Happy Monday! They say showing up is half the battle, so let’s get after it 💪
Mentioned in today’s newsletter: Facebook, Instagram, and Meta. Plus the one part of Upwork job postings you can ignore, a simple confidence-building secret, and what to do if you’re struggling to generate high-quality leads with paid traffic.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes and 55 seconds
Making the Rounds
- Facebook testing new multiple profile feature. Creating multiple accounts is against terms of service, but this experimental new feature lets you create up to 5 profiles under a single account. Our two cents: if they pivoted this to allow restricted users to circumvent an ad ban, then they’d have a real home run on their hands. Come to think of it — why aren’t we on the product team yet?
- Instagram beefs up subscriber options to compete with Substack and Patreon. Creators in the test group can now set up subscriber-only stories, group chats, reels, and posts — and the platform doesn’t take a cut of their subscription earnings. That will surely change, but in the meantime, your favorite photo-sharing app is pulling out all the stops to lure more creators to the platform.
- Meta launches new text-to-art AI tool. AI-generated art is exploding in popularity these days, and Meta doesn’t intend to get left behind. Their new Make-A-Scene tool takes words and simple sketches and converts them into digital art. It’s only available to a small group of AI artists right now, but something tells us it won’t be long before this rolls out wide.
Working With Clients
Don’t Let This Part of the Upwork Job Posting Fool You
If you’re a new freelancer applying to jobs on Upwork…
It can be easy to get intimidated.
So here’s a tip that’ll help you land more gigs:
The hourly rate or fixed price portion of the job is virtually meaningless.
In our experience, it has almost no relation to what a client looking for OR is willing to pay for a specific job.
Clients will often throw up an arbitrary number just to see what comes in…
Not realizing how it influences the proposal they attract.
And even if the rate they post is rooted in reality…
That doesn’t mean they won’t pay more to get the right freelancer.
So the next time you find a job you think you’d be good for…
Ignore the rate.
Don’t be afraid to put in a proposal with a quote way above or below what they posted.
The results may surprise you.
Working For Yourself
Special Shout Out to My #1 Supporter
One of the hallmarks of high-performers in any arena is a high say-do ratio.
When they say they’re gonna do something…
They do it.
Plain and simple.
No ifs, ands, or buts.
Following through on what you SAY you’re gonna do builds confidence and centers your locus of control.
So if you keep saying you’re gonna…
– apply to more freelance jobs
– start doing cold outreach
– post more on social media
– find a mentor
– go to a live event
– grow your network
– raise your rates
– etc etc etc
Then do it.
Prove to yourself you are in control.
And save the excuses for later.
Because in the end, YOU are the only who can do the work.
From The Paid Ads Gig
Struggling to Generate High-Quality Leads? Try This…
Ad platforms like Meta and Google have been shepherding media buyers away from manual controls for years now.
One example of this is automated bidding.
Instead of setting your own bids or cost caps, they encourage you to use automated bidding instead.
But here’s the problem…
Ad pixels are typically trained to optimize for the lowest cost per conversion.
And which do you think costs less to acquire…
The crap leads or the high-quality leads?
We’ll give you a hint: it’s not the high-quality leads 🙃
So the end result is you get more volume, but lower quality.
How do you fix this?
By testing manual bid or cost caps instead of (or alongside) automated bidding.
This lets you take back the wheel from the pixel AI so you can improve your lead quality and reduce wasted ad spend.
Now in case it’s been a while since you toyed around with these settings…
You can find one-pagers from Meta and Google on this topic here and here.
Gig Alert
- Copywriter for author website and book marketing
- Tiktok Paid Advertising Expert for Board Game Company
- Experienced Graphic Designer For Create T-Shirt
NOTE: You may have to sign in to Upwork to view certain job postings.
Quote of the Day
“You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.”
— Zig Ziglar