Hi Reader,

Happy Friday!

I had an “interview” this week.

My first in a looooong time. Honestly, I nearly didn’t go for it.

It came from one of those LinkedIn callouts (y'know the ones. Hundreds of likes, loads of comments, people tagging everyone they’ve ever worked with).

But I threw my hat in the ring anyway. Partly because I’d just lost a retainer the week before (timing, eh), and partly because something about this one felt… different. It was UK-based, pretty niche, and I saw it early, a.k.a. before it turned into a feeding frenzy.

They told me they’d had loads of applications, but the post only had 11 replies.

And I think that says everything. We assume there’s more competition than there actually is. We assume we’re too late. We assume we won’t hear back.

So... we don’t even try.

Normally, I’d be the same. I rarely bother with these big callouts because, let’s be honest, most of the time you don’t hear back. But this time I did and I think that's a lesson in putting ourselves out there!

P.S. This week on Instagram, I had a post blow up about what I'd do if I was starting to freelance right now. 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 2 pieces for clients (an influencer marketing tool)

👉 I refreshed 2 pieces for Shopify

👉 I did more outreach, LinkedIn posts, and a newsletter for a client

👉 I had 2 enquiry calls with potential new clients

👉 I created more content for The Hello Effect

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

⏱ Approx hours spent on non-client work: ~3

💰 Total revenue this week: £2,975

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Friday Freelance Tip​​ ✨ ​

Okay, I'm ready to talk more about the impersonating incident that happened last week.

Part of me didn't want to give it any more airtime... I kinda understand why the person did it, but I'm not quite sure how they thought they would get away with it.

ANYWAY, I think there's a lesson in here for us, so that's why I'm talking about it again, but this time in a bit more detail and how it relates to our businesses in general.

So, for the background... last Tuesday, something slightly unhinged happened.

I found out someone had been impersonating me to get work. They were using my portfolio, my samples, my name, and even an email address with my name in it.

It was only when the company got them on a video call that things started to unravel. And even then, they still tried to get work out of it.

Which is… honestly BOLD, if nothing else.

The company reached out to me straight away (thankfully), and I’m so grateful they did. But it left me feeling a bit uneasy. This is the side of "building in public" that doesn't get a lot of attention. And, as freelancers, we tend to put our work, samples, and name out there to... y'know, get work.

We’re constantly told to share more. Show up consistently. Put our work out there. Build a personal brand. Yadda yadda.

And I believe in all of that... I’ve built my ENTIRE business on it. But there is a flip side. When your work is visible, it’s also… copyable.

When it first happened, I spiralled a bit. Should I be sharing less? Keeping things closer to my chest? Making it harder for people to access my work?

But then something clicked into place.

Despite everything they copied… they still couldn’t close the deal.

Yes, they had the portfolio, the samples, and the “proof”, but they didn’t have the one thing that actually matters: the ability to show up as me.

They couldn’t talk through my process in a way that made sense. They couldn’t answer questions with real examples. They couldn’t build trust in real time.

And that’s when it all clicked into place. Your work might get you in the room, but it’s you that gets you hired.

And this is something I see so many freelancers get wrong, especially when they’re earlier on in their careers. There’s this belief that the more experience you have, the more likely you are to land the work.

That if someone else has better clients, more case studies, or a more polished portfolio… they’ve automatically got the edge.

But experience is only part of the equation.

Clients aren’t just hiring your past work. They’re hiring how you think, how you communicate, how you make decisions, how you make them feel. All that good stuff.

And that’s where your real differentiation comes from (or your USP if we're being fancy).

It’s why two freelancers can look identical on paper, but one consistently wins better projects. It’s why someone with “less” experience can still outshine someone more established.

More importantly, it's why trying to sound overly professional, overly polished, or like everyone else… actually works against you.

People don’t connect with perfect. They connect with real... especially in this era of little robot fiends.

So, what does this mean in practice?

It means letting your personality come through in your pitches, your calls, and your content. It means talking about your work in your own words rather than what you think clients want to hear. It means sharing how you approach problems as well as the outcomes. It means trusting that your perspective has value, even if you don’t have 10+ years of experience behind it.

And it also means remembering that no one can replicate the way you think, the way you communicate, or the way you build relationships.

That’s your actual USP, believe it or not.

So yes, last week was a bit of a weird reminder that there are some pretty ugly sides to the internet. But it was also a reminder of something much more important.

You can copy someone’s work, you can copy their website, you can even try and copy their identity (but please don't, it's actually illegal). But you can't copy the way they think or do things.

And in this industry, that makes a LOT of difference.

This week, we have a B2B writer from Rajasthan.

Where are you based? Rajasthan, India.

How long have you been freelancing? 2 years.

What do you do? B2B writing for IT companies.

What's your revenue? 540,000 INR (about £4,300).

This freelancer freelances full time and this was their highest earning year.

How much did you take as a salary?

480,000 INR (about £3,800).

How much did you pay in taxes?

Nil.

What are your business expenses?

Just my laptop to be honest and wifi connection. I did buy a few gadgets and some costly health supplements.
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Do you contribute to a pension or invest?

No.

Do you have any hot money-management tips?

Avoid using credit card when you are freelancing because sometimes the income is really unpredictable even if you have multiple clients.

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As always, happy freelancing :)

Lizzie ✨

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