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A Message from KellyWelcome to The Copywriting Connection! This week we are delving into the concept of creating passive income in your copywriting business. You love writing copy, but the fact is if you're not writing copy you're not making any money. If you set your copywriting business up right from the beginning -- like we teach you to in our Building Your Copywriting Business course -- it is easy to create supplemental income streams that complement your copywriting services. Yesterday was my birthday. It's great turning 25, again. It's the 14th time for me! As I am getting older my kids are too. People are starting to mistake Shelby, my 14 year-old, for me. She is sick of the "is this your sister" joke. A few weeks ago one of her friend's Dad's came up and started talking to her, thinking it was me. What was flattering at first has turned into pure mortification. I assure her she's lucky her mom is so hip and good lookin' -- she could be stuck looking like her Dad! Our new e-coaching program is taking off like gangbusters, our learn to write free reports class is kickin up steam, and one of our marketing foundation package coaching students just quoted $15,000 in bids last month using the marketing techniques she learned at The Copywriting Institute. Here's what she had to say: "I hired you to teach me to market my copywriting company. Well, you did such a dang good job coaching me that I have so much business I don't know what to do! In the month of June, I quoted over $15,000 in work. Isn't that amazing? And already this month (even with the holiday), I have 2 new inquiries and meetings set up this week. I guess it's not that shocking--I finally put into play everything you told me to do and, well, I'm making it happen for myself. Thanks for being such an awesome coach." Way to go Michelle! And people say copywriter's are suffering because of a recession -- phooey! Happy Copywriting! Kelly
Creating Passive Income StreamsPositioning your business to be self-sufficientWhether you're a sole practitioner or a very small employer, many home business owners are personally involved in almost all aspects of their business, and find that almost every spare minute is spent thinking about work, even on vacations or while doing errands. Here's a challenge to all of you freelance copywriters: Take a moment to stop and evaluate your business to determine if you could possibly sell it. Does your business have value to others without you physically being there to work every day? If not, adding that extra value to make your company more sellable in the future is a wise business decision. This is especially true if you sell your services exclusively by the hour or by the project -- if you're not working, you're not making any money. Some of us can't take two weeks off for a vacation, because nothing happens when we're not there. Wouldn't it be great if this weren't such a concern? Planning for the long term, what if you were to get sick or decide to retire? Your ability to sell what you've worked so hard to create is an important facet of growing your small business. My challenge to you is to brainstorm ways you can earn money without being physically involved in every transaction. Here are some ideas that can bring in money while you're on the beach in Hawaii: --Turn the service you already provide into a product. Transform your expertise into something tangible, such as a videotape or book, that you can market online or sell in retail outlets. --Sell audiotapes of seminars you conduct. This can be an item you add to your online portfolio, or you can sell these in a package with other products you develop. Either way, they are a way to add income to your revenue stream without you having to put time into selling each and every one. --Make an outline of the steps you go through with your clients when starting a project and market it as such. This may be in the form of a booklet or pamphlet, or even a book. Many prospects may not have the money to purchase your services outright. Others may simply not have confidence in you to spend a high dollar amount. Selling what you do in smaller pieces can be a great way for prospects to try you out, gain trust in you, and then work their way up to higher priced, more complicated services you work on individually with them. It's also a smart way to add revenue to your bottom line, without straying far from your core business. --Build your client list/marketing database. This is valuable if you are in a niche market. If you have successfully targeted a particular market, a company may buy your company simply to break into that market. It's often easier to buy a successful company that already exists than to build one from scratch. --Position your business to be sold to a large company. Does it fix a problem or fill a whole in their services? Often it's easier and faster for big companies to buy the technology outright than to hire the experts needed to re-create the wheel. The key is to specialize in an area others don't, find something tangible to sell, and then offer to sell it. The object of this exercise is to get you to evaluate the very basics of how you do business. Look towards the future. While you may be enjoying the work you're doing currently, that may change. And wouldn't you like a well-deserved -- and paid -- break from time to time know and you're still making money? Prepare yourself and your business by ensuring it can survive independently of you. © The Copywriting Connection. All Rights Reserved. Want to use this article for your e-zine or web site? No problem! Just let us know at support@thecopywritinginstitute. We'll send you a short bio to include at the end of the article.
Copywriters ChallengeWe challenge you to think about ways you can create passive income in your copywriting business. For many, this requires you to think much, much bigger than you may ever have before. Come up with one idea you feel can easily start on.
Word of the WeekThis week's word of the week is forlorn [fawr-lawrn]. Forlorn means desolate or dreary; lonely and sad; forsaken; expressive of hopelessness; despairing; unhappy or miserable, as in feeling, condition, or appearance. Tools for your Successwww.shutterstock.com - Do you need photos for your site but aren't sure where to find them and how to avoid copyright infringement? Shutterstock.com is only $200 a month for stock photos. You can just pay for one month and download up to 25 photos a day for that month. Special OfferNew E-coaching Program at The Copywriting Institute Coaching for Writers The freelance copywriter's e-coaching program divides up starting and running a profitable freelance copywriting business into manageable chunks. We delve into one topic in great depth each week, giving you time to master and implement the idea before you start on a new one. This coaching program is unique because you work at your own pace, mastering one business building topic at a time. Writing Courses Here are a few of the things we'll cover in the freelance copywriting e-coaching program....
This 52 week e-coaching program gives you affordable coaching from an experienced copywriter and entrepreneur once a week for a year – straight to your inbox. Work at your own pace. Register now: www.freelancecopywriterecoaching.com All content is copyrighted© 2008 |
