Cognition #30: 12 Freelancing Tips from my Career
PART 2: I learned a few the hard way
Before we begin, I want to share a thought. It’s just an idea as of now, and I want to know if you might be interested in it.
The plan is to increase my publishing frequency. I’m impressed by Cognition’s growth and happy with how things have been in the past 45 days.
So I want to show myself more to the audience than usual. Maybe increase the frequency to one post every ten days.
But as I’ve told you in the previous issue, it’s hard to always generate content when it’s based on applied knowledge.
So I think of including Brain Dumps (random documentation of my work) along with our regular detailed breakdowns.
This issue is an example of brain dump:
If you think you’ll enjoy Brain Dumps on Cognition, let me know in the poll below. We’ll see if we can work this out:
Okay, back where we left off. In the previous issue, we talked about making friends, charging advances, asking for referrals, communication, promotions, and systems.
Today, we’ll talk about the remaining six, but if you have not read the first part yet, I ask you read PART 1 first to understand PART 2 better.
Here we go!
7. Don’t share the entire portfolio/PoW
I’m a big proponent of treating your clients well.
Honestly, I find it rude when clients ask you for your work, and you share it by mentioning, “Here is the portfolio link to all my work.”
Although you are saving your time, you are making your client go through all your portfolio, and that’s not something you want to do when you’re trying to close a client.
There is a hospitality reason and closing strategy involved in what I usually do with my leads.
From Hospitality’s POV:
I ask, “What do you want to see? Blogs? Newsletters? Social Media Content?” and then maybe one more question on niche and style.
Then I send a particular set of links the prospect want to explore over many other existing links.
It may or may not save them effort, but it will definitely make them feel special or prioritized.
PS:
If it’s too much work for you, you can create buckets on platforms like Fueler and share them separately—Meaning, all newsletters in one bucket, all blogs in another, etc.
From Strategy’s POV:
Imagine me sharing my portfolio with three newsletter links. I know one issue is sexy, but the other two are not so great comparatively.
What happens if the lead reads the other two links and ignores your best one? The link you have the best chance of closing the lead never reached them.
Hence, the better approach would be to ask what the lead is looking for and send them your best work in that category.
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8. To niche down or not
For my first year of freelancing, I advertised myself for everything.
Blogs? Hire me
SM? Hire me
Newsletters? Hire me
Case studies? Hire me
Scripts? Hire me
You should have seen my LinkedIn about section, lol.
Although I still think I can write in all these formats, my belief in freelancing shaped this way:
“Specialist in work and Generalist in knowledge
is a badass combination to be a content guy.”
In the past two Quarters, I niched down to newsletters.
85% of the services I provided were related to newsletters.
In different roles, yes: sometimes as a writer, sometimes as a strategist, sometimes as a team lead and editor, but everything revolved around newsletters.
As a result, my skill, knowledge and expertise in newsletters and email marketing skyrocketed.
Since January 2023, I worked with six brands—crafting their newsletters, advertised myself as the guy for newsletters, and today, when someone needs a person to work on their newsletter, they know whom to contact or refer.
That’s how niching down worked for me.
I’d advice the same to my past self.
9. Use Data
You don’t need to be a data-driven person to leverage stats and numbers.
In my case, I document all the numbers: Quarterly increase in revenue and by what percentage, client projects and the results I produce, etc.
This gives me a deeper insight into my strategies and work. I get to see if my theories are actually good or if I’m just delusional.
I have had an accounting system for a long time, but recently, I’m even setting targets based on previous data to push myself beyond.
It’s a good motivation, ngl.
More than motivation, the results are encouraging.
MORE: I’m writing down everything in a diary dedicated to freelancing alone. It’s helping me be conscious of my actions and progress.
10. Contract
I was surprised to see the number of freelancers who said they don’t draft contracts. It’s either clients setting the terms or no contract at all.
It’s your business. You’re a part of the partnership too. You don’t have to agree with everything a client mentions. Talk to your client and set your terms.
You might not go to court and spend your time, money, and energy if anything goes wrong. But you can at least say no prospects who don’t agree to sign contracts.
It’s possible you encounter many clients who are unsure about their projects or might not pay you with respect to your terms.
Contracts are a decent filter to avoid such red flags.
11. End-to-End Services
I had a better closing probability when I offered end-to-end services.
Imagine a graphic designer offering you this:
“I’ll design and share the Canva link with you. You should download and post it from your socials.”
vs. this:
“I’ll design and share the Canva link with you for review. Once approved, I will upload it on your socials with the caption and hashtags.”
What offer would you like to accept?
The answer speaks volumes about how clients want to outsource as much work as possible.
I understand if you’re a writer and if you feel, “Why should I design? Or manage a social media account?”
I agree with you. It’s not your job. But you can collaborate or hire someone to design or manage social media.
Seeing the point?
End-to-End doesn’t need you to do all tasks.
It just means your client need not handle everything.
12. Hiring Smart Folks
I’ve been on and off with my hiring. In the last 1.5 years, I have hired writers, designers, managers, etc.
One of my earliest mistakes was to be a Miser (Kanjoos) with the budget. I hired someone less experienced who would accept lesser pay because I thought I could edit their work even if is just par.
The result? The freelancers I have hired to make my job easier stressed me out because it always took something beyond giving good briefs to get the best out of them.
I had to remind myself I outsourced to make my life smoother, not complicated.
Now when I hire, I don’t mind spending a few extra bucks on smart and skilled folks over someone who charges less due to inexperience.
Money limitations are understandable. But if you’re picking someone just because they charge less, I’d advice you to look beyond saving some budget.
The more clients you onboard, the harder the management gets. Only smooth systems can help you scale.
I’ve made many more mistakes as a freelancer, but these are a few I would be cautious of if I had to start all over again.
That being said, our technical segment ends here.
Before we move to the fun part, here are a few more Cognition issues you might find insightful:
Non-technical aka Fun Segment
Writeup I enjoyed reading
I’m highly critical of myself and my friends. So praise is least expected from me. But I have to say Mitesh really outdid himself here:
Read the part about going out. One of the best in recent times.
Movies/Shows I watched recently
Boruto:
I’m just watching it for the sake of it now. It’s not gripping, and the missions feel like a child’s play. I need missions the way they used to be in Naruto, ughhh.Before Trilogy:
I’m not really into love stories, but I liked this one. I love how the director captured different phases of a relationship when the actors are in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. It’s crazy to even think of it. Also, I enjoyed how the movie is not all dramatic but kind of close to reality.Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3:
When the film was released in the theaters, one of my friends told me it was bad and not worth watching. So I dropped the idea after he killed the vibe.
Guess what? I want to kill him now.
The movie is too good I regret watching it in the theaters. I’m sure I would have enjoyed it.Wake up Sid:
This was one movie I was always postponing—for years. I’m happy I finally watched it after a reel went viral last week. The BGM every time when Ranbir realizes the theme of the movie >>>
Secret Invasion:
Wasn’t kidding when I said it was giving old Marvel vibes. 4 episodes down, and it’s going damn stronggg!!
If you want to know about my personal side:
I launched my personal newsletter a few months ago, and it’s doing crazily well.
I thought no one would be interested in reading my stories/perspectives, but I’m glad I was wrong.
I don’t want you to miss out on it.
Do check it out here and subscribe if you want to read more of it:
YouTube video I loved
Alex covered some basic but efficient/important models.
My flight from Pune to Hyderabad got delayed by two hours, and this video kept me company:
Song I’m listening to on a loop
A friend suggested Roz Roz to me last month. I didn’t like it at first, but as I kept listening to it, I enjoyed its vibe.
That’s all from Cognition #30.
Geez! 30 issues! That’s some achievement and consistency.
To more quality content ✨
See ya soon.
Take care, stay safe, and learn from your mistakes.
Love,
Vikra.
Thank you so much for mentioning Fueler Bucket. It means a lot, Vikra ❤️
Loved the fact that you are thoughtful about client experiences and this really matters. Most freealancing durng their initial engaging overlook and miss this out