Your site answers the questions a stranger has. It does not bring the stranger. That part is yours, and it is the part most people put off.
Your list in Work ends when the site is set up. This is what comes after. None of it is required. All of it is how first work usually arrives.
List twenty people who know your work
Old colleagues. Classmates. A manager who rated you. Someone you helped once who said thanks. Write the names down.
Twenty, because most of them will not need anything this month. That is fine. The work your site sells is small, and it goes to whoever comes to mind when it turns up. The list is who you want that to be.
Tell five of them you are available
This is the hard one. The people most likely to hire you already know you. That is exactly why writing to them feels awkward, most of all if they knew you as employed.
A short note, one to one. Not a post to everyone. Say what you do now, what it costs, and where to find you:
I'm taking on small jobs fixing slow WordPress sites now, from $50 an hour. If anything like that comes up, this is where to find me: yourname.yoursellf.com
You are not asking for a favour. You are telling them you are open. Most will say good luck. One might say "actually, we have a thing." That is the one you are writing for.
Put your address where people already look
The places people check you out without asking:
- Your LinkedIn headline, and its Featured section.
- Your email signature.
- Any profile with a bio: GitHub, Instagram, a group you post in.
None of these bring anyone on their own. They make sure someone who is already curious finds a price and a button, not a dead end.
Follow up a week later
Anyone who replied and went quiet gets one short note. Anyone who asked a question gets an answer the same day. That is all.
Write one thing down
A few paragraphs about one problem you solved. What was wrong, what you did, what changed. Post it, and send it to the people on your list. It shows how you think, and it gives people a reason to pass your address on.