It was a tough decision. Starting out as a freelancer, rather than going straight into a scalable business. It went against much of the advice here — bypassing CENTS for my first venture.
I dream of being a leader. A visionary. Shaping the world through business, taking care of my employees, and setting myself free in the process.
So why on earth have I been freelance copywriting for two years?
One of the main reasons — I needed to see how a real company operates and how real leaders lead. I'm a 17-year-old guy, and the extent of my work experience is "odd jobs": math tutoring, cleaning up a horse barn (yuck), etc.... AKA, I've never had a real, sustained job.
So I envisioned that freelancing would teach me about leadership and operations... from the worker's perspective.
And teach me it did. During my freelancing career, I've learned a lot about good leadership, bad leadership, and everything in between.
Lesson 1: The Best 'Language' for Leaders to Speak (hint: it's not English...)
As a leader, it doesn't matter if you speak English, French, or Chinese...
Because if you aren't speaking this language, you're losing. Losing your employees' trust. Losing their enthusiasm. Loosing their best work.
The language: appreciation.
Speak appreciation into your employees' lives. If you don't, they will do sh*t work, leave, or both.
Consider two scenarios. Both based on my real experiences.
Scenario A
You need a 10-email sales sequence.
And you need it fast. 3 days.
So you call me, your freelance copywriter, to get it done.
We get on the phone. You brief me on the project, your sales objectives, and some basic guidelines for the copy.
The 3-day deadline makes my heart jump, but whatever. I like this company, I like what they do and the value they provide, and hey, writing a sequence in three days is exciting. So I agree.
Day 1 is research. I dive into your product. I search for reviews online. I look at your past copy and how it performed. All the while, I am brainstorming email ideas. I come up with a funny idea for email 2, a value-packed email for number 6, a great way to create urgency towards the end, and so on...
Day 2 is drafting. I turn on my pomodoro timer, planning on working in 25 minute intervals with 5 minute rest. But once I start writing, my plan goes out the window. I don't need to take any breaks; the words are effortlessly flowing onto the screen. By the end of the day I have done it. I have ten emails.
Day 3 is editing. I check for clarity. I fix tone and voice. I add emotionally charged phrases. I agitate problems, emphasize solutions, and make little tweaks so that the emails work together.
I finally reach a point where I am done. I create a short write-up about my thought processes, and paste it at the top of my Google Doc. Then I put the Google Doc link in Slack and tell you it is done.
At this point, I feel kind of burnt out.
But then you give me a thumbs up in the Slack chat.
Then you say, "Thanks Chx! Looks good so far, loving your work. Will take a closer look sometime tomorrow morning."
Two days later I get an email from your marketing coordinator, at the bottom of which he mentions how highly you spoke of my emails.
And later you call me, and tell me how much you appreciated the quickness and quality of work. You tell me your favorite parts of the sequence. You also have some constructive feedback: tighten up the narrative details in some of the first few emails.
Eventually you tell me how the emails performed double your expectations, and headlines were especially strong.
(Notice how all of this only took you 15, 20 minutes?)
Any burnout I had before was now gone.
After hearing your appreciation, I am rejuvenated and ready for more work. Even ready to do 10 emails in 3 days if need be. I think, I love this work, I love my client, I love what I do. (Then I remember I'm still a freelancer trading time for money, but let's ignore that for now...)
Scenario B
You need a 10-email sales sequence. You need it in 3 days. You hand the project off to me. I agree.
For three days I write the best copy I can muster and make it as strong as I can.
I wrap the assignment up into a Google Doc.
I send the link into your Slack. My three days' work, in one link.
And I wait for a response.
...
...
...
...
...
Radio silence.
No thumbs-up, no thank-you, no ecstatic marketing guy, nothing.
No appreciation. I work my a$$ off for three days and all I get is the abyss staring back at me.
Seven days later, you call me again. This douchebag again? I think.
You mumble something about the old sequence (which I've forgotten about by now) and then you propose a new project. A sales page.
I need the money and the experience, so I agree.
But this time, I don't give my 100% effort. Not even 80%. All my enthusiasm is gone. I have no reason to go above and beyond like I did last time. So I sh*t out some mediocre-effort copy and get it to you before the deadline.
Of course, you're none the wiser. I'm the expert copywriter, not you. That's why you hired me. But your sales take a hit, and some simple appreciation could have averted it.
When earned, speak sincere appreciation into your employees' lives.
It's a simple time investment that will maintain the enthusiasm, morale, and effort of the people working for you.
Before I wrap up this lesson, let me go over two ways to screw appreciation up:
1. Dishonest appreciation. If you give me an eight-paragraph thank-you when I tell you about a simple edit I made to an old sales page, I know you're bullsh*tting and I won't believe any other appreciation you give.
2. Passive aggressive appreciation. I ask you to increase my retainer fee. You say, "Not possible. Sorry. I appreciate you being flexible with a lower fee at this time." Who said I was being flexible? You can't use appreciation to mask a confrontational situation. Just be honest.
You want me to believe you. You want me to believe in you. You want me to follow you to hell and back. You want me to know we're on the same team.
And appreciation can be uncomfortable, especially if you don't actually appreciate your employees. (In that case, you have bigger problems)
But still make an effort. Learn the language of appreciation — your team and business will thank you. No pun intended.
If this thread is well received, I will post Lesson 2: The "Post-It Note Monster" Method that Makes Employees Respect You (and not Resent You)
I dream of being a leader. A visionary. Shaping the world through business, taking care of my employees, and setting myself free in the process.
So why on earth have I been freelance copywriting for two years?
One of the main reasons — I needed to see how a real company operates and how real leaders lead. I'm a 17-year-old guy, and the extent of my work experience is "odd jobs": math tutoring, cleaning up a horse barn (yuck), etc.... AKA, I've never had a real, sustained job.
So I envisioned that freelancing would teach me about leadership and operations... from the worker's perspective.
And teach me it did. During my freelancing career, I've learned a lot about good leadership, bad leadership, and everything in between.
Lesson 1: The Best 'Language' for Leaders to Speak (hint: it's not English...)
As a leader, it doesn't matter if you speak English, French, or Chinese...
Because if you aren't speaking this language, you're losing. Losing your employees' trust. Losing their enthusiasm. Loosing their best work.
The language: appreciation.
Speak appreciation into your employees' lives. If you don't, they will do sh*t work, leave, or both.
Consider two scenarios. Both based on my real experiences.
Scenario A
You need a 10-email sales sequence.
And you need it fast. 3 days.
So you call me, your freelance copywriter, to get it done.
We get on the phone. You brief me on the project, your sales objectives, and some basic guidelines for the copy.
The 3-day deadline makes my heart jump, but whatever. I like this company, I like what they do and the value they provide, and hey, writing a sequence in three days is exciting. So I agree.
Day 1 is research. I dive into your product. I search for reviews online. I look at your past copy and how it performed. All the while, I am brainstorming email ideas. I come up with a funny idea for email 2, a value-packed email for number 6, a great way to create urgency towards the end, and so on...
Day 2 is drafting. I turn on my pomodoro timer, planning on working in 25 minute intervals with 5 minute rest. But once I start writing, my plan goes out the window. I don't need to take any breaks; the words are effortlessly flowing onto the screen. By the end of the day I have done it. I have ten emails.
Day 3 is editing. I check for clarity. I fix tone and voice. I add emotionally charged phrases. I agitate problems, emphasize solutions, and make little tweaks so that the emails work together.
I finally reach a point where I am done. I create a short write-up about my thought processes, and paste it at the top of my Google Doc. Then I put the Google Doc link in Slack and tell you it is done.
At this point, I feel kind of burnt out.
But then you give me a thumbs up in the Slack chat.
Then you say, "Thanks Chx! Looks good so far, loving your work. Will take a closer look sometime tomorrow morning."
Two days later I get an email from your marketing coordinator, at the bottom of which he mentions how highly you spoke of my emails.
And later you call me, and tell me how much you appreciated the quickness and quality of work. You tell me your favorite parts of the sequence. You also have some constructive feedback: tighten up the narrative details in some of the first few emails.
Eventually you tell me how the emails performed double your expectations, and headlines were especially strong.
(Notice how all of this only took you 15, 20 minutes?)
Any burnout I had before was now gone.
After hearing your appreciation, I am rejuvenated and ready for more work. Even ready to do 10 emails in 3 days if need be. I think, I love this work, I love my client, I love what I do. (Then I remember I'm still a freelancer trading time for money, but let's ignore that for now...)
Scenario B
You need a 10-email sales sequence. You need it in 3 days. You hand the project off to me. I agree.
For three days I write the best copy I can muster and make it as strong as I can.
I wrap the assignment up into a Google Doc.
I send the link into your Slack. My three days' work, in one link.
And I wait for a response.
...
...
...
...
...
Radio silence.
No thumbs-up, no thank-you, no ecstatic marketing guy, nothing.
No appreciation. I work my a$$ off for three days and all I get is the abyss staring back at me.
Seven days later, you call me again. This douchebag again? I think.
You mumble something about the old sequence (which I've forgotten about by now) and then you propose a new project. A sales page.
I need the money and the experience, so I agree.
But this time, I don't give my 100% effort. Not even 80%. All my enthusiasm is gone. I have no reason to go above and beyond like I did last time. So I sh*t out some mediocre-effort copy and get it to you before the deadline.
Of course, you're none the wiser. I'm the expert copywriter, not you. That's why you hired me. But your sales take a hit, and some simple appreciation could have averted it.
When earned, speak sincere appreciation into your employees' lives.
It's a simple time investment that will maintain the enthusiasm, morale, and effort of the people working for you.
Before I wrap up this lesson, let me go over two ways to screw appreciation up:
1. Dishonest appreciation. If you give me an eight-paragraph thank-you when I tell you about a simple edit I made to an old sales page, I know you're bullsh*tting and I won't believe any other appreciation you give.
2. Passive aggressive appreciation. I ask you to increase my retainer fee. You say, "Not possible. Sorry. I appreciate you being flexible with a lower fee at this time." Who said I was being flexible? You can't use appreciation to mask a confrontational situation. Just be honest.
You want me to believe you. You want me to believe in you. You want me to follow you to hell and back. You want me to know we're on the same team.
And appreciation can be uncomfortable, especially if you don't actually appreciate your employees. (In that case, you have bigger problems)
But still make an effort. Learn the language of appreciation — your team and business will thank you. No pun intended.
If this thread is well received, I will post Lesson 2: The "Post-It Note Monster" Method that Makes Employees Respect You (and not Resent You)
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