HOW TO MAKE 6-FIGURES IN YOUR FIRST YEAR FREELANCING (WHAT I’D DO IF I HAD TO START OVER FROM SCRATCH)

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If I had to start my freelance business from scratch – with no skills, no connections, no clients, and no clue what to do…?Here’s what I’d do to hit 6-figures in my first year.

Coming at ya this week is a highly requested tutorial for all my brand new and aspiring freelancers out there…

Before we get into today’s topic – if you’re new to the crew – welcome.?Each week, I put out a new article with tips to help you excel in your?freelancing, copywriting, and marketing businesses.?

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Now – what you may not know is that I was a freelancer LONG before I ever started the?Copy Posse.

I was a freelancer for 8 years,?earning multiple 6-figures?for many of those years.

But, it didn’t always look like that. When I first started, I was?barely scraping by…

I was sleeping on an air mattress in my friend’s apartment, stressed to the max and wondering how I would pay my bills that month…?But then I started to?find my groove.?

I found more reliable clients and began bringing in more consistent income. My stress levels were beginning to diminish and my confidence was going up…

In 2012 (my first year freelancing) my income was $43,288 (seriously I looked at my tax return)…

In 2013, I made $168,978…

So for me (in full transparency), it took 2 years to reach 6 figures.

Some of my students have done it in?as little as 6 months.

I know others who took?5 years to get there…

And I know even more freelancers who?couldn’t care?less?if they EVER hit 6-figures…

Because they aren’t in it for the money. They’re in it for:

?A sense of?fulfillment?&?purpose.

?The ability to quit their jobs,?travel?& see the world?(while still making money) —?no vacation request needed.

?A better?work/life balance?— spending more time with the people you love? It doesn’t get better than that.

And of course,?Freedom?— with your schedule, your time, and your energy.

So if you’re thinking…

Wait, Alex…

Are you saying freelancing can help me quit my 9-5, make 6-figures, travel the world, and create a life of freedom from freelancing… alone?!

Yep.

That’s exactly what I’m saying.

And look I was skeptical at first too…

But I did it. There are some things I’d do the same, and there are some things I’d do differently…

So if I had to start my freelance business from scratch – with?no?skills,?no?connections,?no?clients, and?no clue what to do…

Where would I start?

Well, let me tell ya…

Step 1: Choose Your Adventure (Week 1)

Freelancing is fun and there are plenty of paths to success with freelancing!

So to start, I would choose?ONE high-income freelancing skill?to offer my clients?– I would focus on that and ONLY on that.?

I wouldn’t try to learn all the things at once…?

I wouldn’t try to pitch myself as a generalist freelancer “who does it all”…

I wouldn’t pretend I can help with “all your marketing needs”…

I wouldn’t try to be a project manager, VA, social media manager, and writer all rolled into one…

But?a big mistake?that I see a lot of newbies making is trying to do it all, all at once. And consuming all the content they can get their hands on.?They find some list of skills on the internet that says what skills a freelancer “should have”…

Then they go out and buy a dozen marketing books, attend 18 masterclasses (all by different “experts”), watch random YouTube videos from people they’ve never heard of – and then they wonder why the hell they feel?so confused and overwhelmed…

Newsflash: It’s because you’re doing too much!?

So choose ONE SKILL that you think you’d really love…

Take some time to do some research to?really dig?into what path you may want to take.?

Curious to know what 5 of the?most in-demand skills are in freelancing today ? ?Check out my other article on the topic!

So, the next step once you’ve chosen your skill is to…

Step #2: Find Your Mentor (Week 2)

So once I found the one skill I’d want to master (copywriting in my case), I’d then find ONE PERSON who is doing what I want to do, and I would learn everything I could about that skill from them.?

The bottom line is this – if you’re trying to learn from too many “experts” – it’ll just add to the confusion.?

Now I’m not saying that you can’t?eventually?expand your horizons and start learning from other people.

You absolutely CAN and SHOULD do that!?Just not in the beginning.?Not when you’re just getting started. And not if you want to scale to 6-figures fast.

There are many different paths to success!?Every teacher, mentor, or expert out there has a slightly different teaching style, a slightly different approach, and slightly different opinions on optimizing your skills.?

They likely all work… when done RIGHT.

You want to go?deep?before you go?broad.

After you’ve had some time to practice your skills and gain your OWN experience of what works (and doesn’t work) for you, then you’ll be able to look at all these differing opinions objectively.?

You’ll be able to take what resonates with you, and?leave what doesn’t.?

However… when you’re brand new, and just getting started, all these mixed messages just leave you more confused than ever and WITHOUT a clear understanding of?how to do the thing you want to do.?

But when you focus on ONE SKILL and learn that one skill from ONE PERSON, then you’re getting super clear information and direction on how to do what you’ve chosen to do.?

And that’s the secret to accelerating your progress, skill, and income – FAST.?

So you choose your?one?skill, and you choose?one?person?to teach you that skill.

Give yourself a few months to really?dive deep?into learning the skills. Watch all their content, join their paid programs and courses…?learn, learn, learn.

Then after you’ve learned enough and are ready to start looking for clients, you need to make sure you have an offer enticing enough to get their attention.

Step #3: Craft Your Freelancer USP (Week 14)

Now if you’re wondering, “What the hell is a USP statement?” – USP stands for Unique Selling Proposition.?And it’s basically the equivalent of?your personal sales pitch?– or how you’ll communicate your service to potential clients.?

The point is to position yourself as?the person?who can help your clients?achieve their goals…

And to do that, your USP needs to communicate?WHAT?you offer,?WHO?you serve, and?HOW?you do it…?

AND no novels here – you should be able to communicate your USP in prospects in 10 seconds or less.?

WHAT do you offer??

This is the number ONE thing you do as a freelancer.

Hint:?This is the skill you chose from step 1!

If you wanted,?you can even go a step further?to nail down?exactly?what your?ideal niche ?is. It could be personal development, online education, beauty, health and fitness, and the list goes on. But if you’re not sure yet, that’s ok too.?Just start somewhere.

WHO do you serve?

Do you want to help coaches, entrepreneurs or authors? Female-led brands? Local businesses? Natural and sustainable products? SaaS sites? E-commerce companies? You should?narrow down?and?get specific?on who your ideal client would be.

And finally…

HOW do you do it?

What services and/or deliverables can you offer? Do you want to do blog posts, sales copy, video scripts, emails, social media, website homepages, or ads? Now, this should be an easy one because *hopefully* you just spent the last several weeks or months LEARNING this skill from your ONE trusted person.?

So here’s an example of a super clear USP statement that incorporates all of this…?

“I help?coaches?craft?website?copy?that is clear, effective, and personal to help them attract?more leads and sales...”

• WHAT?I offer is?copywriting?
• WHO?I serve is?coaches?that want?more leads & sales?
• And?HOW?I do it is through their?website copy?

Alright, so you picked your one skill, found one person doing that skill that you’ll learn from, and crafted your USP…?

What’s next?

Step #4: Find Clients (Week 15-30)

Once you know what you offer to whom and how you do it, it’s time to start finding clients. This may take one week, it may take months.?There is no one-size-fits-all approach, journey, or timeline for finding your first client.

But the good news is, all you need is one to officially?call yourself a freelancer!

There are many different ways of finding clients and I have an?entire playlist over on YouTube ?on the different strategies you can use. So be sure to check that out.

Now, the important thing to remember is this:?you don’t land a 6-figure client on day one.

You just need one client to say yes to one project (whether it’s free or paid) and voila, you are writing copy for a real business and can add that to your portfolio.

Work on building your roster of clients and taking on all the projects you can find. Yes, even the ones that don’t sound all that sexy or fun to start. Ya gotta get your feet wet before you can swim.

Only once you start building your?experience,?portfolio,?and?skills, it’s time to move onto…

Step #5: Level Up, Charge More Money & Attract Bigger Clients (Week 30-52)

This doesn’t happen OVERNIGHT, but as long as you stick to your one skill, and you’re?100% committed?to serving your clients with this skill, learning from your mistakes, and constantly improving…?

You should be able to improve fast!?

And as your skills improve, you’ll be bringing in better results for your clients, which means you can?raise your prices, be more selective?with who you work with and attract?higher-paying clients.

And poof – before you know it, you’ll be at the end of year 1 with a skill you’ve perfected and you’ll be charging premium rates to reflect it.?

Now, I realize all of that is easier said than done,?but rest assured there IS a step-by-step proven process you can follow to make this all happen.?

But that’s all WAY TOO MUCH information for a blog post…

Which is why I recorded a?FREE 2-hour masterclass ? where I tell you everything you need to know?to start & scale a freelance business?from scratch.

Even if you have zero experience and zero skills (yet)…

So if you’re?brand new to the freelancing and copywriting world… (or maybe you’re newer than new and haven’t even started yet) and you’re feeling a bit discouraged or overwhelmed… wondering?how the hell?you’re supposed to get started, find clients, and actually make money…?

Then make sure you?check out this free training . It is JAM PACKED with more information and detailed step-by-step instructions for you to follow.??

Thanks for reading and subscribing.

Alex

Alex Cattoni is the Founder of the Copy Posse Agency and Academy. Since 2011, she has launched several successful brands and has proudly partnered with many of the hottest transformational brands and businesses on the planet, writing high-converting sales copy, scaling multi-million dollar brands, and crafting iconic promotional campaigns.

Today, she’s on a mission to mobilize the raddest, baddest crew of authentic copywriters with a passion for creating community, credibility and conversions with nothing but powerful and precise wording.

Through her weekly?YouTube ?videos, Alex helps copywriters, aspiring copywriters and entrepreneurs learn, write and ignite their businesses with words that work.