Freelancers: It’s Not About You

Photo by Proverbs 31:10.

It is no secret that human beings are pretty self-absorbed creatures, and while that sounds negative, a smart freelancer should actually think of it as a positive — because in the end people choose to hire you because of what you can do for them.

That’s right, “ask not what your clients can do for you, but what you can do for your clients”. Apologies to John F. Kennedy.

Despite the ubiquity of buzzwords like personal branding and other popular forms of self-promotion, in the end it stills comes to down to what a potential client gains from working with you or using your services: in other words, what is in it for them. You can use this natural self-interest to your advantage when crafting pitches and proposals by focusing on exactly that. Continue Reading