High-income Business Writing: Freelance Writing | Copywriting | Content Writing | How To Freelance

Interesting fact... The biggest reason writers become (and stay) self-employed is freedom and flexibility — not money. Unfortunately, way too many freelance writers are worse off today than they were when traditionally employed. Too many are struggling to earn a good living. Or they’re working with bad clients on projects they hate. Or they’re working longer hours than they ever have. That’s not freedom! How can you turn that around? It all starts by setting some “standards” for your business. And in this episode, I explain exactly how to do that.

When it comes to pricing, the most common question I get is, “How much should I charge for _________?” But no one has ever asked me, “What should my floor rate be?” In other words, the bare minimum you should be charging on any given project to make sure you cover your full costs as a freelancer. I’m not a fan of that kind of thinking. But there’s one exception. And that’s when you want to know and understand what your “all in” expenses are ... so you can make better overall pricing decisions. Knowing your “all in” expenses can bring some serious clarity to your pricing decisions. It can help you negotiate better and feel much more confident about quoting higher fees. In this week’s episode my colleague Robert McGuire from Nation1099 will show you how to calculate your own number. And he explains why knowing this is so important—regardless of where you are in your writing business or how much you currently earn.

Many writers I know struggle with analysis paralysis and over-thinking. I see it at all levels of experience and with all types of decisions. It often causes a great deal of stress and anxiety, which leads to poor performance and results ... which reinforces the need for overanalyzing things. And so the cycle goes. If you struggle with analysis paralysis, this podcast episode will help. My guest is Shelley Row, a speaker and consultant who works with leaders who must make fast, insightful decisions in the face of uncertainty and rapid change. Shelley is an engineer and a recovering over-thinker herself. And her work is based on neuroscience research and detailed interviews with dozens of executives who struggle with this issue.

Ever thought about writing a book? Maybe a thought leadership book, a lead generator for your writing business ... or even a novel? If so, this week’s podcast episode will be right up your alley. My guest, Susan Baracco, explains what you need to know before you go down that path. It’s part reality check, part encouragement and inspiration. GREAT stuff!

I just published a podcast episode I think you’ll really enjoy. My guest is copywriter Jared Kessler. Jared  just went freelance two years ago. But he’s been able to grow his business like crazy since then! In this interview, he explains how he’s done it. And why “positioning” has played such a critical role in his success. You’ll get some good insights no matter where you are in your journey. But if you’re an established writer or copywriter, this one’s a must-listen!

Say you can handle about 25 hours of work per week. But your best client suddenly needs your help with a major product launch. And two new clients just hired you to work on some big projects. Oh, boy! When it rains, it pours... Great problem to have, right? ;-) If you’ve been freelancing for some time, you’ve probably experienced this challenge at some point. You know how difficult this situation can be. It’s fun ... until it isn’t. In this interview, Atlanta-based writer Don Sadler explains what he does when he’s booked solid ... and how he retains his sanity and his health. Even if you’re nowhere near experiencing that problem in your business, I still encourage you to listen. Because you’ll learn how to get to this level ... and what to do once that happens...

One of the most confusing and frustrating aspects of launching your freelance writing or copywriting business is looking for clients. Clients don’t just show up at your door. You have to find them. And when you’re new, you have to work even harder to find a few clients who will give you a chance. Fortunately, there are a few proven ways to land clients faster. And in this episode I’ll share the 6 approaches I teach my coaching clients to prospect for clients when they’re starting out.

I’ve been a big proponent of using a lead magnet in your writing business as part of a comprehensive marketing strategy. It’s no panacea. It’s not going to replace your prospecting efforts. At least not overnight. But it can help you generate a steady stream of quality leads. And that’s reason enough to consider creating one for your business. In this episode you’ll hear Ana Gascon Ivey, a copywriter and copyeditor who wrote and published her own lead magnet a few months ago. She explains how this lead magnet has helped her land clients ... and how it’s helped elevate her authority and open all kinds of doors...

As your business grows, it’s important that you begin attracting prospects and building your authority. There’s nothing like having prospects knocking on your door! Especially when the prospect has read some of your articles or blog posts ... and liked what they saw. In this episode you’ll hear from someone who built their software business on this idea. He’s not a freelancer. But the ideas he shares are directly applicable to what we do ... regardless of your experience level.

I’m often asked about freelance writing opportunities in the public sector . I know the opportunities exist. But until I talked with this week’s guest, I didn’t know what these opportunities looked like or how to go after them. That’s why I’m so excited about this episode. My guest is Katie Taylor, CEO of Untold Content, a writing consultancy based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Katie works with clients in government, healthcare, engineering, industry and science. And a big part of their work over the years has been with government agencies. In our conversation, you’ll learn about the opportunities writing for the public sector, including government agencies. Katie gives us a great primer on what these contracts are about, what they look like and some practical steps for getting started.

I recently had Joanna Wiebe on the show to talk about . And today we’re continuing that conversation with my colleague Nick Usborne. Nick has written copy for some of the world’s biggest brands, including Citibank, Apple, Chrysler, MSN.com, New York Times, WebEx, the U.S. Navy and others. So, yeah. He’s the real deal. And he attributes much of his success to a copywriting approach he recently defined as “conversational copywriting.” It’s not what you think. This goes beyond the “write like you talk” advice we’ve all learned in copywriting books and courses. In this chat, Nick explains what this approach is all about ... and how you can adopt it to write more persuasive and effective copy for clients.

You’ve heard it before: People do business with people they know, LIKE and trust. But what exactly does it mean to be likeable? Is it a personality thing? Do you have to act or look a certain way? Do you have to be charming, wear designer clothes ... or have a perfect smile and beautiful teeth? Not at all! According to my friend and colleague Michael Katz, anyone can be likeable. In this fast-paced interview, Michael explains what you need to do to be perceived as a true likeable expert

As I talk with fellow copywriters about what’s happening in the business, one theme keeps coming up: How increasingly difficult it’s becoming to write persuasive copy. That’s long been an issue in the ultra-competitive direct response industries of financial newsletters, natural health and business opportunity. But it’s also becoming a big challenge in other less aggressive settings—even in B2B content marketing. To get some insights and answers on this topic, I recently turned to one of the top conversion copywriters in the business, Joanna Wiebe. Joanna is the founder of Copy Hackers and of Airstory, a new content creation platform for marketing teams and educators. You don’t have to be a direct response copywriter to get value from this episode. If you write any kind of persuasive content, I think you’ll find some great insights and ideas here.

Many of us spend time at the end of the year setting goals for the months and year ahead. But have you ever sat down to figure out what you value most in your business and personal life? And more specifically, the values, criteria or rules that will guide most of your decisions?   In this episode, you’re going to hear from Trevor Mauch, a very successful entrepreneur who started just a few years ago like many of us did: as a freelancer. He eventually founded a software company that’s grown into a multi-million dollar business. Along the way he had a series of challenges and epiphanies that changed the course of his life. Listen in as he explains how clarifying his own set of non-negotiables made all the difference in the world.

Given the choice between prospecting for clients or having prequalified prospects come to YOU, I’ll take the latter any day. Prospecting is an essential part of marketing your writing business. But getting prequalified prospects to come to you via attraction marketing is much more efficient in the long run.   In this episode you’ll hear from my good friend and colleague Derek Lewis. Derek is a very successful book ghostwriter who commands $50,000 to $75,000 per book. And one of the many things I love about his story is the fact that he relies 100% on attraction marketing. He explains how he does this so well, and how you can start implementing some elements of attraction marketing in your own writing business.

I remember the blank stares I got in 2006 when I told friends and relatives that I quit my day job to go freelance. Back then, very few people understood what freelancing was ... or that anyone could earn a living writing from home. Boy, has that’s changed! Over the past 10 years, there has been a ton of information published about the freelance economy. Freelancing and consulting no longer mean “I’m between jobs.” And experts and economists are finally recognizing that we’re a real (and growing) segment of the labor force—not a temporary fluke. But exactly how many people are freelancing? Are the big numbers we’re reading an accurate representation of the freelance workforce? And what do these numbers and projections mean for us? That’s the topic of this episode. My guest, Robert McGuire, is going to pull apart these numbers and predictions and give us his take on what’s really happening in the gig economy.

Today we’re talking health insurance for freelancers. More specifically, we’re exploring two unconventional options to traditional health insurance. This is an extremely hot topic given our current political environment. But I don’t want to give you the same information everyone else is publishing. “Where can I get affordable health insurance?” is the wrong question to ask right now. The better question is, “What are my options?” For many of us, getting the same coverage from a different source (and for the same price) isn’t a real solution. If your premiums are no longer sustainable—or if you have pre-existing conditions that you’re concerned about—you should look beyond the usual offerings. In this episode, I’m focusing on two options most people don’t even know exist...

I think every freelancer should work on building a secondary income stream. Doing so diversifies your income and takes some of the pressure off your client work. It can also help fund some really important things in your life... Your kids’ college tuition ... your parents’ long-term care ... or even nicer vacations and experiences (the bucket list beckons!). In this episode, I detail two different approaches to doing this with an info product (such as an online course or training program).

Freaking out about your niche and how to pick the right industry or topic? Or even basically how to position yourself for success? While I have a very specific process for making the best possible decision about your niche, specialty or target market, there comes a point where you just have to go with what you’ve got and start taking action! In this interview you’ll hear from writer Holly Helscher, a coaching client of mine and a fabulous writer and all-around super person. In our chat, Holly opens up about how she made her “niche” decision, and how she changed and refined that idea once she got out there and started knocking on doors. It’s a fun, inspirational and very helpful conversation for anyone who’s struggling with this “niche” decision.

Without an attraction marketing strategy in place, you’re missing out on a proven way to generate quality prospects—one that can work for you 24/7 and help position you as the obvious choice.