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Mentioned in today’s edition: Twitter, India, and RadioShack. Plus three client red flags to watch out for, how to hack your circadian rhythm, and the one place A-List copywriters spend 90% of their time.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes and 52 seconds
Making the Rounds
- Indian government sued by Twitter over takedown orders. The lawsuit is a response to new IT rules that went into effect last year, forcing the platform to remove tweets and accounts at the government’s request.
- Twitter reverts links back to nofollow. The switch means backlinks from Twitter won’t contribute to a website’s search engine optimization (SEO) anymore.
- RadioShack CMO explains their strange Twitter strategy. There’s no question it’s attracting a ton of eyeballs — but will it do anything for their bottom line? CMO Ábel Czupor thinks so. And in case none of their recent tweets have graced your feed, you should definitely have a look here (but a word of warning: many are NSFW.)
Working With Clients
3 Client Red Flags to Watch Out For
Avoiding nightmare clients is just as important as finding dream clients.
One bad client can ruin your freelance reputation + make your life hell.
Here are 3 red flags to watch out for:
1) Previous bad experiences
Most people have had bad experiences with hiring freelancers.
But if a prospective client goes on and on about all the terrible people they’ve hired in the past…
That’s a hard pass for us.
2) Unrealistic demands about availability
As a freelancer, you’ll typically be juggling multiple clients.
So new clients shouldn’t expect you to be available 24/7.
If they’re blowing you up on evenings and weekends…
Don’t stand for it.
3) They don’t pay on time
There’s nothing worse than having to hound someone to get you paid.
Especially if you’ve turned in your work as promised.
Timely payments create a sacred bond of trust between client and freelancer.
If they’re always late, let ‘em go 👋
Working For Yourself
Stanford Neurobiologist Reveals How to Hack Your Circadian Rhythm So You Can Optimize Your Sleep
Even if you’re not an early riser…
Optimizing your sleep is essential to performing at your best.
So what’s the #1 best evidence-based way to hack your circadian rhythm for quality shut-eye?
We’ll give you a hint…
It’s not sleep masks, white noise machines, or keeping your bedroom cool…
(although all of the above do help)
Instead, it’s viewing sunlight.
Specifically, within 30-60 minutes of getting up and then again in the late afternoon before sunset.
In this podcast episode, Stanford neurobiologist Dr. Andrew Huberman explains how light viewing can help optimize not just sleep, but many other facets of your health as well.
Now if your podcast queue is already fully loaded…
Then click here to check out all of Dr. Huberman’s actionable recommendations to improve your sleep:
Check out Dr. Huberman’s Toolkit For Sleep here
From The Copywriting Gig
Where A-List Copywriters Spend 90% of Their Time
You don’t “write” direct response copy…
You assemble it.
Or at least that’s what Eugene Schwartz, author of Breakthrough Advertising, always said.
And one of the most important building blocks of direct response copy is the lead.
This could be anywhere from the first 100 characters to the first 7 pages, depending on what medium you’re writing for.
But the point is: your lead has a massive impact on conversion rates.
It can make or break your ad, email, thread, VSL, or promotion.
That’s why it’s one of the areas pros spend the most time and energy on…
And one of the first things savvy marketers like to split-test.
So… what makes a great lead?
Well, that depends on the awareness and sophistication of your prospect.
And fortunately for us, Michael Masterson — bestselling author and founder of the $1.5 billion dollar a year company Agora — has boiled it down to just six different types of leads in his book, Great Leads.
It’s the perfect crash course to help you write a killer lead every single time.
Even if you’re not a master copywriter.
Click here check it out on Amazon:
Great Leads: The Six Easiest Ways to Start Any Sales Message
Quote of the Day
“There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period.”
— Brene Brown
ICYMI:
- Monday: 🌪️ Headwinds on the horizon
- Tuesday: 💲Monthly retainers