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

Over the past three years, I've worked with hundreds of new freelance writers and copywriters.  I enjoy mentoring and coaching these new and ambitious freelance professionals, helping them build and grow their businesses.  But through this process, I've uncovered a disturbing trend.  This is not something I enjoy talking about. Mainly because it requires that I be blunt about some issues.    But it's time to shine a light on this painful truth — and what you can do about it if you find yourself in one of these situations.

If you've been freelancing for a few years, chances are you've had trouble getting paid at some point.  The client was slow to pay. Or they lost your invoice. Or they held your payment for some weird and unfair reason. When that happens, you have a choice. You can rant about it. Foam at the mouth. Call Tony Soprano. Lose sleep.  Or you can use that as a learning experience. And change what you do in order to prevent that from happening again (or at least to prevent it from happening as frequently).  As passionate as I about my business and as much energy as I put into my clients' work, I've chosen to focus on the latter.    Not only has it been more effective, but it has also enabled me to retain my sanity and peace of mind. And in this episode my guest,  will share some very practical ideas for preventing these nightmares from happening. 

The process of picking a niche can be extremely stressful. But I've found that most of that stress and frustration is the result of bad advice.  In fact, most of what I read and hear on the topic of picking a niche is misguided. It treats the issue as a simple, one-dimensional decision. But in reality, this is a complex, multi-faceted topic that requires you to think about your business at a deeper level.  At the same time, it requires you to take action, even before you feel 100 percent comfortable with you decision. Because in most cases, your best niche ends up finding YOU.    . But in this episode, we're going deeper. My guest is Ilise Benun from . Ilise is a frequent guest in my podcasts and classes. And in this interview, she'll share some practical ideas to help you solve your niche puzzle.

Do you use a creative brief when working with clients?  Have you thought about using one but not sure what to include?  Do you even need one?  You'll get direct answers to these important questions in this week's show.  My guest is Pam Foster from and . Pam is a seasoned marketer with extensive corporate communications experience. She's a big believer in using a creative brief when working on client projects.  In this episode, she explains:    Why you need a creative brief What it should contain How to use one when working with a client How to customize it for different scenarios How to use them to deliver more value to your clients

Email is dying.  Not really. But that's what some social media pundits are claiming.  Fact is, it really doesn't matter how much texting, tweeting and "Facebooking" people are doing these days ... email is not going anywhere.  Love it or hate it, email is a wonderful tool. It's convenient and dependable. It's ubiquitous.  The trick, however, is knowing how to keep it under control.  In this week's session, we'll address the issue head on. You'll hear from Twyla LaPointe, a productivity expert and an email management consultant. Twyla will share a mix of strategy, workflow and simple tools to help you tame the email beast  

Growing your income as a freelancer doesn't need to be that difficult.  In fact, there's a very simple way to do that. I've used it for years to multiply my income. And I've taught it to many of my coaching clients who have used it successfully.  But there's a problem. The idea is so simple, it's often dismissed and never put to use.    So before I reveal too much, I'd like to give you some context. 

As a freelancer, there are few things more frustrating than a prospect who suddenly disappears for no apparent reason. He reached out to get some information, indicated a high level of interest, was fine with your ballpark fee — maybe even gave you a verbal confirmation that he was going to move forward.   But then ... nothing! You can't get him to return calls or emails.   You have no idea why. And now you're wondering if you said or did the wrong thing.   Sound familiar?   In this week's episode, my friend and colleague Ilise Benun and I tackle this common issue head on. We look at the different flavors of this problem. We examine why this happens so frequently. And we offer some concrete advice for how to deal with these frustrating situations.  

Many of us have been brought up to believe that talent and hard work are the keys to success in business.  But as competition stiffens and clients find it harder to distinguish freelancers from each other, you need a different strategy. You need to capitalize on (and communicate) your unique perspective and knowledge.  My guest for this episode is Dorie Clark, author of two business books, a consultant and speaker. Dorie worked as a journalist, so she knows our world very well. When she lost her job in a round of layoffs, she had to reinvent herself. Since then, she’s worked as a spokesperson for gubernatorial and presidential campaigns and executive director of a nonprofit.    In this interview, she explains why hard work and talent are no longer enough. And how you can position yourself as a trusted expert to set yourself apart—even if you don't quite feel like an "expert" in your field.

There's plenty of advice about what you should do when starting and growing a freelance writing business. But not too many people are openly talking about things you should avoid at this critical early stage. My guest this week is Diana Scheidman, a freelance writer and researcher specializing in the insurance and asset management industries. Diana has developed a reputation for helping people who want to land well-paid freelance and consulting work quickly. And she recently wrote a book on the subject titled . In this episode, Diana shares 10 things new freelance business writers must avoid if they want to get their freelance business off the ground faster.

One of the things that I've tried to be very mindful of is painting a very realistic picture of what it's like to launch and grow a freelance writing and copywriting business today. In fact, I take great pride in being transparent about the hard work required. You'll hear that in most of my interviews, as well as in shows such as: ? ? Today is no exception. My guest is Mark Stone, a freelance writer from British Columbia, Canada. Mark is still in the early stages of growing his business, and he has an interesting story to tell about finding his way through this business. You're not going to hear a talk about rainbows and sunshine. Instead, you'll get more of a status report from Mark. You'll hear how Mark is landing progressively better and higher-paying clients. And how he's pushing past fears and insecurities to improve his business and his income. If you're just starting out or are in the first two or three years of your freelance venture, I think you'll get a lot out of this interview.  

Just last week I received a call from a friend who owns a small marketing agency. She had recently lost three solid opportunities—deals she should have won. She couldn't figure out what went wrong. So she did what most of us do: assume it was her own fault. Maybe she said the wrong thing. Or her pricing was way off. Or she didn't have the experience the prospect wanted. But I've lost enough deals to know the truth. She was basing her conclusions on the wrong assumption. More specifically, she was assuming that every opportunity has the same chance of success. More than likely, it wasn't something she did or didn't do. It was simply that these opportunities weren't really "winnable." In this episode, I'll tell you what I shared with her ... and how that shift in thinking made an immediate impact on her business.

Over the past seven years, I've had hundreds of conversations with new and aspiring freelancers who are 55+. Perhaps the most common concern I hear from this group is, "I'm afraid that my age will prevent me from getting clients." I can understand this fear. Especially if you've experienced age discrimination in the workplace ... or been laid off or downsized because of your age (something an employer would never admit). Here's the good news—you have more to offer your clients than you realize. In fact, you have a serious competitive edge over younger freelancers — experience, wisdom and perspective.   And that's not just me saying that. I've heard this from several freelancers who launched their solo business later in life. In fact, you'll hear from one of them in this week's episode. Her name is , a California–based web content developer and SEO writer who went solo 12 years ago at the age of 54.

Today's show is about two topics that didn't warrant their own episodes: Why you must be careful when emulating the "rock stars" in our business Why you should NOT diversify too much in terms of the services you offer I'm also going to introduce a somewhat "silent" co-host of this show (someone you might have heard a few times before). I'll tell you about two upcoming industry events you may want to check out. And I'll explain how you can be a part of a future episode of this podcast.

Yes, I really believe freelancing or contingency work is the way of the future. But if you're fresh out of school and have no contacts and no relevant experience, how can you possibly get started as a freelancer? In this episode, I interview two young freelancers who faced the same dilemma just a few years ago.

  Today we're talking about SEO copywriting. And to get the full scoop on what's happening with SEO these days, I've brought in one of the world's top authorities on the subject: Heather Lloyd Martin. Heather has been writing, studying and teaching SEO copywriting for years. In fact, she got started way before SEO copywriting went mainstream.   In this interview, Heather is going to give us an overview of this opportunity, including:   What SEO copywriting entails How it has changed over the past 10 years How Google's big changes have impacted our ability to optimize web page How you can manage clients' expectations in an environment of unscrupulous SEO practitioners? The best sources of information for SEO copywriters The best opportunities for SEO copywriters today   And much more!  

Fully 90% of my income these days comes from teaching, training and coaching freelancers to earn more in less time, doing work they love for better clients. But what does that say about me, when so little of my income comes from working directly with freelance writing clients? It's a great question. And in this week's episode, I address the issue head on.

It's hard NOT to be somewhat spiritual when you're self-employed. That's because so much of what we do as a freelancers is based on faith — faith that things will work out ... that another good client will come along ... that you're doing the right thing by raising your fees... In fact, I've learned to understand that thoughts DO become things. (Of course, you also have to take steady and deliberate action. That's the part many people conveniently forget about. ;-) But is this there science behind this idea? Can we really manifest a new client on command? Can we turn things around by "creating" them in our minds first and asking for them? The answer is "Yes!" And in this episode, international bestselling author Pam Grout explains why that's the case ... and how you can prove it to yourself, even if you're a skeptic.

Article writing is one of the most fun and lucrative ways to make a living as a freelance writer. The variety of work is significant. For instance, ytou can write blog posts for a client. Or you can focus on the growing trend of brand journalism. Or maybe specialize in writing placed articles. In this episode, veteran freelance writer and founder of , Carol Tice, details five ways to earn a great income writing articles for clients. She describes each opportunity in detail. She explains who's hiring writers in each category. And she discusses the earning potential for these projects.

This week we're going to talk about yet another little-known opportunity for writers and copywriters—scripting and producing what are typically called "explainer videos" for clients. Explainer videos are nothing more than 1- to 2-minute simple and engaging explanations of what a product does and how it solves a key problem. They're not "demo" videos. Rather they're high-level presentations, usually involving some sort of computer animation or live action. And they've become incredibly popular! To discuss this opportunity in great detail, I've brought in Kathy Cabrera from Red Clip Video. As you'll hear, Kathy has a unique background that has enabled her to build a growing business around explainer videos. She'll explain what this type of work is all about. What it involves. The different opportunities for writers. And what you can charge, depending on what you choose to offer your clients.

It's not every day that I come across an idea in the freelancing world that gets me super excited. But when I recently sat down with freelance ghostwriter Derek Lewis, I found myself taking a ton of notes ... and thinking of ways I could shift my writing business to do what HE does!Derek is a very successful business-book ghostwriter. He's also the author of the new book The Business Book Bible: Everything You Need to Know to Write a Good Business Book. And in this interview, he gives us a detailed and very exciting look into the world of book ghostwriting. What it isWhat it involvesThe best target markets for this workWhat you can chargeHow to find clientsAnd who's best suited for this type of writingThis is a realistic six-figure opportunity for strong writers who enjoy longer-format projects and working closely with a client for an extended period of time. And as you'll see, the rewards go way beyond the financial.