How to navigate a freelance dry spell
The time will come in most freelancers’ lives when for whatever reason, for a week, a month or perhaps longer, the phone just stops ringing. You wonder if your email is broken and start sending yourself blank messages from your phone. Just to check.
The first time this happened to me was March 2020. The pandemic hit, I lost two retainer clients within the space of an hour and my inbox fell silent. “Well, that’s it. I’ll never get work again,” I said to my partner that evening over a large wine. Luckily, I was wrong. It didn’t last long. As soon as folk realised the world wasn’t going to end (yet) they still needed me to write things for them. The start of 2023 saw another little lull, with all eyes in Europe on Ukraine and the skyrocketing numbers at the petrol pump.
But it won’t always be dramatic world events that cause a gap in your calendar. At the start of summer 2022, a week off I’d planned to spend with family got abruptly cancelled when one of our party caught chickenpox. Suddenly, I needed to fill the week with work at very short notice, in the hope that I could salvage the holiday later in the year.
Whatever the reason, it takes resilience and confidence to weather a freelance dry spell. Your brain is going to want to go into panic mode, tell you it’s cos you’re shit. Tell you you’ll never work again. You’ll want to drop your rates, take on that red-flag-waving client, or agree to write that blog post on sewage systems in south Devon, no matter how dull it sounds.
But here’s the thing. You will work again. One day, maybe in a week, maybe in a month, the phone will ring, your email will ping and you’ll wonder how you got so bloody busy again.
Until then, there are some things you can do to make the wait more bearable. You might even reduce the length of time it takes for that next gig to come along.
Let your freelance mates know
If you’ve got space to fill, get yourself on social media and ask your freelance faves for a little share.
Of course, everyone has their own style and voice, but I’d suggest avoiding anything too negative, desperate or panicked. Even if you feel all those things, keep it light and breezy. I’m all for authenticity, but I also think we want to give our clients the confidence to choose us. So instead of: “Freaking out. Haven’t worked in weeks. Desperately need a client, any client, to book me for something this week or I honestly don’t know what I’ll do”, try: “I’ve just found myself with a last-minute opening for two web pages this week. Could they be yours? Let’s chat”.
Help your potential clients out by being specific about what you can offer. Don’t make them feel like they’re getting a bargain in the reduced aisle, because they’re not. They’re getting a sweet, one-time deal to work with you. Lucky gits.
Email old clients
Again, this can feel like a sad and desperate task if you’re typing “Hey Joe, times are hard, got any work for me?” So don’t do this.
Email to check in, find out their news, ask them how that launch went. THEN let them know you’ve got a bit of space coming up and they were top of mind. Make it all about the customer. “I’ve got a bit of space coming up and I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be great to write X blog post, update X piece of copy for my absolute favourite client”. (Yes, you can say this to more than one client. I won’t tell.)
You’re strengthening those relationships, being proactive and all the pings in your inbox – even if they don’t amount to any work – will help you feel less alone.
Call in testimonials
While you’re chatting to folk you’ve impressed in the past, ask for a testimonial. Not only will it beef up your portfolio and make landing your next gig even easier, but you’ll also get that sweet confidence boost of remembering why you do what you do and how much value you bring.
It’s easy to forget to do these things when we’re busy, so take the time to catch up while you’re waiting for your next gig.
Do your own thing
Okay, so you’re doing everything you can to get the pipeline flowing again. Now I’m going to suggest some things that might feel totally counterintuitive.
If your work calendar isn’t overflowing with projects, it can feel foolish to step away from lead generation and get creative. But, in tandem with a bit of lead gen, creativity is exactly what you need. It will build your confidence, remind you why you love what you do and give you lots to talk about passionately on socials…which is lead generation anyway.
So, write the blog post, start the podcast, create that thing you’ve been putting off since the last time you were quiet. Who knows when you’ll next get the chance!
Take a long lunch
If work’s quiet, enjoy it! Take a long lunch. Walk the dog an extra lap around the park. Knock off early and hit the beach. You’re the boss. And you *know* you more than make up the hours when you’re busy. So, bask, my friend. You’ll be rushed off your feet again before you know it.
Sign up to a course
So now you’re not watching your inbox, time is likely going a lot quicker and you’re having a bit more fun.
Next thing to do is to sign up to a course. Again, this has multiple huge benefits for the dry spell freelancer: you’re expanding your knowledge, making yourself more desirable, keeping busy, building confidence and being proactive. Go you!
Book a holiday
This one is an absolute freelance fail-safe. Book yourself a holiday. It’s guaranteed to send swarms of clients to your DMs needing urgent turnaround on their substantial and well-paid projects. It’s the same law of science that dictates it will rain on the one day you wear sandals to the office. We can’t explain it, but we know it works.
If you’d like a creative boost as you navigate your freelance dry spell, book a Zoom power hour with me. We can plan your content, brainstorm your next business move or level up your landing pages so you’ll have clients bashing down the door before the week is out.