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Mentioned in todayâs edition: Hive, Twitter, and influencer marketing. Plus 3 pricing tips to create a win/win for you and your clients, how one digital nomad makes $2.7M per year with zero employees, and a free app to upgrade your note-taking.
Read time: 4 minutes and 2 seconds
Making the Rounds
- New social app Hive surges into Top 20 on the App Store. Founded in 2019, the app combines features from Instagram, Twitter, and MySpace. It surged into the Top 20 in the U.S. App Store yesterday, coinciding with Twitter CEO Elon Muskâs decision to reinstate former President Donald Trump on the platform over the weekend.
- More sales reps laid off after committing to Twitter 2.0. It appears the heads arenât done rolling at Twitter, as another round of layoffs hit the sales department this week. Itâs worth noting that these were all team members who signed last weekâs controversial pledge, committing themselves to an âextremely hardcoreâ new version of Twitter.
- U.S. marketers will spend $5B on influencers this year. According to eMarketerâs latest report on influencer marketing, thatâs an increase of 25% compared to last yearâs $4B, and despite a major slowdown in the broader advertising market.
Working With Clients
3 Pricing Tips to Create a Win/Win For You and Your Clients
Pricing is one of those things everyone likes to talk about in broad termsâŚ
But not when it comes to their own pricing strategy.
So if youâre a new freelancer whoâs struggling to figure out how to price themselvesâŚ
Here are 3 tips to help you out:
TIP #1: Charge by deliverable (not by the hour)
If youâre 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 longerâŚ
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 theyâre 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 itâs 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
This last one isnât *exactly* a pricing tip per seâŚ
But since youâre asking for a deposit, you want to make sure your first draft isnât way off base so the client doesnât feel like theyâve paid you for nothing.
The best way to do this is get pre-work approved (and let clients know this is how you work).
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 it more likely for clients to say âyesâ to your price.
Working For Yourself
How This Digital Nomad Makes $2.7M Per Year With 0 Employees
Not all entrepreneurs want to build big companies.
In fact, most freelancers we know are drawn to this type of business precisely because you can run it all by yourself.
But eventually, youâll have to hire if you want to continue increasing your income.
⌠Or will you?
In the episode of My First Million below, Sam Parr and Shaan Puri interview Pieter Levels, the founder of NomadList, RemoteOK, and a handful of other profitable businessesâŚ
Which bring in a combined total of almost $3 million dollars per year.
All with ZERO employees.
Itâs a fascinating interview that challenges what most entrepreneurs (including us) believe is possible.
So if youâre looking to learn more about how to push the limits of solopreneurshipâŚ
Check it out on YouTube here:
[WATCH]: How Pieter Levels Makes $2.7M/Year With 0 Employees
Tools We Love
Upgrade Your Note-Taking With This Free App
If you keep a journal, write Morning Pages, or use pen and paper to stay on top of your to-dosâŚ
It can be tough to stay organized and keep track of all your notes.
Not to mention you can burn through a stack of notebooks pretty quick.
Thatâs where Simplenote comes in.
Created by the same company behind WordPress and WooCommerce, Simplenote is a free note-taking app that lets you:
– Take notes quickly and easily
– Stay organized with tags & searching
– Sync your notes to all devices
Plus it supports Markdown format, so you could even open up your notes with the Notepad app in a pinch.
But our favorite part?
Simplenote also supports a stylus for those with a tablet.
And in our opinion, this makes for a much more enjoyable experience than putting pen to paper.
With Simplenote, you can take your journaling & input capture to the next level (and save a few trees while youâre at it).
Click below to sign up for a free Simplenote account:
Try Simplenote for free today.
Gig Alerts
Looking for clients? These freelance jobs were posted on Upwork in the last 24 hours:
Other Reads Youâll Enjoy
On the hunt for more high-value content in your inbox? Check out some of our top picks below:
- The Daily Upside: Insightful business news that respects your time and intelligence.
- 1440 Media: Daily news designed to be the fastest way to an impartial point-of-view.
- International Intrigue: The most important geopolitical news and analysis in less than 5 minutes a day.
Quote of the Day
âCuriosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people.â
â Leo Burnett
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