How to Find 10+ Clients in Your First Month: A Social Media Agency Playbook

Starting a social media agency is exciting. You’ve got the skills and you want to start putting them into practice for other brands. But the biggest challenge now is how to find clients.

It’s one thing to dream about running a thriving agency. It’s another thing entirely to actually fill your roster with paying clients in your first 30 days.

The good news? It’s absolutely possible. Agencies do it all the time. And with the right strategy, you can too.

Throughout this guide, we’re walking you through exactly how to find and sign your first 10+ clients, what tactics work best for new agencies, and how to set yourself up for sustainable growth beyond month one.

How to find your first 10 clients: 8 proven strategies

Starting a business comes with a lot of steps (and paperwork). While you’ve had to set up your business structure, find the right tools, and build out your website and online presence, you also need to find paying clients.

Use these eight strategies to find your first 10 clients—right in the first month you’re in business.

1. Tap your existing network first

Your fastest path to your first few clients is through people who already know and trust you.

Make a list of everyone in your network. Former colleagues, friends, family members, college classmates, neighbors, people from your gym or church or kids’ school. Anyone you have a relationship with.

Now think about who might need social media help or know someone who does. Do you know anyone who runs their own business? Or who may need help building their personal brand?

Reach out personally to let them know about your new agency. Don’t make it salesy—just let them know what you’re up to and ask if they know anyone who might need help with social media.

Here’s a simple message template: 

“Hey [Name]! I wanted to let you know I recently launched a social media agency helping [your niche] achieve [specific result]. I’m taking on a few new clients this month. Do you know anyone who might be struggling with their social media presence?”

You’d be surprised how many people say, “Actually, I could use help with that,” or connect you with someone in their network.

2. Offer an irresistible founding client package

In your first month, you don’t have testimonials, case studies, or a proven track record. But you do have the time and energy to overdeliver.

Create a special founding client package that’s designed to get people to say yes. 

Some ideas include:

• A discounted rate for the first three months
• Extra services bundled in at no charge
• More hands-on support than you’ll offer once you’re established

The key is making the offer feel like a no-brainer.

Yes, you’re giving up some profit in the short term. But you’re gaining clients, experience, testimonials, and case studies that will help you charge full price going forward.

Make it clear this is a limited-time offer. “I’m taking on 5 founding clients at this rate” creates urgency and exclusivity.

3. Leverage LinkedIn outreach

LinkedIn is a goldmine for B2B service providers, and it’s especially powerful for new agencies.

Start by optimizing your LinkedIn profile to clearly communicate what you do and who you help. Your headline should immediately tell people how you can help them, not just list your job title.

Then start connecting with your ideal clients. Send 20-30 connection requests per day to people who fit your target client profile. 

But don’t pitch in the connection request—just say something like “Hey [Name], I see you’re a [their role] at [company]. I’d love to connect and learn more about what you’re working on.”

Once they accept, engage with their content. Comment thoughtfully on their posts. Start building a relationship before you ever mention your services.

After you’ve interacted a few times, send a message offering value. Share a relevant article, make an introduction, or offer a free social media audit. The goal is to help first, sell second.

Some people will naturally ask what you do or express interest. That gives you the perfect opportunity to introduce your services.

4. Create valuable content to attract inbound leads

This is a longer-term play, but it can start generating results even in month one if you’re strategic about it.

Start creating content that showcases your expertise and helps your ideal clients. This could be LinkedIn posts, YouTube videos, TikTok content, blog articles, or an email newsletter.

The key is consistency and value. Don’t just talk about what you do—teach people things they can actually use.

For example, if you help restaurants with social media, create a post breaking down the five types of Instagram content that get restaurant reservations. If you help coaches, share the LinkedIn strategy you use to book discovery calls.

Here’s a great example from a social media and content agency, sharing what brands should look for when doing competitive research:

When people see you consistently sharing valuable insights, they start to see you as an expert. Eventually, some of them will reach out asking to hire you.

Include a clear call to action in your bio or content letting people know you’re taking on clients.

5. Partner with complementary service providers

There are businesses out there that serve your same target clients but offer different services. These are potential referral partners.

If you serve ecommerce brands, partner with web designers, email marketers, and paid ads specialists. If you help personal brands, connect with brand photographers, website developers, and copywriters.

Reach out and propose a simple referral arrangement. When you can’t help a potential client because they need something outside your wheelhouse, you refer them. When they talk to someone who needs social media help, they refer them to you.

This works especially well because you’re referring clients to each other when they’re already in buying mode and looking for help.

You can formalize this with a referral fee or keep it informal based on mutual benefit.

6. Join communities where your ideal clients hang out

Your ideal clients are already gathering somewhere online. Find those places and show up.

They might be Facebook groups for entrepreneurs, Slack communities for startup founders, subreddits for your niche, online forums specific to your industry, or even Discord servers.

The key is to be genuinely helpful without being spammy. Answer questions, share insights, participate in discussions. Become a recognized expert in these spaces.

When people post asking for social media help or recommendations, that’s your moment to mention your services. But even before that, people will often DM you privately after seeing your helpful comments.

Many communities have rules about self-promotion, so respect those. Focus on building relationships and authority. The business will follow.

7. Run targeted Facebook or LinkedIn ads

If you have a small budget to work with, paid ads can accelerate your client acquisition significantly.

Facebook and Instagram ads work well for B2C clients. LinkedIn ads are better for B2B clients but tend to be more expensive.

Start with a simple offer like a free social media audit or strategy call. Drive people to a landing page where they can book time with you.

You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars. Even $10-20 per day can generate leads if your targeting and offer are dialed in.

The advantage of paid ads is that you can start getting leads immediately while your organic efforts build momentum.

Here’s an example of a simple but effective Instagram ad that this video marketer made to promote his social media video ad creation services:

8. Offer free value to get your foot in the door

Sometimes the fastest way to land a client is to prove your value before they even hire you.

Reach out to potential clients with a personalized message offering something free and valuable. This could be a quick social media audit pointing out opportunities they’re missing, a content strategy document tailored to their business, or three post ideas they can use right away.

You can also just share free value over and over again across your social media platforms, proving that you know your stuff and people should hire your agency.

Here’s an amazing example from a social media marketer sharing an Instagram Reel idea while also showing their target clients exactly how to use it:

The key is making it genuinely valuable and specific to your target market.

When you lead with value, people pay attention. Even if they don’t hire you immediately, you’ve planted a seed. Many times, they’ll come back weeks or months later ready to work together.

This strategy takes more time per prospect, so use it selectively on your dream clients or warm leads.

Common mistakes that prevent agencies from finding clients

Now let’s talk about what not to do, because these mistakes can seriously slow down your client acquisition.

• Don’t wait until everything is perfect before reaching out. Your website doesn’t need to be flawless. Your service packages don’t need to cover every possible scenario. Good enough is good enough to start.
• Don’t pitch everyone the same way. A real estate agent and an ecommerce brand have different needs. Customize your outreach to show you understand their specific situation.
• Don’t disappear after the initial conversation. Following up is where deals actually close. Most people need multiple touchpoints before they’re ready to buy.
• Don’t undervalue your services out of desperation. Yes, you’re new, but you’re still providing value. Charging too little attracts nightmare clients and makes it harder to deliver quality work.
• Don’t try to serve everyone. “I help all businesses with social media” makes it nearly impossible to stand out. Pick a niche, at least in the beginning.
• Don’t forget to ask for referrals. After you land a client, ask if they know anyone else who might need help. People are often happy to introduce you if you just ask.

Your 30-day client acquisition action plan

Want to land 10+ clients in your first month? Here’s a plan of action for what that month should actually look like.

Week one is about laying the foundation. 

• Finalize your positioning and service packages
• Create your contract and proposal templates
• Set up your systems for tracking prospects
• Make your list of everyone in your network you’ll reach out to
• Optimize your LinkedIn profile
• Plan your outreach messages

Week two is when outreach begins in earnest. 

• Reach out to your warm network daily
• Start sending LinkedIn connection requests to ideal clients
• Begin creating content that showcases your expertise
• Join relevant communities and start participating
• If you’re running ads, launch your first campaign

Week three is about consistency and follow-up. 

• Continue all week two activities daily
• Follow up with prospects who showed interest but haven’t committed
• Start scheduling discovery calls with interested leads
• Send proposals to qualified prospects
• Double down on whatever’s working best

Week four is when things start coming together. 

• Keep up the daily outreach activities
• Close deals with prospects who are ready
• Follow up relentlessly with those on the fence
• Reflect on what’s working and what’s not
• Adjust your strategy based on what you’re learning
• Celebrate as you hit your goal 🎉

The key is daily action. Client acquisition isn’t something you do once and hope it works. It’s something you do consistently, every single day, until you hit your goal.

And don’t stress if you’re not able to hit your goal within those first 30 days. It can take some time for some clients to be ready to sign on. Nurture those leads and continue to offer as much free value as you can in the form of social media and website content.

Get ready to find your first agency clients

You don’t need to wait until Monday or the first of the month to start. You can begin right now.

• Open a spreadsheet and list 25 people in your network you could reach out to
• Write three LinkedIn connection requests to send to ideal clients today
• Draft one valuable post you can publish on LinkedIn or Instagram tomorrow
• Join two online communities where your ideal clients hang out

Just do something. Action creates momentum, and momentum leads to results.

Landing 10+ clients in your first month isn’t easy. But thousands of agency owners have done it, and with the right strategy and consistent effort, you can too.

The best time to start building your agency was a year ago. The second best time is right now.

And once your new clients have signed their contracts and you’re building out their social media strategies, Vista Social will be here to help you keep their content organized and easily manage their online presence.