Two ways of finding clients: waiting on a platform where brands come to look, or knocking on doors yourself.
In Germany these two paths do not merely differ in effectiveness. They do not have the same status, and that is what should decide the order in which you use them.
The unsolicited message is sensitive ground
Writing cold to a company to offer a service is regulated, and what counts as acceptable cannot be guessed from common sense.
On a platform, the question does not arise in the same way: the company registered, it published a request, it expects to be contacted. The first message is an answer, not a solicitation.
That is the soundest reason to start there, before even talking about volume or commission.
When direct contact works anyway
It works, but rarely in the form of a pitch message.
It works when someone has already seen you: a meeting at a trade fair, a client's recommendation, an answer to a published offer, an exchange started by the brand itself.
In other words, German direct contact is prepared: it starts with a legitimate reason to write, not with a list of addresses.
What decides next is not the pitch, it is the file
Once the conversation is open, what decides is not your enthusiasm. It is precision.
A firm price, what is included and what is not, a lead time in working days, what you expect from the brand, and how invoicing will work. These are expected early, often before the first call.
A contact who has to defend the spending internally needs a document they can forward. Giving them that document straight away is doing their job for them, and it is exactly what moves a file forward.
What each channel really costs
The platform takes a share and puts you into a comparison. In exchange it brings the framework, the discovery and often secured payment.
Direct contact takes no share, but consumes unbilled time and produces nothing for weeks. Many abandon it just as it was starting to give its first results.
Neither is free. One is paid in commission, the other in hours.
The order that works
Start with the platform, because it produces references and work while the rest is being built.
Use those first jobs as material: a piece you can show, a client who can speak for you, a category in which you become identifiable.
Only then approach the brands in that category directly, with a precise reason for writing and a file already prepared. That is no longer cold outreach, it is a reasoned application.
What each route demands
| Criterion | Platform | Direct approach |
|---|---|---|
| Time to first order | Short | Long |
| Margin per order | Reduced by the fee | Full |
| Payment security | Built in | To be built |
What runs in parallel without conflict
Filling in a complete profile on one side, writing ten targeted messages on the other: the two feed each other.
What changes when a client returns
The platform loses its edge, the direct contact takes over, and the rate follows the relationship.
What not to do
Do not build a list of addresses found on company websites for a mass send. It is the move that exposes you most, for the lowest yield.
Nor should you mix the two channels on the same client: contacting a brand met on a platform directly to avoid the commission gets noticed, gets talked about, and costs more in the end than the commission saved.
