📈 Cross-platform scaling

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Happy Thursday! Here’s a fun fact: The pilot episode of Star Trek aired 56 years ago today, on September 8, 1966. It spawned 852 episodes across 43 seasons of 12 different shows, one Duolingo-approved language, and one trip to space for its inaugural captain. Not too shabby.

Mentioned in today’s newsletter: Microsoft, Pinterest Ads, quiet quitting, Twitter, and Elon Musk. Plus 3 low-cost ways to generate freelance leads, whether you should build a portfolio website, and the one thing that gives people more feelings of power than money or status.

Read time: 3 minutes and 21 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • Microsoft announces Pinterest Ads import feature. The update means advertisers will soon be able to import their Pinterest campaigns into the Microsoft Audience Network to scale across platforms even faster.
  • New study finds more employees are “quiet quitting.” The Gallup survey found 18% of workers are now “actively disengaged.” That’s the highest it’s been in almost 10 years.
  • Delaware judge allows Elon Musk to amend countersuit to include new whistleblower allegations. The outcome of the first hearing between Musk and Twitter wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the Tesla CEO though: Elon’s request to push the trial back to November was denied.

Working With Clients

3 Simple and Low-Cost Ways to Generate Freelance Leads

Winning in business is all about momentum.

That’s why it’s so important to establish a consistent way to land clients.

Especially if you’re new to freelancing.

Now, there are three main channels you can use to get clients without spending money on ads:

1) Referrals & Word of Mouth

Referrals and word of mouth always make for the best clients.

They’re pre-framed to trust you because someone else has endorsed you or recommended you.

Which also increases your perceived value.

Asking existing clients for referrals (and potentially incentivizing them to do so with a referral fee or bonus) is a great place to start.

The only problem is, if you’re a new freelancer, you’re not really in a position to leverage this channel yet.

2) Cold Outreach

Cold outreach means sending messages to people you don’t know to see if they’d be interested in hiring you.

This is typically done via email or on social media.

But the problem with cold outreach is intent.

No one you reach out to has said they actually WANT what you’re selling.

So this is typically not the best option for new freelancers either


Because the tools you need to convert cold prospects into clients (lots of credibility, testimonials and a bold, results-based promise) are not in your toolkit yet.

3) Freelance Platforms

Freelance platforms solve the intent problem.

Instead of going after ice cold prospects who may or may not even want the service you provide


You’re targeting people who have demonstrated a need and are actively looking for the solution.

These are paying clients who are looking to hire someone ASAP.

That’s intent.

And if you’re a brand new freelancer, this is the best place to start.

Our weapon of choice is Upwork, but there’s plenty of others out there like Fiverr, FreeUp and Freelancer.com.

Pick one and go all in on it.

Working For Yourself

Do You Need a Portfolio Website?

One question you may be asking yourself if you’re a new freelancer is


Do you need a portfolio website?

Especially considering freelance sites like Upwork have built-in portfolio functionality


Along with the ability to collect social proof through ratings and reviews.

So here’s our take


Portfolio websites make you look more credible and professional.

They also demonstrate some added overall know-how


Because to set one up, you’ll need to: 

  • Register a domain
  • Sign up for hosting
  • Choose a content management system (WordPress, Squarespace, etc)
  • Set up your website to display your work

Now you may eventually get to the point where you don’t need a portfolio site to close deals


But in the early going, it’s a great way to position yourself as a true professional.

Plus it doesn’t have to cost much to set up.

You can register a domain for less than $20 on Namecheap


You can sign up for hosting at Siteground for less than $5/mo


And WordPress is free to install.

So even if you’re just getting started in your freelancing career


Setting up a portfolio website is well worth the effort.

Tools We Love

I’m King of the World

Ever find yourself retyping or copy-pasting the same thing day after day?

Whether it’s messages to prospects, colleagues, or clients


Document templates


Daily reports
.

Or even usernames and passwords


Truth is, all that time spent typing adds up.

That’s why we’re big fans of TextExpander.

TextExpander lets you set up shortcodes and abbreviations to save time on stuff you type.

Once you set it up, all you have to do is type in your shortcode, and TextExpander will automatically paste your text for you.

Learn more about how to save time with TextExpander.

Gig Alerts

Looking for clients? These freelance jobs were posted on Upwork in the last 24 hours:

Quote of the Day

“A creative life is an amplified life. It’s a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life, and a hell of a lot more interesting life”

— Elizabeth Gilbert

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