What others are seeing

I reached out to other freelancers and consultants to ask about their experiences this year. This is what they had to say.

Lee Densmer



Globia is a content marketing agency providing content strategy, editorial planning and content development. My area of expertise is taking content global (creating content that aligns with foreign markets). 

I have been able to build my business by targeting a very specific vertical: the translation and localization industry. I know exactly who the businesses are in this vertical and who within them would want to buy my services, so it’s been relatively easy to focus my sales efforts and find the work owner.

If I did not have clarity on my target company/buyer this would have been much much harder.

Lee Price



I run a small consulting firm. My clients are B2B leaders and marketers who need a thought partner or ghostwriter on their most important communication. 

Overall, revenue for 2023 was strong -- stronger than 2020 and 2021, and just behind 2022. 

In the middle of the year, my revenue tanked. Clients were spooked and not spending after layoffs in the tech industry and general economic uncertainty. But in Q3 and Q4, my work picked up again and helped the year end on a strong note, with revenue looking good going into next year.

Christopher Gillespie



Fenwick's a six-person content studio that offers uncommonly clear writing and design. 

We'll end the year 10% below last year, which is not how it was looking in June, but then everything returned in September, so this feels like quite the win. Next year is looking even better than 2022. 

Fenwick began 2023 with all the contracts we’d need. Then, a long anxiety. Then a series of crises. But I’m now proud to say we’ve weathered them, and there were no “reductions in force,” nor any other euphemisms of note.

Emma Siemasko



I provide content services, specifically longform content (articles and guides), case studies, and a little bit of web copy. Most of my work is for SaaS companies, though I do a bit of consumer tech here and there.

In the fall, things seemed to recover a bit but I don't have the client roster I would've expected and barely any leads are coming in. I've been doing this since 2013 (10 years!) and this has been a NOTABLE change– I also saw a lot of my peers complaining of burn out and needing to take breaks.

Many seemed "over it" this year. I'm optimistic that 2024 will be a better year as the market seems to have stabilized (and my personal life will hopefully get less demanding, as well.

Stephanie Trovato



I'm a freelance B2B SaaS writer and I've operated under my own business (Big H Marketing, LLC.) for the past 4 years.

2023 was my best year yet, but not without its hardships. This year included my 2 lowest months, losing 50% of my clients in one month, and an accident that resulted in a traumatic brain injury that got in the way of quite a bit.

But I was able to persevere due to being very persistent in my client search, asking my network for help and referrals, working with some really solid retainer clients, and finding clients that understood the value of my work and paid me well for it. 

Kristen (Kris) Hicks



I'm a freelance content marketing writer. I primarily write blog posts and longform content like ebooks and guides for clients in the B2B tech space.

The first 6 months of 2023 were the slowest my business has been since my earliest days of freelancing (over 12 years ago). Work never quite dwindled to nothing, but many clients faced layoffs and cutbacks, and new leads were scarce.

I heard from other freelance writers facing the same slowdown, which was both scary (it's the whole industry!) and somehow comforting (at least I knew it wasn't just me).  

In the second half of the year though, work started to pick up and the past 6 months have helped make up for the first 6. Somehow, I'm ending the year in a pretty similar place in terms of earnings to last year, and 2024 is looking promising.

Ashley Baker



Coastline Marketing LLC is a boutique digital marketing agency based in Northeast Ohio. We are experts in crafting captivating narratives that drive and convert high-quality traffic, empowering our clients to effortlessly surpass revenue goals.

Compared to last year, business was a bit slower than usual.  Our business experienced a deliberate shift in focus. The arrival of our first child prompted a strategic decision to prioritize expanding services for existing clients over new client acquisition.

Although this choice resulted in a more measured pace for the year, it allowed us to thoroughly reevaluate and enhance our offerings.

By introducing innovative alternatives to conventional industry tactics, we achieved noteworthy results. As we step into the New Year, our team is energized and committed to both maintaining this momentum and welcoming new clients into our portfolio.