Networking 101: How to Combat Isolation as a Freelancer

How many people do you say “hello” to on a typical day? From the security guard or receptionist at your workplace, to the bus driver that picks you up every weekday morning, to your colleagues in various forms: the number is likely somewhere between 5 and 15 people. 

Our social webs are a vast network of different people that we interact with on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis - be it in person, or online (read: those LinkedIn contacts that we keep swapping comments with, but haven’t met yet 1:1 either virtually or in person!) 

All of these contacts differ in degrees of closeness, ranging from personal to professional with various sorts of venn diagram overlap. Many of us have at least one ride-or-die bestie that we met in our very first job. You know the one: you went from being ‘office mates’ to ‘happy-hour partners in crime,’ slowly increasing in closeness until finally transforming from a professional contact to a fully personal one, becoming a lifelong friend with whom you share distant memories of having reported to the same irritating micro-manager in a past life. 

Regularly greeting others around you has been linked to higher levels of well-being - but sometimes freelancing can lead you to feel lonely or isolated. In this article, we’re going to unpack freelancer isolation and offer advice on how to strengthen your professional relationships (also known as ‘networking’) in order to benefit both your personal satisfaction and professional career. Read on! 

Depending on how you organize yourself as a freelancer, you may not have as many people to say hello to every single day. It can get a bit lonely sometimes, right? Social interaction is a core part of the human experience. Proximity to others - like at work, with colleagues - allows us to form bonds through all kinds of everyday interactions that are the mere backbone of what it feels like to feel human. In an age of increasingly accelerating technological advances, it can feel more and more challenging to find occasions to talk to people in real life (so put your phone down at those networking events! More on that in a minute…)

Whether you’re brand new to the game, or you're a seasoned pro: the day-to-day-rhythm of the freelancing life allows you to organize your time as you see fit. This comes with the caveat and the responsibility of creating and seizing opportunities for social interactions, even the ones that aren’t directly related to the business you’re currently working on. 

First off, let’s get something out of the way: the mere word “networking” makes a lot of people cringe. Management expert and business coach Matthew Rechs is willing to put it more drastically: “The word networking is such a risible obscenity. It causes the eyes to roll right back, and a deep sigh to be exhaled by any noble person.” 

But what’s the big deal? After discussing the topic with a few of Malt’s freelancers, a recent grad getting started in their career and a seasoned professional, we’re going to break it down in more simple terms. Networking is simply about maintaining the relationships in your life that tend to fall more on the professional side: the ones that you won’t necessarily have an impetus to nourish on a regular basis. 

“As a freelancer, you have to have an agile spirit,” says Pauline De Turckheim, graphic designer and early adopter of the Malt back in the early days of the platform in 2014. “My everyday norm is that I am in constant movement - often guided by my own curiosity. I think I am lucky to have a certain kind of emotional intelligence that helps me build and maintain relationships.” Pauline organized many of the very first AfterMalt events with Malt - to bring freelancers together for a happy-hour drink, and to share their experiences with others. Today, she’s a member of our Freelancer Advisory Board (FAB), bringing insights from the front lines back to the company. “I’m always sharing my experience with others: with my peers, the people I work with, and new contacts of mine . It’s part of what nourishes me professionally.”

Why is this so important for Pauline? Because even after 13 years as an independent, she can attest to the fact that financial stability is constantly in flux. For her, working her network is a vital part of her survival. In the past year, all four of her long-term clients have gone through budget cuts - as a result, she lost three contracts. “They told me: it’s not you - there’s just no money. We’re cutting everything until at least next year.” This is why she insists on the importance of constantly maintaining your professional relationships, your ties with your peers and previous clients. “You need your network in order to bounce back from that kind of thing! Even when everything is going well, you always have to keep in touch with people.” Your network serves as a kind of a web that can hold you up and provide the stability you need, which you aren’t getting from your employer like a traditional full-time employee. 

However, you don’t have to be a seasoned freelancer to see the value in networking. “Meeting new people is essential,” says Eliott Prigent, freelance LinkedIn Ghostwriter. For the past three years, Eliott has been exploring and documenting his curiosity about new ways of living and working in the Internet age — with one common thread: bringing more connection, meaning and humanity back into our daily lives. After getting his start as a freelancer straight out of graduate school, Eliott was loving the freedom he had - but feeling a bit lonesome in his daily routine. “I was in search of feedback on certain projects - I needed peers to turn to with questions, to learn more about other’s experiences.” He decided to do something about it, and started seeking out collective spaces and events where he could connect with other independents.

Networking is a central part of how he grows his business: “As soon as I’m not producing something, I’m networking - it’s just about 50/50 in terms of my time.” Nowadays, he swears by LinkedIn as a way to connect with people - and has even launched a LinkedIn accelerator course and mentorship program to help others as they’re getting started. 

Now that we’ve established the "why" behind networking, let’s dive into the "how." Here we will provide some actionable tips and strategies for freelancers looking to build and maintain their professional network, encompassing both in-person and online approaches.

Can in-person events be generators of business? According to Eliott, "Opportunities don’t fall from the sky - they come from people.” Pauline shares a similar sentiment: “When I talk to my professional peers, we’re always sharing information and potential opportunities: somebody tells you about a contract they can’t take on, or a former client tells you about a contact who is looking to take someone on. It’s a virtuous cycle.” 

Céline Nguyen, Relationship Expert and Senior Consultant Relationship Manager at Malt, offers these tips about how to make the most of any in-person networking event: 

For Pauline, online networking feels a bit more “buttoned-up”. While it’s true that, nowadays, many of our new contacts are made online, she expresses that she feels like she expresses that she feels like “I can be more myself when I meet people in person - and I can read people more easily.” 

For Eliott, posting on LinkedIn is an essential part of his business. How does he maintain a regular rhythm of posting? “I write down things I’m curious about - I keep a note in my phone of ideas, and when I have the time I flesh them out into full posts.” He goes on further to explain that by doing this, “you stay top of mind for your network - they’ll reach out to you about certain opportunities, either projects or other kinds of networking opportunities.” Through the magic of connecting with people on LinkedIn, Eliott managed to get introduced to one of his main sources of inspiration - French LinkedIn influencer Ulysse Lubin. “It was thanks to a chain of unpredictable events,” he explains. “I posted something that felt really personal to me - and someone reached out saying that it had touched them. That person later invited me to an intimate networking dinner, where Ulysse had also been invited - I couldn’t have planned it that way, it was a really special surprise.” 

Inspired by Eliott's success? Here’s how you can apply his strategy:

• Create a "curiosity file": Keep a running list of questions, ideas, and observations from your work in a notes app. This is your future content goldmine.
• Share, don't sell: Frame your posts around genuine curiosity and personal experience. Instead of saying "I'm a great ghostwriter," try something like "I've noticed the most engaging LinkedIn posts share this one surprising trait."
• Engage with intention: Dedicate 15 minutes each day to leaving thoughtful comments on posts from people you admire. This builds visibility and relationships long before you need to ask for anything.

At the end of the day, networking is not about forced interactions or awkward small talk; it's about building genuine relationships and fostering a supportive community. As a freelancer, your network is an invaluable asset, providing not only potential opportunities but also the camaraderie and stability that combat isolation. By actively engaging in both in-person and online interactions, you can create a robust web of connections that nourishes your professional life and personal well-being. So go forth, connect, and thrive!

Use some of the inspiration here to cultivate your own relationship building strategy. Take the first step today! 

Here are five questions to reflect on to kickstart your strategy:

By turning networking into small, consistent actions, you build a support system that fuels both your career and your well-being. So go forth, connect, and thrive!

• Check out an in-person event with your local Malt team
• Read about these five questions on how to start building and nurturing your network
• Leave us a comment on LinkedIn and get the conversation started with other freelancers in your network