Starting a new business is always a challenge and it can be very daunting when you first begin. It can seem extremely stressful thinking about how you’re going to build something that you absolutely love and feel passionate about and naturally you’ll want everyone to love it as much as you do.

It's likely that other businesses will offer the same thing you do. So the question is how do you get people to love what you do, and attract clients towards your business?

Yes, it can be hard. But it is possible and there are lots of different ways this can be achieved.

Here are the three great ways to help you attract more clients:

1. Offer a free trial or taster

Giving something for free can help you get new clients foot halfway through the door. It’s the perfect opportunity for them to see your business at no cost and give them a taster of what you do so they can ‘try before they buy’.

If the trial helps them get an experience without any obligation or commitment, it gives you an ideal opportunity to showcase your offer and start to build a relationship with a potential customer.

For example, at Pocket PA we do this with our free 14-day trial to let users see what its all about - so they can see how easy it is to help them day to day.  Once they start to see how all the tools inside can really make a difference to their own business, it's much easier to present a great offer to them that they are more likely to take up as by then, they have formed a reliable idea of whether the free period has really helped them or not without having to commit too soon.

So look for ways you can tempt your new clients to try your services before they need to reach for their wallets to pay for it, as there are lots of imaginative ways you can give tasters.

2. Networking

As we all know there are lots of different forms of networking that can take place within the micro-business world. Building up a strong network of connections is a great way to start to increase your client interactions.

Getting to meet new people in a non- selling environment where you can chat over drinks and share with people what you do is a great way to raise your profile and let them know you have services they might like to try.

Treat networking as an opportunity to create a knowledge base to also get to know where you can connect others.  This is a valuable skill as if you are able to find out what other people are looking for and then connect them together with someone suitable, they are far more likely to remember you and want to reciprocate the favour and to help you find new clients.

Whilst it’s important to recognise the value and importance of networking for your business, also try to relax, have fun and enjoy yourself! Once that happens people will find you a lot easier to approach as people like to be around people who are upbeat with a smile on their face.

Digital networking through your social media platforms is another great way to engage and attract new clients so keep up to date and post interesting content regularly.  Showing people you are genuinely engaging with them can create strong long-lasting relationships and show clients you really care.  

3. Collaborating and Partnerships

Lastly collaborating and partnering with people within your target market will help to increase your client numbers.

It is always best to team up with businesses with a similar customer base to help get the word out about your company. Look for complementary services where they offer something different but to the same client group.

Social media platforms are so big in today’s society that your posts can easily be shared and this can massively increase your profile if it's promoted by the right person.

If your budget is small (or non-existent!) you want to drive new clients to your business in a smart way to attract your customers while not spending a lot of money. Therefore pick another business that fits your target market and create a competition or collaboration that will help you both to increase awareness and engagement. This can really start to attract more clients to your profile pages.

Be consistent and with lots of hard work and perseverance, your client numbers will start to increase and all your hard work will eventually pay off.