Atlanta Freelance Copywriter
Copywriting 678- 626-7610
5 Phases of Evolution for a Creative Turning Into a Stupendous Small Business Owner #SmallBusinessSaturday
Adapt the 5 Phrases to your creative skill that can pay your bills and see success as a small business owner.
A Creative Can Be A Small Business Owner
Never in a million years did I think I would be a small business owner. Growing up, I hated math and loved writing so naturally, I considered myself a creative. As I tried to become a professional writer, I hated all the opportunities that were out there.
Educational Attempts at Creativity
I went to Howard University to study journalism but only lasted a semester due to the cost of tuition and the cost of living. I graduated from MSU Denver in 2013 with a degree in Psychology and a minor is writing with hopes to become a school counselor but legal trouble stopped my momentum. In 2014, I moved to Atlanta, Georgia to full more opportunities but I wasn’t sure what I would be doing. Read the full story here.
Challenge Accepted
Long story short, I have a writing business and am no longer interested in trying to become a writer. I would rather be a business, man.
I structure this grow model after the Writers in Charge’s “Earn Your First $1,000” Challenge.
I also incorporated Peter Bowerman’s “The Well-Fed Writer” Formula.
Now my focus is on writing, but you can use this model for building a business doing anything that is creative. You have to adapt the strategy to your niche.
Phase 1 is Building a Foundation
My writer website, stupendouscopy.com, is my foundation for my freelance commercial writing business.
It outlines the services I offer.
It showcases social proof to build credibility.
It also showcases writing samples.
Social media accounts supplement my online presence:
Digital Portfolio:
I also use Aboutme.com, Alignable, and other sites (Thumbtack) online to increase my presence.
I also created “leave-behinds” which are brochures that I usually attach to my emails.
Phase 2 – Determining My Rates
I charge $50-$100 for an article with an emphasis on the flexible pricing approach.
Ghostwriting blog post is more since I will not get any exposure. I price those services at $150 -$200.
Writing a blog post and prospecting the article is $300.
Now, that I have my rates determined it is important that I stick to my guns and not lower them unless the publication can offer me a lot of exposure or can be leveraged to get higher paying clients.
If I accept any work or do too much pro bono work, I’ll be stuck in the same situation.
Of course, the rates will increase as I move up.
Phase 3 -Leveling Up Credibility to Increase the Effectiveness of Marketing
The most important part of freelancing/ having a small business is credibility so prospects have proof you can provide the service you say you can.
Without credibility is hard to get clients and even harder to get well-paying clients.
To get credibility I pitch major publications.
The idea is to get published in them so I use it as leverage when pitching prospects for work.
The more major publications that feature the content, the more my price will be justified.
I identified 10 major publications, but only need to be published 2 or 3.
I will find all the high-quality clients and high -paying publications by prospecting.
Phrase 4 -Prospecting
While I’m working on building credibility with the large publications, I pitch medium-sized businesses specializing in healthcare. I pre-qualified whom I reach out to based on their industry, how ideal of a client they are, their location, and access to their key point of contact.
Also, I looked into their business model, the number of employees, web design, and media coverage.
I will do all these tasks Monday – Friday, expect for bidding on the up & coming content mills.
60 cold pitches every day (30 phone calls and 30 emails). I developed a script for the phone calls and letters of introduction for the emails.
I apply to 10 writing jobs on freelance job boards.
I pitch 3 major publications.
I bid on 5 jobs on Upwork, Freelancer.com, and Guru each.
I created “Google Alerts” for my industry to stay up to date on what is going on.
I keep track of everything with Google sheets
Related Prospecting Articles:
Foundations of Building A Freelance Business – How to Prospect for Great Clients
The Prospecting System for Business Marketing Writers That’s Hotter Than Beyonce
Phrase 5 – Closing the Sell
After reaching out to the prospects, it is important that I follow up. I use the 3-7-7 formula.
I send the first follow-up message on the 3rd day after the original message was sent since 90% of people reply within the first 48 hours.
If I don’t hear back – then I send another follow up 7 days later.
If there is no response to the second follow, I send one more message 7 days after that.
See more information on the subject.
If they respond then I negotiate the rates.
I do my research, write well, and turn in the project.
Repeat!
Email: stupendouscopy@gmail.com
Phone: 678- 626–7610
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Rudy Brown