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How to Build for the Future When You Need Money RIGHT NOW
One of the toughest challenges as a writer and entrepreneur is figuring out how to build for the future when you also need to keep money coming in steadily.
If you’ve got a day job in place, it may actually make things easier: you’ve got your day job income, and you’ve got your entrepreneurial side projects. If they don’t pay off straight away, it might be frustrating, but it’s not financially crippling.
But if you’re a full-time entrepreneur or freelancer, it can be a lot harder. You need to bring in enough money every month to pay the bills … no matter what. Maybe you’d never even contemplate turning down a paying client (even if they’re a poor fit, and even if you’ve already got enough work for the month). Quite possibly, you have a family to support; your income is what keeps food on the table.
Understandably, your priority is likely to be what’s happening right now: taking client calls, or writing freelance pieces, or pitching for new gigs.
You might dream of having other sources of income, like a book or online course, to take some of the pressure off. With a product out there, even if you don’t have many billable hours in a particular month, you’ll still have some money coming in. (You might even get to take a vacation.)
Finding the time to actually write that book or produce that ecourse, though, could feel almost impossible.
Well, it’s definitely not easy. But here’s a step by step plan that should help.
World Building as Brand Strategy
I was a latecomer to the podcasting trend. It wasn’t until a 16-hour drive to my home state about four years ago that I really got hooked. I listened to the entire season of “Serial” and also started binge-listening to this wonderfully weird fiction podcast.
It started with the words: “A friendly desert community, where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep. Welcome to Night Vale.”
There was a dog park where dogs and people were not allowed and government agents from a vague, yet menacing government agency and angels that can’t be angels because angels don’t exist (but there are tall winged beings, and they’re all named Erika).
Because it’s so distinctive and strange, it’s a place I would know the second I stepped across the city limit. But it’s also a place I see every day in the world around me in little details.
Both those things are true because the creators of Night Vale, Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, have built a tangible, engaging world that is both strange and familiar.
Creating your brand is like building a fictional world. You have to invite your reader into a place that you’ve fully realized. There are characters and backstories and inside jokes—all shared with the reader.
4 Unconventional Ways to Find Writing Inspiration
If you love to write, then you understand the struggle to constantly find inspiration that will take you to greater heights.
When you Google the phrase “writing inspiration,” you will be bombarded with all manner of links on quotes, helpful aids, ideas, and case studies that will help you find inspiration as a writer.
I work as a full-time professional freelance writer. More often than not, I have to come up with my own ideas – from scratch. In all honesty, that is the worst part of my job.
Because of the sheer volume of articles that I tend to handle on a monthly basis, there comes a time when my brain just goes on strike. When that happens, everything comes to a screeching halt. No longer will ideas flow in my head. Even with subjects I write about on a regular basis, I get nothing.
Zilch.
Six Secrets Your Copywriter Wishes You Knew
I’m no mind reader, but I bet I know why you’re here.
You’ve recently hired or are thinking about hiring a copywriter for your business, but things just don’t seem to be panning out the way you thought they would. The writer seems frustrated or annoyed by your questions, the feedback you’re receiving is overwhelming, and/or nothing seems to be working on your schedule. Plus, you’re watching dollars fly out of your bank account without really seeing the results you’re looking for.
Or maybe you’ve heard horror and/or success stories from fellow entrepreneurs who have hired copywriters, and you wanna know how to learn from their mistakes/follow their lead.
Even if you’ve got a stellar working relationship with your business’ content or copywriter, there are always ways to make it better or ready yourself for hiring a writer in the future.
A good place to start is by listening to seasoned copywriters.