A couple of weeks ago saw my 2 year freelanc-iversary. A small milestone to many, I’m sure. But one I wasn’t sure I would reach.
You see, back in February 2023 (my first freelance birthday), I celebrated with a disgusting burnout, depression, and paranoia that I’d made the worst decision of my life. This may seem a little dramatic from the outside, but I want to be real about what happened.
The unprecedented success of my first year of freelancing
I knew going freelance was a huge risk. These things always are. What I didn’t expect was for my first year to be so successful, that I’d be booked out until the following January six months in advance.
Don’t get me wrong, this first year was also really fucking hard. I worked a stupid amount of hours and learned A LOT about how to manage (and avoid) shitty clients.
But I also spoke at BrightonSEO 2022 (my first ever public speaking gig) and was picked out as one of the top ten talks of the conference. I still can’t wrap my head around that.
I won work with a client who would go on to pay ⅔ of my income that year. I made some amazing friends, I found community, I worked on a wide range of SEO content and website projects (my favourite) that I was so proud of.
And then at the end of January 2023, just before my one-year anniversary, my biggest client started working with an SEO agency and no longer needed me.
My business turned upside down in the space of two weeks
I lost my biggest client, the economy was…not doing great. Chat GPT was all the rage. And I was being ghosted at every turn. In that January alone, 5 clients ghosted me for projects worth upwards of £20k.
In February, what was supposed to be a month of celebration, not a single enquiry came through. In March, a few bits started to but it was the classic “Can you rewrite my entire website for £500”. And no, I can’t do that.
I did what any rational person would do
And wallowed in self-pity for 2 months.
I went to one event (Women In Tech SEO London) and I spoke on the Search With Candour podcast (hosted by my wonderful friend Jack). Both of which were absolutely incredible but I felt like a fraud the entire time.
From all of my success in my first year of freelancing, I’d never had a quiet period. Little did I appreciate the toll it would take on my mental health. I was somehow panicking and languishing at the same time. And on more than one occasion began the dreaded job hunt to put an end to all of this insecurity.
Something had to change (so I changed everything)
Not one to do things by halves, I set about an overhaul that would take me 6 months. I started working with a coach who specialises in helping neurodivergent people (Autism + ADHD combo for me) who was fucking amazing. And very affordable (100% necessary at a time when I had no money coming in).
I also set up a deal with a designer I used to work with back in my agency days. A skill swap. We both needed a change so I wrote her website copy and helped with her SEO while she designed and built this website right here.
The date was set. I had a fixed timeline to get my own website copy written. But, as is always the case, it’s never that simple.
Here’s a rundown of the changes I made:
- New website copy in a totally different tone of voice (the one I fucking love plastered all over this site)
- Hired a photographer (shout out to the wonderful Katie Needle) so I could get some professional shots on my site and for my wider marketing
- Completely changed the structure of my services (including adding in SEO content audits and optimisation)
- Added a transparent pricing structure to my website copy services
- Re-packaged and re-launched Write Your Own Fucking Content (after a failed launch that January)
- Did all of the technical SEO for this website (learnt as I went and can now offer that to my clients)
- And while I was at it, moved my site from Wix to WordPress (and believe me, Wix do not make it easy to leave)
- Oh, and just for fun, I moved email marketing systems as well to improve the reader experience and get rid of the clunky system I’d been using for the last year
And all of that was happening while I was prepping for another talk at BrightonSEO, this time on the main stage.
Needless to say, June – August were the busiest months of my life. Luckily (for my finances, not for my time), I’d also picked up a couple of SEO retainers to see me through and pay the bills.
Completely changing my website saved my business
Your website is your shop window. And when (like me), your business is all about creating and improving websites, it has to be top notch. I knew I had to lead by example and that is exactly what I do now.
This overhaul of my website led to the most successful quarter I’ve had as a business owner. I matched my income from my first year in just 4 months.
I have worked with some amazing clients on some of the biggest scale website projects I’ve ever worked on. 4 months worth of spaces for Write Your Own Fucking Content sold out in 2 weeks. And I was able to take 3 weeks off over Christmas (much needed after a very, very challenging year).
Investing in your business can be scary
Especially when everything seems to be going wrong. But sometimes the scary choice is the right one. Without diving headfirst into this project, I wouldn’t have made it to my 2 year freelance anniversary.
My business would not still be standing. It certainly wouldn’t be thriving.
Consider this a personal case study I suppose. One about the real, tangible, financial and business benefits a new website can bring you.
I’ve been working in websites (and content marketing as a whole) for ten years. I firmly believe that I am really fucking good at what I do. But that experience alone is not going to keep my business afloat, despite what I thought in my first year of freelancing.
Respect for your business comes from the inside
God, that sounds wanky doesn’t it?
But it’s true. In order for your business and your expertise to really be respected by your prospects, your audience, and your clients, you need to invest in it. You have to take your business seriously and treat it with the respect it fucking deserves if you want others to do the same.
I’m not going to lie here, folks, seeing this happen first-hand to my business is also really fucking validating. I work in websites and SEO because I absolutely love it. I’ve helped dozens of businesses increase their traffic, sales, conversions, and brand recognition over the last ten years.
And finally managing to do it for myself has been genuinely life-changing. Not to mention some much-needed first-hand proof of the power these transformations can have.
Treat your business with the respect it deserves
Whether it’s a wanky website, shit SEO, or crappy content holding you back, it’s time to turn things around. Give your business the marketing it fucking deserves.
And if you want a helping hand from your resident website expert, get in touch so we can get started.
