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

In this week’s episode we’re going to talk about crappy clients — or “clients from hell,” as my guest calls them. ;-) My guest is Bryce Bladon. Bryce is an award-winning writer, creative consultant and strategist, and editor-in-chief of Clients From Hell, a blog that collects anonymously contributed client horror stories from the front lines of the freelancing industry. He also hosts a podcast of the same name. Yes, we’ll vent a little. But we’ll also talk about how you can identify these “problem children” before they unleash hell. More specifically, how to handle these difficult situations with grace and professionalism.

Engaging with freelancer professionals (across different industries) brings many benefits to freelance writers. Designer and freelancer Emily Leach explains in the HIBW podcast.

Many authors, speakers and coaches are great at what they do. They often teach life-changing strategies and ideas. But most of them can’t write copy to save their lives. Worse yet, they don’t even know where to find a good copywriter. In this eye-opening interview with my friend and colleague Casey Demchak, you’ll learn: Who these people are What they need from copywriters How you can find the best-quality clients What you can charge And much more...

Have you ever tracked your prospect inquiries over a period of time? You’d be surprised how many insights you can get out of this simple exercise! In this interview, my good friend Dianna Huff shares her results from her own inquiry-tracking effort. And she details the eye-opening insights that came out of this.

If you’re planning your marketing efforts for the year, you don’t want to miss this episode. I’ve brought back my friend and colleague Ilise Benun to talk about how you can market your business more effectively this year. I love how Ilise has broken this down into six tools or strategies to focus on. And how she’s grouped those strategies into: Things you should deploy or refine Things you should do a regular basis These interviews with Ilise are some of our most popular on the show. And this will be no exception...

If you struggle with productivity, this episode is for you. First of all, you’re not alone. Productivity is a big challenge for creative professionals. Working from home means that you’re exposed to a ridiculous number of distractions. And when you’re in front of a computer all day long, the temptation to check email, social media or crazy cat videos can be paralyzing. Yet if we’re ever going to do great work, we have to be productive. We know that intellectually. Making it work on a day-by-day and minute-by-minute basis, however, is challenging. So as we kick off the New Year, I wanted to bring in my friend and colleague Mark McGuinness to the show. Mark has a number of very practical and tactical tips for improving your productivity very quickly...

This is my favorite time of year. Not just because of the holiday cheer, festive mood and time spent together as a family. But also because of the opportunity to look back at the year. This is a great time to pause and reflect. To take stock of where I am. What went right. What didn’t go the way I expected (and why). As part of my planning process for 2017, I’m doing something a little different. I’m asking myself 21 tough questions. I’m using these questions as journal entry starters. And what I’ve uncovered so far by thinking about (and answering) these questions in detail is ... well, eye-opening! That’s the topic of this week’s podcast episode. Join me to see if you find these as helpful as I have...

We all have one. A nagging inner critic that won’t go away. The one who keeps telling us we can’t. Or we shouldn’t. Or we’re not good enough. Or we don’t know enough (or have enough experience). She has a name... And the secret is NOT to try and silence her for good (not going to happen!). The key is to learn how to tame her.

According to a recent comment on our Facebook page, it’s impossible to earn a great living as a writer. Unless, of course, you get lucky and publish a bestselling novel. I don’t bother arguing with people like him. They just don’t get it. But I also recognize that there are doubters everywhere. And there are doubters who want to believe. But they have good reason to be skeptical. If you’ve been freelancing for years and never come close to reaching six figures in annual full-time income, I can understand why you may have given up on this high-income idea. Trouble is, I know too many people who make a high income doing this work. So while I understand and respect your doubt and skepticism, I have to tell you — this high-income thing is entirely possible. My guest this week is a perfect example. Her name is Chelsea Baldwin, and she started freelancing on the side six years ago. But it wasn’t until two years ago that she quit her day job and went completely solo. This past July, Chelsea had her first five figure

There’s a pattern I’ve seen in virtually every freelance success story. It goes like this: As you begin to move steadily in the direction of your goals, all kinds of serendipitous events begin to happen. (Side note: When I say “begin to move steadily,” I don’t mean casual activity. I mean steady, deliberate, persistent and laser-focused action. Even when you don’t feel like it. And even when you think all hope is lost!) Of course, those synchronicities don’t always happen immediately. And they’re not always obvious. But as you look back at your success, it all starts to make sense. And you realize that taking steady and massive action despite the odds (and despite the obstacles) really paid off. That’s why I love the story I’m about to share with you. Because it’s yet one more example of this fascinating pattern of success...

Need more clients? It helps to get exposure to your business via publications your audience consumes. In today’s episode you’ll hear from Marcie Hill, a freelancer writer, blogger and author. Marcie explains how she landed a guest post in Forbes.com to drive a steady stream of qualified clients to her business. And how that traffic continues two years after the publication of that post...

In this episode, we’re going to focus on an industry and a market opportunity you may not have previously considered: copywriting for eCommerce companies. Full disclosure: My guest has a company that hires freelance copywriters and places them with eCommerce clients. His name is Nathan Hirsch, and he’s the founder of . (Note: I have NO affiliate relationship with Nathan or his company.) This opportunity is NOT for everyone. And frankly, it’s not the path I would recommend if you’re trying to follow the “smarter freelancing” objectives of earning more in less time doing work you love for better clients. However, if you’re a good copywriter and have some experience with this type of writing, this might be a good way to either kick start your freelance business or to fill a temporary gap in project work...

Most of us view freelancing as a way to make a living. It’s a way to pay the bills by doing work we enjoy — and doing it on our own schedule and on our own terms. And that’s pretty much where it ends. Nothing wrong with that. But there are some professionals who look at freelancing a little differently. They see it as means to fund exciting adventures. They choose this work model because it enables them to travel the world and create life-changing experiences. These folks don’t live to work. They work to live. My guest this week is a great example of this mindset and approach to freelancing. His name is Kevin Casey. He’s a freelance copywriter based in Australia who travels for four to five months every year. And he uses his freelance income to fund every dollar of these experiences. Whether or not you enjoy traveling the world, I think you’ll find Kevin’s approach to work and leisure inspiring and thought-provoking.

If you have a day job, what would you do if you got downsized? Would you look for another job? Or would you use the opportunity to launch your freelance business? That’s exactly what happened to Tanya Brody a few months ago. Tanya has been a copywriter for years. But until recently, she was traditionally employed as a copywriter — she wasn’t a freelancer. In today’s episode she explains how she got started as a copywriter, why she decided to work for someone else, why she chose the solo path when she lost her job... and what she’s learned so far in her freelance journey.

This is the most common question I get from new freelance writers and copywriters: “Where do I start, Ed?” In today’s podcast episode, I give you my detailed answer to that question. I reveal my big-picture checklist for getting your business off the ground faster and more safely. If you’re struggling to get your B2B / commercial writing business off the ground, this episode is for you.   

I’m always looking for different and clever ideas to land clients, earn more for the work we do and enjoy more time off. So when I heard from Mojca Mars about the Twitter strategy she used to build her freelance social media marketing business, I knew I wanted her on the show. I met Mojca last year at the Double Your Freelance Conference in Norfolk, Va. I was very impressed with how quickly she grew her solo business after getting laid off. It’s a great example of being resourceful and putting in the work, even when you experience occasional setbacks. In this episode, Mojca talks specifically about the Twitter strategy she used to get her business off the ground and into extremely profitable territory. This is something you can easily replicate IF you’re willing to put in the work and maintain the discipline necessary to develop momentum...

I don’t enjoy having difficult conversations with clients. I bet you don’t either! But just because it’s not a fun pastime doesn’t mean we should always avoid these conversations. Very often the way to solve (or even avoid) big problems with clients is to do what we fear: confront the issues head on. And to do that effectively and with confidence, you need to be prepared to handle these situations. In this week’s show you’ll hear from Mele Williams. Mele specializes in writing scripts for sensitive business and personal conversations, such as delivering bad news and saying no. She’s a real pro at this. And in this interview she shares some very practical techniques for handling these difficult situations with grace.

Most copywriters understand the power of storytelling and humor in copy. But how do you use these elements appropriately? My guest this week explains how to do this right. His name is Kevin Rogers. Kevin is one of the top copywriters in the biz. He’s the Amazon best-selling author of The 60-Second Sales Hook and founder of , a thriving community of the world’s top online marketers. Kevin spent years traveling the country as a dead-broke stand-up comedian until he discovered how a simple joke formula could be used as a powerful marketing hook. He began to teach that formula to marketers. And these days, entrepreneurs and business owners all over the world use Kevin’s techniques to grow their profits and their businesses at record pace. Today he’s is one of the most in-demand sales consultants online, working closely with high-volume information marketers, corporations and local brick and mortar businesses alike to turn around sluggish ad campaigns. And in this interview, he reveals the formula he uses to injec

I always assumed that food and travel writing didn’t pay well. It just seemed crowded with writers. And as media companies started to fold, this category felt like a starving artist’s (no pun intended) worst nightmare. But I recently met someone who challenged these assumptions. Her name is and she’s my guest in this week’s show. In this interview Kate will explain why there’s still a very good income opportunity in food and travel writing...

For a long time, it seemed like WordPress was the only way to go. It certainly wasn’t the only option for freelancers who needed a website. But it seemed as if it was the only practical option. And then suddenly a whole group of website builder platforms started gaining serious steam. Platforms such as Squarespace, Strikingly, Weebly, Wix and others. At first I thought it was a passing fad. Or maybe an option for people who were dabbling or needed an extremely simple, one-page website. But the more I looked into these options, the more I realized that there was something to this movement. My guest this week is Lisa Mullis. Lisa is a principal and director of marketing and outreach at , a design communications firm. I’m not an expert in this area, so I wanted to bring in someone who works with both options every day.  There’s a lot of passion in each camp—the Wordpress camp and the website builder camp. So I suspect this episode will create some controversy...