Your freelance business is only as good as your clients. If you have a shocker of a schedule that’s 99% freelance clients from hell, you’re going to have a bad time. On the flipside, if you have a dreamy mix of wonderful clients that might also secretly be unicorns, you’re really going to enjoy yourself. But sometimes a client can be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Illustration by the wonderful Dotspot That is, they look all sweet, innocent, and nice at the start, but quickly turn into a hideous monster that should be kept locked in a dark room somewhere (I’m not saying you should do this with an ..read more

Ever wondered how to get freelance clients through referrals? You’re not alone. Let’s set the scene: You’ve just finished up a project. The dust has settled, the money’s in your bank account, and you’ve got a wave of fresh inspiration. Except… you haven’t got another project lined up. Cue the panic. We’ve all been there. As freelancers, we’re tasked with finding our own work which can be both a blessing and a curse. It means we get to work with clients on projects we love. But it also means we’re responsible for keeping our cash flow in check. The majority of ways to find freelance clients req ..read more

Making sure your freelance client list is regularly topped up with paying work is a big struggle. In fact, finding work is probably the hardest part about freelancing. I remember in the early days, I’d spend the majority of my week hunting down potential prospects and reaching out to them. While this is a great way to find clients that you’re going to love working with, it’s not always the quickest way to land a glut of clients at once (or get a consistent income, and we all know how fun the feast and famine cycle is…). There is one thing you can do though. Instead of finding individual brands ..read more

If you’ve found yourself wondering how to write a cold email, you’re not alone. I get a lot of emails from readers who struggle to find the right words to put in their pitch or who simply don’t know where to start. It happens, but don’t make cold emailing harder than it has to be. Think about it: How much time do you spend writing and sending an email to a colleague or a friend? Chances are, it’s nowhere near as long as you take painstakingly crafting a cold pitch to send to potential prospects. This is where a lot of freelancers go wrong. Read on to find out how to write a cold email that doe ..read more

Today, I’ve got a great post for you from fellow freelancer Nathan all about finding freelance clients on Twitter. His personal story is a great reminder that clients can be found anywhere… Have you ever wondered how you can make money off Twitter as a freelance writer? Well, you should think of using Twitter to find leads if you haven’t done so in the past. With over 330 million active users, Twitter is a great place to connect with potential clients and other freelancers like yourself.  In this article, I’ll be sharing the steps I took to earn my first $100 on Twitter as a freelance wri ..read more

Today, I’m handing over the blog to Erika Rykun who has written a great guide to choosing a freelance career. If you’re on the fence or aren’t sure what’s involved, this will definitely help…  Traditional forms of works are becoming less popular every year while the freelance economy is growing day by day. The increasing demand for freelance experts can be seen in the number of open positions and the success of global freelance platforms. Experts from Upwork estimate that by 2027, the majority of the workforce in the United States will be freelancers. In the UK, there ..read more

Getting started freelancing isn’t easy. I’ve been there and got the t-shirt, and it is not a comfortable t-shirt. In fact, it’s incredibly daunting, especially when you have no idea what to do or where to even start. When I quit my full-time job back in 2014, I had no idea what it meant to be freelance. I didn’t know any freelancers and I literally had no clue how I was going to make money. To say it was a scary time is a major understatement. But I knew I wanted to work for myself. I’d read up on a few freelancer stories and I knew it was possible to make a living without selling my soul to a ..read more

Freelance lead generation is one of the main sticking points for new freelancers. The act of finding prospects and nurturing them until they eventually hire you isn’t an easy task – especially if you don’t even know where to start. The best results I’ve had from pitching my services isn’t by going all in and reaching out to clients that have never heard of me before. Instead, I try to build some sort of connection with them first so my email in their inbox isn’t completely out of the blue. This is the best way to conduct freelance lead generation. Getting to know your prospects before you pitc ..read more

If you’ve ever wondered what the best cold email subject lines are, you’re in the right place. Think about it: your subject line is quite possibly the most important part of a cold email. If it’s not compelling enough, a prospect might ignore your email completely and miss out on all the good stuff you’re offering inside. A good subject line, on the other hand, sets you up for success. If you can capture the attention and intrigue of a prospect from the get-go, you have a higher chance of keeping them engaged and interested in your offer. So what do the best cold email subject lines have in co ..read more

If you don’t know where to even start when it comes to finding freelance jobs online, you’re not alone! In fact, the number one question I get from readers and students is “where can I find clients?!”. It’s a great question. The internet is a huge place, after all, and there are so many potential clients lurking behind every click. At the start of my freelance career, I spent an unhealthy amount of hours getting lost down the rabbit hole of Google searches for things like “freelance jobs online”, “freelance writing jobs”, “jobs looking for freelance writers”. There are literally so many sites ..read more