Newsletter #3 - Creating Luck - How To Get More Lucky As A Freelance Writer - Mighty Freelancer

“If you’re looking for a formula for greatness, the closest we’ll ever get, I think, is consistency driven by a deep love of the work.”
– Maria Popova

Hello from sleepy Essaouira in Morocco!

This week I posted a bunch of random stuff on Twitter, and an interesting thing happened.

Somebody from Amazon saw my really stupid tweet with an ad about vaginal health and a creepy piece of fruit—and they scheduled a call with me.

I know. WTAF.

And a couple of days later, John Mueller from Google gave another one of my tweets the thumbs up:

Now, you might be thinking “why don’t these things ever happen to meeee”, or “wow, you’re so lucky!” but here’s the thing.

While freelancers will often say “I just got lucky I guess” or “I dunno how that client found me, it was probably just luck.”

…that’s not entirely true.

What has really happened is that they’ve created optimal conditions in their business for luck to happen to them.

They’ve consistently made sure their business includes habits and strategies like:

* Networking
* Showing their work
* Sharing ideas
* Building in public
* Being consistent on social media
* Doing great work for clients
* Building a strong personal brand

Instead of thinking of yourself as lucky or unlucky in your business, it’s time to reframe these thoughts as:

HOW can I get more lucky?

I firmly believe that as freelance writers, we create the luck we desire in our businesses.

But it takes work, and the stubbornness to keep going day after day, even if it seems difficult and boring and pointless and blehhhhh.

Because consistency pays off.

I talked a lot about networking in last week’s email , and this is my favorite way to start generating luck.

But you can also look strategically at what other freelancers are doing in their business.

How are they showing up online? What do they talk about? What types of clients do they attract? Do they pitch clients directly? And so on.

Ideas you can use to generate luck for your business are everywhere. You just have keep looking.

However you do it, get out there and make yourself more lucky this week!

Ask Me Anything!

Q. I hear endless tips about picking a niche, but I don’t really hear tips on how to become an expert in it, particularly if you pick a niche that’s outside your job experience, college degree, etc. I’d love to hear your thoughts on that?

A. Short answer – declare to the world that you’re writing in this niche, and then start learning the heck out of it.

For example, when I decided to niche into SaaS copywriting I had to Google what “SaaS” was.

In fact, when I started out as a writer I had to Google the definition of “copywriting” as well 🤦‍♀️

Believe me, there’s a lot of us starting from zero here…

So, say you’re starting into SaaS as a niche. You’d begin by reading all the top newsletters and blogs. Learning the jargon ( MRR, ARR, KPIs, CLV, churn , etc). Learning how the SaaS subscription model works, and how it’s different from other businesses. Learning what the top pain points are for SaaS business owners. Learning why these customers do and don’t buy. Etc.

Become a sponge for everything you see relating to your chosen niche, and you’ll quickly start to know what you don’t know.

Q. I’ve been doing this copywriting/content writing thing for about eight years now, and it’s going fine – I don’t do much in the way of marketing but I still have regular clients and get a fair few enquiries.

But, still, I’d like to have more clients, and better pay. BUT – I’d rather go for a run than work on my website or study SEO or do any of the things that everyone else seems to be doing to become better at their stuff.

Still, I can’t get away from this gnawing thought that I SHOULD BE DOING MORE. I *should* be improving my biz in some way. But – how?

A. Just going to hone in on this bit “I’d like to have more clients, and better pay”

For a quick win – raise your rates with your regular clients if you haven’t done that for a while.

As you’ve had a ton of experience, I don’t think you need to take any writing courses—it’s just a matter of you getting in front of a couple more clients that have bigger budgets. That way you won’t be overloaded with work and still have plenty of time to go running!

I’d search for companies on Crunchbase so you can see their annual revenue, or look for companies that have just got a ton of funding (set up a Google alert for this) so you can stay up to date about companies that have fresh marketing budget.

Set aside time each day to contact editors, marketing managers etc. on LinkedIn at companies you’d love to work with.

And once you’ve found new higher paying clients, let your lowest paying clients go to keep that good life balance!

Apps & Resources

Why We Buy – Buyer psychology is a huge part of writing successful copy and content. If you’re a freelance copywriter of any kind, and you’re not reading Katelyn Bourgoin’s newsletter – you should be! Kate’s emails are fun, actionable, and will help you step up your game fast.

ClickUp – my favorite way to keep clients, upcoming projects, work in progress, and invoicing organized in a nice visual board layout. If you don’t have a project management system in place, this is a great place to start—and it’s free !