Hi Reader,

Happy Friday!

I'm back off a week on the beach in Greece and feeling MOTIVATED. Before we dive into today's edition, I've got two things to share:

Firstly, I've just created a new tool especially for freelancers.

Tell PostCraft about your work, your clients, and your goals, and it generates content buckets and post ideas that are specific to you.

→ Not sure of your niche? PostCraft helps you find it first
→ Get short, medium, and long-form ideas across every content bucket
→ Draft posts in the tool or let AI write a first version for you
→ Tag, organise, and schedule everything to a content calendar

It's on offer right now for just £9 and you get The Visible Freelancer with it, my playbook that over 300 freelancers have already bought. Grab it here.

Some great feedback so far...

(If you've already got The Visible Freelancer, you'll already have access to the new tool, but if you need help finding it, let me know!).

Secondly, I'm launching a new program (The Hello Effect) in June/July, but I'd really love to bring 5 people on early to see how it works in reality. Obvs, you'll get a massive discount and will help shape the program moving forward.

Let me know if you're interested or want more details! Just reply and say "aye" or something similar 🤗

P.S. In my latest Instagram post, I shared why I've decided not to scale my freelance business. 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 refreshed 3 pieces for Shopify

👉 I edited a playbook for Klaviyo

👉 I drafted some LinkedIn posts for a client

👉 I had a discovery call with a potential new client

👉 I sent all my May invoices 🤗

⏱ Approx hours spent on client work this week: ~16

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

💰 Total revenue this week: £2,125

Want to advertise your business, course, product, program, or software to 7,500+ freelancers and creative business owners? Check out the affordable sponsorship options here.

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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 went from one or two enquiries a month at the start of the year to five solid ones in the past few weeks alone.

Which is great, obviously, but what’s been more interesting to me is how each of them came in. They’re all completely different. A great reminder that there's no one magic formula for getting clients as a freelancer.

You’ll hear people say “just post on LinkedIn every day” or “niching down is everything” or “it’s all about referrals.” And yeah, all of those things can be true. But none of them are the WHOLE truth, you know? So here’s a sneaky peek at where my five recent enquiries actually came from.

My website (and the power of being known for something)

An ecommerce tech tool reached out to me via my website. They were specifically looking for someone who understood the ecommerce space, including trends, challenges, the whole shebang.

They didn’t stumble across me randomly. They found me because I’ve positioned myself as someone who knows this world. This one’s a good reminder that the work you put into positioning yourself in a niche doesn’t pay off overnight, but when it does pay off... It reallllllly pays off.

A referral from three years ago

A customer engagement agency got in touch because previous colleagues had recommended me.

The kicker is, I worked with that colleague at least three years ago. THREE YEARS. Talk about a slow-burner, eh.

Referrals are wild because you genuinely never know when one is going to happen, or where from. The best you can do is be good at your work and decent to the people around you.

A response to a LinkedIn callout (which I almost never do)

A major marketing and tech publication posted a call-out on LinkedIn and... I applied. Which is not something I do often, as anyone who reads this newsletter knows.

But I did it for a few reasons. My experience was honestly a really strong match, AND I’d written guest articles for them around 13(!) years ago, so I had a small but genuine connection to reference.

They said they got a ton of applications. I’d like to think mine stood out because I absolutely didn’t use AI (I wrote exactly how I speak, shortening words, casual phrasing, the lot), my clips were genuinely relevant to what they were asking for, and that little bit of history didn’t hurt.

I haven’t worked with them yet, they're putting together a trial for me, but the point stands: sometimes a cold pitch is worth it, when the fit is undeniable.

I got headhunted via my LinkedIn and newsletter

A founder-led agency reached out wanting me to write a newsletter for them. They’d already included a screenshot of my LinkedIn in a proposal deck they’d sent to their client... before they’d even spoken to me, so I was technically sold to a client before I knew anything about it.

Which is a bit surreal but also kind of the dream? They found me because of my own newsletter and my industry experience, which is a good reminder that non-client work counts. The stuff you put out for yourself, for fun, for your own audience, that all adds up too.

A post about a new service

I’ve recently started offering something new: creating content for founders and entrepreneurs (LinkedIn, newsletters, social posts, etc). I made a post about it. It didn’t get loads of engagement. BUT I got two people reach out directly, and I’ve got a call booked with one of them.

So there you go... 5 enquiries.

SEO, a callout response, a referral, a headhunt, a LinkedIn post (sounds like the start of a bad dad joke).

The takeaway for me isn’t “do all of these things all the time.” It’s more that staying active, like keeping your website updated, being visible, doing good work, nurturing relationships, means you’re casting a wide net without necessarily realising it. You never quite know which line is going to catch something, but it's always good to have a few of them in the water.

This week, we have Kara Detwiller sharing her freelance finances with us.

Where are you based? Living in Saskatchewan, Canada but originally from Des Moines, Iowa — I live in Canada, but my clients are all USA-based

How long have you been freelancing? 4 years.

What do you do? B2B writer for Tech, SaaS, and Manufacturing brands.

What's your revenue? $64,327.60.

Kara freelances full time and this was her highest earning year.

How much did you take as a salary?

$42,952.51 (Total revenue minus expenses and 30% for taxes).

How much did you pay in taxes?

A little more than 30%. I'm from the USA, working with USA-based clients that pay me in USD, but I live in Canada and pay taxes in CAD. Canada's tax rate is a bit higher than the USA, so I'm planning to start setting aside more for taxes, maybe 35% so I end up with extra (a "refund" of sorts).

What are your business expenses?

Moxie (Project Management) is $17, Adobe Cloud is $32, Beehiiv (Newsletter Platform) is $35, other memberships and expenses (domains, web hosting, supplies) probably average around $50/month. So that's $134 USD per month in expenses.

In 2025, I bought a new desk chair - this criss cross one from Pipersong for $300 USD. Worth every penny.
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Do you contribute to a pension or invest?

Not currently. I have a USA-based IRA with money in it from previous jobs, but it doesn't make financial sense to contribute to it while I'm living in Canada (it would essentially be taxed twice).

Do you have any hot money-management tips?

I used a budgeting app (YNAB) long before I became self-employed, but it has been super helpful to have a tool like this to track and manage my personal and business expenses.

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 ✨

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