👋🏽 Why “I’m a freelance writer” doesn’t get you hired anymore

Howdy, ‘Lancer.

Last week, I showed you who pays $800+ for articles and where to find them.

This week, we need to talk about why most of those clients won’t hire you.

Not because you’re not good enough. But because you sound like everyone else.

Check your LinkedIn feed right now, almost every writer’s headline starts with “I help…” or “Freelance writer for B2B…”

These headlines are not bad as they describe what you do and who you help. However, they make you soooo easy to blend into a sea of sameness with hundreds of other writers saying the exact same thing. 

The client has no reason to pick you over anyone else. So they default to the cheapest option or the first person who reaches out.

If you want to charge higher rates, you need positioning that makes you the obvious choice for a specific type of client.

Let me show you what that looks like. Or at least what I’ve been doing.

I break my positioning into three parts:

It is tempting to say work with everyone. I mean, more companies mean more money, right? NO!.

Remember that sea of sameness? Saying you work for everyone is the fastest way to plunge yourself into it.

Instead of generalizing, I get specific about the type of company I want to work with.

For me, it’s B2B SaaS companies with $10M+ revenue. That’s specific enough that the right people know I’m talking to them, but broad enough that I’m not limiting myself to five companies.

I could even get more specific. I could say I work only with healthcare companies, or companies in the EU, or companies founded by guys named Zuckerberg. You get the point.

I focus on the outcome, not the task.

I don’t say “I write blog posts.” Of course, I write blog posts, but framing it that way instantly pits me against AI tools and other writers.

Something along the lines of, “I create content that moves prospects through your pipeline,” sounds better.

It tells prospects what changes after they work with me.

Other ways you can position outcomes:

This is my unfair advantage. What I do that most writers don’t.

Right now, I’m focusing on bottom-funnel content. This means I test the tools I write about, interview SMEs, and so on.

Your differentiator might be:

My positioning shows up everywhere. Not just my LinkedIn bio.

It’s how I talk about deliverables in pitches and whether I sound like someone who just writes words and takes orders, or someone prospects can trust with their business.

I think of positioning as making me a specialist instead of a generalist. It helps me hold a specific space in a potential client’s head.

When they think “we need someone who writes comparison pages for SaaS,” I want my name to come up. Not because I’m the only writer they know, but because I’m the only one who’s clearly positioned for that exact thing.

You don’t need to nail this perfectly before you start pitching. But you do need something sharper than “I’m a freelance writer.”

Here’s how to test if your positioning works:

Can someone hear your positioning and immediately know:

If they have to ask follow-up questions, it’s not clear enough.

Read your positioning out loud. After each sentence, ask “so what?”

If you can’t answer why it matters to the client, cut that part.

Use your positioning in 5-10 actual pitches. Track responses.

If you’re getting “thanks but not right now” or silence, your positioning isn’t resonating. If you’re getting “tell me more” or “what are your rates?”, you’re onto something.

This week, rewrite how you introduce yourself. 

Get specific about who you serve. Focus on outcomes, not tasks. Show what makes you different.

Then test it in 5-10 real pitches. Track what resonates.

Don’t overthink it. You can always refine later. But you need something sharper than “I'm a freelance writer” if you want clients who pay what you’re worth.

See you next week!!!

P.S. Next week, I’m breaking down what’s included in a typical $800 article. Because once your positioning gets you in the door, you need to deliver work that justifies the rate.