just a quick five minutes to copy/paste the content from the post, and boom—done. Simple, zero stress, and still highly effective.
Doing email marketing doesn’t have to be a headache if you streamline things and keep it consistent. The biggest takeaway here? Don’t overcomplicate it. Get the content out, keep your audience engaged, and move on. You can always add 'more' to your strategy as you get more comfortable after some time & practice!
How Blogging (Not Social Media) Grew Her Business
Paige dropped something that might blow your mind, so make sure you're sitting down for this (& swallow your coffee, first!)–– she quit social media for her business 2+ years ago. Yep, no more Instagram, no more Facebook, none of it. Because she doesn't need it to keep growing her business!
In fact, we realized while chatting about this, that we both quit social media 'officially' around the same exact time, ––so I also don't use social media to grow my business either, and haven't since some time in 2022.
Now, here’s the thing—this only works for us because we built an alternative marketing strategy through our blog & now also on YouTube.
So, if you're relying entirely on Instagram for leads (because that strategy already works well for you), please don't burn your accounts to the ground! Don't stop doing what works!
But, if you’re like Paige & I, and social just isn't your jam or it's never brought you clients & it just feels like a slog you dread doing, recognize that there are other options you can try instead.
Start blogging regularly (find a consistency that you can manage), get serious about SEO (to a degree... not perfection –you don't need to be an expert!), and see what happens. To this day, Paige & I both credit our blogging efforts as a massive reason for our success in an industry that often clings to social media like a lifeline. 🤷♀️😃
Blogging vs Social Media: What’s the Real Story?
In Paige’s view, there’s a huge advantage to blogging versus endlessly creating for social. Blogging content is more "evergreen." When you write a blog post, that post will still get seen months or even years from now if the SEO is decent & the topic is still relevant. Your latest Instagram story? Well, that’s gone in 24 hours.
If you’re juggling all the platforms to market your business, you have to ask yourself: which effort is going to pay off the most for the long-term?
Spoiler: for us? It’s blog posts. Every. Damn. Time. 😂
Products vs Services: Where Should You Start?
Ever wonder if you should jump straight into selling templates or products? Paige has strong feelings about this—and I completely agree. Services are the easiest way to get started & make decent income. Period.
While selling templates might sound like the dream (hello, passive income!), there’s a huge learning curve and you need a really large audience before it starts making decent money or even a livable wage, because each template cost less than a custom project for a 1:1 service, so you have to sell A LOT more to get the same amount of income.
Paige broke down the numbers like this: you’ll need tens of thousands of visitors to your website each month if you want to live off of template sales alone.
Compare that with landing 20ish clients a year, even at a good rate of $3,000-$5,000 per project. That sounds way more manageable than selling a $200 template at least 500 times each year, right?
Start with one-to-one services. Build your client roster, build your experience, and, over time, transition into selling products if that’s what you want. Trust me, cashing those early checks from service clients will feel much better than waiting to build an audience for hundreds of template sales that may take ages.
What Paige's Web Designer Survey Taught Us
A couple of years ago, Paige ran a big survey gathering insights from 770+ web designers and she was really surprised at some of the answers! (The survey was sent out to Paige's entire audience, not specifically to just her own students, though those results would be fun & interesting too, I'm sure.)
The Backgrounds of Most Surveyed Web Designers Were… Random?
Turns out, most of the web designers that answered her survey didn’t start with a traditional background in design!
The majority of respondents had done something completely unrelated before diving into web design. We’re talking retail workers, office jobs—the works. Only a small percentage had formal training in graphic or web design before starting up their own business.
So if you’re wondering whether you’re “qualified” to dive into this career—relax, because you're not the only one wondering (& doing it anyway)!
Confidence Is Key (But Investment Doesn’t Hurt Either)
Paige made another surprising discovery: those who invested in their own education (whether it was online courses, mentoring, college/university, books, or workshops) tended to earn more. Coincidence? We don't think so!
Mastering your craft gives you the confidence to charge the rates you deserve. It’s hard to slap a $5,000 price tag on your work if you’re not sure you know how to make or deliver it. 😬
The bottom line is: skills make you money, and investing in those skills is generally worth every penny.
FREE Boot Camp & Other Resources to Help
Feeling inspired? I know the feeling!
If you're ready to take action & you're reading this before Oct 29, 2024, Paige is hosting a free 3-day Bootcamp on October 21-29, 2024, where she breaks down exactly how to succeed as a web designer. In this bootcamp, there are 3 live/replay trainings + tons of surprise live trainings where Paige walks you through the beginner basics of structuring a web design business like a pro and answers a billion questions!
Honestly, if you’re even the slightest bit curious about how to become a web designer, THIS is a great place to start. Plus, those live Q&A sessions with Paige, myself, and other successful web designers, are pure gold!
Paige hosts this bootcamp about twice a year, so if you missed it this time around, check back in about 6-ish months to catch it next time!
Take Paige's Free Quiz to Find Your Perfect Marketing Method
If you're not sure which marketing strategy makes the most sense for your business, Paige also has a fantastic quiz designed to help you figure out which client finding strategy fits your personality type. It’s straightforward, fun to take, and might give you the direction you’ve been looking for!
Check it out at PaigeBrunton.com/quiz.
The takeaway:
Paige’s journey from struggling, newbie web designer to full-fledged expert and OG Squarespace educator, shows that it’s entirely possible to build a thriving business without relying on social media ––or burning out & losing your sanity. Blogging, smart time management, fine-tuned client processes, and a focus on creating helpful content will carry you further than you might expect!
Whether you’re just getting your feet wet in the world of web design or trying to figure out how to get more of your time back & build a web design business you enjoy, take a page (no pun intended) out of Paige’s book: find what you enjoy, build your systems, and never quit trying.
Social media? Not required. 😉
