The Productive Freelancer

For a long time, my plan for earning more as a freelancer was to take on more work. Which was a brilliant plan right up until I had to do all the work.
 
In lucky episode 13 of The Productive Freelancer, I’m joined by LinkedIn ghostwriter and Stackedwize founder Kurtis Pykes. Kurtis started writing online to explain machine learning, landed a freelance contract through a LinkedIn DM after being made redundant, and roughly tripled his ghostwriting rates once he changed how he packaged his service.
 
Naturally, I had questions.
 
We get into how he’d find his first ghostwriting client today, why executives often hire him to get their time back, and how he takes the ideas rattling around in someone else’s head and turns them into posts that sound like them. I also asked him the question writers tend to get a bit twitchy about. Where does AI fit into his workflow?
 
If you’re curious about executive ghostwriting, or you’re already writing for clients and wondering how much more work you can physically fit into a week, this one’s for you.
 
Find Kurtis
Connect with Kurtis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtispykes/
and look in his Featured section for the free ghostwriting email course he mentions.
 
Read Stackedwize on Substack: https://substack.com/@kurtispykes
 
🎁 Free resources and private coaching for freelancers:
www.theproductivefreelancer.com
 
✉️ Subscribe to The Productive Freelancer newsletter:
https://lkmcreative.substack.com
 
Explore private freelance coaching: www.theproductivefreelancer.com/time-mastery-coaching
 
Have a question you’d like me to answer in a future episode? Email me at lauren@lkmcreative.com.

My entire business runs online, but I still LOVE writing things down on paper. For years, I couldn't work out how to use both without duplicating everything or abandoning one system for the other.
 
I think I've finally figured it out.
 
In Episode 12 of The Productive Freelancer, I'm sharing how I combine my digital calendar, paper diary, Notion, and Todoist to organise my client work, content, and everything else life expects me to somehow fit into a week.
 
I'll walk you through how I use my diary to check my actual capacity before promising a client a deadline, why I stopped putting every individual task into my calendar, and the four-column paper brainstorm I use to plan the week ahead.
 
There's also a practical challenge to help you try this yourself. A cheap notebook will do, although if unnecessarily beautiful stationery makes you happy, I fully support your decision.
 
🎁 Download the free Focus Window System Guide and explore private coaching:
www.theproductivefreelancer.com
 
For more on setting up your Focus Windows, listen to Episode 4: The Focus Window System: How to Plan Your Day Around Real Life.
 
 
The Productive Freelancer helps freelancers, solopreneurs, and small business owners manage their time, work more productively, deliver better work, and build sustainable businesses around real life.
 
🎙️ Got a question you'd like answered on a future episode?
Email me at lauren@lkmcreative.com. I may feature your question in a future episode!
 
🎁 FREE DOWNLOADS + PRIVATE COACHING:
https://www.theproductivefreelancer.com/
 
📺 WATCH ON YOUTUBE:
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Download my free LinkedIn Strategy Playbook:
www.TheProductiveFreelancer.com
 
Drowning in deadlines one month, wondering where your next client will come from the next? Ah, the joys of freelancing.
 
In this episode of The Productive Freelancer, I’m sharing practical ways to build a healthier client pipeline, drawing on over 11 years of running my own freelance business. We’ll cover reconnecting with previous clients, finding opportunities on LinkedIn, posting content that shows what you can do, and asking for referrals.
 
I also talk through how to approach potential clients without sending those awful sales pitches we all delete, plus a simple way to keep track of your conversations and follow-ups.
 
Your productivity challenge: set aside 15-20 minutes each weekday to market your business, even when you’re busy. Choose one manageable task and start making business development part of your routine.
 
Download my free LinkedIn Strategy Playbook:
www.TheProductiveFreelancer.com
 
 
The Productive Freelancer helps freelancers, solopreneurs, and small business owners manage their time, work more productively, deliver better work, and build sustainable businesses around real life.
 
🎙️ Got a question you'd like answered on a future episode?
Email me at lauren@lkmcreative.com. I may feature your question in a future episode!
 
🎁 FREE DOWNLOADS + PRIVATE COACHING:
https://www.theproductivefreelancer.com/
 
📺 WATCH ON YOUTUBE:
https://www.youtube.com/@productivefreelancerpodcast
 
💌 JOIN MY NEWSLETTER:
www.lkmcreative.substack.com
 
🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR PREFERRED PODCAST APP:
https://theproductivefreelancer.podbean.com
 
💼 CONNECT ON LINKEDIN:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurengouws
 
📸 FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM:
https://www.instagram.com/the_productive_freelancer/
 
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💻 FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/TheProductiveFreelancer

What happens when your clients decide they can replace you with AI?
 
In Lizzie Davey's case, three of them eventually came back.
 
In Episode 10 of The Productive Freelancer, I'm joined by freelance writer, Freelance Magic founder, and creator of the Friday Freelance Tips newsletter, Lizzie Davey.
 
Lizzie has spent more than a decade building a freelance writing business, working with SaaS and ecommerce brands including Shopify and Klaviyo. She's also built an audience of over 19,000 followers on LinkedIn by sharing the good, the bad, and the very real behind-the-scenes reality of freelancing.
 
We talk about how Lizzie moved from scrambling from project to project to building a sustainable roster of long-term clients, why relationships have become one of the most important parts of her business, and how she turns one-off projects into ongoing opportunities.
 
We also dig into LinkedIn, referrals, the rise of AI, and why Lizzie believes people are becoming increasingly tired of generic AI-generated content.
 
And because this is The Productive Freelancer, we get into what her working week actually looks like too: protecting her best writing hours, knowing her capacity, setting boundaries around evenings and weekends, fitting business growth around paying client work, and accepting that sometimes productivity simply means reprioritising.
 
In this episode:
Why relationships are everything in freelancing
How to turn one-off clients into repeat clients
How Lizzie keeps her network warm even when business is busy
What helped her grow an audience of over 19,000 people on LinkedIn
Why other freelancers can be one of your best sources of referrals
What happened when several of her clients left to experiment with AI
Why those clients ultimately came back
What human writers can bring to content that AI can't replicate
How Lizzie organises client work, content, admin, and business growth
The "block method" she uses to understand her monthly capacity
Why she no longer works evenings or weekends
What overwhelmed freelancers should stop trying to do all at once
 
If freelancing currently feels unpredictable, exhausting, or like you're constantly starting again from zero, this conversation is packed with practical ideas you can start applying to your own business - today!
 
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Meet Lizzie Davey
01:16 How Lizzie became a freelance writer
03:47 From freelancing to a sustainable business
04:11 How to build a steady roster of clients
06:02 Turning one-off projects into repeat work
06:54 The networking habit that prevents feast or famine
07:39 How Lizzie grew to nearly 19K LinkedIn followers
13:15 Creating content for freelancers AND potential clients
15:09 What happened when clients replaced Lizzie with AI
18:43 What human writers can do that AI can't
22:46 How Lizzie organises client work, content and admin
24:31 Reprioritising when your week gets too busy
26:44 Boundaries, capacity and avoiding freelance burnout
29:50 What struggling freelancers should focus on first
31:42 Where to find Lizzie
 
**********
 
The Productive Freelancer helps freelancers, solopreneurs, and small business owners manage their time, work more productively, deliver better work, and build sustainable businesses around real life.
 
🎙️ Got a question you'd like answered on a future episode?
Email me at lauren@lkmcreative.com. I may feature your question in a future episode!
 
🎁 FREE DOWNLOADS + PRIVATE COACHING:
https://www.theproductivefreelancer.com/
 
🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR PREFERRED PODCAST APP:
https://theproductivefreelancer.podbean.com
 
📺 WATCH ON YOUTUBE:
https://www.youtube.com/@productivefreelancerpodcast
 
💌 JOIN MY NEWSLETTER:
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💼 CONNECT ON LINKEDIN:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurengouws
 
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Have thousands of unread emails sitting in your inbox? Or maybe you’re simply tired of checking your email all day, losing important messages, and letting your inbox dictate what you work on next.
In Episode 9 of The Productive Freelancer, I’m sharing the exact email management system I use to keep multiple email accounts organised without spending my entire working day responding to messages.
We’ll cover how to organise different email accounts and folders, process incoming messages using my Action Now, Action Later, or Purge system, separate email communication from actual tasks, and create an “Action Later” folder that doesn’t simply become a second inbox.
You’ll also learn how to reduce unnecessary emails, build email management into your daily routine, and tackle an existing backlog of hundreds or even thousands of messages without sacrificing an entire weekend to your inbox.
In this episode:
Organising multiple email accounts and folders
The Action Now, Action Later, or Purge system
Why processing an email isn’t the same as acting on it
How to use an Action Later folder effectively
When to turn an email into a task
Why email deserves its own Focus Window
How to unsubscribe and reduce incoming clutter
What to do if you already have thousands of unread emails
This week’s practical productivity challenge
The goal isn’t necessarily Inbox Zero. It’s creating an inbox where important messages don’t get lost, outstanding tasks don’t get forgotten, and email no longer controls your day.
Elimination, not accumulation.
 
The Productive Freelancer helps freelancers, solopreneurs, and small business owners manage their time, work more productively, deliver better work, and build sustainable businesses around real life.
🎙️ Got a question you'd like answered on a future episode?
Email me at lauren@lkmcreative.com. I may feature your question in a future episode!
🎁 FREE DOWNLOADS + PRIVATE COACHING:
https://www.theproductivefreelancer.com/
📺 WATCH ON YOUTUBE:
https://www.youtube.com/@productivefreelancerpodcast
💌 JOIN MY NEWSLETTER:
www.lkmcreative.substack.com
💼 CONNECT ON LINKEDIN:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurengouws
📸 FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM:
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🎥 FOLLOW ON TIKTOK:
https://www.tiktok.com/@theproductivefreelancer

Can LinkedIn content genuinely bring you clients, even if you don’t have a huge following?
 
In the first guest episode of The Productive Freelancer, I’m joined by LinkedIn ghostwriter and content strategist Dmitry Pavlotsky. Dmitry has spent more than 15 years working in writing, marketing, and growth strategy. Today, he helps founders turn their experiences into LinkedIn content that builds trust, attracts leads, and sounds like them.
 
We discuss how Dmitry went from barely using LinkedIn to building an audience of approximately 12,000 followers and generating consistent business through his content.
 
Dmitry also shares:
How he turns one 60-minute conversation into 12 LinkedIn posts
The story behind a post that generated 72 leads in 24 hours
Why your follower count matters far less than who is reading
How to batch content without losing spontaneity
Why unsuccessful posts can be worth republishing
What separates an engaging post from one that generates enquiries
How to optimise your LinkedIn profile for potential clients
Why posting without engaging rarely works
The biggest mistakes people make with LinkedIn content
Whether AI can genuinely replicate your voice and stories
A simple three-post-per-week system for getting started
If you have been posting inconsistently, worrying about the algorithm, or wondering whether your audience is large enough, this conversation will help you approach LinkedIn more strategically.
 
Connect with Dmitry on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlotsky/
 
The Productive Freelancer helps freelancers, solopreneurs, and small business owners manage their time, work more productively, deliver better work, and build sustainable businesses around real life.
 
🎙️ Got a question you'd like answered on a future episode?
Email me at lauren@lkmcreative.com. I may feature your question in a future episode!
 
🎁 FREE DOWNLOADS + PRIVATE COACHING:
https://www.theproductivefreelancer.com/
 
📺 WATCH ON YOUTUBE:
https://www.youtube.com/@productivefreelancerpodcast
 
💌 JOIN MY NEWSLETTER:
www.lkmcreative.substack.com
 
💼 CONNECT ON LINKEDIN:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurengouws
 
📸 FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM:
https://www.instagram.com/the_productive_freelancer/
 
🎥 FOLLOW ON TIKTOK:
https://www.tiktok.com/@theproductivefreelancer