this ain’t a meritocracy
Austin L. Church
Founder of Freelance Cake — Coaching, coworking, and community for advanced freelancers who want the growth without the burnout | Details in About ↓
Freelancing isn’t a meritocracy.
As much as the craftsman in me would love to believe that creative talent, like love, is all we need, the pragmatist in me can’t ignore the evidence.
Quality represents a single advantage in a sea of mediocrity, albeit a strong one, but you need others to thrive long term: positioning, packaging, pricing, specialization, process, consistent marketing, mindset, and recognized authority.
Has your marketing been inconsistent (or nonexistent)?
I've been there myself. A series of insights jarred me awake:
And the only way to keep the habit is to do it first thing in the morning, so you won't put it off, and shrink the commitment until it sticks.
So the commitment isn't "marketing" but "I send 1 outreach email a day before 9:00am, Monday through Friday."
You can always expand the scope later, but the habit must stick first.
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Do you have an "always be marketing" practice?
The lessons are short, less than 10 minutes. Watch them, do the exercises, and make 1 small deposit in your future self (and business) each day.
In 6 weeks you can be in a very different place.
About Austin L. Church
Hi, I'm Austin, a writer, brand consultant, and freelance coach.
I started freelancing after finishing my M.A. in Literature and getting laid off from a marketing agency. Freelancing led to mobile apps (Bright Newt), a tech startup (Closeup.fm), a children's book (Grabbling), and a branding studio (Balernum).?
I love teaching freelancers and consultants how to stack up specific advantages for more income, free time, and fun. My wife and I live with our wrecking balls and two cats in Knoxville, Tennessee, near the Great Smoky Mountains.
You can learn more at?FreelanceCake.com. You can also connect with me on?Twitter.
You bring the million-dollar conversion copywriting ideas. We bring the tech wizardry that prints the money ??. Together, we turn 'wouldn't it be amazing if...' into 'holy cow, it's actually happening!'
1 年"So the commitment isn't "marketing" but "I send 1 outreach email a day before 9:00am, Monday through Friday." The specificity makes a huge difference in understanding what consistency looks like, day to day. Sometimes it's that easy, and even then, we make this simple task so terribly hard.
Senior Freelance Social Media Expert ?? | Content Marketing Powerhouse ???? | Visual Storyteller with a touch of copywriting ??| 8+ Years of Experience ?
1 年Everybody talks about consistency in this industry, but not a lot mention how difficult it is to be consistent, form a habit, or push forward with so many distractions and immediate gratifications out there.