Making great money as a writer

Focus on these 3 project types … [The Writer’ s Life]( January 12, 2023 "Today is the opportunity to build the tomorrow you want." – Ken Poirot This is a terrible phrase, {NAME} … There are lots of ways to skin a cat. But hard as I might, I've never been able to make an alternative stick in my brain and deliver the same impact … especially when it comes to building a successful writing business. Thanks to the boom of the digital copywriting industry over the last several years, there are SO MANY ways to make money writing today. The challenge is usually getting started, and then determining what combination of opportunities get you to your goal. So today, I've asked Master Copywriter and Coach Nick Usborne to approach it from a different angle … By focusing on the types of writing projects you should consider taking on. This is something Nick coached me on years ago when I first trained with him … and to this day, I still believe it's the best approach to building a thriving and satisfying writing business. If you've been struggling with making the money you want from your writing career, use this to take a step back and review what you're doing. And if you're just starting out, this will help you build your writing business in a way that maximizes your chance of success out of the gate. Now, in either case, if you'd like some help making the money you want from your writing … I highly recommend you [check out Nick's unique mentoring opportunity](. For 12 weeks you'll work with him to develop the skills needed to take on numerous projects on the customer journey … develop a portfolio of professional samples you'll be proud of … and get help landing those all-important first-paying clients. [All the details are here.]( As I mentioned, I personally trained with Nick early on in my own writing career … as did our Learning Chief, Pam Foster. And we can both tell you firsthand that it was a life-changing experience … in terms of skill, confidence, and earning power. If you've been looking for a mentor to show you a way forward, I would highly recommend considering him. While he's brilliant at teaching the writing side, he goes beyond it … addressing the mindset stuff we writers often have at the same time … So that you can reach your full earning potential. If you're interested in learning more, [go here and see what it's all about](. To your success, [Rebecca Matter’ s signature] Rebecca --------------------------------------------------------------- Build Your Freelance Digital Copywriting Business by Focusing on 3 Different Project Types By Nick Usborne Back when I was starting out as a freelance copywriter, I took on pretty much every project that came my way. I was just relieved that companies were actually giving me work, and paying me for it! If you're just starting out, you'll probably do the same, and get that same thrill when those first few checks come in. But pretty soon you may want to take a step back and plan to be a little more strategic about the clients and projects you go for. Remember, as a freelancer your time is your most important asset, and you should use it wisely. Otherwise, you could end up spending half the week on projects that aren't very profitable, and aren't moving your career in the right direction. Which types of projects SHOULD you focus on? That's up to you … But here are the three project types that have served me the best over the last few decades. Project Type #1: Retainer deals that pay you month after month, indefinitely. Some digital copywriting projects, like writing a homepage, can be a lot of fun, and very profitable, but they are one-off deals. For example, I might make $5,000 working on a new homepage for a client. But once I'm done, they probably won't want another rewrite for at least another year. I'll invoice them once, and then we're done. The next day I have to go prospecting for a new project. By way of contrast, if I land a project writing their weekly newsletter, that's a project that repeats week after week, indefinitely. So long as I don't mess up, I know that I'll be paid for writing four new issues this month, next month, and the month after. In fact, the whole thing will be set up automatically … I'll invoice once a month, and they'll pay every month. This is known as a retainer deal. Clients will put you on retainer for any kind of work that repeats, month in and month out. E-newsletters are a great example. Another one is social media writing. When you start working on a company's Twitter feed, Facebook page or Instagram account, they'll need you to work on them every day. Or at least five days a week. Another example is writing posts for a client's blog. They may only want one new post a week, but that means you have a weekly writing assignment that automatically repeats. So they put you on retainer … for a fixed amount each month. I love retainer deals because they take a lot of the stress out of freelancing. If you're making money one project at a time — writing homepages, for example — you never know for sure how much money you'll be making next month. It all depends on whether you succeed in landing a new project, and on how much the client is willing to pay. I like to reduce work stress by as much as possible! This is why I like to build the backbone of my income with retainer deals. They don't represent all the work I do. But when I get the balance right, they do help me sleep at night, because I know in advance how much money I'll be making next month. Project Type #2: Clients and projects that give you the opportunity to do your very best work. Once you've worked with a few clients you'll be able to look back and get a sense of the quality of the work you did for each. You'll likely want to add some pieces to your portfolio, but not all of them. For some projects you might think, "Nah … not something I'm super-proud of." How come? It's not like you were suddenly a "not-as-good" copywriter on some projects compared to others. Usually, when you don't do your best work, it's because you don't love the business niche, or because you don't have a great relationship with the client. Both scenarios have happened to me. I remember doing a project for a company selling hospital diagnostic equipment. I did professional work, but it wasn't my best work … because hospital diagnostic equipment just doesn't interest me that much. I've also worked on projects where the client and I didn't have a great working relationship. The chemistry just wasn't there. As a result, the work wasn't my best. Does this matter? Does it matter that some jobs don't represent the best you can do? I think it does! When you do your very best work, it shines! Other people hear about it and talk about it. More companies want to work with you. Doing your very best work is a very powerful way to market your talents. Doing great work also makes you feel good about yourself. It puts a bounce in your step every day. This is why you should always aim for prospects you would REALLY like to work for. And it's why you should nurture your best relationships with clients. The better you get along together, the better the work you'll produce, and the more the work they'll send your way. Project Type #3: Work that's going to really challenge you. It's tempting to stick just with what you know, month after month. Nailed writing sales emails? That's great. Keep at it. But I'd advise against ONLY doing the stuff you're super-familiar with. Challenge yourself a little. Take on something scary if it comes your way. I remember the very first time I was asked to write a long-form sales page for a financial newsletter. I'd never done anything like that before. So I said yes! Why risk saying yes to something I'm not sure I could do well? Because it got the adrenaline flowing, and the blood pumping. That's how you learn. It's how you break through limits you never thought you could get past. And, like we talked about when doing your very best work, doing something challenging puts a bounce in your step, and inspires you to do more. How do you find the right balance? Roughly, I'd go for 80% retainer deals, 20% challenging projects … and 100% with companies and clients you really enjoy and admire. Is it possible to do this all of the time? Nope. You'll have ups and downs. You'll make some mistakes. You'll produce some work that crashes and burns. It happens to the best of us. But you can at least aim yourself in the right direction. Bottom line … be deliberate and strategic in how you choose the work projects you take on. That's how you'll build a successful and profitable digital copywriting business. How to Get Free Stuff as a Writer Imagine scoring free vacations … dinners out … gym equipment … house repairs … relaxing spa getaways … Barefoot Writers have a hidden avenue to land incredible bonuses — at zero cost … On top of enjoying total career freedom. Discover how it's done with our special report, 130 Amazing Perks and Freebies for Barefoot Writers (and How to Get Them!) — yours free with an $11 subscription to Barefoot Writer magazine. [Click Here Now For Details]( What's Hot at AWAI … 🙋 Your Digital Copywriting Apprenticeship starts soon! [Register here!]( 🖐 [New trends that spell opportunity for digital copywriters.]( 👉 Want to win $200? [Check out our January Writing Contest here!]( 💰 Looking for a niche that pays? Check out these [35 hot niche industries for web content writing jobs in 2023](. 🤩 [How to "nerd out" in the world of B2B tech copywriting.]( It started as a joke and ended up a success … [Social Media post about an unexpected win] Congrats, on the unexpected win! Have your own story to share? Email us at mysuccess@awai.com, or [post it over in the Facebook group](, so we can celebrate your win too! Full Access for Just $1!!! This free blueprint shows you how to make $2,500 to $8,000 a month as a writer. And for just a buck, you'll gain access to every resource you'll need to execute that blueprint. All the roadmaps … All the articles … All the how-to videos … All the training webinars … The member forum, the job board, the tutorials, the tools … All of it! [Check It Out Now]( Featured Jobs Copywriter – The Pond Guy Full-time, Armada Our Copywriter creates and edits engaging content that is disseminated across various channels. These channels may include print, digital, email and/or social. --------------------------------------------------------------- SEO and Content Manager – Music and Arts Full-time, Frederick, MD Collaborate with internal and external teams to ensure content development is in line with SEO best practices. Identify important pages/products to prioritize with high business value based on market research. --------------------------------------------------------------- Senior Copywriter – NextEra Energy Resources Full-time, Juno Beach, FL Create, edit and proofread content for integrated campaigns as well as digital campaigns, social media, website content, slogans and taglines, ads, SEO/SEM, and email. --------------------------------------------------------------- You can find all of these jobs and thousands more on [WritersWanted.com](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Trouble viewing this email? [View in your browser, here](. 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