Monday Spark: If you had one shot or one opportunity…

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one shot or one opportunityLook, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?

These are the opening lines of Eminem’s song, Lose Yourself. You can watch the video of this song below. As you will see, I chose a version that includes the lyrics, so you can read along as he raps.

I don’t listen to a lot of rap, but when I like it, I like it a lot. For me, good rap is poetry turned up loud.

In this song, Eminem talks about how sometimes life hands you an opportunity that is within your grasp now…but will be gone tomorrow.

As a freelancer, you’ll experience these opportunities.

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What have you done to promote your freelance business today?

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marketing your freelance businessToo many freelancers, particularly those who have just started out, think that promoting their business is something that needs to be done occasionally.

Not so.

Promoting and marketing your business is something you should be doing on a daily basis.

Every day? Yes, even if it’s something small.

If you are wondering what you could do on a daily basis, I have compiled a suggestion list for you. It is divided into 3 sections – Push, Pull & Engage.

Push marketing is when you deliberately get in front of a prospect and pitch your services.

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Copywriters: Never try to change your prospects’ minds.

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can't change someone's mindWhen you’re writing copy, the easiest way to close the sale is to write in a way that keeps your readers nodding in agreement.

The toughest approach you can ever take is to try to change the reader’s mind.

In fact, within the context of writing sales copy, it is pretty much impossible to change someone’s mind.

Let’s look at an example – trying to sell cheese that is made from raw milk.

Out of all the people who are in a position to buy this cheese, there are two groups.

The first group believes that raw foods are good for you, and that the various bacteria found in raw milk are also good for you.

The second group believes that raw milk is dangerous, and that the bacteria could make you sick, or even kill you.

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Monday Spark: Find some big, hairy problems to solve.

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overcome big problemsAs freelancers we often think about our work process in the following terms:

1. Gonna ask for some work
2. Gonna get a good brief
3. Gonna work on it ‘til the client likes it
4. Gonna send in my invoice

I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a pretty drab and soulless process. You’re grabbing any work you can, trying to please the client and then billing for your time.

It’s a way to make a living, but is it enough to bring out the best you can do?

Let’s look at the same process, but through a different set of lenses…

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The secret of success is to stay focused on one thing.

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the power of focusYou probably have a few friends who always seem to be into something new, each time you talk with them.

They are jumping into the latest new trend, or have discovered some amazing hidden opportunity.

You envy their enthusiasm and optimism. They seem so alive, so curious, so plugged into what’s happening. Their eyes sparkle, their level of energy is contagious.

In fact, you pretty much want to do what they are doing. It looks like a fun life, and a fun way to make a living.

But…

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Monday Spark: Be ambitious, and plan to create a memorable body of work.

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cattelan art

Last week we went to the Guggenheim Museum in New York to see the exhibition of work by Maurizio Cattelan.

As art, it may not be to everyone’s taste, but we were fascinated by his work. I was also amazed by the volume of his work, and the time and hard work that had gone into it. This retrospective gives some idea of the depth of his commitment to his art.

Creating art is what he does with his life, and he works hard at it.

That made me a little envious. As a writer and copywriter, much of my work is transitory. It is here today, does what it was designed to do, and then it’s gone. It is very rare that commercial writing or advertising survives for very long.

But…

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