Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Writing for Money: My Best Resources for Growing Your Income

Make money writing: The best resources. Makealivingwriting.com

There comes a point in every freelance writer’s life when they get sick of writing for pennies. You look up one day, realizing you’re burning out fast, and that you need to be writing for money — real money. The kind that pays the mortgage.

Helping writers move up and earn more is my favorite pastime, so I love it when writers tell me they’ve hit this point.

I’ve written a ton on how to grow your writing income here on the blog. But over the years, with 900+ posts, it’s gotten harder to easily find my best tips for leaving the gerbil-wheel of lousy gigs behind.

So I’m happy to announce that I’ve now got my very best ‘earn more from writing’ material organized on a single page.

If you’re ready to earn a serious living at freelance writing, read on for details:

Writing for money — big money, that is

The fact is, freelance writing is hard work. It’s not going to make sense to keep trying to write eight $15 blog posts a day, year after year, for most of us.

At some point, you have to move up. There are only two ways to do that:

  1. Find better (usually bigger) clients who pay better rates
  2. Learn better-paid types of writing — white papers, video scripts, speechwriting, book ghosting, case studies, sales copy, etc.

My new resource page covers both of these areas in detail:

Ultimate Guide to Writing for Money

What’s waiting for you on this new ‘writing for money’ page? I’ve got links to about dozen of my all-time most useful posts for earning more. And that’s just for starters.

Recent posts on this topic are on that page too, and it constantly updates. So you get the freshest tips on how writers are earning more today.

Finally, it’s got links to relevant e-books, programs, and courses I offer for those who’re ready to take their writing income to the next level.

In other words, it’s my ultimate guide for learning about writing for serious money.

I’m excited to add this useful page to my previous resource pages on how to get started as a freelance writer, and how to earn from your blog.

What would you like to know about writing for money? Visit my Facebook page and let’s discuss!

Writing for money - Double your writing income. LEARN HOW! Freelance Writers Den 2X

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Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Challenge #244 - Clean and Simple

Welcome to Addicted to Stamps and More! where each week we bring you a new challenge to help inspire you!

This week our challenge is


That's right! Keep it CAS :)


Here is our inspiration for you



















Thanks for stopping by and we hope to see you link up with your CAS designs. Over to you!




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Winners - Challenge #242

Time to announce our winners for our Make Your Mark Challenge!!





maj20 (4)


Creating Shine using Copic Markers

Congratulations! Please grab our badge to display on your blogs.




Congratulations Lee Ann. Your colouring is amazing on this chic card! Please grab our badge to display on your blog xx

Tune back in tomorrow morning for our new challenge :)


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Sunday, May 28, 2017

Pros and Cons of Carpet Tiles

If you’re tired of the same old broadloom carpet, then it’s time to try carpet tiles…also known as carpet squares. Get to know some pros and cons as you read below:

Image Source: Flickr

Pros of Carpet Tiles

  • Easy replacement.Carpet tiles are particularly installed for areas with high traffic. The singular squares enable you to replace individual stained or damaged tiles as the need arises.
  • The tiles can come in different sizes, colors, textures, and patterns.
  • Aesthetically pleasing.The variety of tiles can cater to homeowners who are concerned with aesthetics, allowing them to still achieve the desired theme, look, and style of their home. The tile flexibility allows for patterns, the mix and match of colors, alternating directions, and an overall design that can be as simple or as complex as you want.
  • Easy installation.The tiles don’t require padding to be installed, and easy installation avoids the need for the tiles to be professionally fitted. This removes the substantial labor costs that require dexterity and skill when installing traditional broadloom carpet. Because of the easy installation, it’s found to be highly favored among those on a budget and those who like to DIY-it.
  • Their size and versatility gives them the ability to fit rooms with complex floor designs, making it easier to install versus the traditional broadloom carpet. Source: Modernize

Cons of Carpet Tiles

Carpet tiles also come with some disadvantages that are good to be aware of. These include:

  • The seams of the carpet tiles are more easily seen when compared to wall-to-wall carpet rolls. Without careful installation, the seams could appear uneven.
  • Like their carpet roll counterpart, they are not ideal for areas subject to moisture where mold and mildew may become an issue. The subfloor needs to be clean and even for the best possible installation result.
  • Carpet tiles can be more expensive than carpet rolls. Source: BuildDirect
  • Padding can be problematic with the squares, which may make them less dense underfoot than traditional carpeting. This can also make them less effective at soundproofing a room. Source: HomeImprovement

With carpet tiles, you’ll never run out of ideas to make any part of your home look trendy.

The post Pros and Cons of Carpet Tiles appeared first on Curlys Carpet Repair.



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5 Urgent Reasons to Stop Undercharging for Writing Jobs

Are you undercharging for writing jobs? Makealivingwriting.com

It can seem like a great strategy, when you first start looking for writing jobs. If you simply charge a bit less than everyone else, you’ll get more clients.

Right?

You might. But sadly, undercutting market rates is a loser’s game.

I’ve coached thousands of writers at this point, and have yet to meet one who says they’re earning a great living by being the cheapest writer around.

The good news? There’s never been a better time to charge premium rates for your writing, as changes at Google have brought the rise of longer-form online content — and have helped a growing number of companies understand the high value of what we writers bring to the table.

It takes a major mindset change (and a little research) to go from low-price-leader to a writer who charges serious fees. But trust me — you’ll be ever so much happier and earn a crap-ton more if you stop undercharging. Let me help you make it happen.

Learn about market rates

The first important step to end undercharging is to know market rates. Often, when I tell writers what going rates are for a particular type of writing, they need smelling salts — because they realize they’ve been charging a tiny fraction of the appropriate fee.

Don’t fumble in the dark. There is data on writing jobs and what to charge. Know what other writers are getting for similar gigs.

Yes, there will always be companies that want to get a writer for a song. I got an email this week from a new platform looking for writers at $8-$20 per blog post. Your job is to ignore all that, because those types of places are just not your client.

Understand? Not. Your. Client.

Once you know pro rates, you’re in a position to ask for them. Why should you do that, and not undercharge? Here are 5 important reasons why:

1. Here’s how you look to clients

When your bid is lower than anyone else’s, it’s clear to your clients that you’re hard up. Once the client knows that, your situation is ripe for writer exploitation.

They’ve got you on the cheap. Next, they’ll shorten your deadlines, add more responsibilities, and generally treat you like a slave.

If you ever want to get a raise, you now have a tiny base rate on which to base that increase. So even your new, higher rate may still be way too low. Expect the relationship to go downhill until you quit in disgust.

2. You’ve hidden your assets

Writers with niche expertise aren’t cheap. You know that, right?

So when you submit a lowball bid, the client assumes you’re not experienced, nor an expert in their industry. Your resume may say you have 20 years of staff newspaper reporting experience, but all that’s out the window if you’re writing for $50 an article. Clients will assume something’s gone wrong with your life, and you’re starting over at ground zero.

That means it’ll be harder to upsell them more sophisticated, better-paying writing jobs as you go. You’re a commodity to them — and that also means you’re highly replaceable and have little job security. Your low rates become a trap where you can never convince this client you’re valuable and move into better-paid work with them.

Finally, when you work for lowball clients, they tend to move in herds. That means these clients would likely refer you other crummy clients who also don’t value your expertise, instead of good clients.

3. It’s not a confidence-builder

When you’re working hard and being seriously underpaid, there’s a toxic dynamic to your client relationship that can really kill your soul. It’s hard to respect a client who’s using you.

That means you’re probably not building a personal relationship here. You’re not bonding. And that, in turn, means you probably don’t ask this client for a testimonial or referrals. This client is a dead end for you, rather than a source of additional business.

It’s also hard to respect yourself. This can kick off a downward spiral of negative self-esteem that tanks your whole writing career. This is the top reason that it’s urgent that you stop undercharging — every day you continue this can erode your self-esteem.

4. Losing the race to the bottom

Trying to be the low-price leader? Fact is, it’s almost impossible to be the cheapest writer out there, if you live in a First World nation. There will always be people in countries with completely different standards of living willing to do that work for $1. And they can often live pretty well on that pittance, too!

Stop trying to compete on price — because you can’t. What you can be is broke, as you endlessly discount your rates out of nervousness that you won’t get gigs.

Instead of trying to be Walmart, be Target. Charge a bit more, provide good quality, and earn your clients’ loyalty.

Or even better, be Ralph Lauren. Because when you charge top rates and attract elite customers, you can do a lot less work, respect yourself more, and more easily pay all your bills.

5. The sustainability problem

Let’s face it — writers take low-paid gigs because they’re easy to find. Tens of thousands of writers have signed up for content mills thinking:

OK, it’s just $5 per post — but if I write fast enough, I can make this add up to a living.

And maybe for a few months, you can. The problem is, it’s not sustainable.

There are only so many 18-hour days you can put in typing as fast as you can about trends in shower curtains or pet diseases or what-all before you just can’t do it anymore. You get carpal tunnel, or insomnia, or are simply so full of self-loathing at what you’re doing that you throw in the towel on paid writing altogether.

Because this isn’t interesting, fulfilling writing — it’s monkey-work — it will burn you out, at some point. Usually, sooner than later.

Often, this work doesn’t leave you with a strong portfolio that will help you move up. You also might not get testimonials or referrals, because you don’t even know who the end client is. Now, you’re toast, and this is a dead end.

My sad experience with undercharging

You might think that I’m a super-confident writer who’s always charged top rates. But it’s not true.

Confession time: There’s one area of my life where I’ve had a weird insecurity complex. I’ve been drastically undercharging the market in this area for years.

It’s in my self-study trainings over at Useful Writing Courses, the platform where I co-teach with The Renegade Writer’s Linda Formichelli. I’m embarrassed to say that our self-study classes have been priced at about 1/4 of market rates for years now (but this weekend marks the end of that!).

This, despite the fact that we have written the heck out of our courses. In most cases, we’ve also completely revamped and rewritten based on student feedback. And packed these courses with more information than you get in a $30,000 year at Columbia journalism school (we actually had a student tell us that!).

What happened? I freaked out about cheap Udemy and Teachable courses, instead of watching how top coaches were raising their course rates to the sky. Market rates rose — to $1,000 a course and more — and I didn’t stay current.

Know what? I’m done with it! It’s ridiculous that other coaches are charging $300 per course and more and most of my courses are under $100. So I’m taking my own advice and raising my rates.

Besides underselling myself and not earning what these courses are worth, I also attracted the wrong kind of writer with my low prices — the sort who don’t actually do the course, and then request a refund months later, simply because they’re broke. Instead of the type I want, writers who’re motivated to actually do the course, execute on the ideas, and grow their income.

I don’t know why I got sucked into treating course writing jobs as somehow different than freelance writing jobs — because really, they’re not. Undercharging is a bad move and brings you the wrong kind of client, in whatever type of writing you do. But now, it’s over.

I’m not going to be the low-price leader in writer training. Not when many online coaches have a big 2 months of freelance experience and charge $200 for their freelance writing course…when Linda and I have a combined 40+ years of experience poured into our courses. It’s ridiculous.

How to get the writing jobs you really want

At this point, you’re probably wondering what it will take to stop undercharging and start getting pro rates.

First off, you have to realize that great clients who pay top rates are not posting Craigslist ads or opportunities on Upwork. You’ll need to build an online presence that attracts great clients, learn how to qualify prospects, and do your own, proactive marketing. You may need support and coaching to make this mindset switch and build your self-esteem.

If you do, get that help. Trust me, it will be worth it.

Are you undercharging for writing jobs? Let’s discuss and get you asking for pro rates, over on my Facebook page or LinkedIn.

 

Writing jobs: Useful Writing Courses: Last Chance DEAL! Our course prices go up Tuesday, May 30! LEARN MORE

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Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Get Paid to Write: 26 Sites That Pay Freelancers $100+

Sites that pay freelancers $100 and up. Makealivingwriting.com

What would your income look like if every assignment paid $100 and up? Sites that pay writers that much or more are out there. Seriously.

But you’re not going to find them on Craiglist or low-rate content mills that pay pennies per word, or worse. And even a large number of job boards that promise well-paying writing gigs turn out to only have gigs that pay enough per assignment to fill your gas tank.

Skip those gigs, and move on to sites that pay better rates.

Sites that pay freelance writers $100 and up

In this list of 26 sites that pay freelance writers, we’ve identified new markets we haven’t featured before. And even though these sites represent a variety of different niches (e.g. finance, parenting, health, technology, travel, etc.) they all have one thing in common.

These are sites that pay $100 or more for blog posts, articles, essays, tutorials, and other types of writing assignments.

The way you’re going to land a gig with one of these sites that pay $100-plus, is by writing a solid query letter, pitching a well-thought out blog post, or sending a customized LOI (letter of introduction).

Have you been looking for sites that pay better rates? Check out this list. Squeeze your marketing muscles, and start pitching to earn $100 or more per assignment.

1. Bird Channel

Editor Jessica Pineda got her first lesson in caring for parrots, canaries, finches and doves when she was a babysitter. Now she helps bird owners care for their feathery friends as the editor for this niche site. Pays $100 to $200 for short articles. $300 to $400 for longer features.

2. B. Michelle Pippin

Business expert Michelle Pippin publishes guest posts on topics like time management, marketing, and entrepreneurship. Pays up to $150.

3. Bless This List

This site pays $100 for 1,500-word list posts on almost any topic. Offbeat, unusual, fun facts, or bizarre topics are encouraged.

4. Cicada

Associate editor Anna Neher says their young adult audience is interested in comics, the strange and unusual, and young adult literature. Pays up to $0.25 per word for essays, fiction, and comics.

5. Cooking Detective

This site, founded by editor @JerinMerina, is a cooking food blog, but it’s not just for recipes. The site publishes articles, how-tos, expert interviews, nutrition tips, and even fitness guides. Some assignments pay $75. Ultimate Guides on food/recipe topics pay $120 to $160.

6. Dollar Stretcher

This is a frugal living website that’s been around for nearly 20 years. Founder and editor Gary Foreman says they’re always looking for fresh ideas on how to save time and money. Pay is $0.10 a word. Study the site (more than 10,000 articles), before submitting a query.

7. Entelligent

This site pays $180 per article on topics related to energy, business, and the environment for its investor-focused audience. Content manager Laurie Greenwood says business journalists should pitch energy-related stories on current news events, business and scientific articles, and corporate news.

8. The Escapist

This site is dedicated to covering the gaming industry and pays up to $250 for articles. Pitch topics about video games, movies, board games, science, and technology.

9. Freelance Mom

This site pays $100 for 1,500-word blog posts (from moms or dads) about entrepreneurship, work-life balance, and the systems, tools, and processes to be a successful freelancer. Email your query/pitch to founder and editor Lisa Stein.

10. Healthy Living

This site pays $150 for 1,500-word articles on health, anti-aging, beauty, lifestyle, parenting, recipes. You can use the general submission form and expect a response within six days. But it wouldn’t hurt to pitch directly to editor @AidaPoulsen.

11. Howl Round

If you’re a fan of the theater, consider writing for Howl Round. This site pays up to $150 for articles about theater life for students and professionals. Check the submission guidelines for essays and the NewsCrit feature, which pay the most.

12. The Introspectionist

The target audience for The Introspectionist: intelligent women. The site pays $100 to $200 for features. Check the editorial calendar to look for upcoming themes for submitting a query.

13. The Layout

Want to write about WordPress? The Layout pays up to $150 for blog posts about design-related topics and tutorials.

14. Less Than Perfect Parents

Less Than Perfect Parents pays $100 for posts about practical ways to be a parent. Editor Tracy Gibb says the site features blog posts about things like easy ways to cook healthy meals, easy-to-make children’s crafts, family-friendly activities, and other topics. Pitch your blog post idea to Tracy via email at tracygibb@lessthanperfectparents.com.

15. Make a Living Writing

Yes, this blog pays $75 up to $150 for posts on freelance writing topics aimed at helping writers move up and earn more. Be sure to read the guidelines, study the style, and take a look at the types of blog posts we’re looking for. Rate depends on complexity of topic and research needed.

16. Mom.me

Here’s a site that pays $125 and up for blog posts and feature articles about pregnancy, motherhood, parenting, family life, and other topics. Editor Madeline Holler says she’s looking for voice-y, opinionated writers with a sense of humor who can write for moms.

17. MoneyPantry

Founder and editor Saeed Darabi created this site to help people with earning and saving money. Pays up to $150 for 1,000 to 2,000-word blog posts.

18. Pentimento

This site pays $250 for posts about people living with disabilities.

19. Power for Living

This site pays $125 to $375 for inspiring stories (750 to 1,600 words) about Christians who are making a difference in the world from mission trips to everyday experiences.

20. Semaphore

This site publishes articles about software development and pays $100 to $300. Semaphone is looking for articles about development tools and practices, build automation, application deployment and how to configure, integrate and develop software.

21. SlickWP

Here’s another site that pays $100 for blog posts about WordPress and Genesis-focused tutorials. Not a website guru? Fine, SlickWP also pays for reviews about WordPress themes and plugins.

22. Thriving Family

This Christian-focused site pays $300 to $375 for articles (1,200 to 1,500 words) about marriage and family life, ways to help children develop faith, and interviews with personalities.

23. Transitions Abroad

This travel site pays up to $150 for articles (800 to 2,000 words) about travel advice, experiences, and adventures to help and inspire others to see the world. Have a travel-related story idea? Transitions Abroad is looking for articles on working, living, volunteering, and studying abroad.

24. The Travel Writer’s Life

Here’s another travel site that pays $100 to $150 for interviews and personal stories about people who are making a living as a travel writer, photographer, or tour operator. How-to articles about getting paid to travel pay up to $200.

25. Vibrant Life

This site pays $100 to $300 for articles (up to 1,000 words) about physical health, mental clarity, and spiritual balance from a practical, Christian perspective. Send queries to editor Heather Quintana.

26. WriteHackr

WriteHackr pays up to $100 for blog posts for articles about freelance writing. Founder Scott Sind says the online magazine launched with a Kickstarter campaign, features how-to articles, interviews, and industry trends related to freelance writing.

Move up and earn more

If you’ve been writing for sites that pay less than $100 per assignment, it’s time for a change. This list is a good place to start. Once you find a site you want to write for, here’s what to do next:

  • Study the submission guidelines
  • Read past blog posts or back issues
  • Develop an outline for a blog post or write a query letter
  • Find the contact information for the editor and send your pitch via email
  • Repeat, and you’ll be headed in the right direction to move up and earn more

What sites have you written for that pay $100 or more? Add to the list on Facebook or LinkedIn.

Evan Jensen is the guest blog editor at Make a Living Writing. He writes for clients in the health and fitness niche, and runs 100-mile ultramarathons. 

100+ freelance writing questions answered

The post Get Paid to Write: 26 Sites That Pay Freelancers $100+ appeared first on Make A Living Writing.



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Tuesday, May 23, 2017

3 Common Window Treatment Problems and Their Solutions

Finding the perfect window treatment is important because it should complement your décor and furniture at home. Below, you’ll find three of the most common window treatment problems and their solutions to help you achieve the window treatment look you’re aiming for.

Image Source: Flickr

Light leaks and gaps in window treatments
Windows vary considerably in width and height, not to mention all the other details that will impact the fit, such as trim, molding and sill depth. If you’re experiencing significant light leaks and large gaps, then it’s possible your window treatment is the wrong size for the space or the product wasn’t installed in the window frame correctly.
Choosing a custom solution that includes professional measuring ensures your window covering will be fabricated to your exact window specifications. When combined with professional installation, this guarantees your new blinds, shades, shutters or drapery will fit perfectly and function as intended. Source: AngiesList

Not getting the length right
The length of curtains is pretty vital to a room. Too short, and it’ll look like you didn’t buy them long enough. Many will say long enough that they hover just above your floor; this will allow the look of length but without the dirt dragging possibilities. But those who want a really formal, lux look might consider too-long curtains that pool at the ground. Source: ApartmentTherapy

Problem: Lack of privacy outside.
If you’re lucky enough to have a porch, back deck, or balcony, you probably love spending time out there. While you love the extra space, you probably don’t love the wandering eyes of your neighbours.

Solution: Hang curtains outside.
Put up curtains outside to give some space and privacy between you and your neighbours. Not only does adding curtains outside create privacy, it also transforms the outdoor space into another living space. Bonus room without the reno. Source: Blog.HomeStars

If you’re experiencing problems aside from the ones stated above, let our experts help you out. Contact us!

 

Contact:
Universal Blinds
601 – 1550 W. 10th Ave
Vancouver, V6J 1Z9, Canada
Phone: (604) 559-1988

The post 3 Common Window Treatment Problems and Their Solutions appeared first on Universal Blinds, Shades & Shutters.



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3 Tips to Maximize Bathroom Space

Content originally published and Shared from http://perfectbath.com

Clutter can easily make a room look smaller. But if you already have a small bathroom to begin with, keeping things organized may not be enough to make the space look easy on the eyes. To make a bathroom look bigger, maximize the space by following these tips:

Image Source: Flickr

Open Up Floor Space
If you have alternative storage or a linen closet, replace the vanity cabinet with a pedestal or wall-mount sink. While the additional floor space won’t exactly be usable, it will trick the eye into believing the room is larger. Source: DIYNetwork

Use Glass
Get rid of the shower curtain or frosted-glass shower doors and replace them with clear glass. It will open up the shower area, making it a part of the entire room and giving the appearance of more space. Source: DIYNetwork

Trick the Eye
Various visual effects give the illusion of more space in your bathroom than actually exists. A well-placed mirror reflects light and adds depth to a room. Hang one large mirror in the bathroom, positioning it so it’s one of the first things you see when you walk in the door. Or add a decorative eye-catching focal point such as a painting, sculpture or plant. Having something attractive for the eye to fall on takes the focus off of the fact that the space is small.
Painting in light, neutral tones also helps open up the room, as does using multiple shades of the same light paint color. Opt for paint colors like beige, cream, taupe and off-white, as well as muted blue, gray, yellow, pink and blue. If you want bright complementary colors, introduce them through accessories like towels and soap dispensers. Source: Learn.CompactAppliance

 

Contact:
Perfect Bath
Phone: Toll Free 1-866-843-1641
Calgary, Alberta
Email: info@perfectbath.com

The post 3 Tips to Maximize Bathroom Space appeared first on Perfect Bath Canada.



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Challenge #243 Holiday

Welcome back everyone! Time for a brand new challenge and for this week we would like you to concentrate on anything to do with Holidays (please note this doesn't include birthdays, mother's day, father's day etc. Specific holidays (Christmas, Easter etc.) should be your theme including things like family trips to the beach - for example). 


Here is our amazing design team -



















Aren't these girls just awesome! Plesae pop on over to their blogs to see how they came up with their ideas and just to leave a little love :)

Over to you!



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Winners - Challenge #241

Hi there everyone! Just a quick post to update our winners for challenge #241 - Anything Goes. We had over 140 entries which made it very hard for the Design Team to choose from all those amazing creations! 

Here we go!








Congratulations! Please grab your badge to display on your blog :)





So elegant, Kaja! Stunning work. Congraulations, you are our Top Addict.

See you all soon with another challenge starting tomorrow :)


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Sunday, May 21, 2017

Flash Marketing: How I Booked $25K with Sales Copy Packages

How I booked $25K with sales copy packages. Makealivingwriting.com

Imagine being able to bring home a five-figure paycheck in a week without having to drive anywhere, send any emails, or even put up a page of sales copy.

It might sound crazy if you’ve  been writing for low-rates and doing small one-off projects. But it’s not. This. Is. Happening.

I created a plan to write sales copy packages for businesses—all the content a client would need to get up and running (landing page, thank you page, blog posts, sales page, social media posts, and an email series). Then I sent out a message to see if anyone was interested.

Have you ever thought about offering sales copy packages?

It’s an incredible way to boost your freelance writing income and work with great clients in your niche. And it’s not as hard as you might think to do this.

After mapping out a plan to write sales copy packages, I invited people to sign up for an introductory price of $4,999.

The goal was simple. Book five clients at this rate. In a flash, those five spots were filled, and more prospects were practically begging for this sales copy package. Since then I’ve raised the price…twice, and currently charge $7,499 for it.

Want to know how to create an offer for sales copy packages and charge pro rates? Here’s what you need to know:

Connect with prospects on social media

Long before I created the Fully Loaded Launch Copy package, I spent a lot of time connecting with clients and prospects on Facebook.

Over the last six-odd years, I’ve built up an engaged community on Facebook on my personal page, business page and my group.  I share a lot of both behind-the-scenes and day-in-the-life posts as a freelance writer. I also blog a lot about content marketing strategies, so my audience knows me pretty well.

When I was ready to offer this sales copy package, all I did was craft a Facebook post and share it on my Facebook page. Then I responded to the people who messaged me wanting to sign up, and I booked them in. Seriously, it was that easy.

If you don’t have a following on Facebook, now is always a good time to start.

  • Connect with clients and prospects you’d like to work with
  • Post and share content regularly relevant to your niche and target audience
  • Like, share, and comment on other people’s pages
  • Be consistent, and you’ll create connections that can make it a lot easier to land freelance writing work, get referrals, or even sell sales copy packages, when the time is right

But before you get all excited about offering a sales copy package and writing a Facebook post asking people to send you money, there’s a few things you need to know to make this work.

Let’s look at exactly how I made it happen and how you can do the same without coming off like a slimy salesperson, or worse… a scam artist!

Create an epic offer

The first and most important step to selling sales copy packages is to have a crystal clear offer. It needs to outline exactly what a client is going to get and how it make their life better.

Not only that, you need to paint a picture of what your offer will do for the prospect.

Most importantly, you then need to make your offer so epic that folks would want it instantly.

In my case, my clients were getting ALL their launch strategy AND copy, done-for-them, which would make launching their online course or program as easy as eating a slice of freshly baked apple pie.

Think about the kind of sales copy package and content your ideal client might need for a product launch, special announcement, new business, book release, or course. This might include:

  • Landing page
  • Thank you page
  • Press release
  • Thought leadership
  • Blog posts
  • Sales page
  • About page
  • Social media posts
  • Email series

Map out all the parts of the sales copy package you want to offer. Explain the process to help clients get a sense of what it’s like to work with you. And point out how you’re going to help them save time and money, reduce stress, generate leads, and grow their business.

Here’s what the offer looked like for my Fully Loaded Launch Copy package when I posted on Facebook:
Use this as an example to create your own epic sales copy package offer. You don’t have to use social media, but I recommend it. If you have a solid email list of past clients and interested prospects, send your offer via email. Or turn your sales copy package offer into a direct-mail marketing piece you can send out to prospects.

What package of services can you offer to your clients that would be so amazing that they would want to fling their credit card at you?

Make it easy for prospects to say ‘yes’

Once you put your epic sales copy package offer out there, you’re only half way to a close. You need to make it easy for them to say ‘yes’ to you. You can do this by employing age-old principles of persuasion—social proof , scarcity and urgency.

In my case, I made the offer available to the first five people. It instantly created urgency and scarcity. And I booked those five spots at $4,999 each within a week.

Keep in mind, I made this offer to an established Facebook group that already recognized me as one of the best sales and launch copywriters in the online marketing niche. I’d written launch content and copy for industry leaders, had several successful launches of my own and had testimonials and case studies to back myself up.

But you don’t have to have a massive following to make this work. Realistically, booking just one client for a $4,999 sales copy package would be a big win for a lot of writers.

Establish a process to deliver the sales copy content

Finally and most importantly, with any such high-end offer, you need to establish instant trust with everyone who contacts you and then, signs up with you.

Processes are a great way to do that. And you want to plan this out before you start booking clients. Here’s how:

  • Respond to comments and questions promptly. Make sure that when you post, you already have a response message drafted out which gives details of how they can sign up, what it costs and how to schedule a call with you, if needed. Your responses must be personalized and prompt. Do not put up a post inviting people to sign up for your service and then… go out for dinner or to bed.
  • Deliver red-carpet treatment. Think about what the sales process looks like when you buy a new car or a house. The realtor or sales rep rolls out the “red carpet” for you to help you feel good about making a purchase for thousands of dollars. Good communication, follow-up, a thank you  note, or even a small gift can make a big difference.
  • Invoice ASAP. Make sure you invoice them right away and send them their welcome kit – onboarding questionnaires, contracts, statements of work, etc., via email.

Processes help you stay productive and also reassure your clients that they’re working with a professional who is going to write awesome sales copy for their business.

Boost your income with sales copy packages

Want to make more money as a freelance writer, charge pro rates, and work with great clients in your niche? Create an offer for a sales copy package, and share it via social media. It works. You can follow these ridiculously simple steps to sell out a service using a fun social network like, Facebook.

Have you created sales copy packages? Let’s talk about it on Facebook or LinkedIn.

Prerna Malik is a sales and launch copywriter for businesses in the online marketing and eCommerce niche. Check out her copywriting tips to learn how to make $25K-plus a week
Double your writing income as a freelancer

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Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Stay Fully Booked: Tips From a 6-Figure Freelancer

Be a fully booked freelancer. Makealivingwriting.com Well, it’s not normal for me, anyway.

Don’t know if I’ve ever shared this before, but I never had a zero-income month, in over a decade of paying all my bills entirely from freelance writing gigs.

I didn’t have the option of having drought months, because for many years, I was the sole support of a family of five. Terror clawing at my gut at the idea that a month might come along with no money in it.

So I designed my freelance life so that I always had money coming in, every month. Because my mortgage was due every month, too. And my kids weren’t interested in taking a month off of eating.

How did I do it? Well, there are some fundamental steps that always-booked freelancers take that most writers don’t bother with. Now that I coach writers in my Den 2X Income Accelerator Program, I’ve seen how reliable and powerful these steps are for taking a writer from just scraping by to earning a major income.

If you’d like to banish ‘down’ months from your freelance life, here are the basic steps you need to take:

Change your mentality

To be a fully-booked freelancer, you have to first believe it’s possible. If you accept the conventional wisdom that as a freelancer, sometimes you’ll be broke and desperate to take any crummy gig that comes down the pike, then you will likely have some months with little or no income.

Add a few of those months into your year, and it’s pretty hard to make your freelancing add up to a nice living.

Instead, begin with the assumption that steady freelance income is possible. Commit yourself to achieving fairly stable revenue for your business, and you’ve taken the first step to getting there.

Never stop marketing

I wish I had a dime for every time a writer told me this:

“I had this big assignment and I was working on it for months, and now it’s over. And…I don’t have any work! I was too busy to do any marketing, and now I’m scrambling.”

Now hear this: You are never too busy to do marketing, as a freelancer. Marketing is one of your core functions, as it is with any other type of business.

Your goal when you have a lot of work is to find ways to squeeze in at least small bits of marketing, every week. Maybe for you, that means catching one in-person networking night a month, or sending one query a week, or sending introductory InMails weekly to prospects who’ve viewed your LinkedIn profile. But whatever form it takes, you need to keep at it.

Constant marketing keeps prospective clients calling on you. That means when one gig ends, you’re more likely to have new work lined up.

Build strong inbound marketing tools

If you hate marketing and you’re tired of having to churn out scads of letter-of-introduction emails (or don’t have time), there’s a solution. Create a great writer website and LinkedIn profile. Keep updating your site so Google loves it. Then, let these online tools bring you a steady stream of quality inquiries.

You’ll notice I didn’t say to rely on your UpWork or Fiverr profile or Craigslist ads or any other bottom-feeding place. Your own website is your chance to communicate: “I’m a pro.” While your presence on low-pay marketplaces says, “I’m cheap and desperate.”

Many writers don’t seem to believe they can really get found online with their writer website, and so don’t invest time in developing these virtual assets. But I’ve seen success story after success story for writers who prioritize making these pages sharply focused on your ideal client.

Having a strong inbound lead-generation machine takes you from scrabbling around for any gig at any price to picking and choosing among your inbound offers. Not only do your odds of avoiding a ‘down’ month improve, but the quality of gig you get will likely be better, too.

Seek ongoing gigs

One trait common to all low-earning freelance writers I’ve ever met is that they do tiny gigs. They write one blog post for $50 or $100, or a few web pages for $300. Then that gig is over, and they have to find a new client.

This is not the route to a stable income. You’re spending too much time ramping clients and too little time earning. Before you know it, you’re back beating the bushes for another client. And looking worriedly at the calendar, wondering how you’ll pay your bills this month.

Stop taking small, one-off gigs from tiny magazines or businesses, and look for the clients that can sustain you. They are usually bigger. They have real editorial or marketing budgets, and the ability to assign you work every month.

Many of the top-earning writers I know only accept ongoing retainer gigs. So don’t write one blog post — look for the client who’ll assign you 4 posts a month, every month, all year.

Stay diversified

There’s a big freelance pitfall I call One Client Syndrome. You land one big client, get all excited…and forget to keep your business diversified. You only have the one big client, for months. Then the gig suddenly ends, and eek! You have no work.

Remember, if you only have one client, then they should be paying you a full-time salary with vacation and sick leave. It’s not really a freelance gig. They’re owning all your time.

Successful freelancers have a diverse stable of clients, so that when one gig ends, there are other assignments still ongoing. That’s your vaccination against a zero-income month.

Upsell your clients

When’s the last time you asked one of your existing clients if they needed a higher-paid type of writing — a long feature article, a new free report for their blog subscribers?

Upselling is routine in many industries, but it’s the rare freelance writer who considers upselling a regular part of their marketing.

It’s easier to get a bigger project from an existing client than from a brand-new one. Part of your job as a freelancer is to always be looking for ways to grow the relationship with your current clients. Don’t wait for them to ask you — reach out and make it happen.

Ask for referrals

One of the easiest forms of marketing is asking people who already know and love your work if they would keep an ear out for X type of writing gig for you.

Yet, few writers I ask about this report they have ever asked their network for referrals. Much less, that they are deliberately growing their network so that they have more people they can ask.

Asking for referrals is one of those great micro-marketing things you can do when you’re super-busy. Only takes a minute to hit one former editor or marketing manager, or one writer-friend, and tell them who your ideal client is and what sort of writing you like to do.

The request for referrals can often take a few months to play out, so it’s not always a great strategy if you’re broke and desperate right now. But throwing that request out there while you’re busy can work great for delivering you some leads a month or three later, when that current gig ends.

Be a fully booked freelancer

Do you know what the three best words are for driving up your freelance rates? They’re “I’m fully booked.”

Once you’re booked up, you instantly become more desirable to new prospects. You tell them you could maybe find time to do their gig in 6 weeks, and they go nuts. (I’ve had prospects wait those 6 weeks to get me, too.)

You go from just another writer among millions to the only writer they want. Your fee is no longer the primary consideration — you can pretty much name your price.

That’s the true magic of never having ‘down’ months. It doesn’t just mean you have steadier income, but usually, that you can command higher rates and earn more from every gig you get. It’s worth a little work to get there.

Are you fully booked? If not, let’s brainstorm ideas to make it happen on Facebook or LinkedIn.

Double your writing income as a freelancer

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Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Challenge #242 Make Your Mark

Welcome back to Wednesday morning here in Australia. This means that it is time for another challenge here at ATSM and we hope you will play along!


We want you to make your mark on your creation. Pens, pencils, brushes, crayons, etc etc. Let your imagination run wild!

Here is our amazing design team with their inspiration for you.















Wow, wonderful stuff right here! Please pop on over to their blogs to see how they came up with their ideas :) Over to you now and have fun!




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