Last Wednesday night, I sent a proposal to 30 existing clients
It was 9:40 p.m. in Hangzhou. I’d just finished revising a branding proposal, with my finger hovering over the send button. The recipient didn’t know me; they’d only seen a few work photos in my WeChat Moments. I remembered my first private project—the work was done carefully, but nobody knew what I did, so I waited in group chats for someone to ask. I still get stuck in that “I can do this too—why doesn’t anyone else know?” frustration. That night, I decided to explain what problem I solved before sending the introduction.
Basically, it’s a business built on attention
The original argument is that the most sustainable AI business is using a personal brand to attract clients. The platform is only the channel; what actually works is helping people quickly understand who you help and what problem you solve. Lin Ran, a freelance designer in Shanghai, posts an “elevator poster—before and after” every Tuesday during lunch. Six months later, she received seven unsolicited inquiries, including two jobs from referrals by former colleagues. She didn’t start by selling a course or building a complicated account. She simply put her real work, the reasoning behind it, and how to work with her on one public page. Others use this approach to win clients for companies, but don’t copy the slogan “build a personal brand” before you can explain who your clients are and what problem they have. If the audience and problem are still unclear, more content can create more confusion.
Your first replication should cost about ¥0 and 60 minutes
Money: ¥0, since free platforms are enough to start; time: 30 minutes a day, plus 60 minutes each week to organize posts in one batch; technical barrier: being able to publish photos and text from a phone—no coding needed; first step: open the content platform you already use, tap “Post,” and write a basic introduction: “I solve this problem for this type of client.” Keep the design simple. Don’t launch on five platforms at once, and don’t rush to buy a course or run ads. I got this wrong before: I turned my page into a portfolio warehouse, and clients still didn’t know what to do next. After I added “what I take on,” “where to see examples,” and “how to contact me,” inquiries started increasing.
At each stage, here’s how I’d test it
If I were just starting, I’d pick one familiar client segment and publish 10 posts in a “problem—approach—result” format. The goal would be for someone to understand, not to chase follower counts. With one or two clients already, I’d turn their real questions and feedback into five posts and end each one with a clear way to start a conversation. If I were scaling, I’d build a content-topic sheet and a client-source log, rotate team members through providing case studies, and only then consider a paid community or a service that helps companies acquire clients. Not everyone needs this approach. If referrals from existing contacts already bring in enough work, there’s no urgency to test it now. I’d run it for two weeks, then decide whether to increase the investment.