I built up connections during employment and open source communities (the latter was much easier 2 decades ago). Ever since, my "marketing" is: * Try to over-d

I built up connections during employment and open source communities (the latter was much easier 2 decades ago). Ever since, my "marketing" is: * Try to over-deliver in some aspect important to the customer (time to delivery, documentation, client integration) * Try to detect clients I cannot interact with properly and refuse them upfront (refer them to a friend who can deal with this type of client!) * Bring lube. As an extern, you are causing more friction than an employee. A small present to whoever has to deal with the extra overhead and lots of work towards making his/her work easier help a lot. * Be professional. Never ever talk bad about a client in public, no matter how bad they are; when you want to mention them in a positive public statement, ask for permission (most will say yes anyways and you pointed them at the free advertising you do for them) Works for me; I don't even have a website nor any picture of me online with my real name. I don't make public appearances at all.