Meta

đŸ“ș Netflix ad sweepstakes

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Happy Friday! We’re hunkered down at our satellite office in Toronto to celebrate a wildly successful Q2. And we want you to celebrate with us! So look out for details on our first ever subscriber giveaway next week, where you’ll be able to win some cool prizes.

Mentioned in today’s newsletter: Adobe, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Netflix, Google, Roku, Comcast, Twitter, and Shopify. Plus what to do with leads you can’t help, 24 side hustle ideas that can make you an extra 1k/m, and scaling 101 for paid ads.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes and 42 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • Adobe, Meta, and Microsoft join Metaverse Standards Forum. One conspicuous absence from the group is Apple, who’s rumored to be working on an AR/VR headset that could make them a major player in the metaverse.
  • Netflix looking at Google, Roku, and Comcast for their first advertising partnership. With the streamer aiming to launch their ad-supported tier by the end of 2022, multiple companies are vying to win the business.

  • Shopify users can now sell straight from their Twitter profiles. The new integration gives merchants two options: display up to 5 products in a carousel, or link to a Twitter Shop where they can display up to 50 products.

Working With Clients

When in Doubt, Refer Out

Got a lead you can’t help?

Don’t just send them away


Refer them to someone else in your network.

Becoming a “connector” helps you build goodwill and social capital with both parties — the lead and the person you refer them to.

Something that often comes back around to you


Whether it’s a referral fee, a client being referred to you, or something else altogether.

And if you don’t have a network of other service providers you can refer to, it’s time to start building one.

Aim to have at least one person you can refer to for all the services adjacent to yours.

– If you’re a copywriter, get to know someone who runs paid ads
– If you run paid ads, get to know someone who does graphic design or video editing
– If you’re a graphic designer, get to know someone who builds funnels

A bigger network always means more opportunities.

Working For Yourself

What to Do if You Picked the Wrong Side Hustle

Freelancing is one of the easiest side hustles to get started with.

There’s no overhead and you can spend as little or as much time on it as you want.

But once your freelance biz becomes your main hustle


You may want to find a new side hustle to work on in your spare time.

We like to think of it this way:

Side hustles are stomping grounds for accelerating your skills.

Having skin in the game totally transforms the way you approach a project.

And if your end goal is to build something of your own


It’s never too early to get started.

But there are a dizzying number of options when it comes to picking a side hustle.

If you’re on the hunt for one that meets your criteria for both lifestyle and income goals


Check out this article from Shopify:

24 Best Side Hustle Ideas to Make an Extra $1,000+ a Month

From The Paid Ads Gig

Scaling 101

If you’re running a paid ads campaign that’s converting


There are two main ways to scale it:

1 – Vertical scaling

Where you increase the budget on winning ad sets and/or campaigns.

2 – Horizontal scaling

Where you take winning ads and roll them out to new audiences.

Once you’ve hit on something that works, vertical scaling is the easiest to start with.

But depending on your audience, offer, and platform, you’ll eventually bump into a budget ceiling.

That’s when horizontal scaling comes into play.

Pro tip: the best way to achieve horizontal scale is to reposition your offer.

For example: a biz opp/make money online offer might start out being positioned towards young professionals as a way to escape the 9 to 5


But it could also be positioned towards stay-at-home parents as a way to provide for their family without having to leave the house or hire a babysitter.

Make sense?

If you want to scale an ad account to the moon, you’ll need to scale both vertically and horizontally.

Quote of the Day

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

— Victor Frankl

đŸȘŠ RIP threads

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Happy Thursday! This is The Gig, aka the morning paper for freelancers looking to build profitable client businesses.

Mentioned in today’s issue: Twitter, Google, Facebook, Instagram, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Plus why you should know your numbers, the importance of looking the part if you want to get paid, and how to lose friends and annoy people.

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes and 44 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • Twitter testing new Notes feature that could eventually replace threads. These new long-form posts can have images, videos, and even other tweets mixed in. One upside is the content could then be indexed by Google, giving it the potential to drive inbound traffic from search. 
  • Meta agrees to revise ad targeting for credit, housing, and employment ads. The agreement settles a complaint from the Department of Housing and Urban Development alleging the company broke the law by targeting housing ads based on age, race, and gender.

  • Facebook and Instagram hold off taking a cut of creator revenue until 2024. Meta had originally planned to start taking a cut of creator’s revenues in 2023, but then announced the change on Tuesday alongside a bunch of other monetization updates.

Working With Clients

Know Your Numbers

What gets measured gets managed.

That’s why, when it comes to working with clients


You should be tracking your prospecting numbers on a weekly basis.

  • How many people you reached out to
  • How many calls you booked
  • How many proposals you submitted
  • How many clients you landed

This allows you to identify where the constraint is — just like analyzing a client’s underperforming sales funnel — and then try new things until you crack the code.

Working For Yourself

Look the Part, Be the Part

One of the best parts about working remotely is the dress code.

As in, there is none.

But as nice as it is to spend the day working in sweatpants and a hoodie


Here’s the thing


When you’re on video calls, it’s important to “look the part.”

If you want to be taken seriously as a service provider


Meaning you want to be seen by your clients as someone who knows how to get results


(and is paid handsomely for it)

Then you need to come correct.

That doesn’t have to mean business formal attire, but it should mean a clean and wrinkle-free outfit.

Studies have shown that what you wear can and does affect how you feel


So leverage the science of fashion to show up the way you want to inside your business.

Tools We Love

How to Lose Friends and Annoy People

Ever been on call with someone who had lots of background noise?

It sucks.

But
 it’s even worse when you’re the one with the bad background noise.

Fortunately, that’s where Krisp comes in.

It’s a free software solution that completely eliminates background noise.

And when we say completely, we mean it.

Whether it’s a barking dog, crying baby, or a computer fan so loud it could pass for a vacuum cleaner


Krisp uses AI technology to cut out background noises from your mic and speaker so you (and more importantly, your clients and colleagues) can finally enjoy distraction-free calls.

Get Krisp for free today.

Quote of the Day

“I begin to speak only when I’m certain what I’ll say isn’t better left unsaid.”

— Cato

đŸ€‘ 3 pricing tips for new freelancers

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Happy Tuesday! This is The Gig, where omnipresence is a work in progress. Follow us on IG and TikTok for even more freelance news, tips, and memes in your life.

Mentioned in today’s newsletter: Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, eBay, TikTok, and Oracle. Plus three pricing tips for new freelancers, the importance of ABCs for service providers, and how to become an overnight celebrity in your niche.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes and 49 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • Internal memo reveals Facebook’s plan to take on TikTok. The biggest shift to the algorithm will focus on recommending popular posts from both Facebook and Instagram over ones from people you follow.
  • Resale of stolen goods on Facebook, Amazon, and eBay is big business. Retailers like Louis Vuitton and Nordstrom have recently been the victims of large-scale robberies, and claim many of the stolen goods are being resold on ecommerce sites. A national task force of state attorneys has been convened to investigate cases across state lines.

  • TikTok moves U.S. user data to Oracle servers. After leaked audio revealed Chinese employees had accessed U.S. user data, the company announced it’s moving the data to Oracle’s cloud storage platform. 

Working With Clients

3 Pricing Tips For New Freelancers

TIP #1: Charge by deliverable (not by the hour)

If you’re a new freelancer, you may be tempted to start off charging by the hour.

But charging by the hour incentivizes you to work slower.

Instead, charge clients per:

– email
– image
– video
– landing page
– sales page
– etc

This way, there are no unexpected surprises for them if the job takes longer


And you get rewarded if you can get it done quicker.

TIP #2: Ask for a 50% deposit.

Asking for a deposit helps weed out low-quality clients.

So if they’re not willing to pay you a portion of your fee up front, proceed with caution.

But if the idea of asking for money up front makes your palms sweaty, you could always reduce the amount to 25%.

One final caveat: 

If it’s a small project (like under $100-$200), just ask for the full amount up front instead.

TIP #3: Get approval on pre-work if possible

Since you’re asking for a deposit, you want to make sure your first draft isn’t way off base so the client doesn’t feel like they’ve paid you for nothing.

The best way to do this is get pre-work approved.

In the case of copy, this could be an outline.

In the case of an image or video, this could be a creative brief

In the case of an ad campaign, this could be a campaign mockup.

Regardless of what your service is, getting the greenlight on pre-work will save you time and make clients happier.

Working For Yourself

Don’t Forget Your ABCs

If you’re a freelance service provider


Learning new things is essential to staying competitive:

  • New marketing strategies
  • New ad platforms
  • New skills
  • Etc

But don’t let shiny objects distract you too much


Make sure to review the basics of your profession at least once per year.

We’re willing to bet you’ll be surprised at just how much you’ve forgotten.

And while marketing and advertising are two dynamic industries in constant flux


The fundamental principles still apply.

So if it’s been a while since you re-read Breakthrough Advertising, The Ultimate Sales Letter, or any of the other classics, carve out some time this month to review them.

Tools We Love

How to Become an Overnight Celebrity in Your Niche

Case studies and social proof are great.

But there’s one thing holding most freelancers back from charging premium rates and commanding an elite position in the marketplace


Credibility (or a lack thereof).

And the fastest way to build credibility is to “borrow” it from somebody else


By getting booked as a podcast guest.

Studies show podcast listeners are typically more educated, affluent, and active on social media than the average American.

And when prospects see (or hear) you being interviewed by someone else they trust, those feelings are instantly transferred to you.

That’s where Guestio comes in.

Their guest booking and interview platform allows you to cut to the front line and book yourself on shows like:

  • Entrepreneurs On Fire with John Lee Dumas
  • Build Your Network with Travis Chappell
  • Franchise Secrets with Erik Van Horn
  • And many more

No more jumping through hoops or sending out cold DMs.

So if you’re looking for the simplest and easiest way to build credibility and attract more of your dream clients


Head over to Guestio:

Find your first (or next) podcast booking on Guestio today.

Quote of the Day

“The best revenge is not to be like your enemy.”

— Marcus Aurelius

👑 Ad market empresarios

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Happy Wednesday! Did you catch the Strawberry Supermoon last night? We normally jump at the chance to observe celestial phenomena, but it was a school night after all. So these pics will have to do.

Mentioned in today’s edition: Amazon, Meta, Google, TikTok, Alibaba, Apple, Twitter, and Elon Musk. Plus what NOT to do when you make a mistake, a scary stat for anyone working at a desk, and an apple a day for media buyers.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes and 9 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • 53% of all global ad revenues in 2021 went to just 5 tech companies. Faithful Gig readers can probably guess 4 of last year’s ad market empresarios: Amazon, Meta, Google, and Bytedance (TikTok) —  with Chinese firm Alibaba rounding out the list.
  • $100M settlement finalized in class-action case against Apple’s app store. The suit was originally filed in 2019 by developers who claimed Apple’s 30% fee was an abuse of market power. But now app developers will have the option to contact users by phone or email about alternate payment options.

  • Elon Musk set to field questions at Twitter all-hands meeting tomorrow. It’s the first time employees will get to hear from their prospective new owner. We predict details of the Q&A will leak to the press approximately 4.2 minutes after it concludes, so stay tuned for more.

Working With Clients

How NOT to Fall On Your Sword

If you’ve been freelancing for a while, chances are you’ve screwed something up when working for a client.

And if you’re new to freelancing, well
 give it time.

Either way, mistakes are inevitable.

They can’t be avoided.

But what most freelancers don’t realize is


How you respond to a mistake can make or break your client relationship.

So own up to your screw ups.

If your sales letter went live with a typo in the headline


Or you embedded the wrong video on a landing page


Or you launched ads with a broken link


Then take responsibility.

Don’t try to deflect the blame.

Clients will respect you for it, and — assuming the offense wasn’t firing-worthy — it will help to build trust and strengthen your relationship over the long term.

Working For Yourself

The Force is Strong With This One

Spoiler alert: sitting for 5+ hours a day isn’t good for you.

According to Stanford neurobiologist Dr. Andrew Huberman, sitting for 5 hours or more per day is enough to erase the benefits of doing 180 minutes of cardio per week.

Fortunately, you can use a standing desk to avoid sitting for so long


But one thing you can’t avoid?

Typing and mousing all day long.

That’s why it’s so important to have a daily strength and stretching routine for your hands and wrists.

Luckily, our friends at GMB have got you covered with this excellent tutorial on how to keep your wrists healthy and injury free.

From The Paid Ads Gig

One Ad a Day Keeps the Low ROAS Away

Coming up with killer ad ideas doesn’t always require creative genius.

You just have to be savvy enough to save a great ad when you see one in the wild.

Add one new ad to your swipe file every day and you’ll never lack for creative ideas.

Whether it’s going to the Facebook Ad Library and checking in on your favorite advertisers (because you do keep a list of them, right?)…

Or simply grabbing a screenshot when you see a killer ad in your news feed
. 

It only takes a few minutes each day.

Get yourself a tool like SnagIt and/or the GoFullPage Chrome extension and you’re all set.

Quote of the Day

“Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.”

— Salvador Dali

đŸ» Bear with me

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Happy Tuesday! After a big sell off in the stock market yesterday, Morning Brew posted this thread asking people to name a movie that described their portfolio. Our favorites: Gone in 60 Seconds, Catch Me If You Can, There Will Be Blood, and The Departed.

Mentioned in today’s newsletter: Google, Skynet, the S&P 500, and Horizon Worlds. Plus an overlooked red flag for new freelancers, a different way to think about compound interest, and our favorite email marketing tool.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes and 24 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • Google engineer placed on paid leave after claiming chatbot AI is sentient. Blake Lemoine thinks Google’s LaMDA chatbot should be treated as a sentient being. Google disagrees. Is this the innocuous beginning of Skynet? Let’s hope not. Fun fact: apparently Lemoine had been teaching LaMDA transcendental meditation before being placed on leave.
  • S&P 500 officially enters bear market territory. After a surprise inflation increase reported in the Consumer Price Index on Friday, the index fell 3.9% yesterday, completing the 20% pull back that signals a bear market — and strengthening signs of a coming recession.

  • Horizon Worlds adds Voice Mode. The update lets users voice chat with others around them in the metaverse. Bizarrely, it’s enabled by default. So a word of wisdom for any metaversal pioneers: if you’ve never voice chatted with random strangers on the internet, proceed with caution. People are less friendly than you might think 🙃 

Working With Clients

If You Have to Explain This to Your Client, Run the Other Way

If you’re just starting out as a freelancer


It’s natural to try and sign anyone with a pulse and a credit card as a client.

But that’s a big mistake.

Here’s why


Marketing and advertising can be boiled down to taking financial risks on creative ideas.

Some of them pan out.

Some of them don’t.

In fact, it’s normal to have to iterate 3-5+ times on an angle, offer, or marketing campaign before you find a winner.

But if you’re working with a client who’s never hired a freelancer to produce any marketing assets for them before


Or someone who’s never spent a dime on paid ads


The odds of them having unrealistic expectations are sky high.

Which means you’ll have a hard time satisfying them unless you hit out of the park on your first at-bat.

So


Aim to work with clients who understand (and have experience) with marketing and advertising.

People who understand you have to spend money to make money.

People who understand that you need to “buy” data through testing before you can optimize your campaigns.

People who understand that even the best copywriters and media buyers in the world don’t hit home runs every time.

Now you may have to work a little harder to find and land clients like this


But it’s an investment that will pay off big time in the long run.

Working For Yourself

A Different Kind of Compound Interest

Finance experts say the secret to building wealth is compound interest.

That’s why Warren Buffett accumulated 97% of his wealth after his 65th birthday.

But while we may not all be able to replicate Buffett’s investing success


There’s another way freelancers can put this mechanism to work for themselves:

By stacking high-income skills.

You see, it takes a very long time to master a deep skill like copywriting or media buying


And while it’s definitely worth committing to


If you can develop other skills that complement or intersect with your primary skill


You can see some explosive gains.

For example: 

Most copywriters know nothing about paid traffic


And most media buyers can’t write copy.

The same thing goes for copywriting and graphic design or funnel building.

It’s an unusual combo you don’t see very often.

So by developing competence where those two skills intersect, you can carve out a unique position in the market


Opening the door to many more opportunities than most other freelancers will ever get.

And over time, mastering these skills will deliver a much higher return than any other investment you could make (unless you are Warren Buffett, of course ;).

Tools We Love

No Computer Science Degree, No Problem

As the publishers of a daily newsletter, email marketing is the foundation of our business.

And throughout our freelancing careers, we’ve had the opportunity to work with many of the biggest email service providers out there.

But the problem is


Most of them have so many fancy bells and whistles that you need a PhD in computer science just to figure out how to make them do what you want.

That’s why we’re proud users of ConvertKit.

It’s simple, intuitive, and incredibly easy to use.

Their Sequences and Automations features keep your account neat and tidy. And if you’ve ever been into a big Infusionsoft, ActiveCampaign, or Hubspot account, you’ll know this is rare.

No more Frankenstein workflows that span 27 segments and cover the entire lifespan of your subscribers.

If you’re looking for a simple way to grow your online audience with email marketing


Try ConvertKit for free today.

Quote of the Day

“Do not let your grand ambitions stand in the way of small but meaningful accomplishments.”

— Bryant McGill

📉 Ads so Basic

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Happy Thursday! Mentioned in today’s newsletter: Meta, Apple, iOS 16, and of course, Twitter and Elon Musk. Plus how making friends with the competition can help you land more clients.

Let’s dive in


Estimated reading time: 3 minutes and 10 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • Meta rumored to be working on new Basic Ads product. The new privacy-focused ad format would reportedly offer little to no targeting options and only limited performance metrics like video views and post engagement. Sounds terrific — where do we sign up?

  • Apple launching browser push notifications with iOS 16. Users will be able to opt-in through Safari and other iOS-supported browsers once the updated OS rolls out.

  • Elon Musk’s Twitter financing has been put on ice. Given his public griping about the takeover, some of his financiers are starting to feel a bit iffy about funding the acquisition — at least until they have a clearer picture of whether the deal will go through.

Working With Clients

SPOTTED: Client Attempts to Access Your Word Doc Portfolio

If you’re using freelance platforms to find clients and land gigs


There’s one thing you can do when putting in a proposal that all prospective clients will appreciate, whether they hire you or not.

And that is:

Sharing links to samples or portfolio pieces via Google Drive.

Don’t send over PDFs, Word docs, or Excel spreadsheets they have to download.

Why?

Because a client may take one look at your sample and decide they don’t like it.

Or that you’re not the right person for the job.

And if you (along with 9 other freelancers) have sent them a handful of docs to download, then they’re stuck with a bunch of useless documents on their computer they’ll never look at again.

So do them a favor and send them a Share link instead.

Working For Yourself

When Getting “Friend Zoned” is a Good Thing

Before someone will hire you to do a job, they have to know (or at least believe) that you can actually do the job.

And if you’re running a freelance business


This gap of awareness is much easier to bridge if you do it in advance.

How?

By building your network and getting to know other people in your industry.

There’s a reason they say your network is your net worth.

Because the more people know who


1 – Who you are

2 – What you can do


 the more opportunities you’ll get.

Plain and simple.

And if you’re worried about “the competition” or anyone else who provides the same service as you do..

Consider this:

There is SO much more work out there than there are competent people who can do it.

The amount of people who have both skill and the will to pursue the same goals as you do is so small that it doesn’t even matter.

The closer you get to the top, the smaller the world gets.

Become a connector and you’ll have more opportunities than you know what to do with.

Tools We Love

How International Freelancers Can Fight Inflation

If you’re an international freelancer, getting paid in USD is great



 Until you actually convert it into your own currency.

Traditional solutions like PayPal (or god forbid, your own bank) will make you pay out the nose to convert USD into your local currency.

That’s why we use Wise (formerly TransferWise). 

Not only do they give you a much better rate than PayPal on currency conversions, but they also give you a local USD bank account so you can get paid via bank transfer instead of a wire.

Open a free account today and start keeping more of your hard-earned money for yourself.

Quote of the Day

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

— George Bernard Shaw

👀 What do Facebook users see?

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Happy Monday! And a happy Victoria Day to our friends in Canada. If you haven’t had a chance yet, it’s not too late to fill out our 2-minute subscriber survey. 

Now here’s what’s happening


Making the Rounds

  • Twitter tells employees the deal with Elon is still on. Despite his tweet about the deal being “on hold,” executives at Twitter recently told employees they won’t renegotiate the deal and intend to enforce the merger agreement if necessary. Speaking of Elon

     
  • Facebook releases Widely Viewed Content Report. Two stats that stuck out to us: 1) the most posts with the most content viewers in the US only represented 0.1% of all content views on Facebook, and 2) 20.5% of the average user’s newsfeed is made up of Group posts. See the full report here.

  • SpaceX flight attendant accuses Elon of sexual misconduct. She alleged that while on a corporate flight, Musk exposed himself, then asked for an erotic massage and offered to buy her a horse, according to Insider. The flight attendant was reportedly paid 250k two years after the alleged incident and signed an NDA. Musk replied by calling the story a “politically motivated hit piece” and said there is “a lot more to this story.”

Working With Clients

Channeling Your Inner Liam Neeson

Finding your first client is arguably the biggest challenge you’ll ever face in your freelance career.

Especially if you’ve got no experience or track record.

So


If you’re new to the game and looking for advice on how to land client numero uno


Check out this article from our friends at Hustle Startup:

[READ]: 19 Actionable Ways to Get Your First Client

We’ve also got a little something for you in the referral section of today’s newsletter 👇

Working For Yourself

Base of Support

They say you should always invest in a good pair of shoes and a good mattress.

Why?

Because if you’re not in one, you’re in the other.

Well, we’ve got one more item to add to that list:

A good office chair.

Because if you’re spending 4-8+ hours working on the computer in a crappy chair


You could easily end up with back, neck, or wrist pain.

And your skeleton deserves better than that.

Our top choice is the IKEA Markus.

But if you’re looking for a side-by-side comparison


Check out TechRadar for some of the best office chairs of 2022.

From The Paid Ads Gig

Ads on Easy Mode

CPMs are on the rise.

Competition on the big ad platforms is getting stiffer.

And targeting ain’t exactly what it used to be.

So if you’re struggling to make paid ads profitable in 2022, you’re not alone.

But what’s the fix?

Well, it’s not a sexy marketing “hack” and it’s got nothing to do with flipping switches or the way you set up your campaigns


Instead, the way to put your paid ads on easy mode is:

Launching a high-ticket offer.

One high-ticket sale of $2,000 to $5,000+ can liquidate a ton of ad spend and turn entire campaigns from bottomless money pits into cash-printing machines.

The two most common ways to do it from a traffic perspective are


1) Promoting a low-ticket offer with an application on the backend

2) Driving traffic straight to a VSL or webinar that pushes leads to book a call

Bottom line:

The days of running profitable ads promoting low-ticket offers are over.

Traffic costs are only going to go up as the big ad platforms continue to mature


So to make paid traffic work in 2022, you need to go high-ticket.

Quote of the Day

“Learn to recognize good luck when it’s waving at you, hoping to get your attention.”

— Sally Koslow

đŸ„œ Will this VR headset replace laptops?

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Happy Monday! It’s a great day to give thanks for being alive 🙏

Here’s what’s happening


Making the Rounds

  • Twitter accuses Elon of violating NDA. After tweeting on Friday that his takeover bid of the company was “temporarily on hold,” pending an analysis to verify that fake/spam/duplicate accounts make up less than 5% of users, the company accused Musk of violating an NDA by revealing they only sampled 100 users to come up with that 5% number. We’re no statisticians
 but that seems a touch on the small side.

  • 180 million people have used Snapchat’s new crying filter. Talk about going viral. Since launching a little over a week ago, a whopping 180 million Snapchatters have tried out the new Crying Lens.

  • Project Cambria: new VR headset coming to a Meta Store near you? Turns out that $10 billion dollar annual budget for AR/VR may be starting to yield fruit after all. Meta’s newest VR headset, codenamed Project Cambria, is reportedly lightyears ahead of the Quest 2 in terms of resolution and immersiveness. Zuckerberg thinks it has the potential to eventually replace laptops and workstations.

Working With Clients

Why “One” is the Most Dangerous Number in Business

One big advantage of freelancing is being able to diversify your income streams.

There’s a reason they say “one” is the most dangerous number in business


Because if you rely exclusively on


  • One traffic source
  • One ad account
  • Or one client


 for all of your income, then you’re in a very precarious place.

And it wouldn’t take much to knock you off your perch.

So


A word to the wise:

Avoid relying on one client for 100% of your income.

Aim to have at least two — this way you have something to fall back on if things go sideways with Client #1.

Plus, as you build your track record


The list of clients you’ve worked with in the past will grow


Which can also serve as a back-up plan if you need to drum up work.

Working For Yourself

This is a Meeting-Free Zone

Meetings can be a major timesuck.

Especially if you’re collaborating across different time zones.

So if you want to protect your time and maximize efficiency


Focus on asynchronous communication instead.

What is asynchronous communication?

It’s any one-way message where the sender and recipient are not synchronized.

  • Emails
  • DMs
  • Voice notes
  • Screencast videos
  • Etc

The benefits of using voice notes or screencast videos over written messages are that it’s much easier to provide context and illustrate your point


Plus hearing someone’s voice or seeing their face helps build a stronger connection.

When it comes to recording screencast videos, our weapon of choice is SnagIt.

And nowadays, most messaging apps like Slack, WhatsApp, and Telegram have voice notes as a built-in feature.

Just make sure to keep your voice notes short and punchy.

Otherwise, your colleagues may come to dread them.

From The Copywriting Gig

Scrap Those $5 Dollar Words

Writing copy isn’t like writing essays in college. You don’t get bonus points for using big words. 

In fact, it’s the opposite — the more $5 dollar words you use, the fewer sales you’ll make.

Why? 

It’s not because everyone reading your copy is dumb. 

It’s because simple words get read faster. 

And the easier it is for people to grasp what you’re trying to say, the more people you’ll get to take action.

So aim for short, punchy words with 2-3 syllables. And try to avoid anything with 5 or more.

Run your copy through a tool like Hemingway to see how you’re doing.

If you can spit out sales copy at a 5th-grade reading level


You’ll be one step closer to writing winning pieces that make your client’s cash register ring off the hook.

Quote of the Day

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”

— Napoleon Hill

đŸ©žThere’s blood in the Excel sheets

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Happy Wednesday! If today is Hump Day, let’s hope for an easy slide down the Thursday-Friday slope and into the weekend.

Here’s what’s going on


Making the Rounds

  • Big tech companies shed over $1 trillion in market value. Since the Fed raised interest rates last Wednesday, the stock market has been a bloodbath. Companies like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Tesla have lost over $1 trillion in market value. Our advice? Avoid checking your portfolio if you can.

  • Apple targeting expansions into streaming and advertising with its Services division. The iPhone maker is reportedly gearing up to make plays for a variety of sports broadcasting deals as rights come up for renewal, following its deal for Friday night baseball. Bottom line: they’re not against ads so much as they’re against
 other companies making money from ads 🙃

  • Meta’s belt-tightening may extend to news partnerships. Looking for ways to cut costs across the board, Meta may reduce the money it gives to news organizations.

Working With Clients

What Makes a Great Hook, Email, or Ad Angle

Mainstream wisdom is everywhere.

Your audience is bombarded with the same advice all the time.

But what sets you (or your client) apart from everyone else is where they disagree.

So ask yourself: what controversial opinions can I highlight?

What mainstream advice do I (or my client) DISAGREE with?

That’s often what makes for the best hooks, emails, or ad angles.

Now, a caveat:

You need to be able to make a logical case for why you disagree.

Don’t just disagree to be a contrarian or to grab attention
 unless you can back it up.

Working For Yourself

Triangulating the Fulfillment Trifecta

Finding fulfillment is something many freelancers struggle with in their careers.

If you’re one of them


Look for work that aligns with these three things:

1 – What you enjoy doing

2 – What you’re good at

3 – What you can get paid for

We like to think of this as the “fulfillment trifecta.”

Pursuing a paycheck at the cost of personal enjoyment is just as bad as choosing a career you enjoy or are good at, but has minimal market demand.

The road to happiness starts by finding alignment between all three.

From The Copywriting Gig

The Shortcut to Making 120k/yr as a Freelance Copywriter

Specializing as a copywriter is one of the fastest ways to hit 6-figures.

And when you boil it down


There are only two ways freelance copywriters can specialize:

#1: Market specialization

This refers to the audience you’re writing for.

The “big 3” are: health, wealth, and relationships.

#2: Task specialization

This refers to the specific deliverables you’re responsible for, such as:

– Facebook ads
– Emails
– Sales letters
– Video scripts
– etc

If you’re wondering which one is more important


Or which one you should tackle first


Go here:

This Twitter thread explains exactly how to specialize as a copywriter so you can go from zero to 10k/m and beyond.

Quote of the Day

“It’s not about money or connections – it’s the willingness to outwork and outlearn everyone.”

— Mark Cuban

♟ Visiting the metaverse IRL

by

Happy Tuesday! Enjoying the newsletter? If you know anyone else who might like to start their day with The Gig, use your share link at the bottom of today’s email to refer them and unlock cool rewards.

Visit your referral hub to see what’s up for grabs.

Now here’s what’s happening


Making the Rounds

  • Meta opens their first IRL store. Similar to competitors Apple and Microsoft, Meta now has their own store. The inaugural Meta Store threw open its doors in Burlingame, California yesterday, where shoppers can test-drive Meta’s VR and AR hardware.

  • Elon plans to 5X Twitter’s revenue by 2028. According to a pitch deck presented to investors, he’s projecting $26.4 billion in revenue by 2028, which would be a 500%+ increase from last year’s $5 billion.

  • Shopify acquires Deliverr for $2.1 billion to improve shipping and delivery times. Despite a falling stock price and slumping ecommerce sales across the industry, Shopify is pushing ahead to develop end-to-end logistics by acquiring the fulfillment company.

Working With Clients

How to Pass the “Real Person” Test

Video calls are an essential part of running a remote freelance biz.

But even though we love a good 60-minute Zoom as much as the next person


It can be tempting to go “camera off” sometimes.

Whether you’re talking to a new prospect


Or if you just had one too many tequila shots on Taco Tuesday the night before.

The benefits of being on camera can’t be overstated, though.

Being on camera helps develop a strong personal connection with colleagues and clients.

Relationships are what your business is built on.

So don’t be that guy or girl who’s making it weird by having your camera off while the other person’s camera is on.

“Camera on” is a mindset.

When talking to prospects, it proves you’re a real person and not some deepfaked AI-bot from the Philippines.

And when talking to existing clients or colleagues, it adds valuable context to deepen the back-and-forth.

Now, on a related note


Working For Yourself

Look the Part, Be the Part

One of the best parts about working remotely is the dress code.

As in, there is none.

But as nice as it is to spend the day working in sweatpants and a hoodie


Here’s the thing


When you’re on video calls, it’s important to “look the part.”

If you want to be taken seriously as a service provider


Meaning you want to be seen by your clients as someone who knows how to get results


(and is paid handsomely for it)

Then you need to come correct.

That doesn’t have to mean business formal attire, but it should mean a clean and wrinkle-free outfit.

Studies have shown that what you wear can and does affect how you feel


So leverage the science of fashion to show up the way you want to inside your business.

Tools We Love

Turning Subscribers into Bounty Hunters

If you’re an email marketer or list owner, there’s an unpleasant reality you’ve got to face:

Unsubscribes.

In other words, every email you send shrinks your list


And the more often you mail, the faster it happens.

Unless you’ve got a referral program that makes subscribers excited to share your emails.

That’s where SparkLoop comes in.

SparkLoop is specifically designed to help newsletter operators get more high-quality email subscribers on autopilot with a referral program.

It’s the ultimate combination of organic and paid acquisition.

With SparkLoop, you can flip the script so that every email you send actually GROWS your list.

Whether you opt for physical rewards, digital rewards, or a mix of each


Turning subscribers into bounty hunters is one of the main reasons why companies like The Hustle and Morning Brew were able to grow so fast (and eventually get acquired).

If you’re a newsletter operator, try SparkLoop for free today.

Quote of the Day

“Hard work is a prison sentence only if it does not have meaning. Once it does, it becomes the kind of thing that makes you grab your wife around the waist and dance a jig.”

— Malcolm Gladwell