Are You Cheating Yourself Out Of Income?
Cindy Cyr here. It's great to back with The Writer's Life.
This week I want to share five of the best lessons I’ve learned from Dan Kennedy, who is not only a master copywriter but also a coach who has helped many people go from zero to multimillion dollars with their information marketing businesses. When you apply Dan's lessons, clients come searching for you – and you can pick who you want to work with. And you'll make more money too.
Today I'm going to talk about why it’s important to not put off marketing yourself as a copywriter.
It wasn’t until I signed up for Dan's The Business of Copywriting seminar that I truly started paying attention to him.
Before the seminar, he began sending us little packages with books and things that would help us get more out of attending.
Seeing the heavy emphasis on direct mail, I thought maybe I had signed up for the wrong seminar. I'm mostly a web writer.
So I voiced my concerns to AWAI.
The next thing I knew I received a personal letter from Dan himself that had a huge impact.
He told me that it didn’t matter whether you're writing offline, online or broadcast media. None of that matters if you don’t learn to “attract, secure, keep, and develop the kind of clientele who can keep you in the style you’d like to become accustomed.” Putting an emphasis on marketing myself is one of the best lessons that has stuck with me so far.
It’s common to put off creating marketing for your own business. You think …
“I’ll start making phone calls to prospective clients once I finish this program.”
“I’ve got to finish this assignment first, then I’ll put together a sales letter to market my services.”
“I know I need to put a website up, but I just don’t have the time.”
Make the time. Do at least one business building activity every day to market yourself.
Remember, you can become an extraordinary writer, however, if you don’t spend time focusing some effort on the business side, you'll cheat yourself out of significant income.
Do you make time to market your business? If not, what change will you make today? Leave your comments below.
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Hi Cindy, I was just grappling (actually beating myself up) with this very subject...getting off my duff and, as you suggest, dedicating time every day to work on a business building activity. The timing of your article couldn't have been better for me...just the nudge I needed.
Alan Steacy – March 11, 2013 at 9:21 am
Hi Alan, Thanks for your comment. Glad I could help. You will be surprised at how effective this is. For me, even doing one small thing each day has a huge impact.
Cindy Cyr – March 11, 2013 at 1:18 pm
Hi Cindy,
This is my target for this week to consistently do something to build my business and marketing myself. Thanks or the great reminder and inspiration.
Tasia
Guest (Tasia) – March 11, 2013 at 7:34 pm