7 great freelancing tips: highlights from my latest newsletters (2024/25)
I’ve been sending out my freelancing tips (aka ‘1 Minute-Tips’ newsletter) to fellow translators, content writers, and other freelancers for over 4 years. From free and affordable training courses to cybersecurity and financial hacks, I’ve covered it all. With an opening rate of over 40% and an average click rate of around 15%, my faithful subscribers are happy, too!
Here are some top tips I’ve shared in the last few months. Want more? Subscribe here. Currently, I send the newsletter out once a month.
1. Improve your creative writing skills with this free boot camp
Whether you’re a translator, copywriter, or just someone who’d like to explore their creative side: the ‘Couch to 80k Writing Boot Camp’ by Tim Clare is an 8-week fiction writing course that’s fun and free. Just ensure you complete the exercises in each of the 48 podcast episodes!
Dos and don’ts
Don’t be put off by his slightly manic 2-minute pitch, which he’s doing at top speed. Go straight to the first podcast episode instead and take it from there.
Cost
Free.
2. Learn about cybersecurity and AI with the OU’s new ‘Click Start’ programme
The Open University recently launched its ‘Click Start’ programme, which will run until 30 September 2025. If you want to stay up to date with the latest developments or even specialise in these fields, the courses are a great starting point.
I’ve started with the AI course to get a better idea of how machine learning and AI work. I’m not a fan of generative AI and will be especially interested in the ethics module.
Dos and don’ts
The OU’s learning interface is a bit dated, but don’t worry: the content is top-notch. You have the option to take a deep dive into some topics, which I’d recommend.
Cost
Free.
3. Join Bluesky instead of X
I returned to BlueSky early in 2025 as it has better security these days (it finally enabled 2-factor authentication). So far, it’s been a positive experience. I’ve reconnected with friendly fellow translators, copywriters, and other creatives who seem to be doing well there. It looks and feels very similar to ‘old’ Twitter/X.
Who owns it? It’s now run by CEO Jay Graber (US) as a public benefit corporation.
Is it more ethical than X? Definitely. Bluesky doesn’t (yet…) use your data for AI training purposes. It also supports decentralised content moderation, doesn’t tinker with algorithms, and it’s ad-free for now.
Dos and don’ts
- Set up your account, introduce yourself in your profile, add a URL to your website, and get going.
- It’s not LinkedIn, so don’t be too self-promotional. Informal networking is much more useful.
- Don’t DM people unless you know them.
Cost
Free.
4. Stop sharing your content with AI (Canva and MS Word)
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want AI tools to scrape any of my content. Ever. Sadly, they all do, even Canva and MS Word! Luckily, you can stop them. Here’s how.
- Canva: go to Canva’s Privacy Settings and switch off any of the permissions you don’t feel comfortable with.
- Microsoft Word: open a new document and go to Options > General > Privacy. Untick the relevant boxes that Word ‘helpfully’ pre-ticked for you (e.g. ‘Connected Experiences’).
Dos and don’ts
Carefully check all your other online tools to see if you can disable AI access to your content. Also, revisit these settings as they tend to (cough) ‘reset’ themselves…
5. Join the ‘Working Not Working’ platform
This is an international site for creative freelancers (e.g. copywriters) and for those hiring them. You can create a profile and get matched with freelance jobs. Looks interesting!
Cost
Free.
6. Find reliable academic sources via Mendeley
Writing a blog post or researching a new topic? You may find this tool useful: it’ll give you access to tons of academic papers. Tick the ‘Open Access’ button after searching for your key term and then download any relevant academic papers.
Cost
Free.
Bonus Tip: check your state pension (UK freelancers only)
Check and (if applicable) boost your state pension by 5th April 2025. If necessary, you can ‘buy back’ any missing national insurance years from 2006 to 2018 until then. After 5th April, you’ll only be able to buy back the last six financial years.
To qualify for the full state pension amount, you’ll need roughly 35 full national insurance years. And while the state pension isn’t huge, it’ll be essential for many of us.
Dos and don’ts
Many people will try to log in closer to the deadline, so act as soon as possible. You can also contact the Future Pension Centre for advice.
Hope you’ll enjoy these fantastic courses, tips, and resources. I’m sure they’ll help your freelance business thrive!
PS. Need someone to write or translate your own digital marketing copy (English ↔ German)? I’d love to help. Let’s chat.
