Happy Tuesday! Welcome back to The Gig, the daily newsletter helping freelancers build highly-profitable client businesses.
Mentioned in today’s newsletter: Shopify, Klaviyo, Meet, Duo, and DALL-E 2. Plus the most dangerous number in business, the “April surprise” you should start preparing for today, and pillow talk for email marketers.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes and 4 seconds
Making the Rounds
- Shopify investing $100M into email marketing platform Klaviyo. The investment will give Klaviyo early access to new features and position it as Shopify’s recommended email partner.
- Google merges its two video chat apps. Duo, Google’s consumer video chat service, will inherit all of Meet’s business-oriented features, along with its name. Which is probably a smart move, given there’s a green owl out there who also goes by Duo.
- Should graphic designers be worried about DALL-E 2? The rise of AI-generated imagery has some designers worried. But according to this article from Marketing Brew, not all industry insiders think it’s time to update their resumes.
Working With Clients
The Most Dangerous Number in Business
One big advantage of freelancing is being able to diversify your income streams.
There’s a reason they say “one” is the most dangerous number in business…
Because if you rely exclusively on…
- One traffic source
- One ad account
- Or one client
… for all of your income, then you’re in a very precarious place.
And it wouldn’t take much to knock you off your perch.
So…
A word to the wise:
Avoid relying on one client for 100% of your income.
Aim to have at least two — this way you have something to fall back on if things go sideways with Client #1.
Plus, as you build your track record…
The list of clients you’ve worked with in the past will grow…
Which can also serve as a back-up plan if you need to drum up work.
Working For Yourself
He’s Coming and He Don’t Take No Prisoners
As a freelancer, you wear two hats at all times:
1) Technician
2) Operator
Where most freelancers go wrong is by focusing strictly on their responsibilities as the technician.
Doing a great job for your clients is key.
But don’t shirk your duties as the CEO of your freelance biz.
Particularly when it comes to bookkeeping and finances.
Since you’ll be classified as an independent contractor, that means you’re on the hook for paying income taxes.
And contrary to popular belief, the 2022 tax season doesn’t start next April…
It’s already begun.
So make sure you’ve got enough left over when the tax man comes for his cut.
Tools We Love
Talk Dirty to Me
As the publishers of a daily newsletter, email marketing is the foundation of our business.
And throughout our freelancing careers, we’ve had the opportunity to work with many of the biggest email service providers out there.
But the problem is…
Most of them have so many fancy bells and whistles that you need a PhD in computer science just to figure out how to make them do what you want.
That’s why we’re proud users of ConvertKit.
It’s simple, intuitive, and incredibly easy to use.
Because you *should* be able to collect emails, send out broadcasts, and set up simple automations in minutes without calling in chat support.
So if you’re looking for a simple and cost-effective way to grow your online audience with email marketing…
Try ConvertKit for free today.
Gig Alert
Looking for clients? These freelance jobs were posted on Upwork in the last 24 hours:
Quote of the Day
“If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.”
— Reid Hoffman
ICYMI: