Welcome to the second half of 2015. Are you doing better or worse than you planned?

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Sometimes I hate my guts (pjrvs.com)

Paul Jarvis writes about his experience trusting and not trusting his gut. This is why I tend to trust my gut’s first response heavily.

How to Win More Consulting Business by Giving More Advice (consultingsuccess.com)

I completely agree with Michael Zipursky. I always try to give every potential client some value, even if they don’t hire me. That’s a big reason why I was so successful with Redmine and open source, potential clients could use my software before they even engaged with me.

Position yourself to attract better clients & higher rates (thepositioningmanual.com) SPONSOR

Do any of these sound familiar? "As a former engineer and self-taught designer/web developer, I feel that I have too many opportunities to pick just one." "The main problem I have now is validating that my new focus is big enough."

The Positioning Mentoring Program can help. Save 20% with the offer code FREELANCECHI

How to Cheat at Content Marketing (winwithoutpitching.com)

Blair Enns has some great insights in this article about content marketing especially when you don’t like to write. The "three thousand words per month of unique, expert, indexible content." idea is gold.

7 Mistakes You’re Making on LinkedIn (freshbooks.com)

LinkedIn is one of the big social networks that tends to get ignored. Justine Smith goes through seven ways you can use it with consulting.

Understanding what makes a client reject (or not reply to) your proposal (freelancelift.com)

I’ve been fortunate to have a high close rate with my potential clients, which it probably due to the levels of trust and qualification I do beforehand. Liam Veitch has a great "Subconscious Checklist" that you can use to make sure your client is ready for your proposal before you even send it.

How to get your client’s budget and not die in the intent (nusii.com)

Nathan Powell has collected advice from eight creative professionals on how they discover a clients budget. It’s interesting to hear all of the different approaches.

No Growth Plan Is Ever Going To Sound Reasonable (ittybiz.com)

Naomi Dunford reminds me of the saying "what got us here, won’t get us there". Definitely relevant if you’ve been trying to grow in 2015 and are falling short.

We don’t understand our customers (curtismchale.ca)

Listening to your clients and being flexible at times can mean the different between a deal and no-deal. Don’t go against your values or put yourself in a bad situation but bend a little if you can.

Product-wise consulting for freelancers (thecreativeclass.io)

Productized consulting has been making headlines this past year and for some it’s been touted as a magic bullet. Nick Disabato brings it back down to reality and shows how it’s best for a mature, established consulting business.

How To Get New Clients With Facebook Ads (doubleyourfreelancing.com)

Brennan Dunn writes about how to use Facebook ads and gives you a few different ideas you can use as your offer.

The Moral Dilemma of Hourly Billing (expensiveproblem.com)

Jonathan Stark make as very good point about hourly billing "If you are billing by the hour, you have a subconscious incentive to NOT become more efficient." You can become more efficient but you’ll need to reject that incentive.

Quick Links

Freelance Freedom #378 – House pains (envato.com)

15 Common Habits That Are Interrupting Your Productivity (freshbooks.com)

How To Ace The Feeding & Care Of Freelancers (bidsketch.com)

The Business of Freelancing, Episode 29: Marcus Blankenship on Managing Subcontractors (doubleyourfreelancing.com)

Is Your Objective Narrow Enough? (ittybiz.com)

6 Ways To Craft Killer Copy That Catapults Your Conversions (bidsketch.com)

How Do You Know If You’re Really an Expert? (consultingpipelinepodcast.com)

Thanks, I’ll see you next week

Eric Davis (@edavis10)