High-Income Business Writing Podcast

Do you have professional liability insurance? Do you even need it? I mean ... do freelance writers really get sued? In this episode of The High-Income Business Writing Podcast I interview Jared Kaplan, CFO at insureon, a national online insurance company for freelancers and other self-employed professionals. Jared explains the types of insurance policies available, what they cover, when they're wo...

I firmly believe that establishing yourself as a content writer is the surest way to freelance writing success. It's the most realistic opportunity in the world of writing. Especially if you go after the corporate market. That's because the fundamentals of content writing are stronger than ever. Content marketing has gone mainstream — and is not showing any signs of slowing down anytime soon. In t...

Lack of self-confidence is one of the biggest silent killers of freelance writing careers. As an independent professional, you have to believe in what you’re doing and what you’re going after. But when things go wrong, how can you take yourself from self-doubt to self-confidence? How can you manufacture that experience? How can you turn things around quickly? Even with his success, Ed still strugg...

Most freelance writers I talk to never want to go back to a regular job. But many of them do miss the steady paycheck. (Usually that's the only thing they miss!) Which begs the question: How can you add more predictability to your freelance income? I'll be showing you several ways to do that over the next couple of months. Because, frankly, there's no single way to ensure predictability. It requir...

If you've followed me for a while, you already know that I'm NOT a fan of quoting hourly rates. At least not when you're a freelance writer. There are many disadvantages to the hourly rate model, and I still believe that in most cases it's much better to quote flat project fees. However, there ARE some situations where it makes more sense to quote project work by the hour. And if you do it right,...

Many freelance writers get to a point where they want to scale their business in some way. Or they want to diversify their income stream by launching a new side venture or project. Mike Stelzner is a classic example. From 1996 until just a few years ago he was a freelance writer. Today he is the founder and CEO of Social Media Examiner (SME), an online magazine for business owners and marketers wh...

It's great to have a formal prospecting system in place. But sometimes the best opportunities come to us through unconventional means. In this episode of The High-Income Business Writing podcast you'll hear from Angus Stocking, a successful business writer who specializes in the infrastructure industry. Angus has had great success landing good-paying writing clients using low-cost "guerilla-style"...

Over the past few years, LinkedIn has evolved into one of the most important social media platforms. The site boasts more than 225 million users as of this recording. Even though much of the conversation about LinkedIn revolves around drumming up business leads or new jobs, there's an opportunity for business writers that's not often discussed: writing profiles for LinkedIn members. Who in the wor...

One of the biggest factors that holds back new and aspiring freelance writers is the idea that they have to find their niche before they launch. This "niche quest" tends to do more damage than good. It creates confusion, stalls progress and kills momentum. Don't get me wrong. Having a niche or a specific target market is a good idea. But it's not a prerequisite for launching your commercial writin...

Blog posts, articles, white papers, case studies, marketing collateral. These are some of the most common pieces business writers come across. The bread-and-butter projects that pay the bills. But occasionally you may come across a project that's so massive, it requires a different set of skills to execute. Your writing chops alone won't save you. My friend and colleague Denise Kiernan knows this...

If you've ever bought a product online, at a store or through a catalog (OK … if you've ever bough anything!), chances are you read the product's descriptive copy before making your final buying decision. And guess what? That copy didn't just write itself. The manufacturer or distributor hired a copywriter to put it together. What's involved in this type of writing? How well does it pay? How do yo...

Did you know that entrepreneurs are willing to pay writers $3,000 - $6,000 (and even more!) to write a business plan for them? There are many reasons why. But one of the most important is that most banks and investors need to see a well-written business plan before they even consider investing in a business. My guest for this episode is Jessica Oman, founder of Write Ahead and an expert on writing...

One of the fastest ways to propel your writing business to the six-figure level is to become a MUCH more efficient writer. And in this week's show, you'll learn 8 simple steps to boosting your writing speed by 30% or more. My guest is Daphne Gray-Grant — an authority on writing faster. Daphne's strategies are a big reason why I earn $200++ per hour when I write for clients.

Networking. The very thought of it makes many writers break into a cold sweat! But who said networking events and opportunities have to be so nerve-racking? In this episode I interview Ilise Benun, an author, consultant, national speaker and co-founder of Marketing Mentor. Ilise shares how to choose the right event, and how to prepare to make the best of your time. Additionally, she tells us some...

You have a full-time day job. >:( It's not something you love, but it pays the bills. Unfortunately, it also leaves very little time for launching and growing a freelance side business. So, how are you supposed to make the transition from cubicle hell to full-time freelance writing? That's the dilemma Kathryn Messer faced a few years ago. As a well-paid executive, she couldn't afford to simply wal...

According to the comprehensive 2012 Freelance Industry Report, the biggest challenge facing freelancers is landing clients: 37% named that as their top challenge. Other surveys we've conducted at International Freelancers Academy show similar results. One of them revealed that attracting more, better, and higher-paying clients was by far the top challenge for 53% of freelancers. I wanted to addres...

For many writers, the idea of having to negotiate with a client makes them break out in a cold sweat. But negotiating is a critical skill. It can help you land more work at better fees. And it can protect you from savvy clients who know how to negotiate well. Fortunately, you don't need to be an expert negotiator to reap the benefits. Even basic negotiating skills will take you far. And in today's...

Today I'm continuing my story of how I went from corporate sales professional to freelance writer — and to a combination of freelance writer and coach/trainer. This is a departure from the type shows that I've been publishing. But I'm constantly asked about my business, how I spend my time, where my income comes from and how I got to where I am today. I've addressed these questions individually an...

Today, I'm taking a departure from the types of shows I've been doing since I launched this podcast. Instead of doing an interview, I'm going to share my story with you. The story of how I stumbled into freelance writing and how I've turned it into a six-figure business. I've shared parts of my journey in articles and video trainings. But I've never shared the whole thing in one place. I'm going t...

Have you ever wondered how freelancers are using LinkedIn to find and land clients? Is LinkedIn truly a valuable prospecting tool? Does it live up the hype? Are there practical ways of using it to drum up business? About This ShowThe High-Income Business Writing podcast is a production of B2B Biz Launcher. It's designed for business writers and copywriters who want to propel their writing business...

Have you every written a short article for a magazine, newspaper or trade journal? Not the most profitable work these days, is it? If you're looking for a better way to leverage your storytelling skills, case studies are a great way to do that. To learn more about the opportunity in case studies — and how to approach these projects — I interview Casey Hibbard for this episode of The High-Income Bu...

In part two of this two-part episode (check out part one here), I interview one of the most knowledgeable and experienced white paper writers in the business: Gordon Graham. Gordon is the author of the newly released book White Papers for Dummies, a must-read book if you're considering writing white papers — and an invaluable resource if you've been writing white papers for years. White papers hav...

In this episode of The High-Income Business Writing Podcast I interview one of the most knowledgeable and experienced white paper writers in the business: Gordon Graham. Gordon is the author of the newly released book White Papers for Dummies, a must-read book if you're considering writing white papers — and an invaluable resource if you've been writing white papers for years. White papers have be...

Pricing is a tricky thing. If you price your work to high, you'll lose the prospect. But if you price too low, you'll look like an amateur. How do you get it right? In this session of The High-Income Business Writing Podcast I'll show you how to approach your pricing more systematically. I'll share a simple process that will take much of the anxiety out of the equation. And I'll give you smart que...