International women day: How important is being your authentic self as a Freelancer?

Published On: March 8th, 2024

Is being your authentic self the key to getting more clients? Should you trust your own voice more? Freelance Marketer and content expert, Jo Millett from the Lean Content Podcast, Niche Upon a Star, believes as a freelancer being your authentic self should be at the top of the list.

This International Women’s Day, Jo Millett, (37, former teacher, comedian and now author of three marketing books and marketing guru in Bristol) from Lean Content has created a podcast called Niche Upon a Star which aims to help freelancers and in particular female freelancers find their authentic voice and learn to trust it.

Your authentic voice results from being true to who you are as an individual and a professional. It’s the way you share your unique perspective on the world, and it’s something that should come naturally to you, and as a freelance writer you have the power to trust your own voice and clients will thank you for that.

The freelancing world has seen huge growth in the aftermath of the Covid 19 pandemic – according to ‘World Bank’ stats a staggering 46.7%, which is nearly half the world’s working population are self-employed.

As of December 2023, there were around 4.37 million self-employed workers in the UK alone. 46% of that figure comprise of female freelancers, with 15% of freelancers are working mums, according to IPSE (The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed).

This figure is increasing year on year as the number of working mums turn to self-employment which often fits in with family life better than employment.

Jo believes authenticity is key. The more authentic you are the more clients you will win and the more traction your campaigns will gather. How do you discover and learn to trust your own voice?

Jo says ‘Don’t be afraid to try, fail, and try again. Keep listening to your own intuition and follow your natural instincts. Whatever your freelance career, the more you lean into your own tone of voice and things you enjoy, the faster you’ll discover your true niche.

This International Women’s Day (IWD), Niche Upon a Star, examines the world of freelance marketing and shine the light on some very inspirational women in the freelance marketing sector, however, Jo has a different view on IWD…

Jo comments “As for International Women’s Day, frankly, I think it’s a joke that it’s only a day. We deserve far more. Women are, in this country and all around the world, poorly supported, excluded from education and the workforce, and under-protected by the law. We need legislative change in so many areas, and things like IWD (which is rightly becoming more and more important every year) highlight this, around pay, childcare, and work women need more protection. You only need to look at the news to see how violence and exploitation of women is also rising, all of this is unacceptable and needs to change.”

Freelancing in the creative sector is a competitive area to work, this sector has experienced significant growth in the past few years with more freelance content and copy writers, more content creators flooding the market as the raise of social media continues and the demand for content soars.

Jo tells us why she started the podcast…

“I started a podcast to share some much-needed, real-life, gritty positivity about work. I love being a content marketer and I love what I do, and I have some amazing colleagues. I wanted to highlight the experiences of people who started at the same time as me. I kept hearing from newer freelancers how hard it was to run a business, especially if you’re also juggling a family. But a lot of the more experienced people I had around me, who’d been going for a few years, had a different perspective. They loved their work and felt good about what they did. Niche Upon A Star is designed to showcase the positive side of running your own business, and to advocate for people being completely, utterly themselves at work.”

Jo adds: “My top tip for mums running their own business, actually comes from a pod cast guest, Freya Swenson-Costello, ‘Just do it’ – that’s her slogan (and someone else’s, I think!). Don’t overthink it, just go for what you want and keep putting yourself out there. Failure isn’t bad, it’s all a learning journey. Running your own business is worth its weight in gold when you have kids.”

Freelancing like all jobs has highs and lows but being true to yourself will always count for so much. If you are a struggling freelancer; keep going! Or if you are thinking of going freelance; go for it!

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