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    Make Your First $100 As A Freelancer (with instructions and scripts to follow)

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    Let's say for some reason a monkey wrench has been thrown into your work life, and all of a sudden freelancing over the internet seems like an interesting idea.

    Well you're in luck my young friend, because your Uncle Neville has taken the liberty of going through every single step of the process, and giving you the templates along the way.

    I've been freelancing my whole adult life, and have helped thousands of others do it (and not just in copywriting). This post has no conceptual bullshit here, just action. Let's start:

    If you've ever wanted to start a business but never had any money, let's try this together right now and make your first $100:

     

     

     

    Step 1.) Identify the specific service to sell:

    Using our handy Business Idea Generator I got the idea to sell Wordpress websites for a flat $100 fee.

    Here is our value proposition in one sentence:

     

    So that's the product we're going to sell.  We've identified a price, a service, and a delivery time.

    Our Price: $100.

    Our Service: Make you a working Wordpress website.

    Our Delivery Time: In 24 hours.

     

     

     

    Step 2.) Post this offer on your Facebook:

    This part is super easy, yet super hard psychologically (for some people).

    All I want you to do is post this script on your personal Facebook page:

    That's all you have to do. Don't overthink this.....just post it.

     

     

    Step 3.) Post the offer on Facebook Groups:

    This part requires being part of groups on Facebook where your service might be useful.  Since we're selling Wordpress themed websites, we can try:

    Since it's generally frowned upon to blatantly spam a Facebook Group with offers, we'll modify the above offer just a bit for the Facebook Group postings. Copy/Paste this script into the groups:

     

     

     

     

    Step 4.) Post on Craigslist:

    Next step is to utilize our old friend Craigslist. It's still a massive hotbed of people posting and searching for specific gigs.

    And to make sure you have zero excuse not to do this, I will make your entire ad for you:

    Here is the ad you need to copy/paste into the Services --> Computer section of Craigslist:

    computer section craigslist

    *NOTE* Obviously you'll need to replace your city, name, and contact information.

    If your Craigslist posting allows you to post an image, we've got you covered on that too. Here's a sample (and proven) template for you to copy/paste. I've included the editable template below:

    Wordpress Website Setup Ad Template

    To customize this template as your own, you can open this template in Google Drawings then click File --> Make A Copy:

    template ad download

     

     

     

    Step 5.) Make a One Pager to post on bulletin boards:

    What is a One Pager you ask?  It's basically a flyer you can physically post somewhere (preferably in an area where people will want websites).

    Here's a printed out and taped-up version:

    wordpress flyer posted

    You can download and customize this One Pager flyer with your own information. Click the template then click File --> Make A Copy to edit your own:

    one-pager-craigslist-template-download

    Here is where you will post these flyers:

    • The 3 nearest coffee shops to you.
    • Any co-working spaces in your area.
    • College campuses nearby.
    • Outside of office buildings.

    Everyone's area will have a difference in options to post. The point is to get your generous offer in front of people who may want a website. The above options are a great start.

    Since outside activity has been limited lately, it's also wise to snap a pic of your flyer and post it to social media.

     

     

     

    Pro-Tips For Newbie Freelancers:

    Keep it hella simple:

    Often the smartest people never start because they overthink things. Just remember to follow the path of least resistance here.  We're doing simple projects, for a simple price.....so keep it simple.

     

    Don't flatter yourself you egotistical asshole:

    "Omg what if people judge me for posting that??"

    "What if I don't get more than 10 likes??"

    "What if this experiment fails and everyone knows??"

    Umm please don't flatter yourself so hard.  If you think people are paying attention to you THAT much, you need to tell your egotistical brain to calm the hell down.

    No one is paying that much attention. When's the last time you really judged and ruminated over someone's status update post?

     

    You don't need to plan out every aspect of this:

    All we're doing is fishing to see if people bite. If we get taken up on our offer 10 times in the first hour, then hooray! You've hit upon something great and got yourself 10 new clients!

    Many people (especially super-analytical and planning-type people) tend to get paralyzed because they feel they need to plan out every-tiny-little-aspect of how they'll handle these jobs.  Resist the urge my friend!!

    If you start planning out "future scenarios" all the time, you'll never get started.  Just get the gigs first, then handle the details later.  This will be your on-the-job training.

     

    Don't try to increase your prices just yet:

    I see failing and poor freelancers all the time. They think they "deserve" a certain pay grade right away without putting in the work.  Fuck these people.  If you think the world owes you something, you're going to have a very very very tough time in the future.

    You know who wins in this game?  The people who are willing to start out with this mindset: "OK, I'm just some newbie freelancer with zero experience, so I'm willing to start at the bottom. Yes some people will take advantage of my low prices, yes some people will get the deal of lifetime with this cheap work, but I'm willing to start somewhere and get experience. I will raise my prices when I am flooded with clients."

    These people are awesome.

    These people get so many jobs they HAVE to raise their prices.

    These people serendipitously get gigs and jobs they never dreamed of.

     

     

     

    Here's another example of this method working damn-near immediately for someone who never charged for their photography services (and immediately booked a $120 gig)!

     

     

     

    Your Goal Is Just To Make $100:

    When you begin freelancing the main idea is to see what work suits you. Not everyone will want to develop Wordpress themes, but there's a huge amount of freelancing opportunities out there. Follow this format and drum up some money quickly.

    Over the years, the methodology of first posting your freelancing gigs on your social media has the fastest result of any method I've ever seen. I've provided you the exact scripts and templates for every step of the way.  

     

     

    Download this whole post and all the editable templates:

    Click here to subscribe

    - Keep the whole post -

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    - Share with someone who it can help -

     

    Sincerely,

    Neville Medhora - Copywriter trying to make you $100 quick.

    P.S. More articles on the details of freelancing:

    - How to get your first freelance writing job.

    - How to become a copywriter.

    - How to consult.

    - Three Tiered Pricing (Keep a low, medium, and high priced option).

    - Freelance Pricing Calculator (For when you start charging more).

     

    P.P.S. Comment below with any questions you may have.


    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments



    What about analyzing their website and making suggestions to improve it to get more business from it.?

    Not that hard to do and then you can offer to make corrections later as an upsell.

    Same thing for analyzing their Facebook ads or emails etc.

    This positions you as an expert right away and makes you the natural person to turn to to help them with their problems.

    Ron

    Link to comment
    Guest John Vishnesky

    Posted

    This, this couldn't have come at a better time! I'm a Facebook marketer who's been working with an agency, but decided to hang up my own shingle and get out there on my own. I've been getting gigs through referrals and I'm talking to some folks on Upwork, but I'm definitely going to get posting in some of these FB groups and on craigslist.
    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    Hey Ron, that would actually be an EXCELLENT idea! I would maybe position it as a "Website conversion rate review."

    Examples:

    I will analyze your Facebook ads and make suggestions for better conversions for $100 in 24 hours.

    I will analyze your Sales Page and make suggestions for better conversions for $100 in 24 hours.

    If the person has done this type of work in the past for a big company or on their own, that would add a lot of great credibility. Thanks for the suggestion Ron, love it!

    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    Awesome John, go ahead and follow a script similar to this and customize it to your offer. Post in places where people using FB ads is common. Maybe make an introductory offer following the template:

    "I will create 5 high-converting Facebook Ads for you in 48 hours."

    Perhaps you should also list a few of your qualifications in the ad to boost your credibility. Best of luck John, if you go through this, send me the results (Neville @ kopywritingkourse . com )!

    Link to comment

    This is a keeper, Neville. Thanks for the great start to the holidays!

    This is going to be the blueprint for launching a lead generation service for small businesses (Lead capture page, autoresponder with follow up series).

    If you have any other thoughts about how anyone should get the word out about this service, it would be appreciated.

    Thanks again for the time,

    Mark

    Link to comment

    Thanks for this Neville. The best part about this is to just take action. I tend to be in the analyze and over plan kamp. It's paralyzed me more than once.

    I'm curious about the branding though. For $100 it seems you'd install a free theme, but not customize it. Branding could be an upsell. Or train the customer to brand it themselves.

    Link to comment
    Neville thank you for the simple and take action ideas, just posted ad on Gumtree and also will be doing this on FB, will amend your Ad for local SEO services and see how that works. keep the ideas coming...
    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    Thanks Mark! I think getting the word out would be depending on what industry you're going for (it would be helpful to target a SPECIFIC industry you'd like to work with). Maybe it's dentists.

    In that case you could advertise your services to dental groups or call up dental practices.

    Having a specific niche always helps!

    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    That's exactly why I created these scripts for you Darrel! You don't even have to think, just copy/paste :)

    The point of this exercise is not to maximize revenue....the point is to get people who've never charged for consulting services to just get STARTED.

    The other point is to put your "feelers" into the market to see what people want/expect from the service. You may find after doing this most people don't want 100 page websites, but just small websites for restaurants. Who knows until you try and put it out there!

    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    You're very welcome Haris! Go ahead and give it a try, it's super easy and low risk. You also might want to post in your local area groups.

    For example if you're selling SEO services to local businesses, you can try posting on a FB group for your community:

    "Hey small business owners in the Langley Village area, I specialize in getting your business listed in Google when people search from their computers or phones. Did you know 78% of people first search a business on their phone before they go? If you are not showing up on Google when people search your industry, you might be losing out on a huge amount of free customers. Give me a call today, and for $100 I can get you listed in all the search engines for Langley Village searches in one week."

    Something like that could be very appealing to a business in your specific area. Best of luck Haris, let me know if you have anymore questions!

    Link to comment

    Great post Nev!

    How about a business that is time-bounded to a certain date (conference speaking or A/V services, for instance)?

    Link to comment
    Guest Mohammed

    Posted

    Hey Neville.. Found this article really helpful. Ive just finished my FB Ads training and now setting up my consultancy was looking to work primarily with either dentists,Chiro's,Gym's, Spa's. Do you think i should specialise in one of the above and master that one market itself? And would i create a whole campaign or just the ads for them as a lead gen tool for me to get clients?
    Link to comment
    This is awesome. Please consider wedding planning for your list. I'm thinking timeline creation and 90 min consultation or maybe bridal assistant for 6hrs on the wedding day (no planning included, I just show up and assist as instructed)
    Link to comment
    Guest Mohammed

    Posted

    Yeah thats a very good market too Ada. How much on average is a client worth to wedding planners?
    Link to comment
    Neville, I think what Ricky is asking is, Do WE also do the copywriting for the new client or will copywriting be an upsell?
    Link to comment

    Hi Neville,

    Thanks for the post. I was wondering what you'd think of the following kopy:

    Do you own a German Shepherd that needs to be toilet-trained? For $100, I'll send you 'The German Shepherd Handbook'. It's an eBook that provides a complete guide to training German Shepherds.

    If you order before Christmas eve, you'll be given a 10% discount.

    Call Kuf on +234(0)7031147350, or visit www.Kantville.ng to order for 'The German Shepherd Handbook' today and claim your 10% discount.

    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    Hey Darren, that's totally up to you. I would upsell it, but the point of this exercise is to start drumming up business in the first place. Your offering will come together well after you get a few clients.
    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    Henry, the same thing would apply for services such as A/V Setup. I would offer the service as:

    "For $100 I will do 5 hours of A/V work for your conference or meeting. I will be available Mondays and Thursdays in February."

    ....basically just give them the brief details in the pitch.

    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    Well currently you're in the "Throwing Spaghetti At The Wall And Seeing What Sticks Phase"....so you should try them all.

    I would start with the one you enjoy the most, and go after customers in that crowd. Follow this plan exactly (and also go above-and-beyond), and you will quickly see if people like what you're offering.

    Maybe you can offer a limited number of ads for this initial special promotion, like: "I will create 3 high-converting Facebook Ads for your dental practice."

    This exercise is for total newbs. I would encourage you to read this full article https://copywritingcourse.com/consulting-as-a-side-job/ if you're looking for more advanced consulting tactics!

    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    Mohammed, I believe the range varies extremely widely. I've seen wedding planners get paid $50,000+ for one wedding, but others less than $1,000.
    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    Kuf, I think this won't work very well. The value of consulting is often the personal time of the consultant, you are just selling a book.

    You can try that out, but I imagine people will respond to it more like an annoyance or spam....not like a helpful gesture.

    Link to comment
    Guest Eric Ruiz

    Posted

    Legit. I've sold consulting sessions before on helping people be better connectors. Now is a good time to get back at it :)

    What do you think? "for $100 I'll help you be more approachable?"

    or is that too...creepy?

    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    Hey Eric, I think you should make the offer a little more attractive, maybe like:

    "Just a few changes in your behavior in public can have a huge impact. I am a professional charisma coach, and for $100 I will help change the way you interact in one hour (seriously). We will have a 60 minute video conference call together, and I will show you and coach you on 3 important lessons in Eye Contact, Conversation, and Listening Techniques. This one hour could change your life starting immediately, and if you don't learn anything, I will give all your money back."

    If you've done this before with others, you could even throw in their positive testimonials.

    If you made an offer more like that, it could be pretty attractive. Best of luck Eric!

    Link to comment



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