What the highest paid writers have (and how to get it!)

[The Writer’ s Life]( January 4, 2018 Hi {NAME}, Some of the highest earning writers I know aren't necessarily the best writers … But they typically have two things in common: 1. A natural-born confidence that enables them to go after clients and ask for what they want with zero fear. And, 2. They're mindful about what clients value when considering writers. Yesterday, Joshua Boswell covered the second thing, so you can persuade clients to hire you. (If you missed it, [you can access yesterday's issue here](.) And today he tackles the first thing by teaching you what to do if you're not all that confident when it comes to getting clients. Before I hand it over though, remember that today is the last day you can register for the [2018 Web Copy Intensive](. And if you join us, confidence will no longer be an issue … You'll have confidence that you've mastered the most in-demand skills thanks to seven of the industry's top experts. You'll have confidence in your ability, thanks to the hands-on writing assignments and samples you'll develop with our training team. And you'll have confidence in your ability to land clients, since our business-building experts will literally walk you through each and every step of building a profitable writing business … And ensure every piece of your business — from your website and prospecting efforts, to your fees and process for closing clients, and everything in between — properly does the job it needs to do. [Details are here.]( And now, over to Joshua … To your success, Rebecca Matter President, AWAI --------------------------------------------------------------- No Confidence? Borrow Some! By Joshua Boswell [Scissors cutting the T off I can't so it becomes I can] Your success with landing clients will often depend on the way you go about it. Let me illustrate with a short story … When our children were little, we lived in Gilbert, Arizona. There was a little pond close by that had ducks in it. The children loved to feed the ducks. One day we went over there to feed the ducks. Another family was already there. Just as we got there, their little boy, about five-years-old, grabbed some huge chunks of bread. Without warning, he went running, screaming toward the ducks, throwing slices of bread as he went. "I want to feed the duckies!" he yelled. Of course, the ducks were terrified for their lives (don't blame them!), took wing, and scattered to the four corners of the earth. The boy was in tears, not realizing what he'd done. I turned to my son, Joshua, also about five-years-old, and said, "Wanna see how to feed them the right way?" He nodded happily. We walked to the other side of the pond. I broke off a bit of bread and threw it out into the pond as far as I could. Then, I stepped back and we waited. After a few minutes, one brave little duck came and gobbled it up with a happy quack. I threw out some more … but a little closer. He gave a happy quack and ate that too. It must have been a signal, because pretty soon, some of his buddies showed up. I threw out more and more bread, with each toss closer to the banks. When they reached the shore, I handed the bread to Joshua. "See? Just give them the bread, be quiet, and keep some distance. They'll follow you anywhere you'd like to go." And, they did. He took those ducks around the park and we had a great time. The other little boy meant well. He had bread. He wanted to feed them. The ducks were hungry and wanted what he had. But there was no way they were going to take it with him screaming and throwing stuff. The way you go about things makes ALL the difference. So, OF COURSE, the way you go about actually finding, talking with, closing, and upselling clients makes all the difference. And that leads me to Special-Sauce, Amazing Ingredient #4 … Posture. No, I'm not talking about how you stand up or sit down … I'm talking about the way you go about marketing yourself. I'm talking about how you feel inside when you make calls, answer emails, interact with clients. Mostly, it's your mindset about how you see yourself as a writer. That image you hold in your mind drastically affects every aspect of your marketing plan and getting clients action. Imagine this for a minute … Suppose you woke up tomorrow and suddenly had the confidence of Bob Bly or Clayton Makepeace. Even if your actual skill level didn't dramatically go up, do you think you'd be timid and shy and scared about contacting clients? No way! You'd go after it like a professional and get the job done. My secret for having the right posture is this: Borrow confidence. I know it sounds silly and simple, but I'm serious. Six months into my writing career, I realized that I wasn't all that great … but AWAI was AMAZING … and so was Bob Bly … and I had access to both of them. So, until I got my own confidence up, I decided to borrow theirs. I trusted in the writing process AWAI had created. I trusted in the advice I got from Bob about getting clients. And with that borrowed confidence, I moved forward. Clients felt it and happily hired me. When you have that kind of solid posture, your clients feel it, just like my friend Wendy Ripmeester's did … "Thank you for the congrats, Joshua! I am just wrapping up an 18-month assignment in my niche (that I landed through LinkedIn — thank you!). Tomorrow I finalize a proposal for three more projects. I'm grateful for the foundation — and confidence — your course has provided." Your assignment for today is to stop thinking about yourself. Look around. See what incredible writing masters and systems are all around you. You don't have to be the best right now. Just borrow some of that super-powerful confidence (you can have all of mine that you want!) from a mentor and/or AWAI and go for it!! When you have confidence, you win. When you don't, you falter. Simple as that. And that brings us to the final … and by far the most important and useful … Mega-Mind-Blowing Killer Ingredient #5, which I'll tell you about tomorrow. Do you have any questions about borrowing confidence to get started with your career? Let us know in the comments [here]( so we can help. Editorial Note: Joshua is an enthusiastic teacher, mentor, and coach, and he's ready to take you under his wing to help you build your writing business — fast. He even guarantees you'll land at least one client! [Get all the details here.]( EVERYTHING You Need to Make Great Money Be one of the lucky 60 writers to personally train with Rebecca Matter and her team of writing experts this February. You'll get the skills, confidence, professional samples … even clients! Only a few spots remain. First-come, first served. [Go here to claim your spot now.]( Kick-Start the New Year with THIS 3-Hour LIVE Copywriting Crash Course Begins Jan 10th Enrollment is now open for our LIVE Smart Start LIVE: Copywriting Crash Course training. Copywriting is the most IN DEMAND job for writers right now. Give us 3 hours and we'll teach you the basics of writing great copy and how to land the best assignments. We'll introduce you to the copywriting industry … show you where the opportunities lie … and get you writing. Please note: Special discount available if you enroll by January 8th. [Get all the details now before the doors close on this unique, one-of-a-kind training.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Trouble viewing this email? [View in your browser, here](. For questions or requests: [contact us online](. --------------------------------------------------------------- ©2017 American Writers & Artists Inc. Do you know of someone who would benefit from reading The Writer's Life? 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