Sometimes I surprise myself!
As the author of a TON of articles on AWAI’s website, I get the occasional email when a reader comment has been approved and published to the site.
Which means I occasionally get re-exposed to some very good ideas I had back in 2009 and 2010, when AWAI was my biggest freelance client and I wrote a lot for them.
What you’re about to read is one of those good ideas!
Even though I wrote it speaking to freelance copywriters, if that does NOT describe you, read it anyway. It will actually help you overcome the biggest obstacle to moving forward in whatever you do.
This is every bit as relevant today as it was when I wrote it in 2010…
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The Two Words That Will Get You More Clients for Your Freelance Biz
By Roy Furr
Originally published here, October, 2010.
What if I told you I had two words for you that will get you more clients for your freelance business, starting immediately? I can see your little greed glands tingling – and that’s good! Because you can channel that energy starting now to attract more clients for your freelance business …
But, these two words may not be what you think:
— They’re NOT two words you can use on the phone with a prospective client to get them to hire you immediately…
— They’re NOT two words you can put in an email or letter you use to pitch prospective clients on your services…
— They’re NOT two words you can put on your website either, to instantly attract more clients to check out you and what you offer…
Nope, these are two words you hold in your mind as you go about growing your freelance business. And, if you can do that – if you can plant these words in your mind, water them, help them grow, and hold them there for all time – you’ll be unstoppable.
And that’s simply because most copywriters and aspiring copywriters have trouble putting these words in their mind and getting them to stick. (Even I do sometimes, too.)
“So Roy, what are these two words?”
I’ll tell you in a minute … But first let me emphasize the power of these two words.
— My friend and fellow freelance copywriter Henry Bingaman had these two words in mind when he went to AWAI’s Web Copywriting Intensive a couple of years back, and came home and landed one small client and one medium one. Referrals from those two clients alone have landed him over $100,000 worth of work, and he’s now worked on multi-million dollar promotions for some of the world’s top health marketers, and is collecting very handsome royalty checks as a result.
— Another fellow copywriter and AWAI author Pam Foster decided recently that she wanted to refocus her copywriting business around her passion for pets. So, with these two words in her heart, she launched her PetCopywriter.com website and has become a niche leader in pet SEO, web content, and pet marketing strategies.
— And frankly, in my business, every time I actually hold these two words in my mind and in my heart … And follow them … Great things happen. I only just started as a full-time freelance copywriter in February of this year, though based on my client list and successes you’d think I’ve been doing this for ages. I’m breaking into the industries of my choice, working with the clients of my choice, and having big successes to boot!
That’s the power of these two words!
(Incidentally, Henry, Pam, and I also had these two words in our minds and hearts when we registered again this year to attend AWAI’s FastTrack To Copywriting Success Bootcamp And Job Fair next month – and I’m sure each of us will benefit tremendously as a result of being there.)
“Okay, okay! Enough already, Roy! What are the two words?!”
Okay, we’re getting closer to the point where I share with you what these two words are. But really, c’mon – it’s just two words. And if I didn’t build them up, you’d dismiss them too easily … Or, they’d fly in one ear and out the other.
But, I want you to remember these words – implant them in your brain – and put them to work for you. So, I have to build them up. Make you feel like they’re the most important two words you’ll ever hear.
And frankly, they are the most important two words you’ll ever hear. Because following them can literally make your career.
I’m excited because I’ve been contacted recently by a couple of aspiring copywriters who I believe finally understand the power in these two words. They’ve broken out on their own and are starting their own freelance copywriting businesses … And I see great successes in their future as a result.
“Gosh darn it Roy, if you don’t tell me what these two words are I’m gonna … “
Relax, and listen.
The two words that will get you more clients for your freelance biz, starting immediately are …
“Do Something!”
That’s right! Do something. Take action. Create movement.
Sounds simple. Almost trite. But, it’s true. When you actually “do something,” you can get the clients you want, land the gigs you want, and create the career you want for yourself.
Have you ever heard of “analysis paralysis?” It’s a fancy way of saying, “thinking too much, doing too little.” I see this all the time – and sometimes in myself, too. You want to do something just right, so you spend all your time thinking about how to do it right, tweaking and changing, rewriting, and never really doing anything outside of a lot of thinking.
Well, thinking isn’t what gets results – doing is!
Here’s how I approach this. I never try to get anything 100% perfect anymore. I’ve realized it’s futile, no matter how hard I try. So, I aim for a solid 97%. And, I try to get there as quickly as possible.
So, if I want to reach out to a new client, I imagine what a perfect pitch letter or email would be, and work as fast and furious as I can to get 97% of the way there. Then, I take a deep breath and send it. Take action. Don’t wait.
And then I move on to the next task, and the next one. Each time getting to 97% as quickly as possible.
This helps me get a lot done, quickly. Because it’s those extra 3% at the very end that can take lifetimes to accomplish – and if you strive to cover that extra 3% margin between pretty darn good and perfection, you’ll find you move forward slower than a three-toed sloth.
Yet, if you get to 97% on everything you do, as fast as possible, you’ll be moving at cheetah speed. You’ll be doing so much, it’ll be impossible for success not to find you. Sure, some things you’ll do will be failures – and who knows if that extra 3% would have changed that. But, you’ll have more than enough big successes to make up for the failures.
So, if you want to know the two words that will get you more clients for your freelance business, starting immediately (and allow you to accomplish any success you want in life), those two words are …
“Do something!”
This article appears courtesy of American Writers & Artists Inc. (AWAI). For a complimentary subscription to AWAI’s free newsletter that delivers original, no-nonsense advice on the best wealth careers, lifestyle careers and work-at-home careers available, visit http://www.awaionline.com/signup/.
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Whaddya think?
I think it’s the only path to breakthrough.
Yours for bigger breakthroughs,
Roy Furr
