Mya Kay's Blog: Self-Pub Swag , page 3
October 23, 2013
Why Won't People Pay You?
It's said that certain animals can smell their prey from miles away, making it easier to attack as it draws near. The scent the prey gives off is one that attracts only that particular animal. A mouse for a snake, a cat for a dog, etc. Now, we all know the most ferocious animals will eat almost anything (tigers, lions and bears). But for the most part, every animal has their eyes set on a certain "kind" of prey.
You my friend, should not seek to be that prey or even the ferocious animal that's looking to attack their next prospect.
What I've found since doing freelance writing work a few years ago is that certain clients can smell how desperate you are for any kind of project, payment or barter agreement. They sniff you out by using Google as the perfect guide for launching their next attack.
Freelance writing bid sites don't make that easier either (but if you're smart, you'll stray from these), allowing people with NO writing skills at all to bid on jobs that they have no skill for.
Don't be the prey or the animal. Be the zookeeper. Take care of all of your animals (your clients). But be smart enough to not end up in the lion's den like Daniel (and he actually ended up being exalted for standing his ground on what he believed in, as should you).
Be smart enough to understand that the guidelines and principles that you set out for your business aren't just for your website. You need to repeat them to yourself daily. Remind yourself why you set them in the first place.
People won't pay the scared person afraid to ask for the rate they know their work is worth. Trust me. I know. And if you are doing barter work or work in exchange for something of equal value (not cash), then you need to make sure it advances your career objectives in some way.
I'd be remiss not to write a free speech for Barack Obama if I was ever asked, knowing that this would lead to swarms of work from every person who thought they had a chance at the next election and I'd be well on my way to retirement.
But even Barack Obama would be coming to me because he knows that what I bring to the table with speech writing skills are exactly what he needs. And guess what? He wouldn't dare ask me to do it for free. Value begets value.
You my friend, should not seek to be that prey or even the ferocious animal that's looking to attack their next prospect.
What I've found since doing freelance writing work a few years ago is that certain clients can smell how desperate you are for any kind of project, payment or barter agreement. They sniff you out by using Google as the perfect guide for launching their next attack.
Freelance writing bid sites don't make that easier either (but if you're smart, you'll stray from these), allowing people with NO writing skills at all to bid on jobs that they have no skill for.
Don't be the prey or the animal. Be the zookeeper. Take care of all of your animals (your clients). But be smart enough to not end up in the lion's den like Daniel (and he actually ended up being exalted for standing his ground on what he believed in, as should you).
Be smart enough to understand that the guidelines and principles that you set out for your business aren't just for your website. You need to repeat them to yourself daily. Remind yourself why you set them in the first place.
People won't pay the scared person afraid to ask for the rate they know their work is worth. Trust me. I know. And if you are doing barter work or work in exchange for something of equal value (not cash), then you need to make sure it advances your career objectives in some way.
I'd be remiss not to write a free speech for Barack Obama if I was ever asked, knowing that this would lead to swarms of work from every person who thought they had a chance at the next election and I'd be well on my way to retirement.
But even Barack Obama would be coming to me because he knows that what I bring to the table with speech writing skills are exactly what he needs. And guess what? He wouldn't dare ask me to do it for free. Value begets value.
October 18, 2013
Perception of The Arts
The Arts. It’s those unconventional fields that us somewhat lazy individuals decided we’d pursue instead of the lovely medical, law, science or engineer fields. And you better believe we pay for it every day. Of course we do.
I’m not referring to paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for our education or spending another four years after college in a specialty school to verify our skill. In fact many of us didn’t even go past the wonderful era of high school – those teachers bossed us around enough. We just knew we had a gift – a gift to share with the world, in some way, shape or form.
We were pretty much told by plenty of family members that we needed a “real” job, something more secure, something with benefits, something that makes us QUALIFIED to be a part of this thing called life.
But we pay for it when we launch our successful businesses. Those writing, graphic design, interior design, makeup artistry, music label businesses and watch individual after individual curl their lips up at our prices. Turn their noses up at how easy it must be and ask why it costs so much.
We pay for it when we are told by people how “anybody can do that”, yet they found their way to our websites, Google plus accounts and our twitter pages, frequently letting us know how much they’d love to work with us.
And even after sending an email inquiry with all the details of the project, they somehow skipped over the “prices” or “request a quote” page that conveniently lies in between our “services” page and our “contact me” pages. We were upfront. They tried to enter through a back door.
But we stand up for ourselves every day when we don’t budge. You see, we love our art, our “unconventional” jobs and we explore new ways to reinvent ourselves every minute we’re breathing. As a writer, it’s US who can get inspired by just walking into a subway station or a supermarket and write something so profound that even Shakespeare would ping us if he were living in this digital age.
Writers, stand your ground. Build your portfolio the best way you can, but remember, regardless of what they think of you – you hold the key to how much you will walk away with – because you know just what you are bringing to the project. You know that you are going to dig deep into some well inside your soul and give your client the best grit you have.
You’re going to research the mess out of every search engine, make calls and ask your client a million questions until you know you have exactly what’s needed to give them a final project that will make them refer you to all of their friends, including those that aren’t in your niche, because you’re good.
And you are continuously reading, writing and studying what’s out there in your niche, writing special reports and keeping up with the changes that happen every two minutes in this industry called copywriting. At the end of the day, writing is an art. It’s one of the greatest. Own it. Hone it. And win. But win big.
I’m not referring to paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for our education or spending another four years after college in a specialty school to verify our skill. In fact many of us didn’t even go past the wonderful era of high school – those teachers bossed us around enough. We just knew we had a gift – a gift to share with the world, in some way, shape or form.
We were pretty much told by plenty of family members that we needed a “real” job, something more secure, something with benefits, something that makes us QUALIFIED to be a part of this thing called life.
But we pay for it when we launch our successful businesses. Those writing, graphic design, interior design, makeup artistry, music label businesses and watch individual after individual curl their lips up at our prices. Turn their noses up at how easy it must be and ask why it costs so much.
We pay for it when we are told by people how “anybody can do that”, yet they found their way to our websites, Google plus accounts and our twitter pages, frequently letting us know how much they’d love to work with us.
And even after sending an email inquiry with all the details of the project, they somehow skipped over the “prices” or “request a quote” page that conveniently lies in between our “services” page and our “contact me” pages. We were upfront. They tried to enter through a back door.
But we stand up for ourselves every day when we don’t budge. You see, we love our art, our “unconventional” jobs and we explore new ways to reinvent ourselves every minute we’re breathing. As a writer, it’s US who can get inspired by just walking into a subway station or a supermarket and write something so profound that even Shakespeare would ping us if he were living in this digital age.
Writers, stand your ground. Build your portfolio the best way you can, but remember, regardless of what they think of you – you hold the key to how much you will walk away with – because you know just what you are bringing to the project. You know that you are going to dig deep into some well inside your soul and give your client the best grit you have.
You’re going to research the mess out of every search engine, make calls and ask your client a million questions until you know you have exactly what’s needed to give them a final project that will make them refer you to all of their friends, including those that aren’t in your niche, because you’re good.
And you are continuously reading, writing and studying what’s out there in your niche, writing special reports and keeping up with the changes that happen every two minutes in this industry called copywriting. At the end of the day, writing is an art. It’s one of the greatest. Own it. Hone it. And win. But win big.
October 16, 2013
Being Business Minded Is Key, But Being Money Minded is Essential
You run a business. It’s simple. Or not. Most of the time, we make running our businesses hard because we don’t keep the promises we make to ourselves.
If we say we’re going to find two new prospects to work with by the end of the week, we settle for the one we went after relentlessly and landed, convincing ourselves that we did our best. Don’t get me wrong. Having a new client is a great thing and not getting two doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t put in the work to get two. Here’s my point:
When I first came back to the states, I made a promise to myself to take my business seriously – from the marketing aspect to the financial aspect.
I think keeping in mind that your new business has never been heard of is important, as this will help you to find interesting ways to market yourself and figure out what sets you apart from your competitors. But you don’t have to treat it so new that you associate that with your worth and the value you bring.
I’ve learned that being money minded is just as important as being business minded. Remember there are costs associated with your new business will help you to make sure you’re bringing in just as much as you may put out.
Let’s face it. As a copywriter, you’re already ahead of many brick and mortar based businesses who won’t see most of their income their first two years. But you can still find yourself swimming in cost if you don’t learn to evaluate your projects right or if you feel you have to do free work all the time just to get your name out there.
Friday, in the last blog post for this series, I'll discuss the perception of the arts that I believe people have when seeking out writers to do business with. See you then!
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If we say we’re going to find two new prospects to work with by the end of the week, we settle for the one we went after relentlessly and landed, convincing ourselves that we did our best. Don’t get me wrong. Having a new client is a great thing and not getting two doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t put in the work to get two. Here’s my point:
When I first came back to the states, I made a promise to myself to take my business seriously – from the marketing aspect to the financial aspect.
I think keeping in mind that your new business has never been heard of is important, as this will help you to find interesting ways to market yourself and figure out what sets you apart from your competitors. But you don’t have to treat it so new that you associate that with your worth and the value you bring.
I’ve learned that being money minded is just as important as being business minded. Remember there are costs associated with your new business will help you to make sure you’re bringing in just as much as you may put out.
Let’s face it. As a copywriter, you’re already ahead of many brick and mortar based businesses who won’t see most of their income their first two years. But you can still find yourself swimming in cost if you don’t learn to evaluate your projects right or if you feel you have to do free work all the time just to get your name out there.
Friday, in the last blog post for this series, I'll discuss the perception of the arts that I believe people have when seeking out writers to do business with. See you then!
[image error]
Being Business Minded Is Key, But Being Money Minded is Essential
You run a business. It’s simple. Or not. Most of the time, we make running our businesses hard because we don’t keep the promises we make to ourselves.
If we say we’re going to find two new prospects to work with by the end of the week, we settle for the one we went after relentlessly and landed, convincing ourselves that we did our best. Don’t get me wrong. Having a new client is a great thing and not getting two doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t put in the work to get two. Here’s my point:
When I first came back to the states, I made a promise to myself to take my business seriously – from the marketing aspect to the financial aspect.
I think keeping in mind that your new business has never been heard of is important, as this will help you to find interesting ways to market yourself and figure out what sets you apart from your competitors. But you don’t have to treat it so new that you associate that with your worth and the value you bring.
I’ve learned that being money minded is just as important as being business minded. Remember there are costs associated with your new business will help you to make sure you’re bringing in just as much as you may put out.
Let’s face it. As a copywriter, you’re already ahead of many brick and mortar based businesses who won’t see most of their income their first two years. But you can still find yourself swimming in cost if you don’t learn to evaluate your projects right or if you feel you have to do free work all the time just to get your name out there.
Friday, in the last blog post for this series, I'll discuss the perception of the arts that I believe people have when seeking out writers to do business with. See you then!
If we say we’re going to find two new prospects to work with by the end of the week, we settle for the one we went after relentlessly and landed, convincing ourselves that we did our best. Don’t get me wrong. Having a new client is a great thing and not getting two doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t put in the work to get two. Here’s my point:
When I first came back to the states, I made a promise to myself to take my business seriously – from the marketing aspect to the financial aspect.
I think keeping in mind that your new business has never been heard of is important, as this will help you to find interesting ways to market yourself and figure out what sets you apart from your competitors. But you don’t have to treat it so new that you associate that with your worth and the value you bring.
I’ve learned that being money minded is just as important as being business minded. Remember there are costs associated with your new business will help you to make sure you’re bringing in just as much as you may put out.
Let’s face it. As a copywriter, you’re already ahead of many brick and mortar based businesses who won’t see most of their income their first two years. But you can still find yourself swimming in cost if you don’t learn to evaluate your projects right or if you feel you have to do free work all the time just to get your name out there.
Friday, in the last blog post for this series, I'll discuss the perception of the arts that I believe people have when seeking out writers to do business with. See you then!
October 10, 2013
Do You Value Your Business?
When I think of a business, my mind doesn't go to a brick and mortar.
One, you don't need a brick and mortar to own a business.
Two, when I think of a business, I think of a person. A person who has the vision and skill to bring value to whatever their area of expertise is.
YOU are your business. Valuing your business is all about how much you value YOU.
People who say "brand yourself" are referring to you, because YOU are your brand. I think people often separate the person from the business because the old adage "its business, not personal" makes people assume that they can't take anything regarding their business to heart.
But I beg to differ. My business is my heart. I wrote the vision, created it, birthed it and I do whatever it takes to make sure it is alive so the world can see what I have to offer. When you learn to value yourself, your business value automatically changes.
Never allow a client or even yourself to question what you bring to the table by altering your prices. Because the value of your business doesn't just drop. The value you've placed on how much you have to offer does as well.
A few years ago, when I wore the freelance publicist hat, I had a client. I agreed to do work for three months for free so he could see what I could do (and yes, there was a contract in place). When the fourth month came up and I mentioned payment, he started talking about how he would need to see results first.
For my PR pros out there, we know how much we HATE to hear that word. Working in public relations is hard enough without having a client feel like they shouldn't pay you just because they don't get any placement (I learned then and there why people have retainers paid up front).
You bring the value and set the bar for how people will treat you by starting off on the right foot with your business. Know your industry, know your consumer and know who YOU are. Simple as that. In a nut shell, know your worth. That's not just a saying for ladies trying to figure out which guys they shouldn't date.
Have you learned to value your business? As a business owner, has there ever been a time where you questioned your worth?
Comment below or shoot me an email (myad@writetouchconsulting.com) with your thoughts. I'd love to hear from you.
One, you don't need a brick and mortar to own a business.
Two, when I think of a business, I think of a person. A person who has the vision and skill to bring value to whatever their area of expertise is.
YOU are your business. Valuing your business is all about how much you value YOU.
People who say "brand yourself" are referring to you, because YOU are your brand. I think people often separate the person from the business because the old adage "its business, not personal" makes people assume that they can't take anything regarding their business to heart.
But I beg to differ. My business is my heart. I wrote the vision, created it, birthed it and I do whatever it takes to make sure it is alive so the world can see what I have to offer. When you learn to value yourself, your business value automatically changes.
Never allow a client or even yourself to question what you bring to the table by altering your prices. Because the value of your business doesn't just drop. The value you've placed on how much you have to offer does as well.
A few years ago, when I wore the freelance publicist hat, I had a client. I agreed to do work for three months for free so he could see what I could do (and yes, there was a contract in place). When the fourth month came up and I mentioned payment, he started talking about how he would need to see results first.
For my PR pros out there, we know how much we HATE to hear that word. Working in public relations is hard enough without having a client feel like they shouldn't pay you just because they don't get any placement (I learned then and there why people have retainers paid up front).
You bring the value and set the bar for how people will treat you by starting off on the right foot with your business. Know your industry, know your consumer and know who YOU are. Simple as that. In a nut shell, know your worth. That's not just a saying for ladies trying to figure out which guys they shouldn't date.
Have you learned to value your business? As a business owner, has there ever been a time where you questioned your worth?
Comment below or shoot me an email (myad@writetouchconsulting.com) with your thoughts. I'd love to hear from you.
October 9, 2013
Customers Vs. Clients
I'd like to ask business owners out there a question. Do you have customers or clients?
You may wonder what's the difference. And if you are wondering what the difference is, I think you should continue to read.
A customer is usually someone who buys goods or services from a company or a store. A client is someone who uses the services of a professional company or organization.
Why does it matter? Well, I remember working at Olive Garden a few years ago and my manager correcting us whenever we called a patron a customer. He said "They are guests, not customers."
Now, while making $2.36/hour for an industry where people think leaving $3 is a good tip, I wasn't particularly happy to hear him make this correction. But once I started to use it, I realized how much better it sounded and took notice of the pleased expression on people's faces when I used it when engaging in conversation with them.
As a business owner, you may slip and say customer every now and then, but this post isn't about what you call them when talking to friends during happy hour. It's how you "view" them, which ultimately determines how you will handle business with them.
There are several ways to differentiate whether you have a customer or a client. Want to discover what they are and how to turn a customer into a client?
Sign up for my newsletter here, www.writetouchconsulting.com and get the details in November's issue.
Happy Building,
Mya
P.S. Sign up for my newsletter today and receive a free digital copy of my first book, Speechless: Short Stories.
You may wonder what's the difference. And if you are wondering what the difference is, I think you should continue to read.
A customer is usually someone who buys goods or services from a company or a store. A client is someone who uses the services of a professional company or organization.
Why does it matter? Well, I remember working at Olive Garden a few years ago and my manager correcting us whenever we called a patron a customer. He said "They are guests, not customers."
Now, while making $2.36/hour for an industry where people think leaving $3 is a good tip, I wasn't particularly happy to hear him make this correction. But once I started to use it, I realized how much better it sounded and took notice of the pleased expression on people's faces when I used it when engaging in conversation with them.
As a business owner, you may slip and say customer every now and then, but this post isn't about what you call them when talking to friends during happy hour. It's how you "view" them, which ultimately determines how you will handle business with them.
There are several ways to differentiate whether you have a customer or a client. Want to discover what they are and how to turn a customer into a client?
Sign up for my newsletter here, www.writetouchconsulting.com and get the details in November's issue.
Happy Building,
Mya
P.S. Sign up for my newsletter today and receive a free digital copy of my first book, Speechless: Short Stories.
Self-Pub Swag
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