working for yourself

📉 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.)

🔐 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.)

🛩️ AI Copilot

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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.)

🤖 Windows Bing-ified

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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.)

💸 Millennial debt

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Happy Tuesday! How is it the last day of February already? Beats us. But you know what they say: time flies when you’re making high-quality memes educational content.

Mentioned in today’s newsletter: Millennials, video ads, and Meta. Plus the feeling when you hand in your two weeks notice, and how to achieve inbox zero with multiple Gmail accounts.

Read time: 2 minutes and 37 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • Millennials racking up debt at record-setting pace. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, total balances among millennials has shot up 27% since 2019, sitting at $3.8 trillion as of Q4 2022.
  • New study finds longer videos convert better than shorter ones. In a report analyzing almost 1 trillion impressions, mobile marketer platform Liftoff found the best-performing video length to be 31-60 seconds.
  • Meta throwing its hat into the generative AI ring. Unlike Google and OpenAI, the company will release its new large language model, known as LLaMa, to the research public.

Working For Yourself

That Feeling When You Hand In Your Two Weeks Notice

Amy Porterfield is a titan in the online business space.

After quitting her job working for Tony Robbins in 2009, she went on to build an 8-figure business and a top-ranked podcast…

(Not to mention one of the highest-converting webinar templates we’ve ever worked with!)

And she recently joined Chris Harder for a wide-ranging podcast interview to share some of the lessons she learned along the way.

If you need some more fuel for the fire as you build your own empire…

Click here to check it out:

[LISTEN]: #737: Amy Porterfield On How To Overcome Your Fears & Build A Business That You Love

Tools We Love

How to Achieve Inbox Zero With Multiple Gmail Accounts

The traditional web browser experience sucks.

Juggling a million tabs spread out horizontally is not the most efficient way to browse.

It’s what makes staying on top of more than one Gmail account a huge pain in the rear.

Let alone trying to reach the lofty heights of Inbox Zero.

Luckily, that’s where Shift comes in.

Shift is a desktop app that streamlines work by displaying each email account vertically (along with any other apps you’d like to include) along the left-hand side of your screen.

It sounds trivial, but this accordion-style set up is a game-changer for productivity.

Plus it lets you organize browser tabs by email account, making it much easier to flip back and forth without losing your place.

It’s quickly become one of our core tools for running a freelance business.

If you’re interested, you can check it out here:

Click here to learn more about Shift

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

“It’s the getting, not the having, that makes you happy.”

— Roelof Botha

Embrace the climb.

Achievement alone won’t fill the void.

(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.)

🧠 Why multitasking is the mind-killer

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Happy Thursday! Exciting news: we’re now on YouTube. If you’ve missed any past episodes of Inspector Lander, our weekly video series on marketing strategy, you can find them all on our new channel, including this week’s episode. 

Mentioned in today’s edition: Section 230, artificial intelligence, and YouTube. Plus why multitasking is the mind-killer, and a must-watch for anyone who sells digital products.

Read time: 2 minutes and 33 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • Supreme Court takes up two cases that could shake up the internet. Both are challenging Section 230, which grants platforms like Facebook and YouTube immunity from lawsuits over content posted by users. If the court struck down these protections, it would send a shockwave through the entire industry, as platforms would be forced to rethink how they moderate content.
  • The race to leverage AI tools is on. This deep dive from the WSJ reveals how everyone from CEOs to employees are scrambling to integrate AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney into their work.
  • YouTube testing new podcast feature. With more and more podcasters distributing their shows on the platform, this update makes a ton of sense. The feature will come with new podcast-specific analytics to help distinguish performance between traditional YouTube videos and podcasts.

Working For Yourself

Why Multitasking is the Mind-Killer

Multitasking is the mind-killer.

Research has shown our brains are not wired to handle more than one task at a time.

So while you may *feel* more productive when juggling multiple tasks…

Truth is, you’re leaking mental energy every time you jump back and forth.

This concept is known as “context-switching.”

By focusing on just one task at a time instead, you can reduce creative leakage from context-switching and work more efficiently to produce better results.

And if you’re charging a flat rate or per-project fee…

The faster you work, the more your effective hourly rate goes up.

So if you’re looking for an easy way to give yourself a raise…

Stop multitasking.

Marketing Strategy

If You Sell Digital Products, Watch This

Episode #006 of Inspector Lander is live on YouTube!

This week, watch as we audit a killer lander promoting a digital product for media buyers.

Lots of takeaways from this, including a few unusual tactics you don’t see elsewhere.

Check it out here:

[WATCH]: Inspector Lander #006: Elite Media Buyers Academy

P.S:

If you find these videos helpful, make sure to subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss the next one 🙂

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


“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” 

— Scott Adams

No one else has to see what you create.

Don’t let your inner Censor stop you from building something.


Share this on Twitter 🐦

🤖 9 cool new AI tools to play with

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Happy Tuesday! Special shout out to IRL friends of the newsletter Rodney, Brian, and Jacqueline. It’s easy to forget people actually read what we write sometimes, so thanks to all of y’all for the feedback and support 🙏🙌

And a friendly reminder to everyone else that we appreciate all feedback, good or bad. If you’ve got something you’d like to share, hit reply and let us know.

Discussed in today’s productivity-themed newsletter: Facebook, Instagram, inflation, and TikTok. Plus 9 cool new AI tools to play around with, and how to streamline your workflow with simple text shortcodes.

Read time: 2 minutes and 36 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • Meta testing paid verification program. Similar to Twitter Blue, Facebook and Instagram users will soon be able to pay to receive a blue checkmark. The program costs $12/month on the web and $15/month on mobile, and is currently only available in New Zealand and Australia. 
  • 69% of consumers planning to cut back on nonessential expenses. According to a new PwC survey of almost 10,000 consumers, 15% said they’d cut nonessential purchases completely as inflation takes a bite out of purchasing power.
  • TikTok testing in-app checkout. As part of its push to replicate liveshopping success in China, the platform has launched a pilot program in the U.S., allowing a handful of brands to test in-app purchases.

Working For Yourself

9 Cool New AI Tools to Play Around With

The AI Revolution is in full effect.

It feels like we come across an exciting new AI tool or use case every 5 minutes…

And today’s no different.

Alex Hormozi recently challenged his entire team to replace themselves with AI in just 7 days…

And while their jobs may not have actually been on the line…

This hypothetical thought exercise surfaced some crazy cool new AI tools we’re excited to experiment with.

Click below to check it out on YouTube:

[WATCH]: I Challenged My Team To Replace Themselves With AI

Tools We Love

Streamline Your Workflow With Simple Text Shortcodes

One consequence of the AI craze happening right now is that it’s forced us to re-examine everything we do throughout a typical workday.

We’ve uncovered a number of new chokepoints we’re eager to alleviate…

But one area we’ve already got on lock is repetitive work.

Templates, boilerplate messages, task descriptions — you’ve probably got a slew of stuff you end up typing over and over again too…

Whether you realize it or not.

While these tasks seem trivial on the surface, the reality is they gobble up a ton of time.

Luckily, that’s where Text Expander comes in.

This trusty time-saver lets you set up shortcodes for just about anything you can think of…

So you can auto-populate a chunk of text, big or small, in just a few keystrokes.

It may not sound like a game-changer…

But once you start using it, you’ll realize how much time you just got back.

Give it a go at the link below:

Click here to learn more about Text Expander.

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

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

— Maya Angelou

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.)

📈 Unlock higher productivity with this paradigm shift

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Happy Thursday! Friendly reminder that we source fresh job postings on Upwork for you every day in the Gig Alerts section. So if you’re looking to land more clients, make sure to check it out. And if you’ve landed a gig through posting in the newsletter, hit reply and let us know!

Discussed in today’s bulletin: De-influencers, Yahoo, and Slack anxiety. Plus a paradigm shift to unlock higher productivity, and how to audit a free plus shipping offer.

Read time: 2 minutes and 1 second

Making the Rounds

  • De-influencing on the rise. The new trend is all about telling people what not to buy, and it’s clearly resonating with some, as the #deinfluencing hashtag has received more than 76 million views on TikTok so far.
  • Yahoo laying off 50% of its ad tech employees. The company is shrinking its ad business in yet another sign of an industry-wide slowdown for advertising and media companies.
  • What to do if clients are giving you Slack anxiety. This article from the WSJ is all about what to do if your boss is pinging you all at hours, but it can just as easily be applied to clients. We may have to give a few of these tactics a try!

Working For Yourself

Unlock Higher Productivity With This Paradigm Shift

Forget time management.

Energy is the true constraint to productivity.

Here’s how to manage your energy better:

-Write your to-do list the night before
-Put your phone on Do Not disturb
-Work in short bursts
-Go for a walk as soon as you hit a wall

Share this on Twitter 🐦

Marketing Strategy

How to Audit a Free Plus Shipping Offer

Free plus shipping offers crush it on Facebook:

  • Books
  • USB sticks
  • Gadgets 
  • Etc

The positioning here is that you get the thing for free — all you have to do is cover the shipping and handling.

It’s proven to be a highly-effective strategy for promoting front-end offers.

In this week’s episode of Inspector Lander, we review a long-running F+S offer in the affiliate marketing space.

Click below to check it out:

[WATCH]: Inspector Lander #005 – Dean Holland

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

“You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.”

— Margaret Thatcher

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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.)

💤 The magic of monotony in business

by

Happy Valentine’s Day! Fun fact: the day began as a celebration honoring one (or maybe more) martyrs named Saint Valentine. It wasn’t until the late 1300s that it became associated with romantic love. 

Fast forward to 2023, and you could argue it’s become just as associated with consumerism — Americans are expected to spend more than $25B this year. That’s a lot of chocolate and roses.

Discussed in today’s edition: Twitter, TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. Plus why monotony is the magic ingredient in business, and one free tool that’s a must-have for international freelancers.

Read time: 2 minutes and 36 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • Over half of Twitter’s top 1,000 advertisers paused spend as of January. According to analytics firm Sensor tower, 625 advertisers including Coca-Cola, Unilever, Jeep, and more, have paused paid advertising on the platform.
  • Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts both showing strong growth. According to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Shorts exceeded 50 billion daily views in Q4 of last year, while Reels attracted 140 billion daily views in Q3, as both their parent companies race to make up ground in the battle against TikTok for short-form video supremacy.
  • These are the top 10 U.S. cities to work remotely, according to the WSJ. They compiled the list after conducting a nationwide poll to discover the top 10 factors when looking for cities to work remotely. In other news, Gig HQ may be moving to Kansas City.

Working For Yourself

Why Monotony is the Magic Ingredient in Business

Enthusiasm is a superpower…

But it’ll only take you so far in business and in life.

Eventually, everything becomes a grind when you’re chasing big goals.

That’s why we really enjoyed this episode of Earn Your Happy, where entrepreneur Lori Harder and her husband Chris talk about how to fall in love with monotony…

As well as the unexpected benefits of doing so.

Click below to check it out:

[LISTEN] #1007: Find The Magic And Money in the Monotony

Tools We Love

This Free Tool is a Must-Have For International Freelancers

Inflation may have finally peaked…

But the U.S. dollar remains strong.

Which means international freelancers *should* still be pocketing a little more than usual on every invoice…

Only problem is:

PayPal and local banks offer terrible rates on currency conversions.

That’s why we use Wise instead.

With Wise, you can:

  • Get better rates on currency conversions than PayPal or a local bank
  • Send money cheaper and easier than old-school banks
  • Get paid like a local in 10 different currencies
  • And convert & hold up to 53 different currencies.

In fact, Wise is 6X cheaper than other international accounts on average.

That’s why over 13 million people trust them to handle their international payment needs.

So if you’re an international freelancer…

Set up a free Wise account today to start saving big every time you get paid.

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


“Life is short, and it’s up to you to make it sweet.” 

— Sadie Delany

There are no guarantees in life.

Entitlement and empowerment are allergic to each other.

So it’s up to you to discover what fills you up, then optimize for more of it.

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.)

✍️ Tax write offs for freelancers

by

Happy Thursday! This is The Gig, aka the morning paper for 1,831 freelancers and counting. Fill up a cup of your favorite beverage and let’s dive in.

Name-dropped in today’s dispatch: ChatGPT, Stripe, and TikTok. Plus why you shouldn’t let the Fortune 500 have all the fun, and the anatomy of a high-converting registration page.

Read time: 2 minutes and 5 seconds

Making the Rounds

  • ChatGPT becomes fastest-growing app in history. The internet’s favorite chatbot went from zero to 100M users in just 2 months.
  • Stripe raises fees on European businesses. Users based in the EU will see price hikes for chargebacks, card processing, and USD payouts starting in April.
  • Advertisers keeping a close eye on TikTok’s search business. The company is currently beta-testing search ads, as a growing percentage of Gen Z turns to Instagram and TikTok for search instead of Google.

Working For Yourself

Don’t Let the Fortune 500 Have All the Fun

Tax write offs for freelancers:

-laptop
-courses
-bank fees
-phone bill
-internet bill
-software tools
-office supplies
-domains & hosting
-professional services
-employees & subcontractors

Just make sure to keep track of your receipts.

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Marketing Strategy

Anatomy of a High-Converting Webinar Registration Page

Contrary to popular belief…

Webinars are not dead.

In fact, they’re alive and swell.

We’ve got multiple clients scaling their ad accounts on the back of a well-executed webinar.

And one of the most important levers in the performance of a webinar funnel is the webinar registration page.

In this week’s episode of Inspector Lander, we dive deep on a killer registration page we found out in the wild from a company called Foundr.

If you do any work with webinar funnels — building them out, writing copy for them, or running traffic to them — there are a ton of actionable takeaways for you in this episode…

Including one super sneaky conversion tactic that we’ve never seen before.

Click here to check it out:

[WATCH]: Inspector Lander 004: Foundr – Instagram Domination

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


“Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.”

— Mae Jemison

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.)