Almost nobody, whether technical or not, is looking for something as generic as a "programmer" when they want a freelancer. Some people want expertise in a part

Almost nobody, whether technical or not, is looking for something as generic as a "programmer" when they want a freelancer. Some people want expertise in a particular technology. Other people don't care as much about the technology but do want someone who builds a particular kind of product. I think the point being made earlier is that you want to have some niche where you can claim expertise. It doesn't have to be a specific language, but "programmer" loses to almost any other job description in almost any scenario (and the scenarios where it wins are mostly nightmares).