Hi Reader,

Happy Friday!

If you’re serious about building a freelance business that feels steadier in 2026, I’m speaking at an event created just for you.

The Empowered Freelancer Summit is a free 5-day virtual event designed to help female freelance writers move beyond short-term projects and build proper long-term client stability.

Across the week, you’ll learn how to structure retainers properly, generate referrals, strengthen editor relationships, position yourself with authority and build income that doesn’t reset every few months.

We’ve brought together 17+ experienced freelancers who will share what’s working right now (away from all of the Linkedin bro energy and hustle culture).

Here’s what you need to know:

• April 20 - 24, 2026
• Daily expert-led mini workshops
• A private Slack space for asking questions, making freelance friends and winning prizes.
• Free to attend (with an optional lifetime upgrade)

If you’re ready for a business that lasts longer than the next deadline, you can grab your free ticket here.

P.S. This week on Instagram, I shared 5 things you can do this week instead of cold pitching. 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 spent 4 days coworking in and exploring Budapest with Happy Freelancers​

👉 I wrote 1 piece for Salsify

👉 I finalised and sent a positioning framework for a client

👉 I refreshed 1 piece for Shopify

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

👉 I send 2 proposals to new potential clients

⏱ Approx hours spent on client work this week: ~11

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

💰 Total revenue this week: £1,275

Special thanks to this week's sponsor, UseVouchly...

Why does asking clients for reviews feel so awkward? UseVouchly is a smart Stripe checkout that intercepts their “moment of joy”—the exact second they pay you. Our AI instantly drafts a personalized 5-star testimonial for them to approve in one click. Get paid & get praised for free!

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.

​
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 see a lot of freelance pitches.

Usually, there's nothing wrong with the pitch, but quite often people will ask me why they're not getting a response.

The most common reason is because they skipped a couple of steps (a.k.a. they showed up as a stranger asking for something). And however polished the ask is, strangers asking for things usually gets ignored.

This is why I'm a massive advocate for warm pitching, which ultimately has three layers to it.

Layer 1: Staying visible

This can be low-effort, high consistency actions, like leaving genuinely thoughtful comments, sharing useful things, showing up in the communities your clients are in. This works even when there's no direct interaction because repeated exposure builds familiarity.

Layer 2: Building connection

This is when you move from familiar name to a real person. It includes actions like sending a direct message that's genuinely about the client, making a useful introduction, or sharing something specific and relevant. This layer requires real, individualised attention, which is why you can only do it well with a handful of people at once.

Layer 3: Making the ask

This is when you make the pitch, but it only works well when the foundation is already there.

The key thing most people miss is that you should be running all three layers simultaneously with different people.

The feast-and-famine cycle happens when you only ever live at layer three (ya'know, pitching hard when you need clients, land work, disappear into delivery, then emerge six months later to find everything's gone cold).

What a healthy month actually looks like

Layer 1: ten minutes a day, with almost everyone in your lead universe (which is essentially every warm-ish contact you have). I'll show you how to build your lead universe in The Hello Effect. This might include writing a few real comments or one useful share.

Layer 2: focused on five to ten warm prospects. A handful of direct, personal interactions per month. This has to be genuine, which means it can't really be scaled.

Layer 3: One to three asks per month with your hottest contacts.

Total time: 20-30 minutes a day at most.

Warm pitching isn't "just" the pitching part. It's connecting with the right people and building an ecosystem of prospects at varying levels of warmness so that your pipeline is never really empty.

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 7,500+ 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.