Do your family and friends know what you do as a freelancer?

You might assume they do. But it’s a bit like that scene in Friends where none of the gang quite know what Chandler does all day, aside from hanging out in coffee shops. Actually, it’s a LOT like that…

The reality is, they might know vaguely what you do, but they might not know exactly how you help people, or who your ideal customer is. A lot of freelancers I know are overly modest about what they do, so feel deeply uncomfortable with sharing what their achievements are or asking for help, especially for those in their ‘offline life’. But the results when they do are pretty amazing. People can surprise you by being really supportive, helpful and even lead generating.

This is something you can do if you’re a fairly new freelancer, launching a new service or simply want to increase your visibility.

I’m challenging you to write an e-mail to your family and friends. All the ones you know who you respect (you can leave out Uncle Barry who believes the internet is the devil, and that friend from primary school who only posts her ‘it’s complicated’ dating updates and Britain First posts), potentially have a network of people who would be interested in what you do or you simply want to update with your latest business updates.

I’ve popped below an example e-mail I sent out to 10 friends and family when I launched my coaching service for freelancers. Three came back with solid leads (who became clients), a further three came back with loads of encouraging words and tips (which is rather welcome when you’re launching something new and feeling nervous), and one came back three months later with a lead after remembering my e-mail. Not bad for one simply e-mail eh?

Here’s my example email, (the packages have changed a little since this email).

Hi everyone.

Hope you’re all well and enjoying the sunshine. Apologies for the mass e-mail, but there’s a cute gif at the bottom to make up for it. That’s how the internet works, right? Cute gifs solve everything?

I don’t know if you’ve heard but I’ve recently qualified and started a life and career coaching business as part of The Freelance Lifestyle, and I would appreciate your support so much as it grows. I’m in that nervous/excited point of launching it and I’m reaching out to you to let you know about three coaching packages I have:

• A six-month coaching package for brand new or aspiring freelancers, which includes my 30 Day Freelance Lifestyle e-course to take them through their first month
• A six-month coaching package for established freelancers to build confidence, overcome limiting beliefs and create regular goals with accountability and e-mail support throughout each month.
• A half-day intensive session to help established freelancers overcome business road blocks, whether it’s developing a better work/life balance, identifying new business opportunities or creating better workflows to be more productive.

There’s more information, along with some lovely testimonials, on my coaching website.

If you know of anyone who might be interested (or you’re interested yourself), I offer a free 15 minute, no obligation, Skype chat to find out more. Simply click this link to choose a time, or hit reply.

I’m also offering a 20% off discount until the end of June for friends and family (that’s you!)

My coaching clients so far have gone away feeling highly motivated, energised and with strong goals each session to build their freelance business. I also use NLP, transactional analysis and various exercises to go deep and make long-term changes, rather than quick fixes.

(There’s likely to be a sprinkling of app and online tool suggestions to make life easier too, because I love a good productivity hack.)

If this isn’t a good fit for you I totally understand and would be grateful if you’d forward this email to anyone you know who might be interested. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Here’s a penguin gif for your dedication.

Thanks,

Emma

See? That’s not so scary is it? A nice, chatty e-mail, letting them know what you do, what’s in it for them and I even chucked in a gif (because I rarely e-mail friends and family without throwing in a gif or two).

Give it a try. Send that email. I’d love to hear how you get on with it.