In this episode, we’re tackling one of the biggest challenges freelancers face: the dreaded feast-or-famine cycle. Whether you’re a seasoned freelancer or just starting out, the strategies we’ll discuss can help you create a steady stream of work and avoid the panic that comes with dry spells.
The Growing Urgency of Client Prospecting
The freelance world is facing increased pressure. With a challenging economy causing many businesses to put projects on hold, freelancers who’ve enjoyed steady work over the past few years are now finding themselves in a tough spot. The solution? A strategic and consistent approach to prospecting that can keep your pipeline full, regardless of external conditions.
Recognizing Marketing as a Core Role
As a solo business owner, marketing isn’t just something you do when you need work—it’s a critical role that you must prioritize. Freelancers often come from environments where work is handed to them, but when you’re running your own business, you’re responsible for every function, including marketing and sales. If you’re serious about building a sustainable business, you need to accept this responsibility and make marketing a consistent part of your routine.
The 10% Rule: A Simple Strategy for Consistent Marketing
To ensure marketing becomes a habit, I recommend the 10% Rule—dedicating 10% of your weekly work time to marketing activities. This approach is flexible, achievable, and essential for maintaining a healthy pipeline of opportunities. Whether you’re booked solid or facing a slow period, this rule helps you stay proactive in your marketing efforts.
Building Marketing into Your Routine
Consistency is key. Just like brushing your teeth or going for a walk, marketing should become a habitual part of your weekly routine. When you make marketing a non-negotiable habit, you’ll find that opportunities start to flow more regularly. This doesn’t mean you have to cold prospect constantly—staying in touch with your network, engaging with past clients, and maintaining visibility on platforms like LinkedIn can all contribute to keeping your pipeline active.
The Priority Pyramid: Focus on High-Probability Opportunities First
When your pipeline is dry, it’s important to focus your efforts on the highest-probability opportunities first. That’s where the Priority Pyramid comes into play:
- Current Clients & Open Proposals: Start by following up with current clients and open opportunities. This is the highest-probability area where you can secure quick wins.
- Past & Dormant Clients: Reconnect with past clients or those who have gone dormant. They already know, like, and trust you, making it easier to reignite the relationship.
- Dead Leads: Reach out to prospects who showed interest in the past but didn’t convert. Often, circumstances change, and they may now be ready to move forward.
- Cold Prospects: Finally, if you’ve exhausted the previous three categories, turn to cold prospecting. This can be time-consuming, but it’s a necessary part of maintaining a full pipeline.
The Importance of Reps and At-Bats
Cold prospecting can feel daunting, especially when you face rejection or silence. But remember, like a slot machine in Vegas, the more you play (or in this case, prospect), the higher your chances of hitting a jackpot. The key is to keep going, even when it feels tough. The more reps you do, the better your chances of landing a big win.
Unwavering Commitment: The Foundation of Success Freelancing comes with its challenges, and it’s during these tough times that your resolve will be tested. It’s crucial to
have a strong sense of purpose—your “Big Why”—that keeps you motivated. Like the American colonists fighting for their freedom, your commitment to your business and your goals will carry you through the toughest challenges.
Upcoming Workshop: Build a Powerful Prospecting Habit in 21 Days
If you’re ready to take your prospecting efforts to the next level, I’m excited to announce a new prospecting workshop starting next week. Over 21 days, you’ll receive daily lessons and assignments designed to help you build effective prospecting habits that stick. This workshop is all about action, accountability, and results—perfect for freelancers who are ready to transform their business.
This is the last time I’m running this workshop in 2024.
To join us, send an email to [ed at b2blauncher dot com], and we’ll get you all the details. The workshop begins on Monday, September 16, so don’t wait!
Final Thoughts
Breaking free from the feast-or-famine cycle requires a strategic and consistent approach to marketing and prospecting. By embracing your role as a marketer, following the 10% Rule, and focusing on high-probability opportunities, you can create a steady flow of work and build a sustainable freelance business.
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the High-Income Business Writing podcast. I hope you found these strategies useful. Until next time, keep pushing forward and stay committed to your success.
The notes that follow are a very basic, unedited summary of the show. There’s a lot more detail in the audio version. You can listen to the show using the audio player below. Or you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Key Topics and Bullets:
- Why Prospecting Matters
- Freelancers are having a rough time finding clients
- Kick that feast-or-famine habit to the curb and build steady marketing routines
- Keep pushing through those rejections and inner doubts—don’t give up!
- 40-hour work week plan
- Finding Your Big “Why”
- Know your personal motivation—it’ll keep you going when things get rough.
- Marketing is your job too—think of your freelance gig as a real business
- Always be marketing—even when work is plenty. Stick to the 10% rule
- Dedicate 10% of your work week to marketing efforts—it’s like a business tithe
- If work dries up, make prospecting your full-time gig until things turn around
- Priority Pyramid for Prospecting
- Focus on what matters first; quick wins boost your confidence
- 21-Day Prospecting Workshop
- Keep some cash reserves and pay yourself consistently but cautiously
Timestamp Overview:
00:00 Ed– I don’t need to tell you that prospecting for clients has quickly become a critical issue in the freelance world. There’s a lot of reasons for this. AI is creating a ton of noise. The challenging economy is causing many businesses to put projects on hold or just scrap them all together. I really feel that that is the biggest reason. I don’t think we have seen the real impact of AI yet, and the impact may be very different from what we currently think it will be.
04:17 Ed– So you have to understand that one of your top jobs as a self employed professional is marketing, period. There is no getting around this. There’s no use in arguing about it. I didn’t make the rules. I wasn’t here when they were voting on this. This is the way it is. One of the many blessings of being a solopreneur is that you get to run the show. You get to make the decisions.
07:56 Ed– You are responsible for marketing. You are responsible for sales, for production, human resources, operations, finances. I mean, we’re talking about every single business function. Even, again, when you’re outsourcing some of this, you are still responsible. And if that’s not something you want to do, I hate to say it, but freelancing may not be for you.
10:58 Ed– Now let’s take it one step further. If marketing is a critical role, in order to execute that role effectively, marketing and prospecting can’t be a sometimes thing. It can’t be something you only do when you need work or when you just when you feel like doing it. It must be a constant thing, an every week thing. And, yes, even when you’re booked solid with work things, it just never ends. Now we’ll talk more about that later because there are ways to still adjust this. And the idea is you can dial this up or down, but you never want to just flat out stop. So how do you do it consistently? And how do you know when enough is enough or how much you should do? What amount of effort? Well, I recommend you follow the 10% rule. The 10% rule is about committing 10% of your committed weekly work time to marketing. Think of it as a tithe. In Christian traditions, there is this idea of a tithe that, you know, you give 10% to god. And this is not a religious conversation. I just love the simplicity of it.
14:21 Ed– So rules can be very healthy. Protocols can be very healthy. And I think the 10% rule is one that I think many of us can live with. So that’s the first recommendation, to follow the 10% rule. The second recommendation is to turn it into a habit rather than something you do only sometimes when you need to, when you need the work. And I’m talking about marketing, and right now, I’m specifically talking about prospecting and outreach. So when I look back at my 16 years of teaching and coaching freelancers on business building strategies, one of the most common patterns I’ve noticed is that those who always have work are consistent with their marketing. Now doesn’t mean that they just do cold prospecting. In fact, usually, they do a mix of things. Sometimes, they’re just really good about staying in touch with their network, cultivating relationships in nurturing long term relationships, staying in touch with clients, dormant clients and prospects, staying top of mind in other ways through LinkedIn and in front of their audience in conferences, just adding value, offering ideas. They’re just really good about the marketing piece, about staying in touch, about offering things, about knocking on doors. It’s usually a holistic strategy that they have at play. The great thing about turning this into a habit and the great thing about any habit period is that you don’t have to think about it. Once it’s a habit, you just do it. You just feel compelled to do it. There’s just in fact, when you don’t do it, you feel bad.
17:48 Ed– When I look around, I talk to people, the core issue is that the pipeline of potential projects is dry because they haven’t been feeding it. And now they’re desperate, which works against them. So that is the most common scenario, not not the former where they’ve been doing a great job and they just can’t convert, you know, all these people and the projects in their pipeline. It’s that they haven’t been feeding their pipeline. And because they’re now working with a dry pipeline, they’re desperate. And people can sense the desperation. People can sense the fear.
21:09 Ed– I’m gonna fix it for the short run, but I’m not going back. So I’m going to make sure that from now on, I have a habit in place that will drastically minimize the probability of me ending up in the situation again. So but, look, right now, you’re in it. You have to deal with it, and you have to deal with it head on. So here’s what you need to do to do that. Number 1, you need a strategy that puts your highest probability efforts first and then works down from there to lower and lower probability efforts. That’s the first thing. Start with the lowest hanging fruit. Number 2, you need a ton of reps or at bats, so you need a lot of numbers. You need to just get on that plate and just start swinging. And number 3, you need an unwavering commitment to make this happen. K? All 3 are so important. So let’s talk about them starting with your strategy to prioritize your efforts starting with low hanging fruit. I call it the priority pyramid. So when you’re under this kind of pressure, the priority pyramid can really give you clarity and guidance. Sometimes that’s really the thing that we need the most is we’re freaking out, and we start throwing a bunch of spaghetti at the wall.
24:20 Ed– I need to dig for opportunities with existing clients, and I need to follow-up on everything that’s outstanding if I haven’t done so already. And if I have, it’s an opportunity to see what may need another round of follow-up. You know? Most of us not we don’t follow-up enough. Most of us are under follow-up if that’s a term. That’s been my experience. The money is in the follow-up. It really is. So if you visualize this top section of the pyramid, you’ll notice that this is also the smallest area, the smallest layer of the pyramid. So when you add up your current clients, open quotes and proposals from the past few months, you’ll notice that there’s probably not a lot of them, but that’s okay. You don’t need a lot of them. But this is where you must start because this is the highest probability category. Alright. So let’s move on down.
27:21 Ed– So this strategic approach of just kinda going down the pecking order, if you will, not only maximizes your chances of success, but it also ensures that every action you take is meaningful and it’s impactful. So I just wanna remind you. Look. It’s not about doing everything. It’s about doing the right things first. So let’s talk about the second point, which is your number of reps or at bats that you get. And we’re gonna take a quick trip to Las Vegas for that, so bear with me. I want you to imagine that your best friend works at the Bellagio Hotel in Vegas, and he urges you to pay him a visit as soon as you can because he just discovered that one of the slot machines in the casino will actually work without you having to put money into it.
32:12 Ed– Your inner critic doesn’t have to rule your life. He or she is never going to go away, but you can loosen its grip over you. And one way to do that is to just do the work. You know, put your head down, do the work, focus on the effort, do the reps every day, rain or shine, even when you don’t feel like it. And you know what? Pat yourself on the back when you do and keep at it every day, every week, or whatever schedule you’ve committed to. When your inner critic sees that you’re not easily swayed, it’s gonna get tiring. It won’t give up forever, but it will give you the space you need to complete all your reps.
36:11Ed– You’re gonna come out the other end, and you’re gonna be fine. You can’t achieve any level of long term success as a solo professional without experiencing a few significant challenges and setbacks. K? It’s just the way it is. And, look, if it were easier, everyone would do it. It’s times like these that try everybody, and a lot of people fall off during difficult times, during difficult economies. A lot of people aren’t gonna make it, and it is what it is. If you’re listening to the show, I bet you’re not gonna be one of them. You know? The people who don’t invest in their businesses, you know, to read, to learn, to practice, commit, and do the work, the people who do those things usually are fine.
37:52 Ed– It’s well known that one of the major factors in the victory of the American colonies against the far larger and greatly superior British Army and Navy was the fact that the British soldiers were fighting to retain the colonies. Or to put it another way, these soldiers were basically sent across the Atlantic to risk their lives for land they didn’t personally own. And in a war for which the outcome was immaterial to them. I mean, like, if they win, okay, great. If they lose, okay, well, doesn’t affect me. Let’s think about the Americans. The Americans were fighting for their freedom and for their lives and the lives of their children and all their future generations. Now in light of what I just said of these historic challenges, which force do you believe was a more powerful motivator, the British soldiers’ duty to retain the land they had colonized or the American colonists’ fight for their freedom and future generations? K? I think you know the answer to that.
43:05 Ed– Now there are things you could do to drastically minimize your income variability, to increase income predictability. And these are things that I work with my clients on, and these are very doable things. But there’s still a variability to this, and nothing is for sure in life or in business. Okay? So because of the nature of our business and the variable income nature of it, you have to make it a priority to build financial buffers in your business. More specifically, you can’t be running on you know, you can’t be running a hand to mouth business. You need to have cash reserves, not just in your personal life, but also inside your business, checking account or checking accounts. One of the best things I did several years ago was to start paying myself a fixed salary. And by salary, I’m not talking about the technical definition of a salary.
44:51 Ed– When the 2008 financial crisis hit, that was a really, really difficult time for me. Financially, emotionally, I mean, just in everything. So my recommendation is as you get out of a tight spot, I want you to commit to building cash reserves in your business and to committing to a fixed monthly draw that’s conservative and forces you to live personally with that amount. I find that when we give ourselves constraints like this, life finds a way. We find ways to make it work in our personal lives. And then what that enables you to do is as you start growing your business and those financial buffers grow, you can and should then start giving yourself gradual and conservative raises, but always a few steps behind where you are from a cash standpoint. It is such a gift to be able to ride out a difficult period knowing that you have a little bit of extra cash on hand and that you can cushion the blow, not forever, but, you know, for a decent amount of time. And I would just tell you this. The past year for me in my business, in my coaching and training business has been difficult. It really has. And it’s been these cash reserves that have enabled me to keep things going and to sleep well at night. It’s not always easy, but I can just tell you from experience that if you put those in place when times are good, you’re gonna thank yourself. Your future self will thank you for being responsible and financially responsible and, and being a good CFO, a chief financial officer. So I’ll leave it there. Maybe if there’s enough interest, I can do a future episode. We can get into the specifics of how to do this and systems and protocols and rules.
By the way… whenever you’re ready, here are 4 ways I can help you grow your freelance business:
1. Claim your free book:
Discover the secrets to a thriving writing career in Earn More in Less Time: The Proven Mindset, Strategies and Actions to Prosper as a Freelance Writer. — Download your FREE copy
2. Level up with the ultimate business-building toolkit
Ready to fast-track your freelance success? My comprehensive Business-Building Toolkit equips you with the essential skills to command higher fees, win premium clients, blend AI into your workflow, and build more predictable freelance income. Developed from years of coaching top freelancers, this toolkit is your roadmap to rapid results. — Learn More?
3. Work with me for 90 days
Need a trusted “sparring” partner to tackle your most pressing business challenges? I occasionally offer an intensive 90-day coaching program for freelancers at all income levels. We work together 1-on-1 to identify your most critical business obstacles, come up with innovative solutions and develop a customized, actionable plan. Email me at ed@b2blauncher.com with “90-Day Accelerator” in the subject line to learn more.
4. Banish 6-figure burnout
One of my core specialties is helping 6-figure freelancers earn more in less time with less stress. If you’re at that income level but you’re burning out and want to create a business that actually serves you, let’s connect. Email me at ed@b2blauncher.com and put “Boardroom” in the subject line and I’ll get back to you with more details.
