Hi Reader,

Happy Friday!

I have been working like a maniac this week. I'm off to Australia on Monday and I'm trying to get as much client work wrapped up before I go so I can actually enjoy the sights.

Juggling work and travel is always stressful, but I know that as soon as I land in the southern hemisphere I'm going to be SO PLEASED that past Lizzie busted her ass to get things done.

P.S. This week on Instagram, I shared a fun Reel about freelance life. See it 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 5 pieces for clients (Klaviyo, Salsify, and an influencer marketing tool)

👉 I refreshed 2 pieces for Shopify

👉 I wrote 3 outlines for a client

⏱ Approx hours spent on client work this week: ~28

⏱ Approx hours spent on non-client work: ~1

💰 Total revenue this week: £5,600

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Friday Freelance Tip​​ ✨ ​

We've looooong been told the riches are in the niches (this rhyme isn't as satisfying for us Brits)... but what if that's not true anymore?

And no, I'm not talking about abandoning expertise altogether or becoming a jack-of-all-trades generalist - I would never suggest that.

But what happens if/when your niche becomes... replaceable (or redundant or really not popular anymore)?

Every AI tool that launches, every template that goes viral, every "good enough" solution that pops up is chipping away at what we thought made us irreplaceable. Whether we like it or not, the game is changing.

The uncomfortable truth about 2025...

Remember when a freelance copywriter could charge £2,500 for a brand messaging project? Deep research, clever positioning, the whole works?

Fast forward to today, and I'm watching those same projects get quoted at half the price. Sometimes less.

"But clients just don't see the value!" we cry.

And yeah, maybe. But there's something deeper happening here.

Clients have figured out that ChatGPT can knock out 80% of many creative jobs. Not perfectly, but good enough for their small budgets and tight timelines.

The shift isn't about clients not wanting human freelancers anymore, it's that their use case for us has completely changed.

They're not hiring us to write 50 product descriptions. They're hiring us to understand messaging, audience psychology, and funnel strategy... then figure out how to make that work with the AI tools they already have.

When being ultra-specialised backfires...

What if niching down so hard that you become a one-trick pony is actually making you more vulnerable, not less?

I've watched entire niches dry up overnight. Platform-specific designers when the platform updates. SEO blog writers when AI gets good enough. Logo designers when Canva gets smarter.

I've had freelancers tell me their once-booming niche is now a ghost town. I've seen clients ghost mid-project to "try ChatGPT instead." (Spoiler: some come back, some don't.)

When you've specialised so much and so hard that you're basically selling one specific task, it can really come back to bite you in the ass.

~Plot twist time~

This isn't a doom-and-gloom story about AI taking over, I promise. But I'm just laying down the backstory for why we need to be resilient as freelancers (lorrrrd, I hate that word, but here we are).

The freelancers who are thriving right now aren't the ones competing with AI. They're the ones learning to orchestrate it.

They have what I call T-shaped skills: deep expertise in one area, but broad complementary knowledge across others.

Think:

• A writer who understands brand strategy AND SEO but can also execute the actual writing
• A designer who can wireframe AND build a basic landing page
• A VA who can also automate workflows in Zapier

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They're not trying to be everything to everyone, but they're also not painting themselves into a corner.

The new specialisation playbook circa 2k25 😎

Instead of throwing niches in the bin, I think we need to reframe them.

We need to stop specialising in tasks and start specialising in outcomes.

Instead of "I write email sequences," try "I increase ecommerce sales through lifecycle marketing."

Instead of "I design logos," try "I help health brands launch with confidence and visual clarity."

See the difference?

When you position yourself around an outcome, you have room to manoeuvre. You can pivot as tools change, as client needs evolve, as new technologies emerge.

Basically, you become a problem-solver rather than an order-taker.

Think in systems, not just deliverables. Understand how your work fits into the bigger picture and advise on strategy, not just execution.

Develop soft skills that AI can't replicate. Sit on Zoom calls. Manage client expectations. Pitch new ideas with confidence. Get clients unstuck when they're spinning their wheels. Do things that AI can't do.

Be consultative, not just creative. Brands are thinning out their in-house teams, which means they need freelancers who can step into advisor roles, not just order-takers.

Know when to let AI do the heavy lifting. Instead of fighting the robots, learn when to hand off the mundane stuff and focus on the high-value thinking.

If you're worried your niche might be at risk, here's what I'd do:

Ask yourself: Is what I do at risk of being automated or commodified? (If you're writing basic SEO blog posts... yeah, probably.)

Consider: What complementary skills would make me a more well-rounded partner? What else do my clients need to achieve their bigger goals?

Reframe: How can I package my services around outcomes, not just outputs? What problems am I really solving?

Test regularly: Am I solving real problems, or am I just delivering outputs? (Ask your clients this question. Their answer will tell you everything.)

I dive into this in more detail in the latest episode of the It's Fine, I'm a Freelancer podcast. Listen here or wherever you get your pods!

This week, we have a creative translator from the UK.

Where are you based? Hertfordshire, UK.

How long have you been freelancing? 8 years.

What do you do? B2B writing, B2C writing, and creative translating in the beauty niche.

What was your 2024 revenue? £23,000.

This person freelances part-time, and this was their highest-earning year.

How much did you take as a salary?

£7,740 - terrible, I know!

How much did you pay in taxes?

£1,000.

What were your business expenses?

£400 a month. This person splurged on software and courses last year, and spent £2,000 on subcontractors.

Do you contribute to a pension or investments?

Yes. I pay into a private scheme, 21% of my turnover a year.

Do you have any hot money-management tips?

I follow the profit first model and allocate 1% of turnover to charity, 15% to business expenses, 21% to my pension and 20% to tax. The rest is my take home 'salary'. I'm currently earning little as I freelance around childcare commitments and my priority is managing this all without burning out or overcommitting to deadlines. Using this system has really helped me focus on what I have to play with and not overspend (which is so tempting).

We need more Freelance Money Diaries submissions!

As you know, I'm on a mission to bring more transparency around rates in the freelancing world. And, to do that, it really helps to see what other freelancers are earning. I'd absolutely love it (and be eternally grateful) if you share your finances with us (you can do it totally anonymously!).

As always, happy freelancing :)

Lizzie ✨

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