Beware the Freelancer Seductress

Why the most popular freelance advice typically fails

Today’s online ecosystem structurally seduces us toward scale and automation.

But for most Freelancers, the internet’s real power lies in its ability to connect.

Exploring the “structural seduction”

You start a Freelance business and have zero clients. So you look up “how to get freelance clients” and find a polished 40-minute video from someone with 200K subscribers.

They tell you all about their totally revolutionary Freelance Client System, which consists of:

→ a lead magnet
→ a 7-email nurture sequence
→ a sales call to close

So you spend two weeks building a lead magnet nobody asked for, writing automated emails to people who don’t exist yet, and creating a landing page for an audience you don’t have. And after all your hard work, you hesitantly push “Publish.”

No one downloads it.

It’s a distraction

The internet whispers: build a system. Create leverage. Work smarter, not harder.

Because the person teaching you isn’t making their money by getting clients for freelancers. They’re making money by teaching freelancers how to get clients.

That’s a completely different business.

They’re in the business of ranking #1 for “how to get freelance clients” on YouTube – a game that rewards whoever can produce the most polished content, optimize for the algorithm, and build the biggest audience.

From there, they can generate thousands of leads, convert a small percentage into a $997 evergreen course, and make far more money than they ever could actually doing freelance client work.

So you’re left with this weird dynamic where the loudest voices are all saying “scale, automate, systematize” – because that’s what worked for them.

But most of us aren’t playing that game. You don’t need 10,000 leads; you need five great clients.

What works for me

I’ve tried both approaches.

I’ve done the cold outreach blasts. The automated email sequences. The “scale-first” mentality.

And I can tell you: ~100% of my best projects and clients have come from my network and referrals.

The internet’s real power isn’t that it lets you automate outreach to strangers. It’s that it lets you build actual relationships with people you never would’ve met otherwise.

Here’s how I think about doing that…

Reaching out to people who inspire me.

Justin Welsh says: “One of the easiest ways to build a 10x network is to reach out randomly to people who inspire you and tell them so.”

I listen to a ton of podcasts, and always make sure to connect with or follow anyone I listen to and find interesting. Then maybe tell ‘em a bit about why.

Engaging with content I genuinely enjoy.

I’m aiming to be more thoughtful in engaging with the things that actually move me – especially on places like Substack, where I think there may be a lot of like-minded folks wandering these digital halls.

Real comments, not “great post!” bulldinky.

Treating content as a magnet.

In the past, I’ve thought of content more like a “system” to get new clients: If I just posted enough and said the right combination of words, revenue would magically appear.

I think that approach can work.

But I like thinking of content more as a way to filter like-minded people online. When someone resonates with something I write, that’s a signal we might click. It’s the start of a relationship.

Then, connecting with people who engage.

Since I treat engagement as a signal, I like to look deeper into nearly everyone who engages with my stuff.

If someone leaves a thoughtful comment or likes a bunch of my posts, I’ll check out their work. Maybe follow them. Maybe reach out.

(This only works if you’re genuinely approaching content as a way to filter like-minded people.)

Having more conversations and calls.

I’m trying to turn more online relationships into actual calls, where I can really see if I vibe with someone.

No real strategy – I simply pay attention to how I feel during and after a conversation - do I feel energized or depleted? If energized, keep building that relationship.

And if it really clicks, ask: “Who else should I meet?”

A different vision

Considering scale might make sense if you’re building something truly transformative that needs to reach millions of people.

But if you’re running a professional services business? The focus on scale and automation is a distraction.

Worse, it’s dehumanizing. When you’re optimizing for thousands of leads, people become conversion rates, and relationships become “touchpoints.”

Maybe we can choose a different way.

We can use the internet to really connect with people. To build relationships that matter and serve clients you genuinely care about serving.

Scale when it makes sense. But start by building something extremely valuable for a small group of specific people.