It goes without saying that clients are lifeline of every independent professional. You sure won't be in business long without them! There are many marketing methods used to get clients. Some methods, such as magazine advertising, are quite expensive while others cost very little in comparison and produce better results. Here are five inexpensive and successful marketing methods to get clients.

1. Networking

Like it or not, getting clients is done through one-on-one personal communication. The strength of your relationships is paramount. You won't get to know anyone or develop any relationships if you hide in your office or behind your computer. Get out there and press flesh!

Clients want to feel comfortable about independent professionals they retain and prefer to know them personally or have a trusted person recommend someone. Go where decision-makers are that can hire you. Go to same conferences; join same associations, read same magazines and newsletters.

Make a habit of regularly staying in touch with your network. Contact all of your friends and colleagues. Tell them what you are looking for and what you're interested in. Be sure to contact prior employers and bosses too. If you've departed on good terms, this is a great way to get clients.

2. Writing articles

An independent professional that writes articles and gets them published in industry magazines, trade journals, newsletters, etc. becomes positioned as an expert.

Potential clients that like your articles will contact you when they want more information. Some of these contacts will become clients.

Consider writing articles for a variety of publications in your industry such as magazines, journals, print newsletters, ezines, and web sites. You can write articles on a variety of topics such as new trends, a creative way to solve a common problem, your thoughts on current state of business, etc. There are numerous possibilities!

Unless you are extremely well known, don't start out submitting articles to most prestigious magazines and journals. Start small. It is best to target publications where you have most likely chance of getting published.

Be sure to include copies of your published articles in your literature to potential clients.

After submitting a proposal, many consultants wait a short period of time--maybe a few days or one week, before contacting potential client. The purpose is to find out if proposal has been accepted, rejected, or if modifications are necessary. Contacting potential client once is professional and acceptable. However, if your phone call or email is not returned, you will be tempted to repeatedly contact potential client for an answer.

Resist this temptation. Hounding potential client for an answer does not improve situation. Don't take it personally. After making your one inquiry about proposal's status, forget about it and move on. Begin searching for next potential client.

This practice of submit-follow up-move on defies conventional sales methodology where people are trained to continuously follow up with prospects in order to get sales. However, this method works for these reasons: