You can't succeed in freelancing by hiding behind a laptop

It’s been two weeks, but I’m back - the Freelance Income Accelerator newsletter has arrived once more!

As always, in this newsletter, Anthony Muhye, your favorite freelance guide, covers one burning ❤️‍🔥​ freelance topic in depth - and by the time you’re done reading, you will be at least 1% better!

In this issue, you will learn:

• Why you cannot hide behind your Upwork or LinkedIn account forever and actually need to go out there to land high-ticket clients!

• TO-DO Checklist for networking as a freelancer!

• My newest initiative: the full Income Accelerator Experience for freelancers who want to level up!

Total Reading Time: 8 minutes.

Are you ready? OF COURSE YOU ARE. Let’s go!

Last week, I went (almost) completely missing.

Today, I want to use this newsletter to explain why:

I landed my current biggest contract back in 2019, with one of my biggest clients on Upwork becoming my full-time employer off the platform.

This year, he decided to take his closest team members on a workcation to Albania, all expenses included.

There is magic in freelancing - this is one such occasion in which this occurs.

Just look at where we stayed in Albania for 6 days:

So yes, while I may:

1. Not have gotten much work done (oops)

2. Have absolutely missed my last newsletter on Wednesday

3. Stopped posting and engaging regularly on LinkedIn for >1 week

I certainly strengthened the ties with my main client, did some necessary team building, and negotiated a much better contract for the upcoming year.

But that’s not all… because right after Albania, I decided to spend a few days in Budapest, meeting a good friend and one of the most underrated creators on LinkedIn: Astan M.

He talks about business, wealth, investment, and life as a founder. Give him a follow by clicking his name above.

I’ve been working with Astan on something very exciting for the past few months, so…

Meeting him allowed us to not only cement the relationship but also discuss our strategy moving forward.

And both of these things are important lessons for you, as a freelancer, because…

I’m not asking you to start traveling across the world to meet clients, but it’s definitely time to start escaping your comfort zones:

• The comfort zone of only posting and engaging (no networking)

• The comfort zone of inbound-only clients (zero outreach)

• The comfort zone of building only in one direction

• The comfort zone of “I’m too shy to do that”

All of these are eating away at your potential success.

Your lack of communication is really hurting you.

Your comfort in simply posting and waiting for clients to DM is harming you.

Your inability to actually take control of conversations and negotiate higher prices and build valuable offers is killing your brand.

Drop that feeling of dread and start being the authority you’ve always wanted to be.

Your positioning, your brand voice, your ability to actually hustle - there is more to being a freelancer than just doing what everyone else is doing and…

“Hoping for the best”.

GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND GO CONQUER THE WORLD!

Or at least conquer your niche, okay?

BONUS: Checklist for Networking as a Freelancer

(LinkedIn subscribers don’t get this in their inbox!)

If you’re looking to network effectively and don’t know where to start, here’s a quick and concise checklist that you should go over. It’ll help you a lot:

• Make sure to know who your competitors and fellow niche authorities are. These people have already done the hard work for you.

• Actually read DMs and check out the people who send them. Many ignored messages would have opened some interesting doors for you.

• Don’t just focus on engaging with influencers. Engage with people your size or even smaller. They want to grow and are willing to give you more than the influencers (who many times don’t even REPLY!)

• Prioritize your time. Meetings aren’t always important. But the right meeting, once every two weeks… might be the life changer you need.

• If you like what someone is doing (e.g. company owner), don’t be afraid of telling them this, and openly pitching your services. Just build some rapport first.

• Try to meet people in real life, too! It’s not easy to meet everyone you’ll ever want to, but ask them if they’re ever coming to your country or nearby, and then set a meet. Instant win for trust levels!

• Finally, take the conversation off platforms. Upwork and LinkedIn are nice, but chatting on WhatsApp and/or email is much more effective. Now, I guess it’s up to you to find out HOW (ToS and all that).

Now, an announcement: The Income Accelerator Experience

I’ve been thinking this through for a while, and it’s time to announce it:

I’m planning to work with a select number of freelancers to take them to the next level.

As you may already know, I’ve been consulting for a while now, but consultations can only take a freelancer so far.

I want to dedicate myself closely to helping a small number of people grow and:

• Master their niche positioning

• Boost their client communication

• Supercharge their negotiation skills

• And most importantly, maximize their revenue!

The goal here would be not just to get posts and newsletters from me, but to chat 1:1, get direct updates and Q&A, and regular follow-up calls so I can track your progress and keep you on the right track to making >$50k a year.

If this sounds like something you’d want (because who doesn’t like making more money?) and you’re willing to invest on a monthly basis to get full access…

Please reply to this email and give me a detailed pitch as to why we should work together. I’ll get back to you soon!

Wait, don’t believe I can get you the success I’m promising? Check out my testimonials and let them speak for themselves!

No more delaying. Reply now. I promise this isn’t a scarcity tactic: I won’t be taking in 20, 50 or 100 people, so move fast!

That’s all for today, don’t forget to rate the newsletter!

And stay tuned for another big announcement before the end of the month.

See you next Wednesday, and if you don’t follow me yet, find me on LinkedIn!