Hi Reader,

Happy Friday!

I've had some great feedback from the final cohort going through Pitch & Prosper (see screenshot below).

In fact, the feedback and results so far have been awesome, so I'm thinking of turning this into a quarterly thing where a load of us freelancers can get together and go through my warm pitching system to bulk out our networks.

Let me know if you'd be interested in that!

P.S. This week on Instagram, I shared a fun breakdown of the spells I'd like to put on my clients (just for Halloween giggles). Check it out here. And don't forget to give me a follow for regular tips and tricks!

Here's what I've been up to this week work-wise:

👉 I wrote 4 pieces for clients (an influencer marketing tool and Salsify)

👉 I refreshed 2 pieces for Shopify

👉 I did an onboarding session with a new client

👉 I sorted out my expenses and found a new accountant

⏱ Approx hours spent on client work this week: ~19

⏱ Approx hours spent on non-client work: ~2

💰 Total revenue this week: £3,600

Want to advertise your business, course, product, program, or software to 7,000+ freelancers and creative business owners? Check out the affordable sponsorship options here.

​
Check out my three practical courses that have helped 500+ people get more clients, earn more money, and create better content.

Friday Freelance Tip​​ ✨ ​

I don’t know about you, but I used to HATE promoting myself.

Like full-body cringe, skin-crawling, please-don’t-look-at-me-while-I-talk-about-my-work.

It felt weird and attention-seeking, and honestly… I didn’t start freelancing to become a walking billboard. I just wanted to do great work, get paid fairly, and have a life.

Buuuuut here’s the catch-22:

If you don’t put yourself out there, no one knows you exist.

Even the most talented freelancers struggle if they stay invisible.

So how DO you market yourself when self-promotion makes you want to curl up in a ball and hibernate until 2035???

Here’s what’s worked for me (and what I teach my students):

1. Share your thinking and not just your outcomes

Most freelancers only post the shiny stuff. They'll share a project they've just launched (that's been signed off and through multiple rounds of revisions). They'll post a glowing testimonial without any backstory or context.

And that’s nice… but it doesn’t show anything.

What actually builds trust is letting people into your brain and showing them how you reason, how you make decisions, and the questions you ask before you even start.

For example, instead of "I wrote a landing page for a SaaS brand", say something like:

2. Talk about the problem and not just your service

If you hate saying “hire me!”, GREAT. Me too. But also, you don’t need to say it.

Instead, talk about what your clients are struggling with. Hit on those uncomfortable, itchy pain points because it shows you understand what a prospect is going through and what they might need help with.

Basically, it shows that you GET them.

So instead of saying "I create social strategies for ecommerce brands," try something like:

3. Build a voice, not a persona

We don't need more freelancers doing quirky LinkedIn personal brand theatre. Please. It gives me the ick, and as someone on LI said the other day, it just feels like slop a lot of the time.

You also don't need a tagline or a colour scheme or a slogan or a witty online persona that is so far from real-life you that it's comical.

You only need to use language that consistently feels like you. Your tone, rhythm, and perspective are more memorable than any polished brand aesthetic.

Ask yourself when writing:

• Would I say this out loud?
• Does this sound like me?
• Am I communicating or performing?

4. Let your values show through behaviour

Saying “I care about quality” means nothing. Absolutely diddly squat.

Demonstrating care (e.g. in how you reflect on your process, how you approach decisions, how you treat the work, etc) communicates it without selling it.

This is where showing a breakdown of your processes, decisions, and messy iterations becomes invaluable.

For example, you might share:

• “How I improved a content brief in 15 minutes”
• “Why I paused on a project this week instead of rushing it”
• “The questions I use to protect quality when clients want content like, yesterday”

5. Make yourself genuinely searchable

This is where most freelancers go wrong.

They try to appeal to everyone and end up speaking to no one (it's a classic).

Specificity is what makes your name pop into someone's brain when they need help. When you clearly articulate who you help, how you think, and what you stand for, you become recognisable to the people already looking for someone like you.

They can self-qualify, which means you have to do waaaaay less convincing.

So, explicitly say who you help. Explicitly say how you think. Explicitly say what you stand for in your craft.

Yes, self-promotion 100% feels gross when you make it about proving yourself.

But it feels way more natural when you make it about:

✨ Sharing how you think
✨ Making someone’s day easier
✨ Being useful and human
✨ Helping people understand what you care about

And if you hate the idea of “building a personal brand,” consider this:

You already have one. People are already forming opinions about you.

Showing up intentionally just means you’re shaping that narrative instead of leaving it to chance.

We need more Freelance Money Diaries entries! I'm forever grateful to anyone who shares their finances with us (you can do it totally anonymously!).

Click the button below to do yours!

As always, happy freelancing :)

Lizzie ✨

Interested in sponsoring Friday Freelance Tips? Get your brand, product, or service in front of 7,000+ freelancers, entrepreneurs, and founders. See sponsorship options here.

Follow me on Instagram and on Linkedin, where you can see the behind-the-scenes of my business.