Mindset

Stop Leaving Money on the Table: 3 Tips for Setting & Getting Maximum Fees

by

Set your fees like your life depends on them. Because it does.

Here’s how to make sure you’re not leaving money on the table when working with clients:

1. Relentlessly build your visibility and authority. Your authority and visible expertise create more leverage than you may think when setting and getting fees.

Publish authoritative content. Be seen associating with (and working with) other respected authorities. Collect and showcase great testimonials.

2. Working with the “right” clients has a bigger impact on fee acceptance than almost any other factor.

You can get paid 10X more just by working with a client for whom it makes sense to pay well.

For example:

It doesn’t make much sense for a client to pay a copywriter $500 per email if he’s selling a $7 ebook and only has 100 people on his email list.

On the other hand, a client with half a million subscribers and product funnel with higher-priced upsells, it doesn’t make much sense to pinch pennies when hiring a copywriter.

No, he knows he needs to hire the best copywriter he can find… because weak copy will cost him a FORTUNE.

Adopting a rainmaker mindset can help you negotiate with these potential clients. In this livestream recording, I explain what I mean by that and how you can install the rainmaker mindset to set you up for success:

3. Try to find out the value (financial, emotional, time) of getting the job done right — and the cost (financial, emotional, time) of allowing the job to remain undone or to be done poorly.

Then set your fees boldly, understanding the true value you bring.

How valuable is it to the client to:

  • get the job done well?
  • get it done quickly?
  • find a provider he can trust?
  • begin a relationship that can last over the long term… instead of needing to start working with a new stranger in 30 days?
  • be able to move forward confidently?
  • get outside perspective that can help create even better results?
  • to finally have some peace of mind?

It’s worth a LOT.

Much more than the “sticker price” of the deliverable itself.

There’s a number where the value perceived by the client overlaps with what you feel it’s worth to you to invest your time and brainpower to the project.

Your fees should land somewhere in that overlap.

That’s how you can maximize your revenue per project and feel good about it in the process.

It works whether you quote a set fee or performance-based fee.

Hope this has been helpful. Took me YEARS to learn some of these lessons!

5 Time-Warping Tips to Write Faster & Tune Up Your Actual Intelligence

by

The biggest benefit I hear people talking about regarding artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGPT is speed.

You can get more done in your workday. Or you can just work less if you finish projects faster.

Pretty big benefit. But AI isn’t the only way to achieve it.

Today I want to share some thoughts on how to write faster using your built-in tech: your actual intelligence.

These tips can make a big difference in your life:

1) Shut off the filter.

Quick tangent. Generative AI tools work don’t really understand your topic. They’re highly trained at predicting what word you’re about to say next, based on all the sentences it’s seen before.

So if you’ve ever played that game where you make a post on social media using only autocomplete and suggestions… it’s basically an updated version of that.

Seriously. Same technology.

Here’s the key: it predicts words without judgement (or even knowledge)… without worrying if a reader will disagree or think it’s silly… none of the emotions that get in the way.

Which are some of the biggest obstacles to speed in our writing. It’s also what inbues our output with magical potential.

AI also doesn’t tend to use vocabulary flourishes like using “imbue” in a sentence. (It’s never the most-probable next word for the autocomplete.)

Anyway… when you turn down the volume on your emotional filter, you automatically write faster.

So that’s something you can work on. Criticize yourself less. Trust yourself to create something great. And don’t worry about getting it perfect in the first draft.

Pretend you’re a bot for 20 minutes. Let the words flow and see what happens.

2) Delete the Speed Limit.

One of the things that may be slowing you down is the belief that it’s going to take a long time, or the belief that you’re a slow writer.

If you believe that, you will experience that.

I’ve been saying “I’m not a fast writer” for YEARS. But when I stopped saying that about myself, I was shocked by how much more productive I became.

I have to give credit to Kevin Bullard for helping me get unstuck on this point.

(There’s a lot more to the advice Kevin gave me, but we won’t get into that here.)

3) Remember Law #4.

In Robert Greene’s classic book The 48 Laws of Power, the 4th axiom is 

“Always say less than necessary.“

Greene wasn’t talking to writers, but there’s a kernel of truth hidden in this law specifically for us writers.

Deciding what to exclude is one of the most important parts of a writer’s job.

The point I want to make here is this: decide in advance that you don’t have to cover every aspect of the topic you’re writing about.

(Make the decision in advance to avoid questioning yourself mid-writing.)

Depending on the project, you can often make a snap judgement: “There are probably 20 aspects to this topic, but I’m just going to highlight X of them in this piece.” X= the number of angles you instantly know you can cover with confidence.

You can always change the number as you write.

You come to a point where you know you want/need to add more details. Or you feel like you’re going down a meerkat hole that you can skip entirely.

You’re the creative. Make the choice that makes the most sense.

Speed isn’t everything (which is why human copywriters can’t be totally replaced by AI in most instances). But it’s definitely a bonus if you can get it.

4) Talk It Out

I usually give this advice to people who tell me they don’t like to write or don’t think they’re good writers. But it can work well for anyone.

It can be a good way to shut off the filter that automatically switches on when we sit down to write.

If you’ve ever known exactly what you wanted to say… then spent hours figuring out how to get the words onto your computer screen, you’ve felt the filter at work.

Do yourself a favor. Talk it out. Google Docs or Microsoft Word have built in voice typing functionality.

screenshot of Google Doc with Tool >> Voice Typing visible

Here’s a weird trick if you’re still stuck.

Call up a friend and explain your idea to him. That can trick your mind into thinking you’re having a regular ol’ conversation. The filter will relax.

Edit the text and you’re good to go.

5) Never Start from Scratch

Templates, writing prompts and swipe-worthy examples are speed-boosting tools just like AI.

Good ones can put rocket fuel in your tank.

Whether you’re just getting started as a copywriter or you’ve been cruising along for years — or if you’re an entrepreneur who wants to write better copy faster…

This could change everything for you.

You’ll write faster and more confidently… and more persuasively.

That means more money in your account in less time. And that’s the name of the game.

Have a productive day!

I Only Need One Million

by

“I’m not greedy. I only need one million dollars and I’ll be satisfied.”

I can’t tell you how many times I heard my mother recite this exact refrain.

The underlying psychology/philosophy set a course for my life…

And based on a number of conversations I’ve had recently, I feel like it’s really important for me to talk about this today.

Because maybe you’ve experienced something similar.

I want you to be EMPOWERED. Hopefully this can give you at least a little boost.

Before I talk about the distant past, though, let me share a recent development.

This month, I gave away my car.

It’s not as generous as it sounds, and it wasn’t a marketing gimmick.

Not many people know this yet, but one of my teenaged nephews came to live with us in June. His parents kicked him out with little more than the clothes on his back.

We’ve gone to work getting him right. The boy needs a car to get to school and work.

I’m not saying this for applause. I’m trying to tell you a story.

Thank God we’ve been able to help my nephew.

And thank God my mother’s “I only need a million” mindset didn’t sabotage our ability to get to this point.

Mom had a (relatively) pure heart and the best intentions…

But take a look beneath the surface of that mentality.

It’s deceiving. It sounds humble and altruistic.

In truth, it’s packed with passivity – and it’s actually a little selfish.

Read it one more time: “All I need is one million dollars and I’ll be satisfied.”

Yes, one million dollars could have afforded us a lifestyle I could only dream of as a kid, and we could have helped a few people.

But there would have been a limit to the good we could have done in the world.

Here’s the point:

Your success isn’t just for you.

Contentment is a great thing. And you can surely be “satisfied” (in many ways) with one million dollars or less.

But what if you had ten million? Who else would you help? What other benefits could your generosity produce?

I encourage you to think bigger about your own success today. You never know who will need you.

You’ll be glad you did.

P.S. I’m obviously not saying you have to have a million dollars to be generous. I encourage you to be as giving as you can be, no matter how much money you have.

You can give a little like the poor woman in the Gospel of Luke who gave two mites. You can also give in ways that have nothing to do with money.

Point is, be generous!