Should You Trust Freelancers Who Send Cold Emails for Services?

They creep into your inbox without warning…

Shadowy figures promising greatness… or delivering disaster.

Your heart skips a beat as you read the subject line.

Could this be the one?

Or just another cold email from a freelancer fishing for your business?

:: duh duh duhhhh ::

I’ve gotten all sorts of unsolicited emails over the years.  There are ones for design services, speaker one sheets, video production, TikTok content, social media, branding services, presentation design, speaker reels, sizzle reels, logo design, photography… 

The list goes on and on! 

Just the other day I got one from a guy who wanted to design a speaker-one-sheet for me.  I’ll change his name, but here’s how it read:

Hi andrew,

Are you looking to enhance your speaking profile and attract more speaking engagements?

I'm Sebastian, and I specialize in crafting compelling Speaker Sheets that showcase your expertise and credentials effectively.

A pro-Speaker Sheet is essential for making a lasting impression on event organizers. It serves as your marketing tool, showcasing your accomplishments, speaking topics, testimonials, and past engagements in a visually appealing document format.

With my expertise in speaker sheet designing and understanding of the speaking industry, I can create a custom Speaker sheet tailored to your unique brand and message whether you're a seasoned speaker or just starting.

please see attached my portfolio

If you're interested in taking your speaking career to the next level, let's chat about how I can help you stand out with a stunning Speaker Sheet.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

Best regards,

Sebastian

Sure, it’s “nice” to have all of these freelancers blowing up my inbox, but they all promise to elevate my business and boost my bookings.  It’s not always clear whether it’s wise – or even safe – to respond to their messages.

That’s why, in this edition of “Worth It or Walk Away,” we’re taking a step back from an individual service offering and instead taking the 10,000 foot view of the situation.

Cold Pitch. Hot Mess.
Bad Freelancers Don’t Just Waste Your Time—They Wreck Your Reputation

As a speaker who relies on your professional reputation to earn money, it’s really important for you to strategically vet every one of these opportunities before saying “yes.”

Think about it… there’s a LOT at stake!

Your brand reputation and professional credibility directly impact your ability to earn new speaking opportunities.  That’s why referrals and stageside leads are so powerful for your business.  

When you show a potential client poorly executed or amateurish promotional materials, it can severely damage your perceived value among event organizers… and even the referrers!

Imagine for a sec that a client named Bob goes out on a limb and recommends your speech to a colleague named Janice.  She looks at your website and sees sloppy formatting with misspellings, poor image quality, and an overall cheap looking design.  This reflects poorly on you, but it ALSO makes Bob look like a doofus.  (Poor Bob.)

Relying on unskilled freelancers can lower your perceived value in the market and convey unprofessionalism.

The Hidden Cost of a Bad Hire? Lost Gigs, Lost Time, and Lost Momentum

Hiring an unqualified freelancer, especially when they overpromise and underdeliver, costs you more than just money.  It also costs you the time and energy it took to get them up to speed on your business. 

It’s time that may have been better spent nailing down other gigs.  You could have used that time to reach out to event organizers, create new content, send out more discussion documents faster, develop strategic relationships, or even to go to see a friend speak.

All of those things are really powerful for your business. 

But if you’re spending all your time trying to get a freelancer up to speed or training them only to have them fail, you could lose weeks or even months of opportunity. 

Just think of a website redesign… if it takes three months and the freelancer still has nothing to show, you may have just lost a huge chunk of your calendar!

Choosing freelancers wisely frees up your time for those more profitable activities.

When Freelancers Get It Right, the Results Are Magic

Good freelancers can truly make a big impact on your business.  There can be an immediate boost in your perceived value if you have a well-crafted speaker reel or stellar branding materials.  All of that gives a great first impression and signals professionalism (along with dollar signs.) 🤑

I’ve spoken with several organizers and bureau agents who admitted that they judge a speaker in the first few seconds by their marketing materials before even considering their content.  They might not even bother to hit play on a video.  If they go to a website and it looks amateurish, they quickly form a negative opinion of that speaker.

So yes, those cold emails from freelancers can be tempting.  You want someone who will make you look amazing, so you can get past the initial barriers of that first impression.

Freelancers can also help you with areas of work that aren’t your area of expertise.  That can save tons of hours.  Outsourcing tasks like video, design, editing, and even writing – if that’s not your strong suit – frees you up to do what you excel at… speaking and building relationships.

The Freelancer Fails I’d Rather Forget
(But You Should Learn From)

On the flip side, not every freelancer deserves your trust…