Yesterday, I told you a story of a successful live event. One that brought me $500K because I was able to build a relationship with an influencer. Today, let’s talk about the flip side of live events -- the nerves, the intimidation, and the overwhelm. In college I had this dream to become a sports reporter. It seemed perfect. I loved writing, loved sports, and it came with the added perk of being surrounded by athletic guys all the time. I was the editor of the school newspaper when our … [Read more...]
The live event that made me $500K
I entered his contest on a whim. I’d been following Derek Halpern for a while and trying to build my copywriting business. He was offering a free ticket to a small live event in NYC. Ramit Sethi and James Altucher were speaking, but I was new to this world so I had no idea who they were. I just wanted to be around people who were doing what I wanted to do. Well, thanks to my horrid video editing and a funny impersonation of Derek, I won. Derek flew me down to the city, put me up … [Read more...]
The 4-Part Test For Firing Clients
Do you remember the first time you used the internet? I was 13 and my cousin showed me how to play checkers online. I thought it was magical. And the most magical part was the chat, and…. … the lying. a/s/l? (Remember that …. It stood for age/sex/location) I remember looking at that little blinking cursor and dreaming of the endless possibilities. My 13-year-old go-to answer was: 19/f/minnesota Now what I found exotic about being from Minnesota I have no idea. But, that 19-year-old … [Read more...]
What all your worst clients have in common
Client horror stories. They make endless fodder for every single copywriting forum I’ve seen. Because we all have them. And over the past several weeks, I’ve cataloged them to figure out what they have in common... ...and what we can learn about vetting better clients. What I found surprised me. Of course many of them shared the same traits: Clients that don’t value copy They set insane expectations for workload and timeline… and insult us with what they’re paying. Two different ideas … [Read more...]
How do I actually support myself?
A few days ago, I received this message from a friend: I get a version of this question about once a month. “I’d love to blog like you do, where do I start?” So here’s a secret… my blog doesn’t make any money. Blogs don’t usually make money. Blogs are fun. Blogs are a great conversation starter. Blogs can open doors. But the money doesn’t come from the blog. There’s a few reasons for this: A blog by itself is inherently worthless. Even a good blog. In order to get … [Read more...]
So, they say “can’t afford it”…
Most people I interact with professionally don’t know this about me… but I’ve been broke. Before I go on, I want to make three things clear: First, this is not a “rags to riches” sales story that I’ve worked on. And, this is not going to be a hero’s journey where I reveal the one thing that pulled me up from the abyss. Because that’s not how it happened for me. And lastly when I talk about broke, I mean REALLY broke. I’ve been evicted from apartments for not paying. I’ve sat at … [Read more...]
7 Idea-sparkers for going over the top for your clients
I may be the only person perhaps on the planet that prefers my coffee room temperature -- not hot, not iced, lukewarm. I understand that this statement is basically sacrilege. I also take my coffee black so I can’t cool it down with a bit a cream. Black, lukewarm, dark roast coffee. Try ordering that one at Starbucks. My fiancé knows this and pours me a cup of coffee when he hears me get in the shower. Now those who know us, know that by the time I’m in the shower, he’s already … [Read more...]
When do you outgrow Imposter Syndrome?
We’ve all heard the phrase, “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” What nobody tells you is when you find that “other” room, it’s kind of awful. I mean, it’s a wonderful, magical kind of awful. Like Disney World on a hot day kind of awful. You’re sweaty and uncomfortable, but c’mon, Tinkerbell is RIGHT THERE. Being in a room with people smarter and more successful than you is a lot like that. Over the past year, I’ve made it a point to get in … [Read more...]
Why I avoid 99% of online copywriting groups (and so do most pros)
I’ve been quiet in forums, facebook groups, and during conversations for a really long time (read: years) about an issue in the freelancing world. Join any copywriting group and you will find at least 20 variations of these two posts: How do I convince the client that they are wrong and don’t know anything about copywriting. I’m the expert here. I read Breakthrough Advertising AND Influence. They should listen to everything I say. I gave the client exactly what they wanted and it’s … [Read more...]
6 ways to give you’ll actually do (I bet you won’t serve soup)
Two weeks ago, I met a 12-year-old girl that saved my organization $36,457.83. Her name was Mackenzie Hinson and she runs the Make a Difference Food Pantry in Goldsboro, NC. At this point you probably have a lot of questions. Here’s the questions I had: Does she “really” run the pantry or is this her parents’ thing? Doesn’t she go to school? Where the heck is Goldsboro? How did she save you $36K? (All these and more are answered here) Why … [Read more...]