High-Income Business Writing Podcast

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...

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 copywri...

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 sha...

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...

I recently had Joanna Wiebe on the show to talk about writing copy that better connects with your audience. 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 hi...

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-pace...

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 co...

Many of us spend time at the end of the year setting goals for the months and year ahead. But have you ever sat down to figure out what you value most in your business and personal life? And more specifically, the values, criteria or rules that will guide most of your decisions? In this episode, you're going to hear from Trevor Mauch, a very successful entrepreneur who started just a few years ago...

Given the choice between prospecting for clients or having prequalified prospects come to YOU, I'll take the latter any day. Prospecting is an essential part of marketing your writing business. But getting prequalified prospects to come to you via attraction marketing is much more efficient in the long run. In this episode you'll hear from my good friend and colleague Derek Lewis. Derek is a very...

I remember the blank stares I got in 2006 when I told friends and relatives that I quit my day job to go freelance. Back then, very few people understood what freelancing was ... or that anyone could earn a living writing from home. Boy, has that's changed! Over the past 10 years, there has been a ton of information published about the freelance economy. Freelancing and consulting no longer mean "...

Today we're talking health insurance for freelancers. More specifically, we're exploring two unconventional options to traditional health insurance. This is an extremely hot topic given our current political environment. But I don't want to give you the same information everyone else is publishing. "Where can I get affordable health insurance?" is the wrong question to ask right now. The better qu...

I think every freelancer should work on building a secondary income stream. Doing so diversifies your income and takes some of the pressure off your client work. It can also help fund some really important things in your life... Your kids' college tuition ... your parents' long-term care ... or even nicer vacations and experiences (the bucket list beckons!). In this episode, I detail two different...

Freaking out about your niche and how to pick the right industry or topic? Or even basically how to position yourself for success? While I have a very specific process for making the best possible decision about your niche, specialty or target market, there comes a point where you just have to go with what you've got and start taking action! In this interview you'll hear from writer Holly Helscher...

Without an attraction marketing strategy in place, you're missing out on a proven way to generate quality prospects—one that can work for you 24/7 and help position you as the obvious choice.

Denise Kiernan transitioned from journalism and commercial writing into writing books for a living. Denise is the New York Times bestselling author of Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II, as well as a number of other books. In this interview, Denise gives us a behind-the-scenes look into what it's like transitioning from a freelance writer to a full-time...

Prospecting for clients is not on the list of things most of us love to do. We want to do it. We know we should do it. But we just don't do it as consistently as we should. Sound familiar? If so, I have some very practical and simple ideas today for getting your prospecting DONE...

Freelancing continues to grow like crazy. More and more professionals are choosing to leave traditional employment for a more flexible work arrangement. And platforms like Upwork have enabled millions to offer their talents to anyone around the globe. So you have to wonder... Is this influx of new freelancers making it harder to command professional-level fees? The short answer: yes. But that does...

All of us are born with a great sense of wonder, courage and boldness. As toddlers, we have tremendous curiosity. And we're not afraid to explore and to express our creative spirit. But somewhere along the way, fear begins to rule our lives. Fear of looking stupid. Fear of rejection. Fear of criticism. Fear of failing. We begin to lose our confidence. We stop taking chances. We start playing small...

Over the past few years LinkedIn has become an incredibly powerful lead-generating and prospecting tool for freelancers. We've talked about it before on the show. And for Steve Maurer, LinkedIn has been an indispensable business-generating tool. Steve is an industrial manufacturing and safety copywriter. And he's figured out how to turn LinkedIn into his most productive and reliable lead generatin...

Ever go weeks prospecting for clients without something to show for it? You "knock" on what seems like a ton of doors. But no one seems to be interested. And when you finally get a response, it's something along the lines of "I'll keep your information on file..." It's exhausting, isn't it? In this week's episode I explain why this happens... and what you can do about it.

Millennials tend to get a bad rap. The stereotype is that of a spoiled, unemployed and highly educated 25-year-old living in mom and dad's basement... playing video games, spending inordinate amounts of time on social media, binge-watching Netflix and just trying to "find their way." Sure, they may not have the spending power and wealth of Boomers. But it's also unfair to lump them all into one ca...

My guest this week is Jeanne Noorman. Jeanne faced a number of challenges when she decided to start her freelance writing business after being a stay-at-home mom since 1985. She had little in the way of a career she could draw from—and no professional network. Yet she overcame the odds and today is a thriving freelance writer. This is Jeanne's uncut story. You'll hear about her struggles... the nu...

If you're starting out as a freelance writer or copywriter, you're going to love this podcast interview. My guest is Hannah Glenn, a Los Angeles–based freelance writer. Hannah went through my B2B Biz Launcher 2.0 coaching program a while back. And she's a perfect of example of someone who didn't rely on luck to get ahead. She had to work. And she had to work hard. A few important points you'll hea...

I've been fascinated by why some people do consistently well and why others seem to struggle. And why so many fail despite the fact that they're smarter than average... have more financial resources than the average person... have better skills... a great personality... or great looks. After working with more than 300 freelancers at all levels (from newbies to six-figure earners), I've reached som...

Writing sales pages, landing pages, long-form content or detailed articles is not easy. Getting started can be a drag. Writer's block is often a problem. And even when you get going, it's difficult to get and maintain momentum. But what if you started writing the piece from the bottom up? What if that bottom-up method helped you create a quicker and far superior product? In this episode, New Zeala...