On Friday 2nd October 2020, I gave a talk at brightonSEO Oct 2020, which was held online instead of in-person (a first for the conference, which was done due to the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic and lockdown). The talk gave advice to aspiring, new and established freelancing, covering topics such as the pros and cons of freelancing, what you should do to prepare going into freelancing, how to do networking and sales, and much more. There's also community, podcast and book recommendations near the end. Links to bonus content: https://anti-sell.com/blog/seo-freelancers-give-advice-on-freelancing-brightonseo-october-2020/ https://anti-sell.com/blog/how-to-get-seo-clients-non-salesy/ Original talk description: More and more people are getting into freelancing – whether as a side-income alongside their day job at an agency or in-house, or as their dedicated full-time income. Freelance life is amazing, but it can also be very challenging. Whether you’re considering going freelance, have only just started out, or have been in the game for a while, this talk will give guidance on how/when to ‘take the plunge’ and how to prepare for it, doing sales & networking, the business side of things, how to keep sane and involved in the industry, growing into an agency, and more. While mostly focussing on SEO freelancing, the tips and advice will apply to all industries. so there will be something to take away for all. Steve has been freelancing in the SEO industry since 2013, and has been asking other SEO freelancers for their pearls of wisdom, to make it as relevant and useful as possible.

1. Steve Morgan
Freelance SEO Consultant
Author of Anti-Sell
Going Solo
The Survival Guide for Freelance SEOs
(Present & Future)

2. @steviephil
#brightonSEO
The ‘About Me’ Slide!
▪ SEO = 11+ years
▪ Freelancing = 7+ years
▪ SEOno & Anti-Sell.com
▪ Cardiff SEO Meet
▪ Author of Anti-Sell
Needs longer hair…

3. @steviephil
#brightonSEO
The Pros of Freelancing
▪ Be your own boss! Flexibility! Freedom!
▪ Choose your work/projects/clients
▪ More money (potentially)

4. @steviephil
#brightonSEO
The… Not-So-Pros of Freelancing
▪ Erratic, irregular income
▪ Lonely / lacking camaraderie
▪ You have to do more than just SEO:
sales, finance, admin, etc…
▪ Hard to take time off (e.g. holiday days)

5. @steviephil
#brightonSEO
▪ Try to have ‘safety net’ savings by (3-6 months)
▪ Try to get a head-start on marketing yourself:
▪ Social media – Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
▪ Website / landing page
▪ Networking
Before Going Freelance…

6. @steviephil
#brightonSEO
Before Going Freelance…
▪ Try to have some work secured before the leap
▪ Dabble part-time first (evenings/weekends)
▪ Go full-time when you have enough work on
▪ If going freelance from an agency (and working
with an old agency client), check your contract!
▪ Some agencies have ‘poaching’ clauses

7. @steviephil
#brightonSEO
▪ All-round SEO
…or
▪ Technical SEO specialist
…or
▪ SEO for the financial services sector
…or
▪ Technical SEO for financial services
Going Niche

8. @steviephil
#brightonSEO
Sales & Networking
▪ This first tip is bloody important:
Business networking
≠
Business networking events

9. @steviephil
#brightonSEO
Sales & Networking
▪ Other (actual) tips:
▪ Go to non-SEO events! (Sorry Kelvin)
▪ Facebook groups!
▪ Twitter chats!
▪ Try out coworking spaces!
▪ Run your own [podcast / event / whatever]
▪ Self-promotion is not a dirty word

10. @steviephil
#brightonSEO
The ‘Business’ Side of Freelancing
▪ Finance:
▪ Get an accountant (seriously)
▪ Get a separate business bank account
▪ Keep on top of income & expenses as you go
▪ Keep expenses low as much as you can –
do you need [the new shiny thing]…?

11. @steviephil
#brightonSEO
The ‘Business’ Side of Freelancing
▪ Finance (cont.):
▪ 7 or 14 day payment terms (not 30)
▪ 50% upfront, 50% upon completion
▪ Only allow bank transfer (BACS) payments
▪ Read up on HMRC’s ‘payments on account’

12. @steviephil
#brightonSEO
The ‘Business’ Side of Freelancing
▪ Legal:
▪ Get business insurance
▪ Get a contract
▪ Get everything in writing… EVERYTHING
▪ See also: screenshots!
▪ Be careful working with clients outside the UK
▪Admin:
▪ Use stuff like Trello, etc.

13. @steviephil
#brightonSEO
Growing Into an Agency (if you want to)
▪ Important note: you don’t have to
▪ …But if you do:
▪ Use freelancing as a stepping stone
▪ Safer than jumping straight to the agency route

14. @steviephil
#brightonSEO
Freelancer Facebook Groups
▪ Freelance Heroes
▪ Being Freelance
▪ Doing It For The Kids (DIFTK)

15. @steviephil
#brightonSEO
Freelancer Podcasts
▪ Freelance Heroes
▪ Being Freelance
▪ Doing It For The Kids (DIFTK)
(…not a copy/paste error)

16. @steviephil
#brightonSEO
Freelancer Books
▪ Survival Skills for Freelancers
- Sarah Townsend
▪ The Future is Freelance
- Kirsty Hulse
▪ Anti-Sell
- Steve Morgan

17. @steviephil
#brightonSEO
More! From Other Freelance SEOs!
Anti-Sell.com/brightonseo
Andrew
Cock-Starkey
(a.k.a.
Optimisey)
Sarah
Tamsin
Ahmed
Khalifa
Stacey
MacNaught
Natalie Mott
And more…?

18. @steviephil
#brightonSEO
“15 Ways to Get SEO Clients!”
Anti-Sell.com/seo

19. @steviephil
#brightonSEO
Obligatory Outro Slide!
Anti-Sell: Marketing, Lead
Generation & Networking Tips
for Freelancers Who Hate Sales
▪ Paperback | Kindle | Audiobook
▪ 5.0 out of 5 on Amazon UK
▪ Winner of 4 book awards
Anti-Sell.com/book