The Delivvo Blog
◆ Field notes from the freelance economy ◆
Notes on running a freelance studio, delivering client work, and building Delivvo.
Letter from the desk
Vol. 01 · Note No. 21
“We started writing because every freelancer we knew was getting the same questions wrong — pricing, scope, taxes, when to leave a platform. Each issue picks one of those questions and answers it with the data, the scripts, and the playbook we wish we’d had at year three.”
The Delivvo Team — Spring Issue
Off the press
The freshest writing — straight from this week's docket.
Cold Email Outreach for Freelancers in 2026: The Real Playbook
Google and Yahoo's February 2024 sender requirements were the most consequential change to cold email in a decade. Two years in, the freelancers still getting replies have rebuilt their entire outbound around three rules: warm the domain, qualify the list, and earn the open before the close.
The Delivvo team · 8 min read
№02Guides
Saudi GOSI for Freelancers in 2026: The New Social Insurance Rules
Saudi Arabia's new Social Insurance Law went operationally live in July 2025, the Freelance Work Document now opens GOSI registration to self-employed Saudis with two years of subsidised contributions, and the ZATCA e-invoicing wave is reaching ever-smaller businesses. Here is what changes for freelancers — Saudi and international — in 2026.
№03Comparisons
Deel vs Remote vs Rippling: Getting Paid as a Contractor 2026
When a company hires you as an international contractor, they increasingly route the relationship through a platform — Deel, Remote, or Rippling. Most comparisons are written for the company doing the hiring. This one is written for the freelancer being paid: what each platform costs, and what it means for you.
Departments
Pick a desk. Skim what's on it.
Business
SEO for Freelance Service Businesses in the AI Overview Era
Google AI Overviews now appear on 18.7 percent of US desktop searches and 84 percent of informational queries surface a generative answer above any blue link. The freelancer SEO playbook that worked in 2022 collects zero traffic from those searches. Here is what does work in 2026.
7 min read
Section 179 in 2026: A Freelancer's Equipment Write-Off Guide
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in July 2025, restored 100 percent bonus depreciation and doubled the Section 179 small-business expensing cap. Combined with the 2026 inflation adjustments, US freelancers can now write off equipment in the year they buy it more aggressively than at any point in the last decade. Here is how to use it.
10 min read
The Freelancer's Subcontracting Playbook: 2026 Edition
At some point most successful freelancers hit the same wall: more work than hours, and the AI-augmented version of that wall arrives faster than it used to. Hiring a subcontractor is the cleanest way through — and the messiest legally, if you do it without the right contracts. Here is the operational, tax, and IP playbook for 2026.
11 min read
The 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast for Freelancers in 2026
Restructuring CFOs build a 13-week rolling cash flow forecast when a business is in trouble. Solo freelancers should build the same model — just on a smaller scale — for the same reason: it catches a cash gap eight weeks before it becomes a payday-loan moment. Here is how to set one up in a spreadsheet, and what to watch.
10 min read
Guides
Lead Magnets That Actually Convert for Freelancers in 2026
Most freelancer lead magnets convert at under 1 percent because they are generic checklists nobody asked for. The five formats still pulling 8–25 percent opt-in rates in 2026 share one property: they remove a specific painful step from a job the prospect already plans to do this week.
8 min read
Section 179 in 2026: A Freelancer's Equipment Write-Off Guide
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in July 2025, restored 100 percent bonus depreciation and doubled the Section 179 small-business expensing cap. Combined with the 2026 inflation adjustments, US freelancers can now write off equipment in the year they buy it more aggressively than at any point in the last decade. Here is how to use it.
10 min read
The 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast for Freelancers in 2026
Restructuring CFOs build a 13-week rolling cash flow forecast when a business is in trouble. Solo freelancers should build the same model — just on a smaller scale — for the same reason: it catches a cash gap eight weeks before it becomes a payday-loan moment. Here is how to set one up in a spreadsheet, and what to watch.
10 min read
How to Run a Freelance Discovery Call That Wins the Client
The first call with a prospective client is not a sales pitch — it is a qualifying interview that happens to run in both directions. Done well, it turns a vague inquiry into a clear, well-priced project. Done badly, it produces a proposal nobody wanted. Here is how to run one in 2026.
9 min read
Client management
Cold Email vs LinkedIn DM Outreach for Freelancers in 2026
Both channels are harder than they were two years ago. LinkedIn now caps weekly invitations and has raised the price of Sales Navigator. Gmail and Yahoo enforce sender authentication on anyone with a list of any size. Here is the honest read on which channel a freelancer should actually pick for outbound work in 2026.
9 min read
How to Run a Freelance Discovery Call That Wins the Client
The first call with a prospective client is not a sales pitch — it is a qualifying interview that happens to run in both directions. Done well, it turns a vague inquiry into a clear, well-priced project. Done badly, it produces a proposal nobody wanted. Here is how to run one in 2026.
9 min read
How to Raise Your Rates With Existing Clients in 2026
Costs rise every year. Most freelancers leave their rates exactly where they were two or three years ago — which means a quiet, compounding pay cut. The hard part is never raising rates for new clients; it is raising them for the existing ones. Here is how to do it in 2026 without losing the relationship.
9 min read
Marketing
Lead Magnets That Actually Convert for Freelancers in 2026
Most freelancer lead magnets convert at under 1 percent because they are generic checklists nobody asked for. The five formats still pulling 8–25 percent opt-in rates in 2026 share one property: they remove a specific painful step from a job the prospect already plans to do this week.
8 min read
LinkedIn Content and DM Playbook for Freelancers in 2026
LinkedIn organic reach for personal accounts is up year-over-year for the first time since 2019, even as company-page reach continues its long decline. The freelancers turning that into actual revenue have stopped posting motivational quotes and started shipping a tight loop: one post, one DM follow-up, one paid offer.
7 min read
SEO for Freelance Service Businesses in the AI Overview Era
Google AI Overviews now appear on 18.7 percent of US desktop searches and 84 percent of informational queries surface a generative answer above any blue link. The freelancer SEO playbook that worked in 2022 collects zero traffic from those searches. Here is what does work in 2026.
7 min read
Evergreen reads
The three most-read posts of all time — the ones that keep coming up.
Pick № 01Guides
The AI Clauses Every Freelance Contract Needs in 2026
AI is now part of nearly every freelance deliverable — a 2025 Fiverr survey put usage at 76 percent of freelancers. But most freelance contracts were written before that shift and say nothing about it. That silence is now a liability gap. Here is a plain-language walkthrough of the six AI clauses to add to your contract in 2026, with the law each one rests on.
The Delivvo team · 8 min
Pick № 02Freelancer tools
Async-First Freelancing: The Case for Killing Standups in 2026
Most freelancers still run their client communication the way an in-house team would — daily standups, status calls, and live screen-shares on demand. In 2026, with Loom's price climbing under Atlassian, screen recording built into every phone, and the meeting load on knowledge workers at a record high, the async-first freelancer is starting to look obviously right.
The Delivvo team · 8 min
Pick № 03Guides
Freelancer Estimated Quarterly Taxes: The 2026 Deadline Guide
When you freelance in the US, nobody withholds tax from your pay. The IRS still wants its money throughout the year — so you pay it yourself, four times a year, in estimated instalments. Here are the 2026 due dates, how much to send, and how to avoid the underpayment penalty.
The Delivvo team · 9 min
The Delivvo Dispatch
The next issue lands in your inbox.
Every fresh post, plus the occasional Delivvo product update. No drip sequences. No upsell ladders. Drop the address, get the writing.
From the archive
Everything else, by month. The full back catalogue.
May 2026
18 storiesMay 26
Lead Magnets That Actually Convert for Freelancers in 2026
8 minGuidesMay 26
LinkedIn Content and DM Playbook for Freelancers in 2026
7 minFreelancer lifeMay 26
SEO for Freelance Service Businesses in the AI Overview Era
7 minOpinionMay 24
Multi-Currency Invoicing for Freelancers: What to Bill in 2026
9 minPaymentsMay 24
Section 179 in 2026: A Freelancer's Equipment Write-Off Guide
10 minGuidesMay 24
The Freelancer's Subcontracting Playbook: 2026 Edition
11 minContractsMay 24
The 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast for Freelancers in 2026
10 minGuidesMay 24
Cold Email vs LinkedIn DM Outreach for Freelancers in 2026
9 minComparisonsMay 24
The Mid-Year Freelance Rate Review: A 2026 Self-Audit
10 minPricingMay 24
The 4-Day Workweek for Solo Freelancers: A 2026 Burnout Guide
9 minFreelancer lifeMay 22
How to Run a Freelance Discovery Call That Wins the Client
9 minGuidesMay 22
Kill Fees and Cancellation Clauses: A 2026 Contract Guide
9 minGuidesMay 22
Freelance Chargebacks in 2026: How to Win Payment Disputes
9 minPaymentsMay 22
How to Raise Your Rates With Existing Clients in 2026
9 minClient managementMay 22
Solo 401(k) vs SEP-IRA: The 2026 Freelancer Retirement Guide
9 minGuidesMay 20
Best AI Meeting Notetakers for Freelance Client Calls in 2026
8 minComparisonsMay 20
Cross-Border Freelancer Payments in 2026: Why Fees Still Hurt
8 minPaymentsMay 20
EU E-Invoicing in 2026: What ViDA Means for Freelancers
7 minGuides