📉 Bank collapse

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Happy Tuesday! Turns out losing money chasing yields isn’t just for crypto investors anymore: Silicon Valley Bank announced it lost $2B last week after chasing higher yields in the bond market, leading to the second biggest bank failure in U.S. history. Woops! More details below.

Also discussed in today’s newsletter: Facebook, WhatsApp, and the U.K. government. Plus 5 ways to make more money without raising prices or finding new clients, and how to avoid this hidden conversion killer.

Read time: 2 minutes and 46 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • U.S regulators step in to save Silicon Valley Bank depositors in attempt to avoid further financial crisis. Silicon Valley Bank, the banking partner for many U.S. startups and tech companies, collapsed after clients attempted to withdraw $42 billion in one day last week. The federal government responded by offering to cover depositors’ funds, hoping to avoid a widespread loss of confidence in the banking system. It remains to be seen how much this will affect the gig economy, as the fallout continues this week. Stay tuned.
  • Facebook tops list of most-hacked sites. According to a study by VPN Central, Meta’s crown jewel is #1 in hack-related Google searches, followed by Instagram, Twitch, and Spotify.
  • WhatsApp could be banned in the U.K. The messaging app said it will not adhere the rules outlined in the new Online Safety Bill, which would require them to moderate all user content.

Working For Yourself

5 Ways to Make More Money Without Raising Prices or Finding New Clients

The most common way freelancers try to increase their income is by finding new clients.

But is this the fastest way to do it?

The answer may surprise you.

In the video below, 7-figure copywriter Alex Cattoni reveals 5 ways to make more money without finding new clients… or even raising your prices.

Click below to check it out on YouTube:

[WATCH]: 5 Ways To Make More Money (Without Raising Prices Or Finding New Clients)

Tools We Love

Avoid This Hidden Conversion Killer

Slow page speed is a hidden conversion killer.

Every additional second someone has to wait between clicking on a link and actually landing on your site increases the chance they won’t stick around.

A few of the conventional tricks to improve page speed are…

  • Compressing images
  • Eliminating unnecessary scripts
  • And minimizing redirects

But one you may not be aware of is changing your hosting provider.

Now, low-cost hosting solutions like Siteground are great if you’re just getting started with your side hustle…

Except they come up in the page speed department.

Like with most things, you get what you pay for when it comes to website hosting.

That’s why we’re big fans of Kinsta.*

Not only does it make our pages load super fast…

It’s also got the most intuitive and easy-to-use interface we’ve ever seen.

(If you’ve ever played around with other hosting providers, you know how confusing they can be.)

This is probably why companies like TripAdvisor, Hootsuite, and Unicef trust Kinsta to host their websites.

To learn more about making the switch, click here:

Start your free trial of Kinsta today.*

Gig Alerts

Looking for clients? These freelance jobs were posted on Upwork in the last 24 hours:

NOTE: We only share job postings from Upwork. We’ve found it to be the most trustworthy platform with the highest-quality clients. 

Furthermore, job postings must be for high-income skills like copywriting, media buying, funnel building, graphic design, remote closing, etc in order to qualify.

Quote of the Day

“People don’t buy what you make, they buy what you believe.”

— Ernest Lupinacci

Everyone wants to do business with those who share their values.

Embrace yours.

(Share this on Twitter)

Tools of the Trade

Looking to upgrade your toolkit? Here are some of our favorite tools we use to power our freelance business:

  • ConvertKit — Email marketing for creators. Simple, easy to use, and very cost-effective.
  • ​Kinsta — Super fast website hosting trusted by 25,000+ small businesses.
  • Fireflies — AI note-taker that can record client calls + create searchable transcripts.
  • ​Krisp — Eliminates echoes and background noise on calls and meetings using AI.
  • ​Wise — Unbeatable rates on currency conversions. Saves you a ton of money if you’re an international freelancer.

* Some of these are affiliate links. This means we may receive a small commission if you sign up for a paid subscription (at no extra cost to you.)

♾️ The next decentralized Twitter?

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Happy Monday! Welcome back to The Gig, the morning paper for A-Player freelancers.

Discussed in today’s newsletter: Meta, Twitter, and TikTok. Plus 13 things successful freelancers do differently, and why cost-per-acquisition goes up as you scale.

Read time: 3 minutes and 3 seconds

Design like a Pro

Canva Pro is the design software that makes design simple, convenient, and reliable. Create what you need in no time! Jam-packed with time-saving tools that make anyone look like a professional designer. Start your free Pro trial today. *

Making the Rounds

  • Meta working on decentralized Twitter alternative. The company confirmed they’re working on a “decentralized social network for sharing text updates.” Mastodon is another decentralized Twitter alternative that gained traction after Elon’s acquisition. But it sounds like Zuck and co could have the bird app in their sights.
  • Twitter planning to enable 10k character tweets. After recently lifting the character limit on tweets from 280 to 4,000 for Twitter Blue subscribers, the platform is reportedly now planning to bump the max length up to 10,000.
  • TikTok continues to pitch big agencies on search ads. Select advertisers have been testing search ads on the platform by invite-only since March 2022, but now the company is ramping up the program before potentially unveiling to the public later this year.

Working With Clients

13 Things Successful Freelancers Do Differently

Success leaves clues.

So if you want to become an A-Player service provider with the fees to back it up… 

The best place to start is studying what they do differently.

Here are 13 things that set successful freelancers apart:

1. They work fast

2. They never miss deadlines

3. They’re highly-responsive

4. They’re enthusiastic about client work

5. They invest in themselves

6. They’re always managing expectations

7. They focus on one niche

8. They specialize in specific tasks

9. They pay attention to trends in the market

10. They build relationships with other service providers

11. They’re not afraid to step outside their comfort zone

12. They practice radical accountability

13. They actually get results

Producing results for clients is key if you want to climb the ladder…

But as you can see, that’s only one piece of the puzzle.

The elite freelancers who have the clients and income you want embody every item on the list.

From The Paid Ads Gig

Why Cost-Per-Acquisition Goes Up As You Scale

The default setting on ad platforms like Facebook and Google is “lowest cost.”

In other words, you’re telling the algorithm to find the cheapest conversions possible.

This is great for testing…

Or if you’ve only got a small budget to commit to paid traffic…

But what happens when you increase budget?

Cost-per-acquisition goes up as you scale because the algorithm has found all the cheapest conversions.

So the more you want to spend, the wider it has to cast its net to get you more conversions.

This can be a little counterintuitive, especially for clients…

Who often assume that because the campaign is “optimizing” the longer it runs, costs will go down.

When usually, they do the opposite.

Keep this in mind with any clients who are running paid traffic so you can better manage expectations.

Gig Alerts

Looking for clients? These freelance jobs were posted on Upwork in the last 24 hours:

NOTE: We only share job postings from Upwork. We’ve found it to be the most trustworthy platform with the highest-quality clients. 

Furthermore, job postings must be for high-income skills like copywriting, media buying, funnel building, graphic design, remote closing, etc in order to qualify.

Quote of the Day

“Don’t explain your philosophy. Embody it.”
— Epictetus

Leading by example is the only true form of influence.

No one likes being told what to do.

And not everyone wants to get better.

Demonstration is the most persuasive action you can take.

(Share this on Twitter)

Tools of the Trade

Looking to upgrade your toolkit? Here are some of our favorite tools we use to powerful our freelance business:

  • ConvertKit — Email marketing for creators. Simple, easy to use, and very cost-effective.
  • ​Kinsta — Super fast website hosting trusted by 25,000+ small businesses.
  • Fireflies — AI note-taker that can record client calls + create searchable transcripts.
  • ​Krisp — Eliminates echoes and background noise on calls and meetings using AI.
  • ​Wise — Unbeatable rates on currency conversions. Saves you a ton of money if you’re an international freelancer.

* Some of these are affiliate links. This means we may receive a small commission if you sign up for a paid subscription (at no extra cost to you.)

🐦 FTC won’t let him be

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Happy Friday! What wins did you have this week? Hit reply and let us know. Sharing your wins is key to building momentum and maintaining a positive outlook. Doesn’t matter whether they’re big or small. So hit us with ‘em!

Discussed in today’s newsletter: Twitter, Elon Musk, the Federal Trade Commission, Grammarly, and money vs happiness. Plus 3 types of jobs to avoid on Upwork, and 4 ways to position any offer so it becomes irresistible.

Read time: 3 minutes and 37 seconds

Uplevel your skills to explode
your freelance business


Looking to level up your skills? Skillshare offers thousands of classes on everything from creative arts to business and technology. Learn from expert instructors who are there to guide you every step of the way. Whether you’re looking to learn something new or enhance your existing skills, Skillshare has something for you. Sign up today and get one month free.*

Making the Rounds

  • Federal Trade Commission probing Twitter after mass layoffs. According to the WSJ, the FTC has sent a total of 12 letters to Twitter since Elon took over. Their concerns? Mass layoffs, Twitter Blue, and the company’s ability to comply with a previous $150M settlement for privacy violations.
  • Grammarly launching AI-powered writing add-on. Not to be left in the dust by its cybernetic competitors, writing tool Grammarly has announced GrammarlyGo, a set of AI-powered features to help users write faster.
  • Maybe money can buy happiness after all. A new study contradicts previous findings from 2010 that happiness plateaued after $90,000 in annual income. Researchers found this plateau actually only exists in a small percentage of the population, and that for the rest of us, happiness tends to rise steadily with income. Long live the side hustle!

Working With Clients

3 Types of Jobs to Avoid On Upwork

Upwork has 100k+ open jobs on any given day.

But if you’re not careful, you’ll end up wasting lots of time applying to jobs with nothing to show for it.

Here are 3 types of jobs to avoid:

1) Clients with no previous hires

The best clients have experience hiring freelancers.

If they’ve got no previous hires, they might not be serious about hiring someone…

Or they might not be willing to pay a reasonable rate.

Either way, avoid these.

2) Clients with multiple bad reviews

When you click on a job description, you can scroll down to see the client’s past reviews from other freelancers.

If a client has multiple 1-star reviews from other freelancers, with written explanations to back them up, steer clear.

These are not clients you want to work with.

3) Jobs with 20+ proposals

Speed is key to landing jobs on Upwork.

Once a client has received more than 20+ proposals, your chances of getting hired go way down.

You’re better off focusing your time and effort on jobs with less than 20 proposals.

And ideally, less than 10.

This is why it’s so important to check Upwork at least once a day.

From The Copywriting Gig

4 Ways to Position Any Offer So it Becomes Irresistible

There’s a science to crafting offers so irresistible people can’t say no to them.

But as a copywriter, you’re not usually involved in the offer creation process.

It’s up to you to position the offer in writing so it becomes more compelling.

And there are 4 main ways to do this.

Think of each one as a multiplier…

Because the more of these you can leverage, the more appealing your offer will be.

Here we go:

Positioning Trick #1: NEW

Most people suffer from shiny object syndrome.

Something that’s new (or feels new) naturally gets attention.

And to flip this on its head, no one wants an old solution.

Because if it’s old, they’ve probably heard about it before.

Or it doesn’t work.

So always aim to position your offer as being new (even if it’s not).

Positioning Trick #2: FAST

The next way to make your offer more compelling is to emphasize speed.

How fast will they see results?

Prospects want solutions that work faster, not slower.

Stretch this as far as you can (while still being truthful, of course).

Positioning Trick #3: CHEAP

Everybody wants to feel like they got a great deal.

This desire is universal, regardless of what the price is — because it’s tied to value.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a $2 stapler or a $20,000 watch…

Demonstrate how the value they’re getting is 5-10X more than the price they’re paying.

Positioning Trick #4: EASY

The final positioning trick is to focus on ease.

You can execute this by “chunking down” the solution into its atomic form.

  • It only costs $2.97 a day
  • All it takes is 30 minutes, twice a week
  • Repeat this process just once a month

By lowering the bar and minimizing the time / money / energy commitment required, you make it feel more achievable…

So they’re less likely to doubt themselves…

And more likely to feel confident enough to pull the trigger and buy.

Gig Alerts

Looking for clients? These freelance jobs were posted on Upwork in the last 24 hours:

NOTE: We only share job postings from Upwork. We’ve found it to be the most trustworthy platform with the highest-quality clients. 

Furthermore, job postings must be for high-income skills like copywriting, media buying, funnel building, graphic design, remote closing, etc in order to qualify.

In Case You Missed It:

Quote of the Day

“If there is no fear, there is no will.”

— Matteo Berrettini

Stepping outside your comfort zone is scary.

But fear is fuel for the fire.

(Share this on Twitter)

Tools of the Trade

Looking to upgrade your toolkit? Here are some of our favorite tools we use to powerful our freelance business:

  • ConvertKit — Email marketing for creators. Simple, easy to use, and very cost-effective.
  • ​Kinsta — Super fast website hosting trusted by 25,000+ small businesses.
  • Fireflies — AI note-taker that can record client calls + create searchable transcripts.
  • ​Krisp — Eliminates echoes and background noise on calls and meetings using AI.
  • ​Wise — Unbeatable rates on currency conversions. Saves you a ton of money if you’re an international freelancer.

* Some of these are affiliate links. This means we may receive a small commission if you sign up for a paid subscription (at no extra cost to you.)

🔐 TikTok paywall

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Happy Thursday! Word of mouth always makes for the best marketing. So if you’re enjoying the newsletter, share it with a friend to unlock rewards. One referral gets you a free copy of our fill-in-the-blanks Upwork proposal template. You can see the rest of our referral rewards here.

Discussed in today’s edition: TikTok, angry shoppers, and Reddit. Plus the importance of paying yourself first from a business bank account, and the latest episode of Inspector Lander.

Read time: 2 minutes and 50 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • TikTok launches new 20-minute paywall feature. Who needs 10-second videos when you can upload 20-minute ones instead? TikTok’s new Series features lets creators upload up to 80 videos in a single collection and charge anywhere from $0.99 to $189.99 for access to them.
  • Revenge of the consumer. Hell hath no fury like a shopper scorned, as a new study found the percentage of consumers seeking revenge (via angry reviews or posting on social media) for product problems or negative experiences has tripled since 2020.
  • Reddit testing TikTok-style video feed. Our favorite market research platform announced they’re experimenting with splitting out text and video into ‘Read’ and ‘Watch’ feeds, as vertical video continues to eat the entire internet.

Newsletter Shout Out

Get 5 Hours of Marketing Research
in 5 Minutes With Make&Market

Marketing yourself is no fun and way too complicated. But you still want a steady stream of clients, right? Get 5 hours of research in 5-minute emails with non-hacky advice you can implement right away! Join 2000+ smart founders by subscribing to Make&Market.

Working For Yourself

Pay Yourself First (Out of a Business Account)

If you’ve ever read The Richest Man in Babylon or Rich Dad, Poor Dad…

Then you’ve probably heard the phrase “pay yourself first.”

It’s simple, but powerful.

Especially when you’re running a freelance business…

Because the #1 goal of any business is to generate profit…

And paying yourself first ensures that profit ends up in YOUR pocket instead of being gobbled up by unanticipated expenses.

But here’s where most freelancers go wrong…

They don’t have a dedicated bank account for their freelance income.

Not only does this make it tough to manage cash flow…

It’s also a signal to your subconscious that you don’t take your freelance business seriously.

Treat it like a hobby and it’ll pay you like one.

But if you want to build a healthy six-figure client business, then it’s time to treat it like a real business.

And that starts with having a dedicated business bank account.

Marketing Strategy

🕵 Inspector Lander #008 is Now Live On YouTube

Audits are a great way to position yourself as not just a copywriter, media buyer, graphic designer, or other service provider…

… But as a marketing strategist.

And positioning yourself this way helps you charge more and attract better clients.

In this week’s episode of Inspector Lander, watch as Jim audits a landing page promoting a low-ticket info product that starts off strong, but then goes completely off the rails.

Click here to check it out:

[WATCH]: Freelance Marketing Audit: The Ultimate Sales Script (Inspector Lander 008)

Gig Alerts

Looking for clients? These freelance jobs were posted on Upwork in the last 24 hours:

NOTE: We only share job postings from Upwork. We’ve found it to be the most trustworthy platform with the highest-quality clients. 

Furthermore, job postings must be for high-income skills like copywriting, media buying, funnel building, graphic design, remote closing, etc in order to qualify.

Quote of the Day

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” 

— Henry Ford

Going from zero to one is never easy.

But the more momentum you create, the easier it is to move forward.

(Share this on Twitter)

Tools of the Trade

Looking to upgrade your toolkit? Here are some of our favorite tools we use to powerful our freelance business:

  • ConvertKit — Email marketing for creators. Simple, easy to use, and very cost-effective.
  • ​Kinsta — Super fast website hosting trusted by 25,000+ small businesses.
  • Fireflies — AI note-taker that can record client calls + create searchable transcripts.
  • ​Krisp — Eliminates echoes and background noise on calls and meetings using AI.
  • ​Wise — Unbeatable rates on currency conversions. Saves you a ton of money if you’re an international freelancer.

* Some of these are affiliate links. This means we may receive a small commission if you sign up for a paid subscription (at no extra cost to you.)

💬 SlackGPT

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Happy Wednesday! Today is International Women’s Day. So, to all the women making moves and building businesses in the freelancing world, thank you! We salute you 🫡

Discussed in today’s edition: Slack, ChatGPT, WhatsApp, SMS marketing, and Facebook. Plus 4 competitive advantages that cost you nothing, and 3 ways to scale an ad account.

Read time: 3 minutes and 45 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • ChatGPT is coming to Slack. Parent company Salesforce announced Slack users will soon be able to ask ChatGPT to summarize meetings, draft replies to colleagues, and fire annoying clients search for answers on any topic, directly from inside the app.
  • Study finds 38% of customers buy after receiving abandon cart text messages. Data firm Validity surveyed 1,200 respondents and found SMS and WhatsApp messages were highly effective at recovering lost sales from abandoned carts.
  • Meta reverses course by allowing users to access Messenger from within Facebook mobile app. The company split Facebook and Messenger into two mobile apps back in 2016, but now it’s testing a new version of the original Facebook app with Messenger integrated. Yay! More cold DMs — our favorite.

Working With Clients

4 Competitive Advantages That Cost You Nothing

Want to make your freelance business stand out?

Here are 4 ways that have nothing to do with your experience or track record:

1) Work fast

Most clients are looking to launch ASAP.

But most freelancers work way too slowly.

Speed up your production time by:

+ Using templates

+ Systematizing your workflow

+ Specializing in a specific task (logos, emails, etc)

If you can turn around quality work faster than Speedy Gonzales, you’ll attract a lot of clients.

2) Don’t miss deadlines

This goes hand-in-hand with number one.

It sounds cliche, but most freelancers fail to get deliverables in on-time.

So here’s a tip to help you avoid this ugly fate:

Build in a few extra days of buffer when you’re setting deadlines with clients.

It’s always better to underproject and overdeliver than vice versa.

Nothing will scare off clients more than missing deadlines.

3) Be responsive

One of the most common fears clients have is that you’ll ghost them.

Always respond to messages in a timely manner.

(assuming they’re within work hours or whatever boundaries you’ve set with the client)

You don’t necessarily have to have the answer immediately, either.

You can simply acknowledge their message and tell them you’ll get back with the answer as soon as you can.

4) Be enthusiastic

This is probably the most underrated of the list.

But enthusiasm is magnetic.

If you’re legitimately excited about your work, clients will naturally be more attracted to you.

Everyone wants to do business with people they like.

One productivity tool to rule them all

Turn TBD into EOD with the world’s most powerful productivity tool. With ClickUp, you can: automate sprints and routine tasks, streamline communication in one workspace, and recover cash spent on multiple work apps. Sign up and switch to ClickUp in minutes.*

From The Paid Ads Gig

3 Ways to Scale An Ad Account

If you’re running paid ads that are converting into leads and sales at a profit…

Whether for yourself or for clients…

There are only 3 ways to scale up to $100/day, $500/day, or $1k/day and beyond.

Here they are:

1) Vertical scaling

This is where you increase the budget on winning ad sets or campaigns.

Super simple.

But there’s always a limit on how much you can spend on any one ad, ad set, or campaign…

Depending on your offer and ad platform, of course.

That’s where the next type of scaling comes into play.

2) Horizontal scaling

This is where you begin testing new audiences to find additional winners.

Sometimes this means hitting the same avatar from a different direction…

Like going after 18-25 year olds who are interested in making money online by testing influencer interests, trading interests, and AirBnB interests…

And sometimes this means hitting an entirely different avatar by repositioning the offer with new targeting as well as copy…

Like repositioning a biz opp offer from 18-25 year olds to stay-at-home moms.

3) Spherical scaling

The last type of scaling involves circling back to carve out a different slice of the same audience.

What does this mean?

Let’s use Facebook for example:

If you launch an ad set targeting someone who’s interested in Entrepreneurship…

You’re not reaching everyone within that interest segment.

Even if you’ve got a massive budget.

Instead, Facebook will only show your ads to a specific slice of that audience.

But if that interest is converting well for you, it stands to reason that reaching more of them would probably yield even more conversions.

How do you do this?

By duplicating ad sets or campaigns with the exact same targeting, copy and creatives.

Now, these duplicate ad sets or campaigns will eventually compete with each other…

But only once you reach a certain level of scale.

Often, the result is an increase in conversions and an ability to spend more on your ads profitably.

Gig Alerts

Looking for clients? These freelance jobs were posted on Upwork in the last 24 hours:

NOTE: We only share job postings from Upwork. We’ve found it to be the most trustworthy platform with the highest-quality clients. 

Furthermore, job postings must be for high-income skills like copywriting, media buying, funnel building, graphic design, remote closing, etc in order to qualify.

Quote of the Day

“We’ve all heard that the unexamined life is not worth living, but consider too that the unlived life is not worth examining.”

— Julia Cameron

Don’t overanalyze self-sabotage.

Put yourself in the arena and start building something.

(Share this on Twitter)

Tools of the Trade

Looking to upgrade your toolkit? Here are some of our favorite tools we use to powerful our freelance business:

  • ConvertKit — Email marketing for creators. Simple, easy to use, and very cost-effective.
  • ​Kinsta — Super fast website hosting trusted by 25,000+ small businesses.
  • Fireflies — AI note-taker that can record client calls + create searchable transcripts.
  • ​Krisp — Eliminates echoes and background noise on calls and meetings using AI.
  • ​Wise — Unbeatable rates on currency conversions. Saves you a ton of money if you’re an international freelancer.

* Some of these are affiliate links. This means we may receive a small commission if you sign up for a paid subscription (at no extra cost to you.)

🛩️ AI Copilot

by

Happy Tuesday! For anyone who feels like all the good business ideas have been done already, get this: there’s a company in San Francisco called City Grazing using goats to eliminate the weed and brush overgrowth that leads to fires. 

In other words, they literally get paid to send in the goats.

The only constraint in business is your creativity.

Now, here’s what’s covered in today’s newsletter: Microsoft Copilot, Pinterest, and the recession. Plus how to build a unique personal brand, and why you should stop taking notes on client calls and do this instead.

Read time: 2 minutes and 39 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • Microsoft Copilot brings AI to Dynamics 365. The company is aiming to automate repetitive sales and customer service tasks for its enterprise-level clients, like responding to email support requests and summarizing team meetings.
  • Pinterest testing new Premiere Spotlight ad placement. The placement features your ad at the top of the app’s search page for 24 hours. Given they’re following in the vertical video footsteps of Instagram and YouTube, this could be an interesting placement to test for ecommerce brands.
  • Why the recession is always six months away. Experts have been banging the recession drum for months now. But the economy is somehow still hot. This article from the WSJ explains why.

Working For Yourself

How to Create a Unique Personal Brand

Personal brands are the new portfolios.

And while you don’t necessarily *need* one to land a gig or fill your schedule…

They are a major competitive advantage for any freelancer.

That’s why we really enjoyed this interview between Amy Porterfield and Rory Vaden.

Rory is a personal branding expert who made it to the world championship finals in public speaking at the ripe old age of 22.

Since then, he’s become a NYT Bestselling author and founded multiple 8-figure companies.

He also recently helped Amy with her massively successful book launch…

So she had him on her podcast to discuss his unique approach to personal branding.

If you’ve ever thought about building a personal brand…

Or have already started but feel like you’re spinning your wheels…

This interview will give you a ton of clarity on how to hone your message so you stand out.

Click here to give it a listen:

[LISTEN]: 549: Cut Through The Noise: How To Create a Unique Personal Brand With Rory Vaden

Tools We Love

Stop Taking Notes On Client Calls and Do This Instead

Forget Jasper, QuillBot, or ChatGPT… 

One of the most effective AI tools we’ve come across is a meeting assistant called Fireflies.*

Not only does it record a video of your meeting… 

It also creates a highly-accurate searchable written transcript…

Plus it generates a concise meeting summary so anyone who wasn’t on the call can quickly get up to speed on topics discussed and takeaways.

It’s been a huge time-saver for us, and our clients love it too.

Get started with a free Fireflies account today.*

Gig Alerts

Looking for clients? These freelance jobs were posted on Upwork in the last 24 hours:

NOTE: We only share job postings from Upwork. We’ve found it to be the most trustworthy platform with the highest-quality clients. 

Furthermore, job postings must be for high-income skills like copywriting, media buying, funnel building, graphic design, remote closing, etc in order to qualify.

Quote of the Day

“I have no desire to suffer twice, in reality and then in retrospect.”

— Sophocles

The worst case is never as bad as it seems.

If things go wrong, don’t agonize over what you could have done differently.

Extract the lesson, then move on.

(Share this on Twitter)

Tools of the Trade

Looking to upgrade your toolkit? Here are some of our favorite tools we use to powerful our freelance business:

  • ConvertKit — Email marketing for creators. Simple, easy to use, and very cost-effective.
  • ​Kinsta — Super fast website hosting trusted by 25,000+ small businesses.
  • Fireflies — AI note-taker that can record client calls + create searchable transcripts.
  • ​Krisp — Eliminates echoes and background noise on calls and meetings using AI.
  • ​Wise — Unbeatable rates on currency conversions. Saves you a ton of money if you’re an international freelancer.

* Some of these are affiliate links. This means we may receive a small commission if you sign up for a paid subscription (at no extra cost to you.)

📲 90-second Reels

by

Happy Monday! Welcome back to The Gig, the morning paper for freelancers looking to acquire high-income skills and build a lucrative client business.

Mentioned in today’s newsletter: Facebook Reels, LinkedIn, and cover letters. Plus 3 ways to grow your freelance business, and the 5-part storytelling framework behind Hollywood movies.

Read time: 3 minutes and 39 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • Max length for Facebook Reels increased to 90 seconds. The move follows a similar length increase for Instagram Reels, as Meta, YouTube, and TikTok continue to copy each other in the battle for short-form video supremacy.
  • LinkedIn launches new collaborative articles feature powered by AI. The surging social platform wants more people to write articles, so it’s attempting to jumpstart the article creation process with AI-powered conversation starters.
  • Freelance writer reveals unusual cover letter that landed him a gig with The Motley Fool. Despite having no writing experience, Tony Dong managed to land himself a freelance gig with a major financial publisher thanks to his unusual cover letter. Pattern interrupts for the win!

Working With Clients

3 Ways to Grow Your Freelance Business

If you’re looking to grow your freelance business…

There are only 3 ways to do it:

1) Get more clients
2) Get each client to spend more per project
3) Get more repeat business from existing clients

That’s it.

Most freelancers tend to focus exclusively on getting more clients and raising their rates.

But don’t forget…

The easiest sale to make is always to a previous client or customer.

Why?

Because they’ve already worked with you and are (presumably) happy with what they got.

So make a point to check in with past clients 30-60 days after you complete a project.

Ask them how things are going and see if they need help with anything.

Sometimes, landing another gig is as easy as that.

Even if they don’t need help in that moment, this keeps you top of mind and demonstrates proactivity.

Great business ideas deserve
a great domain name

Got a great business idea? Use Namecheap to buy the domain name and you could save up to 80% off with shared hosting. Click here to learn more.

From The Copywriting Gig

The 5-Part Storytelling Framework Behind Hollywood Movies

You may be familiar with traditional copywriting frameworks like P-A-S and A-I-D-A.

But here’s another proven framework you can use to tell stories that sell:

I-P-C-C-R.

This is the exact same storytelling formula used by almost all Hollywood movies.

This is how it works:

I – Inciting Incident

Think of this as the hook.

It’s the ONE event that sets the rest of the story in motion.

In the case of a product or service…

It’s usually a high-stakes “trigger moment” that brings the problem to the forefront.

– getting dumped
– losing your job
– having your card declined
– ripping your pants in public
– etc

P – Progressive Complications

The inciting incident creates an imbalance in the hero’s life…

So they try to restore balance (aka solve the problem).

But, ironically, this only takes them further from their goal.

This is where the prospect explores other solutions, but continues to fail.

– tries keto, atkins, IF and whole30 but doesn’t lose weight
– tries trading stocks, crypto, and FX but loses all their money
– tries paid ads but doesn’t get clients

C – Crisis

This is the hero’s “do or die” decision point.

Should they continue? 

Or are they finally ready to give up and abandon themselves to their fate?

– being overweight
– being broke
– being single
– going back to their 9 to 5
– etc

C – Climax

The climax is the OUTCOME of the crisis decision.

This is typically the “moment of discovery” where they stumble across the new solution.

– new diet / training program / special nutrient
– new trading / investment strategy
– new approach to landing clients
– etc

R – Resolution

The climax brings the story’s conflict to an end.

The resolution is what follows.

The prospect achieves their desired outcome and all the benefits that come with it:

– getting the body of their dreams

– generating consistent income

– landing top-tier clients

– etc

If you’re writing a story-focused ad, email, landing page, or video script, give this storytelling framework a try.

Based on the $26 billion dollars in global movie sales last year, it’s safe to say it works.

Gig Alerts

Looking for clients? These freelance jobs were posted on Upwork in the last 24 hours:

NOTE: We only share job postings from Upwork. We’ve found it to be the most trustworthy platform with the highest-quality clients. 

Furthermore, job postings must be for high-income skills like copywriting, media buying, funnel building, graphic design, remote closing, etc in order to qualify.

Quote of the Day

“Money doesn’t bring happiness and creativity. Your creativity and happiness brings money.”

— Sam Rosen

Top performers focus on inputs, not outputs.

Prioritize the process and the results will take care of themselves.

(Share this on Twitter)

Tools of the Trade

Looking to upgrade your toolkit? Here are some of our favorite tools we use to powerful our freelance business:

  • ConvertKit — Email marketing for creators. Simple, easy to use, and very cost-effective.
  • ​Kinsta — Super fast website hosting trusted by 25,000+ small businesses.
  • Fireflies — AI note-taker that can record client calls + create searchable transcripts.
  • ​Krisp — Eliminates echoes and background noise on calls and meetings using AI.
  • ​Wise — Unbeatable rates on currency conversions. Saves you a ton of money if you’re an international freelancer.

* Some of these are affiliate links. This means we may receive a small commission if you sign up for a paid subscription (at no extra cost to you.)

👀 Privacy-focused ad attribution

by

Happy Friday! Welcome to the 35 new subscribers who’ve joined us this week.

Discussed in today’s edition: Anonym, Advantage+, and TikTok. Plus how to simplify your offer to close more clients, plus why TikTok videos make great ads.

Read time: 3 minutes and 2 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • Former Facebook execs launch privacy-focused startup to tackle ad attribution. Graham Mudd and Brad Swallwood spent 10+ years building out Meta’s advertising platform. Now they’ve launched Anonym to improve tracking for advertisers without sacrificing user privacy.
  • Advantage+ shopping campaigns saw 32% increase in ROAS. According to new Q4 stats released by Meta, campaigns using their AI-guided Advantage+ feature enjoyed a major boost in conversions.
  • TikTok rolls out Sounds For Business. With it, the platform is making licensed music available to creators for both organic and paid content.

Newsletter Shout Out

Write better copy and get more customers from
your website, in 2 minutes a day

Learn what makes people tick and write higher-converting copy for your SaaS, Ecommerce or service business with Conversion Alchemy – in 2 minutes a day. Subscribe here.

Working With Clients

Simplify Your Offer To Close More Clients

A confused prospect never buys.

The simpler you can make your offer to understand, the easier it is for clients to say yes.

So aim to distill what you do into 1-2 sentences:

  • I write daily emails to make sales and keep your list engaged.
  • I produce unlimited ad creatives for you to test on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok each month.
  • I build funnels from end-to-end. This includes copy, design, and setting up all tech automations.

Don’t worry if you can’t nail it on the first go-around…

Just treat it like your Tinder profile and keep rewriting it until you feel like it’s converting well.

And this doesn’t mean you can’t offer additional services to clients on the backend.

But when it comes to prospecting and front-end marketing…

Simplify to multiply.

From The Paid Ads Gig

Why TikTok Videos Make Great Ads

TikTok is the king of short-form video.

Why?

Because their algorithm optimizes for one single variable: watch time.

Nothing else.

If you watch it, they’ll show you more of it. If you swipe past it, they’ll show you less of it.

So simple, and yet so powerful.

While Facebook and Instagram are trying to synthesize a million different data points so they can better understand what you watch, engage with, and buy…

TikTok isolated the one variable that rules them all when it comes to stopping the scroll.

What does this mean for you as an advertiser or designer?

TikTok-style videos often crush it as ad creatives.

So if you or your client have videos doing well on TikTok organic…

Try running them as ads.

We’ve seen 2-4X higher CTRs on these types of creatives compared to typical lifestyle images or sales videos.

You can also implement these same principles if you’re producing new creatives:

  • Captivating hook
  • Lots of quick cuts
  • Copy & emojis appearing on screen w/ colorful backgrounds

Bottom line:

If you need high-performing ad creatives, model what you see working on TikTok.

Gig Alerts

Looking for clients? These freelance jobs were posted on Upwork in the last 24 hours:

NOTE: We only share job postings from Upwork. We’ve found it to be the most trustworthy platform with the highest-quality clients. 

Furthermore, job postings must be for high-income skills like copywriting, media buying, funnel building, graphic design, remote closing, etc in order to qualify.

In Case You Missed It:

Quote of the Day

“If you go dark on vacation, you will be ready for the light when you return.”

— Brian Scudamore

You can’t be switched on all the time.

If you want to perform like a top athlete, you’ve got to learn to recover like one.

(Share this on Twitter)

Tools of the Trade

Looking to upgrade your toolkit? Here are some of our favorite tools we use to powerful our freelance business:

  • ConvertKit — Email marketing for creators. Simple, easy to use, and very cost-effective.
  • ​Kinsta — Super fast website hosting trusted by 25,000+ small businesses.
  • Fireflies — AI note-taker that can record client calls + create searchable transcripts.
  • ​Krisp — Eliminates echoes and background noise on calls and meetings using AI.
  • ​Wise — Unbeatable rates on currency conversions. Saves you a ton of money if you’re an international freelancer.

* Some of these are affiliate links. This means we may receive a small commission if you sign up for a paid subscription (at no extra cost to you.)

🤖 Windows Bing-ified

by

Happy Thursday! One of the most underserved segments of the copywriting industry is Facebook ads. To put it bluntly, there ain’t many folks who know how to do it well. 

So we’re planning a workshop for those interested in learning more about how to write winning ads. Keep your eyes peeled 🙂

In the meantime, here’s what we’re discussing in today’s newsletter: Windows, WhatsApp, Messenger, and TikTok. Plus 3 mindset shifts to build a 6-figure freelance business, and the next episode of Inspector Lander.

Read time: 3 minutes and 24 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • Windows 11 now includes Bing Chat. Microsoft released an update on Tuesday making it possible for Windows users to launch its new ChatGPT-infused Bing search engine right from the search bar.
  • AI personas coming to Messenger and WhatsApp. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg envisions chatbots becoming a core part of its popular messaging apps to help users get answers and make the most of features.
  • TikTok imposing soft 1-hour watch limit for those 18 and under. Users 18 years old and younger will have to enter a passcode to continue using the app after the first 60 minutes of watch time. With multiple world governments having banned it from work devices and negative press mounting, there are rumors that TikTok could eventually be subject to an unprecedented worldwide ban.

Working For Yourself

3 Mindset Shifts to Build a 6-Figure Freelance Business

Building a business is a bit of a mindf*ck.

Success as an entrepreneur means breathing life into something that didn’t exist before you came along.

And no matter what your niche, product, or service is…

There are always key mindset shifts you need to make before you can unlock your full power.

Freelancing is no different.

So here are 3 mindset shifts you need to build a 6-figure freelance business:

1 – “I am an investment, not an expense”

One major obstacle to charging what you’re worth is thinking of yourself as an expense.

You’re not.

By hiring you, clients are making an investment to grow their business.

And investments generate returns.

So don’t get hung up on how much it’s going to cost them…

Emphasize (to yourself) the return on investment they’ll get from working with you.

2 – “There’s too much demand and not enough supply”

It’s easy to adopt a scarcity mindset online.

After all, with so many freelancers out there… how can you possibly compete?

But here’s the truth:

There are WAY more good clients and projects than there are competent freelancers to do the work.

It’s a massive supply/demand imbalance in OUR favor.

(if you don’t believe us, try hiring one and see for yourself 🙃)

So stop telling yourself it can’t be done.

Shift your mindset from scarcity to abundance.

There are literally millions of clients out there churning through one crappy freelancer after another.

Imagine how relieved they’ll be when they finally hire you.

3 – “I provide a world class service that clients are happy to pay top dollar for”

If there’s one thing that formal education is good for…

It’s keeping impostor syndrome at bay.

On the flip side, when you’re essentially self-taught, it can be easy to doubt yourself.

So here’s how to rewrite the script:

Clients aren’t just paying for outcomes and deliverables…

They’re also paying for an experience.

And making sure that experience is top-notch doesn’t have to cost you a dime.

Be responsive. Be excited. Go above and beyond.

Actually CARE about the project.

These little things won’t go unnoticed by clients…

And recognizing that service can set you apart from everyone else is essential to building a lucrative freelance business.

Marketing Strategy

🕵 Watch Inspector Lander #007 on YouTube

The latest episode of our video series on marketing strategy is live on YouTube!

In this episode, Jim audits a killer landing page for a book offer from a celebrity marketer.

(and debuts his very best YouTube face 😂)

Click here to check it out:

[WATCH]: Inspector Lander #007: Brendan Kane – Hook Point

P.S:

Don’t forget to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel so you can be notified when new videos go live 🙂

Gig Alerts

Looking for clients? These freelance jobs were posted on Upwork in the last 24 hours:

NOTE: We only share job postings from Upwork. We’ve found it to be the most trustworthy platform with the highest-quality clients. 

Furthermore, job postings must be for high-income skills like copywriting, media buying, funnel building, graphic design, remote closing, etc in order to qualify.

Quote of the Day

“The easiest person to fool is yourself.”

— Richard Feynman

Strong opinions, loosely held.

Always keep an open mind.

And cultivate a circle of influence who isn’t afraid to challenge your beliefs.

(Share this on Twitter)

Tools of the Trade

Looking to upgrade your toolkit? Here are some of our favorite tools we use to powerful our freelance business:

  • ConvertKit — Email marketing for creators. Simple, easy to use, and very cost-effective.
  • ​Kinsta — Super fast website hosting trusted by 25,000+ small businesses.
  • Fireflies — AI note-taker that can record client calls + create searchable transcripts.
  • ​Krisp — Eliminates echoes and background noise on calls and meetings using AI.
  • ​Wise — Unbeatable rates on currency conversions. Saves you a ton of money if you’re an international freelancer.

* Some of these are affiliate links. This means we may receive a small commission if you sign up for a paid subscription (at no extra cost to you.)

👻 Snapchat AI

by

Happy Wednesday! Welcome to March. We’re 66% of the way through Q1. Are you on track to hit projections? Full disclosure: we are not. But that’s part of the game.

Missing projections isn’t always a cause for concern, it’s not knowing why that is. So if you’re on track, congrats! And if you’re not, figure out why then do something about it.

Now onto today’s agenda: Snapchat, LinkedIn, and the Government of Canada. Plus why every freelancer needs a “wins file,” and the anatomy of a top copywriter in 2023.

Read time: 3 minutes and 15 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • Snapchat enters the AI arms race. The company launched a new chatbot called My AI, powered by the same technology behind ChatGPT. Users can ask for birthday gift ideas, travel plans, dinner recipes, and as we already know, a whole lot more.
  • LinkedIn launches interest targeting for advertisers. The add-on comes with 3 categories: General Interests, Product Interests, and Service Interests. These new interest targeting options can also be layered with existing account targeting.
  • Canadian government bans TikTok. As of yesterday, employees are no longer allowed to have the app installed on government-issued phones. The ban follows a similar move by the European Commission and certain states in the U.S.

Working For Clients

Why Every Freelancer Needs a “Wins File”

What’s the #1 biggest hurdle to raising your rates?

We’ll give you a hint…

It’s not how many followers you have on social media…

Or how good your sales skills are…

Instead, it’s how much proof you have.

Proof of results is what allows you to raise your rates.

The more extensive your track record is, the more you can charge.

So if you want to 2X, 4X or even 10X what you charge right now…

It’s essential to create a “wins file” to collect as much proof as you can.

Get in the habit of screenshotting client messages…

Asking for testimonials after a big win…

And then sharing those wins with future prospects along with your audience on social media.

(if you have one)

Because there’s no amount of copywriting magic or verbal jiu jitsu that can stand up to a laundry list of client wins.

From The Copywriting Gig

The Anatomy of a Top Copywriter in 2023

Attention spans are shrinking fast.

Instagram and YouTube are throwing piles of money at short-form video in an attempt to catch TikTok…

Meanwhile, distractions are multiplying faster than AI chatbots.

So what does this mean for copywriters?

Being able to write killer hooks is quickly becoming a must-have skill.

Think of a hook as the:

  • First 125 characters of a Facebook ad
  • First 5 seconds of a video script
  • Subject line of an email
  • First tweet in a thread

Now, hooks have always been important…

But the rise of short-form content like Shorts, Reels, and TikToks have made them 10X more influential.

Best part is, a high-performing hook can be transplanted onto a winning ad…

Allowing you squeeze more life out of existing assets.

So, how do you write a great hook?

High-performing hooks are all about curiosity.

You’ve gotta stop the reader dead in their tracks so they can read your ad or watch your video.

And the only reason they’ll do that…

Is if they’re curious enough to keep watching or reading.

If you’re looking for inspiration to get the juices flowing…

Check out this list of 500+ TikTok hooks.

We wouldn’t rate these hooks A+, but if you study this list and start putting your own spin on some of them…

You’ll be well on your way to Captain Hook status 🏴‍☠️🪝

Gig Alerts

Looking for clients? These freelance jobs were posted on Upwork in the last 24 hours:

NOTE: We only share job postings from Upwork. We’ve found it to be the most trustworthy platform with the highest-quality clients. 

Furthermore, job postings must be for high-income skills like copywriting, media buying, funnel building, graphic design, remote closing, etc in order to qualify.

Quote of the Day

“Don’t follow your passion, but let it follow you in your quest to become really good at what you do.”

— Cal Newport

Find out where your skills and interests intersect with market demand, then sail in that direction.

Passion won’t be far behind.

(Share this on Twitter)

Tools of the Trade

Looking to upgrade your toolkit? Here are some of our favorite tools we use to powerful our freelance business:

  • ConvertKit — Email marketing for creators. Simple, easy to use, and very cost-effective.
  • ​Kinsta — Super fast website hosting trusted by 25,000+ small businesses.
  • Fireflies — AI note-taker that can record client calls + create searchable transcripts.
  • ​Krisp — Eliminates echoes and background noise on calls and meetings using AI.
  • ​Wise — Unbeatable rates on currency conversions. Saves you a ton of money if you’re an international freelancer.

* Some of these are affiliate links. This means we may receive a small commission if you sign up for a paid subscription (at no extra cost to you.)