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

I had a friend who was married to a lawyer. She joked that when she was having trouble falling asleep, she’d ask her husband to talk about copyright law. Apparently, it worked way better (and faster) than taking a melatonin supplement. ;-) In all seriousness, copyright law is an important topic when you’re a freelancer writing for clients. For this podcast episode, I’ve brought in Internet business lawyer Richard Chapo to give us the scoop on how we can protect ourselves from the most common (and avoidable!) copyright pitfalls. As dull as this topic can be, Richard makes it interesting, relevant and engaging. He also illustrates many of his points with specific and useful examples, which I found extremely helpful. So I urge you to give this episode a listen.

You can earn a very handsome income working on “transactional” assignments for clients. But for some writers, this model starts to get old. And they often wonder if there’s a better way of doing things. That’s exactly what happened to my guest. Maggie Patterson was making a very good living as a freelance writer. But she was burning out. So she began to offer more comprehensive services that included her own proprietary processes. The idea took hold. In a big way. In this episode, Maggie explains how she transitioned from the traditional freelance model to an agency model … and how she uses it to differentiate her business and deliver more value to clients.

In this episode, I’m covering a topic that’s extremely relevant and practical for a big part of my audience: How introverts can turn more prospects into clients. My guest is . Matthew is an internationally award-winning blogger and contributor to CEO, Entrepreneur, and Top Sales World Magazine. He is a recurring guest on FOX and NBC, and has appeared on top-rated podcasts including Entrepreneur on Fire and Eventual Millionaire. He’s the author of the bestseller The Introvert’s Edge: How the Quiet and Shy Can Outsell Anyone, and he has five multimillion-dollar business success stories to his name, all before the age of thirty. This is solid stuff. Check it out...

Should you give your clients a gift? If so, when is the best time to do this? And what should you give them? Holidays? At the end of your first project? Some other time? This episode is a great conversation with my colleague Sarah Greesonbach on this topic. Sarah gave me some great ideas for how make this decision ... which clients you should put on your list ... and how to give gifts that make a huge impact without spending more than $20 or $30. She’s a true gift-giving master!  In this interview, she explains when to consider giving clients gifts (hint: there are other great opportunities outside the holidays) ... which clients you should give gifts to ... how to do it right ... and how to pick gifts that will make a big impact without spending more than $20 or $30.

I love to look for patterns. And recently I’ve been looking for patterns as I’ve talked with coaching clients and peers who’ve reached the six-figure income level. Through those conversations, some interesting patterns emerged. In this episode, I give you a peek into those patterns—because they’ll give you a good idea of what six-figure writers do differently when compared to lower-income writers...

LinkedIn has quickly become one of the most effective marketing tools for writers and copywriters. But one of the downsides of this social platform is that it can feel overwhelming. How should you use it? Where should you start? How should you search for prospects inside? And how do you connect with them?   My guest for this episode is Chrissie Wywrot. Chrissie works with clients on their LinkedIn profile and strategy, as well as their online brand, to establish them as experts and resources in their fields. She has a very simple process she uses to get the most out of LinkedIn. Listen in to get the details...

Having a well-defined target audience is a critical first step to freelance success. But it doesn’t end there. Because once you’ve identified your audience you now need to find some prospects to contact. That’s where many writers get stuck. If you’re in that situation now (or if you’ve ever been there), you’re going to get a ton out of this week’s podcast episode. My guest is the brilliant Jennifer Gregory. In this interview, Jennifer details her three-step “Audience First” method for finding potential clients. Her approach is both simple AND incredibly effective — and it’s something you can start using right away.

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.