Tag Archives: Article

Ed Gandia

Running a Different Kind of Writing Business

There’s a story I’ve come across a few times, most recently in the excellent book Essentialism by Greg McKeown. When Steve Jobs was looking for a logo for his company NeXT, he turned to renowned graphic …
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Ed Gandia

Drop Your Retail Store Mentality

Do you have a retail store mentality when it comes to your clients? By this, I mean that you’ll take whatever client walks in the door. That’s what retail stores do. They just want traffic and paying …
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Ed Gandia

How to Put Limits on Free Advice

You could argue that giving free advice to prospects is part of the sales process. By “kicking the ball around” with prospects (i.e., brainstorming and sharing ideas), you’re allowing them to assess your expertise. But unfortunately, some …
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Ed Gandia

Your Three Most Important Tasks

I have a little ritual I do every Monday morning that helps me reach more of my goals. Here’s what that looks like... I start the day by reviewing my goals for the next 90 days. From there, …
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Ed Gandia

Your Next Big Client Might Be Just Around the Corner

I know how frustrating and scary it can be when things aren’t going your way in your business. I’ve been there more than once! But here’s the good news: In this business, things can turn around very …
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Ed Gandia

How much do you charge?

Ever have a prospect ask you, “How much do you charge?” It’s a question many of us dread. Because unless you’re offering productized services, it’s not a question you can answer immediately. You have to learn more …
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Ed Gandia

What Kind of Info Product Should You Create?

Running your own copywriting or content marketing business is a lot more fun when you have more than one income stream. It can also help reduce your income variability. And one way to develop a second income …
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Ed Gandia

Hiring a Junior Writer to Work for You

When you’re consistently at full capacity, it can make sense to hire a junior writer to free up some of your time. This solution is the most common path writers consider when they get crazy-busy. It's also …
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Ed Gandia

The Easy Way to Avoid Payment Problems

Here's an easy and simple way to avoid payment problems with clients: Separate your deliverable from a project’s completion. Most writers tie their final payment to the project being complete. So, they only invoice for the work (or …
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Ed Gandia

Why You Should Question Your Beliefs and Assumptions

Back in the days of records, CDs and music stores (remember those?), I’d spend most Saturday afternoons at Tower Records or Camelot Music. Hanging out at these stores was an event. Something I looked forward to. I’d …
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Ed Gandia

How to Stop Annoying Your Network

If you’ve ever been “stalked” on social media or by email, you know how annoying it can be. I’m talking about connections who ask if you, or anyone you know, could use their products or services. And …
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Ed Gandia

A Two-Part Thought Exercise to Grow Your Confidence

Most copywriters and content marketers—even well-established ones—err on the side of over-preparation. We tend to be overly cautious. And we won’t go after something big unless we feel completely prepared or fully qualified to do so. Our level of confidence …
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Ed Gandia

Four Key Ingredients for Growing Your Writing Business Profitably

You need four ingredients to successfully grow your copywriting or writing business: Solid fundamentals and principles Proven strategies Useful tools and tactics Consistent execution All four are important. But most people put too much stock in …
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Ed Gandia

Push Yourself to a (Better) New Normal

If you want to grow your copywriting or content marketing business, you can do it in one of two ways. You can take the Nike approach and just do it. You could, for example, go after higher-level clients all at once. Or raise your …
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Ed Gandia

How to Stop Complex Projects From Going Off the Rails

Complex projects such as white papers, ebooks, original research reports, web copy, and messaging frameworks often involve multiple reviewers and decision-makers. These projects can involve a lot of people with a lot of things to say. Often, …
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