It’s 9:05 on Thursday morning, which means I’m 5 minutes into my “write FRW post” one-hour block on my schedule. And this is exactly where I’ll be every Thursday at 9:05, barring emergencies or vacations. I know: For a lot of people who are interested in becoming freelancers, a big part of the appeal is the “free” part. No schedule, work from anywhere, manage your own … [Read more...]
The One Thing Every Successful Copywriting Project Starts With
Here’s a copywriter’s nightmare scenario: You land a client. You agree on a price and deadline. You work your rear end off, writing, revising, and perfecting the copy. And, when you send it to your client, they reply with: “This really isn’t what I wanted.” Or, maybe even worse, pages and pages of changes they want made. Huh? What went wrong? How did this project … [Read more...]
The Career Resolutions You Need to Make
Look, I know: New Year’s Resolutions get a bad rap. But it’s not the resolutions themselves that are the problem, it’s us not following through on them, right? Not achieving resolutions in the past isn’t a reason not to make them now—especially for something as important as our careers. Remember, we spend at least 40 hours per week (and often more) plus commuting time at … [Read more...]
How to Plan for a Successful New Year
Congratulations! You’re this close to making it through another year and starting a whole new one. Yippee! And, if you ask me, part of what makes this time of year so exciting is the potential for positive transformation in the new year. But guess what? True transformations don’t happen by accident. If you want an amazing 2020, you have to PLAN for an amazing 2020. … [Read more...]
Create Your Own 2020 Planner (for Free)
If you’re anything like me, ‘tis this season for spending 45 bucks on some “must-have” planner, only to use it four or five times in January, feel guilty in February, and then finally recycle it in March. What if there were a better way? (I mean, come on, we know there is.) Instead of spending an excessive amount on a premade planner, pop into your local convenience … [Read more...]
Prepping for a Successful New Year: Looking Back to Move Forward
I love the idea of a fresh start and, as you might expect, I just love the coming of a whole new year. All of the possibilities!! But one important lesson I’ve learned is that if you want to improve the coming year, you need to reflect on the one that’s passing. So, while in the next few weeks we’ll go over key questions to help you plan a successful 2020, today we’re … [Read more...]
3 Books to Help Get You Focused (Even in the Midst of Chaos)
I used to think that bouncing around from project to project (or activity) every few minutes was the key to my productivity. “I need variety!” I thought. Wrong! What I was actually doing was burning up attention and willpower each and every time I switched tasks. I wondered why I was so exhausted only halfway through the day and why I’d gotten so little done at the end of … [Read more...]
Why Setbacks and “Failures” Don’t Mean What You Think They Do
Look, no one likes to miss their goals. No one. But there are some of us that miss our goals and move on to the next one, and there are some of us who miss our goals and spend a lot of time focused on that failure. And it’s probably no surprise that most of us fall in that second group. When we don’t hit our goals or don’t manage to do what we’d planned to do, most people spend … [Read more...]
10 Things I’m Thankful for About Copywriting
With Thanksgiving coming up fast, it seems like a good time to think about all of the things we’re thankful for—and, for me, one of those things is definitely my career. I thought I’d share ten things that I’m thankful for about copywriting to give you a little insight into exactly why I’m so passionate about this career. 1. I get to write for a living. As a little kid, I … [Read more...]
Why Copywriters Absolutely Must Have a Network of Designers
Let me be clear: I am NOT a team player. Well, not naturally. I mean, I can be if a need to be…but I’d almost always rather just do things myself. So, if you hear my advice that you need to reach out to designers and create a network of contacts and you think, “Oh, I’d rather not…” I get you. I do. But here’s why you’ve still got to do it. First, you NEED … [Read more...]
