How I Got My First 5 Freelance Marketing Clients: https://mmgdesign.kit.com/first5

If you're a freelance marketer trying to land your first few clients or break six figures for the first time, this is the playbook I wish someone had handed me when I got laid off February 1st of 2024.

This presentation was given at the SEO Search Summit. It walks through the exact three-part system I used to get there using a podcast and LinkedIn outreach. Stick around until the end. The lead generation section is the most important part of the whole thing.

All resources, links, and tools mentioned in the video are below.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

- The three-part system: podcasting, LinkedIn, and lead generation activities
- The mindset shift that has to come before any of this works
- Guest selection framework (potential clients, referral partners, thought leaders)
- My 9 highest-performing LinkedIn post types with examples
- LinkedIn profile optimization basics
- The Fibonacci follow-up cadence I use to close more deals
- Bonus: how I got my first 5 web design clients (resource link below)

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO

Marketing by Design Podcast: http://www.mmg.studio/podcast

How I Got My First 5 Freelance Marketing Clients: https://mmgdesign.kit.com/first5

Subscribe to Columbus Marketing Jobs (The Best Marketing Gigs in Columbus delivered to you, weekly, for free)

http://www.columbusmarketingjobs.com

⚡️ Get the BEST marketing jobs in Columbus delivered to your inbox every week: https://www.columbusmarketingjobs.com/

Nikhil Hunshikatti has built his career at the intersection of legacy media and modern marketing, from Ogilvy in Mumbai to the Chicago Tribune to running fractional CMO work today. In this episode, we get into what AI actually changes for marketers (and what it doesn't), why "write AI, edit human" is the operating principle he lives by, and the specific workflow he uses to turn raw client data into boardroom-ready strategy. Nikhil also shares the 90-10 philosophy that shapes how he approaches his career and what he's teaching his kids about life in an uncertain world.

CONNECT WITH NIKHIL
🌐 Website: https://hunshika.com/about/
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilhunshikatti/

CONNECT WITH ANDY
🌐 Website: https://mmg.studio
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
01:30 - From Mumbai to the Midwest
03:00 - The Lakeshore Drive phone call
05:30 - Gen Z has internships backward
09:00 - How the Tribune pivoted into digital
13:00 - Write AI, edit human
18:00 - Raw data to executive deck
20:00 - The AI slop problem
25:00 - The skill AI will never replace
28:30 - Why agentic checkout has limits
30:30 - The 90-10 rule

TEAM
🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/
🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://mmg.studio
🤝 Powered by // AMA Columbus: https://amacolumbus.org and our friends at COhatch (Get 2 free weeks of premium coworking, on us): https://www.cohatch.com/mbd

TEAM

🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/

🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/

⚡️ High-Converting Websites Visual Swipe File: https://www.mmg.studio/visualswipefile

Bridget O'Murphy is the founder of Envision Partnerships, where she's spent 20+ years building strategic brand partnerships for companies like Nickelodeon, Tyson, and Coca-Cola. In this episode, we dig into what it actually looks like to build a business on relationships, not just talk about it. Bridget shares how she landed her first client on a plane ride, the gifting habits that create real loyalty, the client she lost by not asking the right questions, and why the compounding effect of daily relationship investment is the most underrated strategy in business.

CONNECT WITH BRIDGET
🌐 https://www.envisionp.com/
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/bridgetomurphy/

CONNECT WITH ANDY
🌐 https://www.mmgdesign.net/
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/
📸 https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/

TEAM
🎙 Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/
🎥 MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/
🤝 AMA Columbus: https://amacolumbus.org
COHATCH (Get 2 free weeks of premium coworking, on us): https://www.cohatch.com/mbd