🌊 DeepSeek makes waves

Happy Friday! This is the Freelance Gig, where we share news, tools, tips, and tricks to help grow your freelance business.
Mentioned in today’s email: Silicon Valley, DeepSeek, OpenAI, TikTok, remote workers, and Alibaba. Plus why every freelancer needs a “wins file”, and how to build a thriving freelance business even if you’re brand new.
Read time: 3 minutes and 31 seconds

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Working With Clients
Why Every Freelancer Needs a “Wins File”

What’s the #1 biggest hurdle to raising your rates?
We’ll give you a hint…
It’s not how many followers you have on social media…
Or how good your sales skills are…
Instead, it’s how much proof you have.
Proof of results is what allows you to raise your rates.
The more extensive your track record is, the more you can charge.
So if you want to 2X, 4X or even 10X what you charge right now…
It’s essential to create a “wins file” to collect as much proof as you can.
Get in the habit of screenshotting client messages…
Asking for testimonials after a big win…
And then sharing those wins with future prospects along with your audience on social media.
(if you have one)
Because there’s no amount of copywriting magic or verbal jiu jitsu that can stand up to a laundry list of client wins.
Making the Rounds

Silicon Valley is raving about a Made-in-China AI model called DeepSeek
TikTok is still on shaky ground in the U.S.
OpenAI is probing whether DeepSeek used its models to train new chatbot
LinkedIn passes $2B in premium revenue in 12 months
Many remote workers say they’d be likely to leave their job if they could no longer work from home
Alibaba releases AI model it says surpasses DeepSeek
POLL: Have you tried DeepSeek's new AI chatbot yet? |
Working For Yourself
How to Build a Thriving Freelance Business Even If You’re Brand New

Daily habits are the fastest path to competency and eventually mastery in your freelance business.
The more you practice, the better you get.
The better you get, the more results you can produce.
And the more results you can produce, the more you can earn.
We recommend breaking down your daily habit into two parts:
PART 1: Study
To map out the study portion of your daily habit, ask yourself this question:
Which do you have more of — time or money?
- If you have more time than money, focus on free resources.
- If you have more money than time, focus on paid resources.
Paid products and courses can shortcut your learning curve…
But there’s more than enough free information out there to teach you the basics of any one of the high-income skills we’ve listed in this guide.
In the end, what matters most is that you get started as soon as possible.
PART 2: Practice
Theory is nothing without application.
So the next step is to find ways to practice your high-income skill every day.
Whether that’s writing an ad, designing a logo, or putting together a campaign plan.
But remember this:
Anyone who is highly-skilled at something was once bad at it.
You don’t go from zero to A-List overnight.
Don’t overcomplicate it.
And try not to practice the same things everyday.
It’s good to shake up your routine and complete different tasks.
Aim to spend at least one hour a day on your daily habit.
If you’ve got more time to spare, then of course, you can do more.
But creating momentum is essential in the early stages of your freelance business.
And if you want to progress quickly, you need to be spending at least an hour a day on it.
AI Prompts For Freelancers
Prompt of the Week: The 1950s Advertising Legend
This AI prompt is designed to help you create a marketing plan that incorporates old school advertising flair.
Here is the prompt:
Imagine you’re a 1950s advertising legend who time-traveled to today. Create a 5-step marketing plan for my freelance [TYPE OF SERVICE] services that blends mid-century ad charm with modern digital channels.
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Tool of the Week
Build a beautiful one-page portfolio site for free with Carrd
Studies show there are over 1.5 billion freelancers in the world.
There’s no shortage of competition.
This means you’ve got to seize every opportunity you can to stand out.
One easy way is to set up a portfolio website.
In the past, this meant signing up for hosting and learning how to use WordPress.
But not anymore.
Now you can use Carrd to create a beautiful one-page portfolio site for free.
They’ve got dozens of templates you can use…
Or you can start with a blank slate to build your own.
Plus they’re fast to load and highly responsive, so they look great across desktops, tablets, and mobile.
Hit the link below to learn more:
Bonus Points
💼 Careers: Why you should be wary of the unlimited vacation perk (link)
✈️ Digital Nomads: New Zealand loosens visitor visa rules to welcome digital nomads (link)
🎧 Work Beats: Tracks That Made Me Fall in Love with Synthwave Music - INEXED (link)
What'd you think of today's edition? |