🕒 TikTok extension
Jim Hamilton
April 11, 2025
In partnership with
Happy Friday! Welcome to Q2. This is the Freelance Gig, where we share news, tools, tips, and tricks to help grow your freelance business.
Mentioned in today’s email: Trump, TikTok, WordPress and AI. Plus the secret to long-term client success and forget work/life balance and focus on this instead.
Read time: 3 minutes and 11 seconds
Together with Honeybook
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HoneyBook is how independent businesses attract leads, manage clients, book meetings, sign contracts, and get paid.
Plus, HoneyBook’s AI tools summarize project details, generate email drafts, take meeting notes, predict high-value leads, and more.
Think of HoneyBook as your behind-the-scenes business partner—here to handle the admin work you need to do, so you can focus on the creative work you want to do.
Working With Clients
The Secret to Long-Term Client Success
Humans have an incredible sense of smell.
They’re also keenly aware of someone’s energy.
So be mindful of the energy you bring to client interactions.
Aim to be an energy GENERATOR.
Not a blood-sucking energy vampire.
If you can create positivity, excitement, and enthusiasm, that energy becomes infectious.
People around you will soak that up.
Ultimately, enthusiasm is a superpower…
And clients will always gravitate towards people who are fun to work with.
So do your best to keep it good vibes only.
Making the Rounds
Trump extends U.S. TikTok sell-off deadline once again
Gen Z is still anxiously using AI
How Trump’s tariffs could make AI development more expensive
Fake job seekers are flooding U.S. companies that are hiring for remote positions
AI might be scanning your resume. Here’s what job hunters should know
WordPress launches a free AI-powered website builder
Working For Yourself
Forget Work/Life Balance and Focus On This Instead
Flexibility is one of the biggest benefits of freelancing.
But despite being able to work wherever, whenever…
Many freelancers still feel like their work/life balance is out of whack.
So here’s some food for thought:
Stop focusing on work/life balance and start focusing on work/life integration.
You see, the word “balance” implies your work and your life are at odds…
When really, they should be working in synergy to manifest all the things you want for yourself…
Like total control over your schedule and your income…
The ability to travel, take extended time off, and have lots of fun…
Not to mention the opportunity to work on things that excite you and give you purpose.
Labels are powerful.
So while it may feel like your work and your life ARE battling each other sometimes…
The next time these feelings resurface, try reframing this concept in your mind to focus on how one enables the other…
Instead of how one obstructs the other.
You can have your cake and eat it too.
AI Prompts For Freelancers
Prompt of the Week: The Viral Ghostwriter
This AI prompt is designed to help you write a viral thread on Threads.
Here is the prompt:
You're a world class content writer with expertise in writing viral threads for Threads. My audience is [AUDIENCE]. I want you to create an outline for a viral thread on [TOPIC]. The hook (first post in the thread) must be irresistible and highly attention-grabbing. Remember that each individual post within the thread must be no more than 280 characters. The entire thread should be 10 posts long, including the hook (first post) and recap (last post summarizing all of the tips). It should be optimized for consumption on mobile devices. This means lots of line breaks, bulleted lists, and short, punchy sentences. Emojis are NOT allowed, so there should not be a single emoji in the entire thread. Be creative, specific, and emotional.
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Tool of the Week
Harness the newsletter platform built for growth with Beehiiv
Looking to start your own email newsletter?
(HINT: you should be)
And if so, we strongly recommend Beehiiv.
At this point, it’s basically an entire newsletter business-in-a-box.
With it, you can replace:
WordPress (or any other content management system)
Website hosting (like Siteground or HostGator)
Email service provider (like Active Campaign or ConvertKit)
Recommendation widget (like SparkLoop)
That’s why they’re trusted by many of the fastest-growing newsletters in the world, including Exec Sum, Miss Excel, Milk Road, and lots more.
As a freelancer, having an email newsletter is a great way to establish authority and set yourself apart from the competition.
So if you’re ready to start building an audience you actually own…
P.S: They’re running a big Black Friday sale right now.
So you’ve been thinking about signing up, now is the best time of year to do so 💪
Bonus Points
💼 Careers: Saving the office from becoming a passive-aggressive hellscape (link)
🗣️ Leadership: The fine line between being a leader and being a jerk (link)
🎧 Work Beats: Relaxing Lo-Fi House Music Mix - Cherry Blossom Picnic Set in Tokyo - Fuwa Beats (link)
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