Synopsis
Ed Gandia, co-author of the bestselling book, The Wealthy Freelancer, reveals how to propel your writing business to the six-figure level (or the part-time equivalent). In this nuts-and-bolts, no-nonsense podcast, you'll discover how to get better clients, earn more in less time, and bring more freedom and joy into your writing business. Ed will walk you through the practical, “doable” systems and strategies he has developed in his own writing business — the same systems he has taught his private coaching clients. He'll also show you what’s working for other business writers by bringing you real case studies from the field. And he'll share all this information in an honest and transparent way, with no hype or fluff. Topics covered include: getting better and higher-paying clients; banishing the feast-or-famine cycle; doing more of the work that excites you; how to raise your fees and rates; boosting your productivity; making your business recession-proof; discovering and leveraging your strengths; finding your niche; pricing content writing projects; pricing copywriting projects; writing white papers; writing case studies; writing web copy; writing articles; and much more.
Episodes
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#193: How Chris Orzechowski Generated a Tidal Wave of Client Leads with a Short and Simple Book
05/11/2019 Duration: 38minIn this interview, Chris Orzechowski explains why he decided to write a book, how he settled on a topic, and how he got it done quickly. He also shares the massive results he’s enjoyed from the effort.
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#192: Communicating Your Value to Prospects—an Example You Can Learn From
01/11/2019 Duration: 10minIn this mini-podcast episode, I explain how a recent scare in my business proved the importance of clearly communicating your value to prospects when presenting your pricing.
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#191: Want to Scale Your Business? Start with a Virtual Assistant!
22/10/2019 Duration: 07minMany writers will hire another writer when they’re ready to scale their business. But often, a better first step is to hire a virtual assistant.
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#190: Should You Scale Beyond a Business of One?
15/10/2019 Duration: 24minIn our culture, we sometimes think that if we’re not scaling our business, we’re failing in our business. I dispel that myth in this episode.
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#189: A New Prospect Is Asking for My Rates Right Away. How Should I Respond?
11/10/2019 Duration: 08minClients and prospects will sometimes toss you a problem to solve. But that doesn’t automatically mean you have to deal with it. Sometimes you should toss the problem back to them.
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#188:Ross Simmonds on How to Land Fortune 500 Clients
01/10/2019 Duration: 36minIn this episode, guest Ross Simmonds explains what Fortune 500 clients look for in a writer, how you can generate a steady stream of high-quality corporate leads, and how you can command higher fees.
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#187: A Systematic Way to Tackle Overwhelm
20/09/2019 Duration: 24minIf you want to work more productively — and feel less overwhelmed — you have to make real changes to your business. In this podcast episode, I’m looking at actions you can take to work more efficiently and reduce feelings of overwhelm.
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#186: Hilary Jastram on Running a Freelance Business When You’re Chronically Ill or Disabled
06/09/2019 Duration: 39minHilary Jastram was forced into entrepreneurship when she became chronically ill a few years ago. In today’s podcast episode, she explains how she’s built a successful business and used her illness as a motivation to keep going.
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#185: How to Overcome Procrastination
23/08/2019 Duration: 21minTo overcome procrastination, you have to admit that you do it and find ways of dealing with it. In today’s podcast episode, you’ll learn why procrastination is a serious problem and what you can do turn things around.
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#184: Hannah Bower on Why She Transitioned from Freelance PR Work to Content Marketing
09/08/2019 Duration: 38minHannah Bower is a content marketer with a background in PR. In this conversation, you’ll learn what freelance PR work entails, how it’s changed and why Hannah decided to get out of it.
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#183: What to Do When Friends and Family Don’t Support You in Your Business Journey
26/07/2019 Duration: 24minRunning a freelance business becomes exponentially more challenging when you don’t have the support of your friends and family. In this episode, I share 10 practical tips that will help you if you’re in this situation.
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#182: Alex Nerney on Launching a Money-Making Blog as a Side Hustle
12/07/2019 Duration: 42minPodcast guest Alex Nerney explains why adding a blog to your freelance writing business is a great way to supplement your writing income and add more predictability to your business.
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#181: Following Up with Prospects — a Different Way to Think About the Process
28/06/2019 Duration: 25minFollowing up with prospects is the activity writers dread the most — topped only by prospecting. It feels odd and unnatural. We worry that we’re bothering people or being disrespectful. And then we start crafting crazy stories in our head. We imagine that the prospect is mad at us or shocked at our fees. “They think we’re a fraud!” “They never want to speak with us again!” But the vast majority of time, this isn’t what’s going on with prospects at all. I spent years in corporate sales and following up with prospects was a big part of my job. It wasn’t easy, and I never particularly enjoyed it. So I understand why you don’t like it much either. I never completely perfected the art of following up in those years. But I do have some ideas that will make the whole process a lot easier.
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#180: Liz Farr on Writing Bylined Articles to Generate Hot Client Leads and Attract New Opportunities
14/06/2019 Duration: 39minFor the past two years, Liz Farr has been writing bylined articles for trade publications and content platforms to generate inbound leads and land great new clients — while also getting paid.
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#179: Bundling and Productizing as an Antidote to Commoditization
31/05/2019 Duration: 24minIt’s hard to find businesses that don’t use some form of content marketing. That’s a big shift from even five years ago. But as its popularity has grown, the fees for content marketing projects have suffered. Upwork and other job platforms have gotten better and more popular. You even have AI technology entering the writing fray. All these factors have combined to create a situation where many clients want content NOW... and they want it cheap! Does that mean that we all need to start looking for a new way to make a living? Not at all! In this week’s podcast, I address one element of the solution: bundling and productizing your service offerings.
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#178: Command Higher Fees by Putting Value on the Table
17/05/2019 Duration: 21minMost of us leave a ton of money on the table when quoting client work. This is no small thing! Commanding 20-40% more per project could have a huge impact on your business and your life. Think of the freedom it would give you! So what’s stopping us from asking for more? In this episode, I’m going to show you how to put your value on the table. Because by providing context for your quote, you can greatly influence the prospect’s response.
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#177: Winnie Anderson on How Introverts Can Promote Themselves More Confidently
03/05/2019 Duration: 45minMany introverted writers resist marketing their services and avoid doing what they need to do to grow their businesses. Does that mean you’re doomed to fail as a self-employed writer if you’re an introvert? Not at all. My guest this week is Winnie Anderson, a coach for introverted service-based professionals, as well as the host of The Courageous Entrepreneur podcast. She teaches people how to resolve the tug-of-war between needing to stand out but not wanting to stand out. In this episode, she explains why so many writers resist taking consistent action to stand out, and to do it in a way that feels good to them.
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#176: Sonia Simone on Becoming a Higher-Value Resource for Your Clients
19/04/2019 Duration: 41minContent marketing has officially gone mainstream. It’s a “must do” for most businesses in today’s trust economy. While this increased demand has created huge opportunities for writers, it has also commoditized a lot of our work and given rise to content mills and rock-bottom fees. We’re not doomed. But to succeed, writers have to become a higher-value resource for their clients. In this episode, I speak with Sonia Simone, founding partner of Copyblogger Media (now Rainmaker Digital) and seasoned content marketer. In the course of our conversation, she shares how you can position yourself as a strategic partner and build stronger relationships with clients.
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#175: What to Do When a Prospect Wants to Meet for Coffee or Pick Your Brain
05/04/2019 Duration: 30minHave you ever had a prospect ask for an in-person coffee meeting shortly after connecting? You’ve barely gotten past “hello” and they already want to put something in your calendar! This raises a red flag for me. In this podcast, I reveal a two-stage process you can use to evaluate requests for face-to-face meetings. This process is a great way to protect your time and energy — without discouraging good clients.
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#174: How to Grow Your Income by Going Deeper with Clients and Leveraging Your Key Relationships
22/03/2019 Duration: 38minToday’s podcast guest provides a classic illustration of the benefits of going deeper with existing clients. Her name is Lindy Alexander. Lindy started freelancing full time in 2017. By the end of that year, she grossed more than $100,000 in income! Even more remarkable: in 2018 she scaled back her hours to part-time and maintained the same income level. In this episode, she explains how she did it. It’s an amazing story I think you’ll really enjoy, regardless of where you are in your journey.