Persuasion is a crucial part of sales in any field of business. It gets pretty complex for personalized services, such as web design, development, SEO, and many other services that freelancers offer. A true master of persuasion is Robert Cialdini, who identified 6 key principles of influence. Here are the principles as well as some ideas of application. Reciprocity This is about giving something and expecting something in return. If you offer your client a free review of their website or another small piece of service that would be of value to them, they feel naturally obliged to give back. The explanation is simple – people hate to owe others something. Commitment This principle states that people feel the need to be seen as consistent. Therefore, once they have committed to something, it is likely they will continue through or repeat the action. This can be used in opt-in forms – in the first step, request the email only, and then ask to provide more details. Here, the call-to-action is of extreme importance. For example, if you work with SEO, the CTA could be something like “Get More Quality Traffic” (although this is rather clumsy, you should aim at 2-3 words at most). Social Proof People are social beings, and they feel safe when they act together with the group. To comfort them, give some impressive stats – “1000 satisfied clients to date”, provide client testimonials on your website. Also, if you have thousands of Facebook likes/Twitter followers, make sure people see that as well. Nobody wants to be “the only fool who bought your service”. Authority People are obedient. Even if you exhibit questionable authority figures on your website, it is in our nature to obey figures of authority. It is a bit more difficult for specialized services, because the authority figures are not universally known. Then you can be creative – name a few websites/TV shows/other media outlets you’ve been featured on (if you were). Also, testimonials of clients, which are your typical “customer personas”, can be powerful. Finally, in the long term you should be aiming at becoming a figure of authority yourself. Liking The idea of liking is that the more you like somebody, the more likely you are to be persuaded by them. Customers try to find similarities, touch points between you and them. Show your human side to them. The “About Me” section on your portfolio website is an excellent place for that. Tell everything about your hobbies, add a casual picture or two – tell the world who you are. And the world will like you for that. Scarcity Scarcity is about getting people into thinking that if they wait, they might miss out on getting your service. Therefore, telling people that you have only 2 spots available for the next month, or that 10 people viewed your services page in the past hour, or 20% discount if you order until 12 AM today. For inspiration, check Booking.com or practically any other hot

1. 6 Principles of Persuasion That Will
Get You New Clients

2. 6 Principles of Persuasion That Will
Get You New Clients
• Persuasion is a crucial part of sales in any field of
business. It gets pretty complex for personalized
services, such as web design, development, SEO, and
many other services that freelancers offer. A true
master of persuasion is Robert Cialdini, who
identified 6 key principles of influence. Here are the
principles as well as some ideas of application.

3. www.mworker.com
Reciprocity
• This is about giving something and expecting
something in return. If you offer your client a free
review of their website or another small piece of
service that would be of value to them, they feel
naturally obliged to give back. The explanation is
simple – people hate to owe others something.

4. www.mworker.com
Social Proof
• People are social beings, and they feel safe when they act
together with the group. To comfort them, give some
impressive stats – “1000 satisfied clients to date”, provide
client testimonials on your website. Also, if you have
thousands of Facebook likes/Twitter followers, make sure
people see that as well. Nobody wants to be “the only fool
who bought your service”.

5. www.mworker.com
Commitment
• This principle states that people feel the need to be seen as
consistent. Therefore, once they have committed to
something, it is likely they will continue through or repeat the
action. This can be used in opt-in forms – in the first step,
request the email only, and then ask to provide more details.
Here, the call-to-action is of extreme importance. For
example, if you work with SEO, the CTA could be something
like “Get More Quality Traffic” (although this is rather clumsy,
you should aim at 2-3 words at most).

6. Authority
• People are obedient. Even if you exhibit
questionable authority figures on your website, it
is in our nature to obey figures of authority. It is a
bit more difficult for specialized services, because
the authority figures are not universally known.
Then you can be creative – name a few
websites/TV shows/other media outlets you’ve
been featured on (if you were). Also, testimonials
of clients, which are your typical “customer
personas”, can be powerful. Finally, in the long
term you should be aiming at becoming a figure
of authority yourself.

7. Liking
• The idea of liking is that the more you like
somebody, the more likely you are to be
persuaded by them. Customers try to find
similarities, touch points between you and
them. Show your human side to them. The
“About Me” section on your portfolio website
is an excellent place for that. Tell everything
about your hobbies, add a casual picture or
two – tell the world who you are. And the
world will like you for that.

8. Scarcity
• Scarcity is about getting people into thinking that
if they wait, they might miss out on getting your
service. Therefore, telling people that you have
only 2 spots available for the next month, or that
10 people viewed your services page in the past
hour, or 20% discount if you order until 12 AM
today. For inspiration, check Booking.com or
practically any other hotel/flight booking site. Pay
attention to how those websites put pressure on
you by exhibiting the scarcity of what’s on offer.

9. 6 Principles of Persuasion That Will
www.mworker.com
Get You New Clients