VOLUME 20, ISSUE 10 – OCTOBER 2021
THIS MONTH’S MENU:
I. APPETIZER: START WITH THE END IN MIND
How I Went from $33K in Debt to $50K Up (& Other Lessons in Trusting…)
II. “FIELD” GREENS: WHY & HOW TO QUOTE FLAT RATES
Yours Truly’s Reply to a Writer’s Question about Hourlies
III. MAIN “MEAT” COURSE: SMALL CLIENTS, BIG MONEY!
PR Writing Pro: It’s Not Just Big Clients that Pay Well
IV. DESSERT: COMBO SUCCESS STORY & TIP
MI FLCW Says “Yes” to an Unknown, Passes with Flying Colors!
I. APPETIZER: START WITH THE END IN MIND
How I Went from $33K in Debt to $50K Up (& Other Lessons in Trusting…)
Small-business writing coach Ed Gandia, in a recent email blast, wrote:
Most of us solve problems by mapping out small, incremental steps to get from where we are to where we want to be. But this model doesn’t work well when it comes to making really huge improvements. Why? Because those kinds of improvements can’t be mapped out so cleanly.
So, when facing a massive challenge—such as making BIG changes in your business—better to start with your vision and work backward. Have faith that the best solutions will unfold.
I wholeheartedly agree. Take a writer launching a copywriting practice. Yes, while books like TWFW (at the risk of immodesty) can provide good guidance, fact is, that newbie doesn’t yet have enough firsthand knowledge of the business, to know how to fine-tune their approach as they go.
Yet, by starting from the end result—a thriving copywriting practice with growing roster of satisfied clients—and armed with the faith that the ideal paths will show up, you ratchet down the stress that naturally comes from having to KNOW what to do next.
I may have shared this story at one point, but it’s worth repeating in this context…
Some decades ago, I’m in my late 20s, well before launching my copywriting biz. Thanks to my first straight-commission sales job, where I didn’t set aside enough for taxes, followed by a series of dismal direct-sales jobs, I ended up ~ 33K+ in debt.
I had no idea how to turn things around, much less quickly. Yet, thanks to my sales background, I’d been steeped in visualization/affirmation strategies.
So, I made a list of all my creditors. But, starting with the end in mind, I listed them like this: “IRS Owed Nothing.” “Visa Owed Nothing.” And so on.
I read the list out loud in front of the mirror every morning, and every night before bed. What happened?
While at my latest dead-end sales job, I caught the eye of one of the company’s vendors, went to work for him (doing both jobs for a full year), and within two years of starting my affirmations, I was debt-free. AND had $50K in the bank.
We humans hate living in, “I don’t know,” but, sometimes, just setting out in the right direction, and trusting that the right answers will come, is truly the best path. That faith can be religious/spiritual in nature, but it doesn’t have to be, in order to work.
Reminds me of the wonderful metaphor in the book, Goal-Free Living: Use a compass, not a map: Know your general direction, but don’t map it all out in advance. If you so, you can miss interesting detours and preferable (or superior…) paths along the way.
On that, “believe-it-before-you-see-it” note, let’s eat!
II. “FIELD” GREENS: WHY & HOW TO QUOTE FLAT RATES
Yours Truly’s Reply to a Writer’s Question about Hourlies
Got this email recently from an “early-on” writer. It’s a subject I’ve discussed before, but never hurts to repeat the important lessons. He wrote:
I have a potential gig, doing some copywriting and editing for an alternative doctor—probably just 10-20 hours a month. They asked me what my hourly rate is, and I’m not sure what to tell them. I was going to probably say $40 to $50. Your thoughts?
My reply: I never quote hourly rates, just project rates. Without the context of a given project, your hourly rate is meaningless. They have no idea how many hours it’ll take, but I promise you, they’ll be envisioning a worst-case scenario.
But, if they have a certain budget in mind, and your project estimate falls within that budget, they’ll be more comfortable.
How to determine your flat-fee project estimate? ASK lots of questions to determine, primarily, how long the pieces will be and how you’ll be getting your source material.
Obviously, if they hand you 2 pages of curated source material and that’s all you need to write the piece, it’ll take you far less time to write it than if they hand you a 1/2” stack of stuff to read, and you have to interview 3 people, and attend 2 meetings.
So, determine the project parameters through questioning, and then offer a flat rate. Doing so will also mark you as a professional who understands that hourly rates don’t mean a whole lot to a client who just wants to know what their final cost of a project will be.
Your suggested hourly rate ($40-50) is a decent number to use when making your own internal calculations of a project rate. All depends on the client.
If they know what good copywriting costs, then project rates based on a $40-50 hourly may sound low to them. If they’re “low-ballers,” those rates will likely seem high.
Should they hire you anyway, be careful. In their mind, they’re already spending more than they think is warranted, so they’ll likely to be demanding and hard to please.
III. MAIN “MEAT” COURSE: SMALL CLIENTS, BIG MONEY!
PR Writing Pro: It’s Not Just Big Clients that Pay Well
Solid advice (that matches mine) from PA FLCW (and regular EPUB contributor), Jennifer Mattern—PR writer and founder of the acclaimed All Freelance Writing site. Size does NOT always matter: My biggest, steadiest and best-paying clients in ~28 years at this have been smaller clients, NOT Fortune 500s.
Perhaps you’ve heard this freelance myth before:
“Small clients = small budgets.”
Don’t let this fiction drive you away from high-paying, and often repeat, clients. Even when working with small businesses, you can earn $100 per hour (and significantly more).
Here’s one of the best parts about working for small businesses and a few tips on turning these projects into lucrative gigs.
One of the Biggest Perks of Writing for Small Business Clients…
When you work with small businesses, you work with their top decision-makers. This is often the owner of the business.
Why is this a good thing?
As a start, your direct contacts generally have full control over the scope of your work. There are fewer people to “sell” on your ideas. There are no department budgets outside your contact’s control. No committee sign-offs on final drafts.
There’s a lot to like about this kind of arrangement. But turning small business writing gigs into big money depends on your ability to do a few things.
- Understand every dollar matters.
Smart entrepreneurs know they can’t afford to continually throw money at temporary solutions. This doesn’t mean small business owners are cheap. It means many will pay more to get a job done right the first time. Your marketing strategy needs to appeal to that sentiment.
Know how a particular writing project can earn a client money, solve some problem they face, or help them take advantage of a new opportunity. Then position yourself as the best writer to achieve those goals. When you do this effectively, you become a bargain even when you charge top dollar.
- Make yourself indispensable.
It’s not enough to know how to tackle a certain type of freelance writing project. If you want to earn big money writing for small businesses, you need to make yourself indispensable.
Know the client’s business inside and out. Know what drives each business owner. And be prepared to think ahead. Rather than waiting on assignments, anticipate your clients’ needs and show them how you can help.
Take on a consulting role at times if necessary. Being proactive demonstrates you have clients’ business interests at heart, which keeps them coming back.
- Don’t just consult. Teach.
Small business owners won’t always have a team of experts on-staff. Aim to serve that role where it makes sense. And make it a point to educate interested clients about what you do and why.
When you teach clients more about your specialty area, it demonstrates your expertise while helping clients make more informed decisions about future projects. Educating clients is an opportunity to build trust. And trust is vital if you want to charge high rates when working with small businesses.
If commercial writing for large companies isn’t your ideal, know that you have another option: specialize in writing for small business clients. Not only can this work make a big impact for those you work with, but it can also bring in big paydays.
IV. DESSERT: COMBO SUCCESS STORY & TIP
MN FLCW Says “Yes” to an Unknown, Passes with Flying Colors!
Exceptionally useful success story/tip (that nicely complements this month’s Appetizer) from Minnesota FLCW Natalie M. Rotunda. It’s a great lesson in trusting you’ll figure out something you’ve never done before. Thanks, Natalie!
An English prof from our local four-year college worked with the writers’ group I belonged to and for whom I was a worker bee. John’s side hustle was writing for local businesses. He was jammed with a couple fast-approaching deadlines and asked me to ghost one of them.
I never knew why he picked me over some of the other (better) writers, but he did. By saying “yes,” my reputation would be on the line. More importantly, he was a friend in need, I liked him, and I valued his contributions to our group. My head nod was mainly a “thank-you.”
John had outlined what was needed, but, as a ghostwriter, I had no one at the company I could turn to for help. I was on my own. With a deadline. Scared to death. The panic wore off, and into the deepest waters I’d ever found myself, I plunged, head first.
I researched what I could, read and re-read John’s outline, and started writing. My takeaway: use native intelligence to “get it,” fast, or (not an option for me, then) graciously offer to hand off the project to a more qualified writer.
Not only did I get paid handsomely for this first (ad)venture. John also generously praised my work for him in a letter of reference he wrote later.
John had also handed me a valuable life lesson: to believe I had it in me and overcome obstacles. This old French proverb sums it up pretty well. “To believe a thing impossible is to make it so.” That powerful lesson (and gift) paved the way for believing I had it in me.