It's a bit of a catch-22 but I've gotten most of my freelance projects through other freelance clients, aka word-of-mouth. I've been working as a web designer for over 16 years and I still have clients from when I started or I've been referred to other people from those original clients.
If you love what you do and are enthusiastic, people can see that and it might sound silly but you can gain visibility from other people that way.
Also try as hard as you can to work in place with other enthusiastic people who do what you do. I've been it many situations where my co-workers get offered freelance projects they pass on and they'll offer them to me.
Now that I'm further along in my career I have less time for freelance projects, so I do the same.
It's a bit of a catch-22 but I've gotten most of my freelance projects through other freelance clients, aka word-of-mouth. I've been working as a web designer for over 16 years and I still have clients from when I started or I've been referred to other people from those original clients.
If you love what you do and are enthusiastic, people can see that and it might sound silly but you can gain visibility from other people that way.
Also try as hard as you can to work in place with other enthusiastic people who do what you do. I've been it many situations where my co-workers get offered freelance projects they pass on and they'll offer them to me.
Now that I'm further along in my career I have less time for freelance projects, so I do the same.
Hope that helps.