Working as a freelancer can be a dream when you have a good client. But it can be an absolute nightmare when you have a bad client.

Here are 4 red flags to help you spot bad clients before you agree to a project:

Red Flag #1:
Client promises future work to lower your fee.

I remember the first time a potential client used this tactic on me. He told me there would be a boatload of work to come after the first project. “We’ll be able to keep you busy for months,” he said.

That’s pretty appealing to a freelancer just starting out.

But don’t fall for it. The promise of future work is just a red herring to get you to reduce your fee. And chances are, all that future work will never materialize.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that clients are notoriously fickle. They always have big dreams and plans — but often get distracted and move on to “the next big thing,” which probably doesn’t include you.

Furthermore, if that work does indeed materialize, you won’t be able to raise your fees. Your client will demand that you do the work for the reduced fee you agreed to at the beginning. And do you really want to work on the cheap for a stingy client?

Bottom line: Never bank on future work a new client promises. And never lower your fee based on the mere possibility of a future project. Focus on today’s project and get paid what today’s project is worth.

Red Flag #2:
Client says, “It should be really easy for you.”

If a client comes to you with a potential project, and then says, “It should be really easy for you,” be cautious.

This statement reveals that the client doesn’t value your hard-won talent. It also reveals he is trying to get you to quote a fee based on the time it will take you to complete the task instead of the value you’ll create.

Unfortunately, anytime you’re working on an hourly basis, there’s a penalty for experience and efficiency. The more experience you have, and the more efficient you are, the faster you’ll get things done.

Therefore, if you’re charging only based on the time it takes you to complete a task, you’ll get paid less and less per project, and you’ll have to increase your project volume just to maintain your income.

I personally recommend that you charge by the project. Charge for your services based on the value you bring to the table. And don’t let a potential client make you feel bad (or lower your fee) for your experience and efficiency.

Red Flag #3:
Client pushes for a complicated payment schedule.

If I take on a new client, I get full payment up front. With clients I trust, I’ll let them send payment during the project or 50% up front, 50% on completion.

But a 50/50 split is as far as I will ever go.

I once had a client who wanted to split up a project into three payments. I don’t remember the exact percentages now, but it was something like: 35% to get started, 35% upon submission of first draft, 30% upon completion of edits and client satisfaction.

Guess what? This client withheld the final payment, claiming he wasn’t “satisfied”… yet continued to use my copy to sell new clients into an expensive mentoring program for 2+ years.

Another client told me she couldn’t afford my fee and asked if I would accept a down payment plus three monthly payments after that. I agreed.

I got the down payment, but — no surprise — she never made a single payment after that. And this was after she had assured me her credit was good, that she would never think of not paying me, etc.

Anytime a client wants an unusual payment plan, walk away, ‘cuz you ain’t gettin’ paid. At least that’s been my experience. Get your entire fee up front, or get a 50/50 split. Any fee schedule that’s more fragmented than that and you’re asking for trouble.

Red Flag #4:
Multiple people involved in approving your work.

The best working relationships I have, I’m working with just one person. Anytime I write something, one person has the final say. This is the way it should be.

On the flip side, if more than one person is reviewing your work, and each person has an equal say, then you’re in big trouble. Because you can’t please everybody. It’s impossible.

I recently had an experience where I thought I was dealing with one person, then found out too late that I was actually dealing with 4-5 people.

In fact, there was at least one person I had never met or spoken with reviewing my work — and his feedback was given considerable weight. Did this person know anything about direct response advertising? Of course not.

I once remember John Carlton talking about how he stopped writing for the big mail houses because getting copy approved by the board was such a nightmare. Five years later, I know firsthand what he was talking about.

Try to determine in advance who is going to approve your work. Make sure you know who that person is. And make sure nobody else has an equal say. Too many chefs in the kitchen spoils the soup, if you get my drift.

If you find out that your work will be reviewed by three or four business partners, watch out. You may be destined to fail before you even begin.

It’s a Learning Process

Building a successful freelance business is a continuous learning process.

There’s no way you can avoid bad clients altogether, but hopefully the “red flags” I’ve shared here will help you avoid the worst of them.

And, of course, if you have any red flags you look out for, please share them below.

-Ryan M. Healy

P.S. Want to get your first client… or just get more clients? Check out my special report on How to Get Your First Real Copywriting Client in 14 Days or Less.

If someone called you today and offered to pay you to speak at their next meeting, would you be available to speak?

Here’s why I ask…

Public speaking is one of the fastest ways to grow your business and attract new clients into your business.

And right now there are hundreds of public speaking opportunities — both local and national — if you know where to look.

But here’s the rub…

If you’re not ready when the opportunity presents itself, you may miss out on potentially lucrative speaking gigs.

Attract Clients Through Public Speaking

Do you know copywriter Michel Fortin? When he was just getting started as a freelancer, he would host small workshops to attract clients.

This strategy worked very well for him. So well, in fact, that he eventually had to stop giving free talks!

If you’re a freelance copywriter… an SEO consultant… a business growth expert… or whatever the case may be — one of the fastest ways you can attract new customers and clients is via public speaking.

My First Public Speaking Gig

Even though I took speech classes in high school, I’m a bit timid when it comes to public speaking. For years, I’ve thought about doing it — but just haven’t taken action.

Thankfully, my friend and business coach Gogo Erekosima lined up a speaking gig for me in early March 2010. I’m happy to report that it went really well. And I enjoyed it more than I expected.

And yes — even though there were only about 15 people in attendance, I did get new business from it.

This new business happened in spite of myself; I didn’t even have a close or sales pitch!

Want Public Speaking Gigs? JP Maroney Is Your Man.

JP Maroney is a business growth strategist and a public speaking expert. You might even say that public speaking is one of his “secret weapons.”

A few years ago, I went through JP’s Speaker Formula program as part of a trade. I wrote copy for him; he gave me access to his speaker training program.

So I can vouch for the quality of the training material JP has.

Anyway, JP is currently giving away over $1,250 in free speaker training. When you opt-in, you’ll discover…

• How to get booked and start collecting speaking fees fast — even if you’re completely unknown in the speaking and meetings industry.

• How to build your celebrity status as the obvious expert in your industry so you can command top dollar for your services.

• How to write a speech people will pay to hear.

• 5 ways to create a profitable product income through speaking.

• How to break into the #1 speaking market in America.

• How to speak locally on a part-time basis and still earn a healthy five-figure income.

• The essential tools you must have for marketing yourself as a speaker.

• How to set your speaking fees, plus when to raise them.

• How to use public speaking to build your existing business — even if you have no desire to become a full-time professional speaker.

If you’re even slightly interested in public speaking, you’ll want to get this information. Opt-in to watch the video now:

http://www.public-speaking-secrets.com

Ryan Healy

P.S. There’s no charge for the stuff JP is giving away. If you like what you see and ultimately buy something from JP, he’ll reward me for making the referral. If you’re not okay with that — just enjoy the stuff he’s giving you. :-)

Here’s the link one more time:

http://www.public-speaking-secrets.com

I don’t know what exactly happened, but my mailbox is filling up with catalogs faster than I can get rid of them.

It’s really unbelievable.

I actually threw away a number of them before I realized how many I was getting… and decided it would make a good photo opp for my blog. Check out my current collection of holiday catalogs (about 2 weeks’ worth)…

A Sampling of Holiday Catalogs I've Received in Fall 2009

Given how many catalogs I’ve received, I’ve got to believe it’s a good time to be a catalog copywriter… or even a catalog merchant.

I got my start as a direct response copywriter writing copy for a hybrid catalog/Internet company. The annual catalog prompted many of the sales; incentives drove customers to place their orders on the web site.

Personally, I really enjoy catalog copywriting. Every block of copy is an exercise in brevity.

A year ago, I would have passed you on to Jay White so you could join his Catalog Copywriting Secrets membership site, but it hasn’t been available since February 2009. And there’s no indication when it will be available again (if ever).

In the mean time, just take a look at some of the company names on these catalogs and keep the catalogs you get in the mail. This will give you a good place to start.

You never know… it might be worthwhile to ring up some of these catalogers and see if they have any overflow work for freelancers.

-Ryan M. Healy

Getting booked solid with clients is actually not that hard. All it takes is a simple, proven process.

The problem is, the simple stuff don’t get no respect.

Furthermore, most business folks get distracted. They forget the fundamentals, choosing instead to chase fancy techniques that burn out after a few months.

Heck, I’ve done this myself. The fundamentals ain’t sexy, and all the fancy new techniques are quick to catch my eye. But I’ve found that over time the fundamentals are what’s consistently profitable.

With that in mind, let me share with you a simple 2-step process for filling your calendar with clients. Here it is:

Adwords + Referrals = More Clients than You Can Handle

I’ve been advertising on Adwords for more than 7 years now, first for a homeschooling company, then for my own copywriting business.

Adwords consistently produces new subscribers, customers, and clients at a profit.

Here is the process for getting new clients from Adwords:

1. Set up an Adwords campaign.
2. Send people who click your ad to your lead capture page.
3. Convert clickers into leads by directing them to complete a form for a free consultation.
4. Convert leads into clients on the phone during the free consultation.

That’s really all there is to it.

The second step is to generate referrals from your newfound clients.

How do you do this? Under-promise, over-deliver, “wow” your clients, and then (and only then) ask for referrals.

Again, a very simple process, yet one that most people either forget or ignore. How hard is it to ask a happy client, “Do you know of anybody else who might benefit from the kind of services I provide?”

Anybody can do this.

Of course, if you are just starting out, all your clients will come from advertising or marketing yourself in some way.

That’s how it was for me. In the beginning, every client I worked with had never heard of me before. I was an unknown variable.

But that’s no longer true. Now, the single greatest source of new clients I have is through referrals. In fact, at different times I’ve paused my Adwords campaigns because I had no time to follow-up with new leads.

And that’s the beauty of referrals. It’s a form of leverage that multiplies the effect of advertising on Adwords. Even if you only broke even on new clients from Adwords, you’d be awash in profits from referrals from those same people.

Is this 2-step process simple? Yes. Powerful? Yes. Profitable? Absolutely.

Now, if you’ve never advertised on Adwords before, then I highly recommend you get “edumucated” before you risk your hard-earned dollars in the Google machine. Everybody knows of somebody who lost thousands overnight because he or she didn’t know how to properly set up a campaign.

That’s why I strongly recommend Perry Marshall’s newly updated for 2010 Definitive Guide to Adwords.

I first learned Adwords from Perry at a System Seminar in San Francisco. Later on, I bought the Definitive Guide to Adwords, printed it, and read through the entire thing, taking notes along the way.

There really is no better, faster, or more affordable way to learn Adwords than to get your hands on Perry’s Guide. The basic version is only $49, which is a steal.

The new 2010 Edition has:

• Over a dozen brand new chapters covering things like the Content Network, Analytics, Quality Score, and the new interface.

• Over 43 totally new screen shots.

• Over 15 hours of brand new audio files (supplementary content included with purchase).

• Video presentations on targeted AdWords sections (supplementary content included with purchase).

• PDF documents and reports never released to the general public before — in other words, stuff from Perry’s private AdWords Vault.

• Niche-specific modules that elaborate on how you can use AdWords to profit in your industry.

• A brand-new “Beginner’s Guide to eCommerce” that takes Definitive Guide owners from zero to picking a niche, building a web site, and launching an AdWords campaign profitably.

Plus, there are 6 NEW bonus modules:

• “Affiliate Marketing” module with Amit Mehta
• “Content Network” module with Shelley Ellis
• “Just Getting Started Online” module with Kevin Thompson
• “Information Marketing” module with Ken McCarthy
• “Marketing in the UK” module with Chris Cardell
• “Copywriting” module with Michel  Fortin

If you’d like to pack your schedule with paying clients, then mastering Adwords is the #1 fundamental strategy you need to focus on — no matter if you’re just starting out or perfecting the process you already have in place.

And if you purchase through my affiliate link below and forward me your email receipt, I’ll send you a free copy of my 9-page report on “How to Write Google Ads that Get Clicked.” This is an additional $20 value, yours free when you order through my affiliate link below.

Click here to get your copy of the 2010 Edition of The Definitive Guide to Adwords

-Ryan M. Healy

P.S. Depending on your personality, you may find Adwords somewhat addictive. It becomes a game of “beat the control.” And since clicks happen so fast on Adwords, you can often see which ads are pulling best in days instead of weeks.

One of the things I love about The Definitive Guide to Adwords is that it includes a ton of winning ads that help you understand what gets clicked… and what doesn’t. You can then model these ads for your own campaigns.

Get your copy here.

One of the things I’ve learned as a copywriter and marketing consultant is that whenever somebody tries to sell you “big numbers,” you need to crank up your B.S. detector to “red alert.”

We’ve all heard it at one time or another.

“Hey, Frank. Listen, man. I’ve got a really good opportunity. Now, keep this quiet, but I think this thing is going to the moon! We could make a quarter million, easy, when this thing takes off. All you need to do is…”

And then Frank’s buddy lowers the boom. Since Frank doesn’t have his B.S. detector set to “hyper sensitive,” he’s going to get creamed. Worse, since he bought into the B.S. — and effectively lied to himself – he never sees it coming.

In hindsight, after his wallet’s a few thousand bucks lighter, Frank will swear up and down it wasn’t his fault, that his buddy really is a good guy, and that he “just didn’t know” it was going to turn out so bad.

And that’s the way it often goes with grandiose promises of making millions (or even thousands) overnight.

About 5 months ago, a client wanted to find some “super affiliates” who would guarantee they could deliver 1,000 new customers within a certain period of time.

When I heard this, my B.S. detector was going absolutely crazy. To my knowledge, the number of super affiliates who can deliver 1,000 new customers in a pinch can probably be counted on one hand. Yet my protests fell on deaf ears.

Now, the client naively asking for guarantees of this magnitude was bad enough. But that wasn’t the worst of it.

The worst part was the affiliates who promised they could actually deliver 1,000 customers!

The client and the affiliates were now accomplices. And they were fooling themselves.

Because in spite of the “guarantees,” not a single affiliate came close to delivering even 100 customers.

Keep in mind, this is just one example of many I could share. I’ve seen guys downright convinced they’ll create $50,000 a month in a few months’ time — only to find themselves broke and facing foreclosure.

More recently, a guy offered to promote one of my client’s products, promised to do all the work, and claimed he could sell 100 units, easy. He was wrong on both counts. Total units sold: Six.

On and on it goes.

There’s nothing wrong with being an optimist. But I prefer to be a realistic optimist — somebody who bases his optimism in reality and not on fairy tale dreams that don’t have a prayer of coming true.

So here’s how to protect yourself from big numbers and oversized promises: Discount them. And don’t be shy about discounting.

Never forget that you’re a direct response marketer. You have the unique advantage of being able to “predict” the outcome of just about any promotion.

If somebody tells you you’ll make $20,000 in back-end profits, automatically discount that number. Then, if you can get access to some real figures, run the numbers yourself, based on what you know, and see if the big promise holds up to scrutiny.

If it doesn’t, you just saved yourself a lot of wasted time, effort, and financial resources you’ll never be able to recoup. And if the numbers actually do hold up, congratulations. You just found yourself a rare opportunity, indeed.

-Ryan M. Healy

Quick post today.

If you’re a writer, direct response or otherwise, and you’d like more copywriting clients, then pay attention.

You can advertise your writing services for free on the Magnetic Web Content forum.

Sounds like a lot of the current members are hard up for good writers. So if you’re any good, you’ve probably got a good shot at picking up a client or two.

Here’s the link to sign up (not an affiliate link):

Advertise Your Writing Services Here

Now go get some clients!

-Ryan M. Healy

P.S. Hat tip to Lyndoman for putting this out on Twitter.

So I’ve been car shopping lately.

And let me tell you, it’s been really disappointing to see how careless car salesmen are.

Here’s why:

• Went to Subaru dealer #1. Test-drove a 2009 Impreza WRX. After I left the dealership, I received no follow-up whatsoever.

• Went to Subaru dealer #2. Test-drove a 2010 Outback. After I left the dealership, I received no follow-up whatsoever, even though we discussed price and spent time looking at inventory.

• Went to Subaru dealer #3. Test-drove a 2009 Impreza WRX again, this time with my wife. After I left the dealership, I received no follow-up whatsoever, even though I said I planned to buy within the week.

You would never guess car dealers were hurting if you went by their shocking lack of follow-up.

I was reminded again that I could probably become a car salesman and quickly — even easily — become the #1 salesman in the region just by doing the simple little things that count.

Contrast this with Lance Wischkowski at the Ralph Schomp Mini dealership. After we test-drove a Mini Cooper S, he followed up by calling us, emailing us, and sending a snail-mail letter.

I was totally impressed.

And I would have bought from Lance, no question, had we been seriously considering a Mini.

If you run a business, how tight are your follow-up procedures? Are you letting hot leads slip through the cracks?

Take some time to review how you do follow-up. You can’t afford to be throwing business away, especially in an economic environment such as this.

And if for some reason you can’t follow-up with all the leads you’re getting, then at least refer those leads out to somebody who’s willing to pay you for them.

There’s no easier way to create a bad first impression — and lose a sale — than by failing to follow-up.

-Ryan M. Healy

There are essentially four over-arching strategies for growing a business. No more, no less.

1. Get more customers and clients.
2. Get your customers/clients to buy more frequently.
3. Get your customers/clients to spend more money per transaction.
4. Keep your customers longer.

While there are only four primary strategies for growing a business, there are literally dozens of different techniques you can use to implement these four strategies.

Strategies are important because they give us something concrete. They endure while techniques may come and go.

But the techniques are equally important. Strategies tell us WHAT to do; techniques tell us HOW to do it.

With that in mind, I’ve provided a list of 31 techniques for growing a business, all categorized by one of the four strategies.

This way, you can skip to the strategy you want to implement in your business, and focus only on those techniques.

Strategy #1: Get more customers and clients.

When we talk about growing a business, this is by far the most common approach: get more customers and clients.

And while this is certainly an important step (you MUST start here if you have no customers or clients yet), it is also the most expensive way to grow a business. And it takes the most effort, too.

Here are 9 ways to get more customers and clients:

• Drive more traffic to your web site.

• Improve the effectiveness of your ads and sales letters.

• Find new/better places to advertise (newspaper, TV, Adwords, ezine ads, social media, etc).

• Create stronger offers that appeal to more people in your target market.

• Enlist the help of affiliates to reach more people.

• Ask for referrals.

• Down-sell prospects who reject your initial offer.

• Craft irresistible guarantees so your customers have little or no risk when they buy.

• Host a free teleseminar where you can demonstrate your expertise and ask for the sale.

Strategy #2: Get your customers/clients to buy more frequently.

Most entrepreneurs and business owners focus on getting the first sale, and then neglect to ever get a second.

This is unfortunate because you make much more profit on sales two, three, four, and so forth.

Here are 6 ways to get your customers and clients to buy from you more frequently:

• Create a customer mailing list; send them customers-only offers on a weekly or monthly basis.

• Send out promotional emails to your house list on a more frequent basis.

• Run time-limited or quantity-limited promotions and use scarcity to get customers to act now instead of later.

• Design a product funnel that automatically moves your clients from one purchase to the next.

• Start a monthly continuity program that automatically bills customers every month. (Print newsletter, membership site, etc.)

• Use autoresponder email sequences to automatically introduce your prospects to all of your products.

Strategy #3: Get your customers/clients to spend more money per transaction.

This is probably the simplest and easiest way to grow a business. But for some reason, many entrepreneurs avoid this strategy because they fear how their customers will react. They fear their customers don’t have more money to spend.

Here’s a suggestion: Get over your fear.

By implementing these techniques, you can easily grow your business 5% or more within the next few months.

A word of caution though… raising prices is not something you do willy-nilly. It helps to have a good reason for raising prices; it also helps to add more value to a product/service.

Here are 7 ways to get your customers and clients to spend more money per transaction:

• Increase your fees and prices.

• Add more value to your products and services.

• After a person buys one product, up-sell or cross-sell them another related product.

• Offer payment plans on your expensive products and services.

• Charge for shipping separately.

• Use phone sales to help close large ticket purchases.

• Do a product launch.

Strategy #4: Keep your customers longer.

This fourth strategy is often overlooked, but is highly effective.

If you can keep a customer or client for an extra month or two, or even an extra year, that could bring thousands of extra dollars to you — especially if you have a continuity program or a well-designed promotional calendar.

Here are 9 ways to encourage loyalty and keep your customers and clients for a longer period of time:

• Send out surprise bonus gifts with new purchases. (You may even consider giving away business promotional items that are branded with your business name so you stay in the top of your customers’ minds.)

• Create a follow-up sequence of communication designed to get customers and clients to actually use the product or service they’ve purchased.

• Call your best customers and clients and thank them for their business.

• Send out birthday cards and Christmas cards/gifts.

• Deliver more value than you’ve promised to deliver. Go above and beyond.

• Ask your customers and clients for testimonials. (After a customer has publicly declared their support of you, they will automatically be more loyal to you and your business.)

• Create incentives to encourage customer longevity.

• Publish the date when a person subscribes and/or becomes a customer. (Ex: Customer since 4/99.)

• Give your customers and clients public recognition in your newsletter, blog, or ezine.

So there you have it: 31 ways to grow business.

Now the only thing left for you to do is pick one or two of them and actually implement them. Learning is good; doing is better.

-Ryan M. Healy

P.S. Have any additional techniques you’d like to share? Leave a comment and show off your expertise.

If you are a copywriter or marketing consultant, and you’d like to add another profit-stream to your business, then coaching is something for you to seriously consider.

Here are 4 compelling reasons why you might want to add coaching to your “basket” of services:

Reason #1

Fact: Brian McElroy recommends a paid coaching session BEFORE you take on a new copywriting project!

In other words, your paid consults should feed into bigger back-end projects.

How would you like to get paid to find new high-paying projects? Paid coaching lets you do this.

Reason #2

Internet marketing guru Terry Dean recently dedicated an entire 12-page issue of his Monthly Mentor newsletter (of which I’ve been a subscriber for more than a year) to the “ins and outs” of coaching.

Coaching is one of the pillars of Terry’s business.

He says there are three reasons to consider coaching:

1. It’s a high income-per-hour activity.
2. It creates real, measurable results for your clients.
3. It provides you with feedback and insight into your market. (For the creation of new info products, etc.)

Reason #3

Coaching is a growing industry. And in the current economy, coaching is going to be in even MORE demand.

According to one source, coaching is a $1 Billion a year industry, with annual growth of 20%!

Reason #4

Coaching is not only a perfect “stand-alone” business — it’s also an excellent “add-on” business, too.

While I personally haven’t made coaching my core business, it added quite a bit to my bottom line in 2008.

Meet the Coach’s Coach

Please allow me to introduce you to Terri Levine. She is the “Guru of Coaching,” and is quite literally the coach’s coach.

If you want to learn how to build a six-figure coaching business from the ground up, then there is no better person to learn from than Terri.

When she first got started, she made a mid-six-figure income her very first year.

Since then, she’s surpassed the 7-figure mark.

Does that mean you’ll earn this much? No. But imagine if you made an extra $20K from coaching this year.

Or even $10K.

These numbers are very realistic.

Top Secret Intensive in Philly

There’s never been a better time to start or grow your coaching business.

But to succeed, you’ve got to do it right.

On March 20-22, 2009, Terri Levine is hosting a Top Secret Intensive in Philadelphia, PA.

She will be revealing her entire coaching system that generates 7 figures a year.

Only 34 people can attend. Six 18 ALL the seats have already sold, 0 are left. (SOLD OUT!)

Furthermore, the Special Early Bird pricing ends this Friday, Feb 27 March 6. (You’ll be pleasantly surprised when you see how affordable this is.)

So if you have any interest in how to become a highly paid coach, I strongly recommend Terri’s event.

You can get all the details here:

==> http://www.terrilevine.com/topsecret/ (SOLD OUT!)

My Best,

-Ryan M. Healy

P.S. The link above is NOT an affiliate link. Although I did write the copy. ;-)

Last night I received a piece of official looking mail. At first, I suspected it might be a solicitation disguised as government mail.

Turns out I was wrong.

It was a bankruptcy notice.

After carefully scrutinizing three pages of paperwork, I finally located the name of the business in question: it is (was) one of my clients.

I received the bankruptcy notice because I still have two invoices outstanding with this client and can file a claim if I choose.

Obviously, the news came as a shock since I finished my last project for them about 5 or 6 weeks ago.

And they had already paid me for four previous projects I had done for them this year. So I had no reason to worry about getting paid — or so I thought.

In this economy, anything is possible… including your client going bankrupt.

Now, more than ever before, it is important to get paid up front. Even with clients who have been reliable in the past, it may still be a good rule to follow.

-Ryan M. Healy

P.S. Want to protect yourself from getting ripped off? Then please take a moment to learn How to Spot a Con Man.