I've been a freelance programmer most of my career, designing products and writing code as opposed to words, and the core client acquisition and retention issues are the same.

The point you make about *value* is where the rubber meets the road with any freelancer:

"the one problem we all need to work on is educating the clients about real value "

If you provide value you can turn one time gigs into long term customers.

My rates have been 4x-10x higher than many freelance programmers for most of my career because I show up, deliver value outside the code I write, and don't require a lot of rework.

I always enjoy reading your insightful stories. Thanks for doing what you do!