Do Clients Only See You as Free Advice, Friend, or Influencer?
I’m going to save everyone some time: this is only for you if you run a service-based business and aren’t attracting many dream clients from your marketing (they mostly come from unpredictable word of mouth and a lot more effort than you’d like).
Bonus points if you’re a woman, because I’ll also share why we are more likely to show up as a free resource, online friend, or influencer.
Still here?
Then, I’ll show you why your current strategy isn’t helping you attract clients who’re ready to pay you, help you identify how your audience sees you (psst: while the biggest one is the same, each of those three scenarios comes with different symptoms), and how you should position yourself instead.
You are showing up for your business. But are your ideal clients only seeing you as a free resource, online friend, or influencer?
First things first: if you want to be perceived as such, then you do you. In fact, in some cases, it might even make more sense. For example:
If you offer cheap digital products to the masses, being seen as a free resource might help you make more low-ticket sales
If you feel lonely and want to connect with more people, then you might want to be seen as an online friend
If you mostly make money through brand partnerships, then of course, you want to position yourself as an influencer
But if your business literally relies on you selling your services, those three are equally counterproductive.
So, let’s start by diagnosing the problem. If you recognise yourself in some of these symptoms, then you’ll know that’s how most of your ideal clients see you right now (and being aware of it is the first step to changing it!).
Free resource
Ooooooh yes: the one whose content everyone loves to consume but without even thinking about paying for their expertise.
Main symptoms
You get a lot of saves on social media and comments along the lines of “That’s so helpful” or “I’ll give it a go” and “Thank you for sharing that”
You’re regularly asked “Can I just pick your brain on this?” or “Would you mind helping me with [what’s disguised as a quick question but would require over half an hour of your time]?”
You often find yourself on calls with people who are secretly after free advice, aren’t committed, or have a lot of objections. Some then tell you “It’s just not the right time” or even ghost you
... and you’re not attracting enough perfect-fit, ready-to-start clients from your marketing
Why your ideal clients see you as a free resource
You’re always sharing free tips, advice, and how-to content
Instead of appealing to those who are ready to invest in the help of an expert, you’re attracting people who want to DIY everything or even industry peers who are a few steps behind you (I made this mistake when I was a generic copywriter, years ago: my old copywriting tips were more relevant to copywriting beginners than clients looking to hire a copywriter)
Maybe your ideal clients are consuming your content, but they aren’t seeing you as someone they would or should invest in
Why it’s worse for women
We’re often conditioned to feel like we must prove our worth and always “give, give, give” without ever asking for anything in return
Online friend
The one everyone adores… but whose expertise and help they wouldn’t pay for
Main symptoms
You get lots of messages and—on social media, in particular—likes and comments along the lines of “You’re so cool and relatable” or “haha I love your content”
You often find yourself on calls with uncommitted leads and maybe even get ghosted
You’re regularly asked to get on coffee chats
Some of those people then expect you to help them out for free… only to invest in your competitors a few weeks later, paying them big money
... and you’re not attracting enough perfect-fit, ready-to-start clients from your marketing
Why your ideal clients see you as an online friend
You’re mostly sharing personal content and talking about your life
You’re sticking to vanilla and generic messaging to try and please everyone
You hardly ever talk about your services, or your content doesn’t directly feed into them
Why it’s worse for women
We often associate “being liked” with “being safe”. So, we might be subconsciously looking for that approval and validation from online strangers
Influencer
Everyone is inspired by you. Shame they don’t pay you for it, though
Main symptoms
You get loooooads of engagement (especially on social media) and comments or DMs along the lines of “You’re so inspiring”
You get plenty of visibility, but your number of new leads and clients doesn’t feel proportional to your reach
While some ideal clients might engage with your marketing, they don’t go on to booking a call with you or inquiring about your services
... and you’re not attracting enough perfect-fit, ready-to-start clients from your marketing
Why your ideal clients see you as an influencer
You’re sharing whatever comes to mind, and a lot of it has nothing to do with… what you do for your clients
You either try to tackle too many topics (so, your audience doesn’t know what to associate you with) or your content is too generic and surface-level
Even when you do talk about your industry, you’re not doing it in a way that feeds into your services (and God forbid you include calls to action to work with you)
Why it’s worse for women
Authenticity tends to be important for us. And I’m not saying you shouldn’t be authentic (whatever that means to you)! But the problem is that we were sold the lie that “you just need to build your personal brand, keep showing up, and be authentic, and your dream clients will magically want to work with you”
How your ideal clients should start seeing and treating you: the ONLY logical choice
As you probably figured out by now, whether they see you as a free resource, online friend, or influencer, the core problem is the same: they keep seeing your services as a “non-urgent nice-to-have” (if they’re even aware of what you do) and treating you as “just another option”.
And you get frustrated because you knoooooow they need what you’re offering, but they JUST. DON’T. GET IT.
So, what needs to change?
You must help them see you as THE ONE they’re going to invest in as soon as they’re ready to solve their problem and achieve their dream outcome (and guess what? Some of them are ready right now)
Main symptoms, once you get there
Most enquiries turn into new clients fast (and you might even close some of them without a call) because, by the time they get in touch, they’re pretty much sold
The main question you get is “When can we start?”
Word of mouth becomes the cherry on top (not something you rely on), and you can finally afford to turn away uncommitted and red-flag clients, only working with those who light you up and make your business feel worth it
You get hours of your time back every week
Whenever you show up for your business, you feel clear, confident, and like you’re finally owning your brilliance and worth
When will your ideal clients see you as the only logical choice? When you finally:
Start seeing your services as the bridge between their current problem and dream outcome (and market them as such, planting and watering that seed—consistently)
Stop chasing virality, popularity, and validation, and instead, you focus on connecting with your ideal clients, showing them you can serve them better than anyone else in your niche, and compelling them to take action
Get super specific with your messaging and always talk to them in your marketing, making them think “It’s like she’s reading my mind or describing my situation”
Why it’s actually the best choice for women
We get to make more of an impact by attracting those perfect-fit clients
We gain back hours every week (bye bye, fruitless marketing and endless calls and back-and-forts with time-wasters)
We feel re-energised because our ideal clients understand how valuable our services are
We get to flip the finger at all that counterproductive conditioning and, instead, finally own our brilliance and worth
And I really hope more and more of us do this because… who is that conditioning actually benefiting? Surely, not us.
And I’m not going to lie: it can feel uncomfortable at first. A client of mine even asked me “How can I show up as an authority without being seen as rude?”
That’s how sneaky that conditioning is! We end up thinking we can’t be confident without being seen as rude, bitchy, or greedy.
Meanwhile, our ideal clients—whose life or business we could genuinely change for the better—keep flocking to our competitors.
So, the choice is yours: would you rather put up with the initial discomfort of changing how you show up, or the ongoing resentment of being overlooked by the very people you LOVE working with?
In other words…
Will you continue to be treated as a free resource, online friend, and influencer, or will you become The One They Want?
Realistically, most business owners will continue to do what they’re doing just because it feels familiar. They say they want change but aren’t prepared TO change.
If you are not “most business owners”, this is your invitation to flip that narrative.
I’m Giada, the marketing message mentor for women service providers.
I can give you the clarity, strategy & a system to consistently market your services as the ONLY logical choice, attracting more perfect-fit, ready-to-start clients who want to work with YOU (without feeling icky, wasting time on stuff that doesn’t move the needle, or needing to book more sales calls with every Tom, Vik, and Harry).
Stop letting your ideal clients see your services as a “non-urgent nice-to-have” or treat you as a resource, online friend, influencer, or “just another option”. Start owning your brilliance and worth: become The One They Want