To find clients in Slack communities, join two or three where your buyers (not your competitors) ask each other for help, spend the first two weeks answering questions in threads, and use the community's own channel for recommendations, usually called something like #recommendations, #vendors or #jobs. Never send a first direct message that pitches. Many Slack communities are professional groups where members work for companies that hire outside help, so being known as the person who answers well is the sales channel. Below is how to find the right ones, what to read before you type, a daily routine, and how a thread turns into a client.

Find communities full of buyers, not peers

The mistake is joining the big group for people who do your job. A freelance copywriter in a copywriting community meets other copywriters. The buyers are in the communities for marketing leaders, founders and product teams. Three ways to find them:

  • Ask your past clients. "Which online communities do you read for your job?" Two or three of them will name one, and they are the only ones you know are real.
  • Search the web. Try your buyer's job title with "Slack community" or "join our Slack," and read the first page of results. Trade associations, newsletters and podcasts often run one.
  • Check newsletters your buyers read. Many link to their community in the footer.

Some communities are free to join and some charge a membership fee. A paid one with a few hundred active members in your buyer's industry can be a better bet than a free one with 20,000 members and nobody talking. Count the messages per day in the main channels the first week before deciding.

Apply like a person

Many communities ask for your role, company and why you want to join. Answer truthfully. "I run an accounting practice for software companies and I'd like to learn what finance leads are struggling with" gets in. "Looking to grow my network" gets ignored. Then finish your profile: a real photo, your real title, and one line about what you do. People you reply to will click your name.

Read before you type

Open the channel list and the pinned messages in each one. You want to find three things: the introductions channel, the place where recommendations or services are allowed, and the rule on promotion. Many communities restrict promotion to one channel or one day of the week, and some ban it. Write it next to the community name so you check it before you post. Rules differ so much between communities that a post allowed in one gets you removed from another. For the same idea in a different tool, see how to find clients on Discord.

The first two weeks: answer in threads

Kofi is a made-up payroll consultant who joins an HR community. He does not post an introduction that lists his services. He sets a keyword alert in Slack (Preferences, then Notifications, then My keywords) for words like "payroll," "multi-state" and "contractor classification," and checks twice a day. When someone writes "How are people handling payroll for a remote hire in a new state?" he replies in the thread:

You'll need to register with that state's tax agency before the first payday, and the unemployment insurance account usually has its own setup. Start with the state's website for employers, and check the withholding rules, because they differ. Happy to share what I check first if it helps.

It answers the question, in public, with specifics. He does not mention his company, because his profile does. Two answers a day for ten days is 20 answers, and by then a few people have noticed his name. If you want a check on your answers, ask whether you'd be comfortable seeing them on a page with your photo next to them. If not, rewrite.

When someone asks for a recommendation

Search the community every few days for "recommend," "anyone use," "looking for" and "can anyone suggest." These are the cleanest leads in any community, because the person is asking. Reply only when you are a real fit, and say what you do in one sentence, then ask a question:

I do payroll setup for companies hiring across states, so this is something I work on a lot. What state is the new hire in, and are you using a payroll provider now? Happy to point you to the right place even if I'm not the right fit.

If another member already recommended you, thank them in the thread and stop. Don't add your own pitch on top of a recommendation, because that turns a vote of confidence into an ad.

How a thread becomes a client

Answer in the thread first. Then ask: "Want me to send details by email or DM?" Wait for the answer. If they say yes, move to email, send a short note that refers back to the thread, and propose a 20-minute call. A DM that starts "Saw your question in #hr-ops" is fine when they have invited it. A DM that starts with an offer to someone who never asked is the fastest way to be removed. The next step after the first reply is in how to get meetings with decision makers.

Other ways in

Community managers often run office hours, guest sessions or sponsor slots. If you have something useful to teach, ask: "Would a 30-minute session on multi-state payroll be useful to your members?" That is a legitimate way to be seen by a whole community at once. If a sponsorship costs money, treat it as an advertising purchase and decide whether the community's members match your buyer.

What gets you removed

  • Posting your services in a general channel.
  • Sending the same DM to many members. Members compare notes in private channels.
  • Answering a question with only a link to your site.
  • Joining ten communities and being active in none. Three is the limit for 15 minutes a day.
  • Replying to a recommendation thread when you do not fit the request.

How to tell it is working

After six weeks, count for each community: threads you answered, people who replied or thanked you, conversations that moved to email, and calls booked. If one community has produced none of the four, leave it and try another. If one has produced two calls, spend more of your 15 minutes there. For other places where buyers ask questions in public, how to find customers in Facebook groups and how to get clients on LinkedIn use the same method with different rules.

Slack communities are closed, so no tool can watch them for you. Rocketship watches the open places: its Conversations finds Reddit, Quora and LinkedIn threads where people ask for what you sell, ranks them by fit, and drafts a reply for you to edit and post from your own account. A 7-day free trial shows you what it finds for your business, and a card is required to start.