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15 Ways to Make Money as a Writer · The Daily Writer

0:07
SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the weekend edition of the Daily Writer.
0:10
SPEAKER_00: Each weekday, we bring you a short lesson that helps you live out the four practices of a great writer: creativity, consistency, courage, and connection.
0:20
SPEAKER_00: Here on the weekend edition, we take a deeper dive into those topics through conversations with notable writers, as well as teaching that helps us apply what we're learning and also prepare for the week ahead.
0:31
SPEAKER_00: For more, you can visit us at dailywriterlife.com.
0:39
SPEAKER_00: If you've been listening to this podcast for any length of time, you know that I place a big emphasis on habits, mindset, creativity, and related topics.
0:49
SPEAKER_00: Those are all inputs into our writing, and I emphasize those things because they're essential for any type of writing success.
0:56
SPEAKER_00: Now, today I want to shift gears a little bit and talk about a very practical topic related to writing, and that topic is making money.
1:04
SPEAKER_00: Now, there's a couple of reasons why I'm diving into this topic of making money.
1:07
SPEAKER_00: First of all, simply because almost everybody is interested in making money.
1:12
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you're not going to get very far in life unless you have resources, unless you have money and finances.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: So that alone makes it very much worth talking about.
1:21
SPEAKER_00: But secondly, it's because I have a fundamental belief that you should be making money from your writing in some way or another.
1:28
SPEAKER_00: If you're a writer, you have a very, very valuable skill.
1:32
SPEAKER_00: And I believe you should be compensated for your writing in some form or another.
1:36
SPEAKER_00: Now, that being said, okay, there's always a caveat with everything.
1:41
SPEAKER_00: Uh that being said, our compensation doesn't always come directly.
1:45
SPEAKER_00: It's not as if we write something, somebody gives us a check for it.
1:48
SPEAKER_00: So for example, I don't get paid for creating this podcast.
1:52
SPEAKER_00: On this particular episode, I wrote about 4,000 brand new words.
1:57
SPEAKER_00: So about a tenth of a book I wrote just for this episode.
2:01
SPEAKER_00: And this is free content I'm putting out there.
2:04
SPEAKER_00: I'm not charging anybody for it, but this is just what we call content marketing.
2:09
SPEAKER_00: So I am getting compensated for what I'm creating here on this podcast and on this episode, just not in direct ways.
2:16
SPEAKER_00: Uh, this podcast helps me build my credibility and authority.
2:19
SPEAKER_00: It gives value to people.
2:20
SPEAKER_00: It hopefully creates a trust factor with my listeners and so forth.
2:24
SPEAKER_00: So when I when I talk about making money and getting compensated, it's not always a one-to-one ratio.
2:30
SPEAKER_00: But overall, I believe you should be compensated for your work in some way, shape, or form over the long haul.
2:38
SPEAKER_00: Now, the truth is that many people listening to this are already getting compensated for their content creation skills.
2:44
SPEAKER_00: So it's not like this is a new concept at all.
2:47
SPEAKER_00: For example, if you're a pastor, creating content is part of your job.
2:52
SPEAKER_00: Part of what you get paid for as a pastor is writing sermons, lessons, content, and so forth.
2:57
SPEAKER_00: If you're a teacher or an educator, creating content is part of your job.
3:02
SPEAKER_00: If you're involved in marketing or really if you're involved in running any kind of business, content creation is probably part of your job.
3:11
SPEAKER_00: Writing is, I believe, one of the most valuable skills that you can possibly acquire.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: Why is that?
3:17
SPEAKER_00: It's because words can change the world.
3:20
SPEAKER_00: If you can learn to persuade, if you can learn to tell stories, and if you can learn to transmit ideas through the power of your words, that is a very, very powerful skill.
3:31
SPEAKER_00: So today on this episode, I'd like to share 15 ways to make money as a writer.
3:37
SPEAKER_00: Now, before I get into those 15 specific ways, let me share just a few things before we kind of dive into this list.
3:46
SPEAKER_00: First of all, these are all things that I have done myself.
3:49
SPEAKER_00: Everything that's on this list, I have either done myself and made money from it, or I'm getting ready to very, very soon.
3:55
SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of ways to make money with your writing skills and with skills that are related to writing, but I've not done all those things.
4:02
SPEAKER_00: There's probably an infinite number of ways you can make money with your writing and writing-related skills.
4:08
SPEAKER_00: But on this episode, I'm only sharing the ones that I have actually done so that I have some credibility with this and so that I'm speaking from personal experience.
4:19
SPEAKER_00: And the second thing is here's the main thing I want to emphasize, and it is that you have to stop thinking of yourself as just a writer and start thinking of yourself as an entrepreneur or a business owner.
4:32
SPEAKER_00: Writing is the hub of what you do, but it's just that.
4:35
SPEAKER_00: Writing is the hub.
4:37
SPEAKER_00: Just like you have the wheel of a bicycle, you have the hub that's the center, and the spokes go out from there and they support the whole wheel.
4:46
SPEAKER_00: So think of your writing as the center of what you do, and different spokes that are coming off of your writing are supporting your whole business or the whole wheel.
4:55
SPEAKER_00: Each spoke is a different way to make money.
4:58
SPEAKER_00: And so far, I've basically made writing-related income in about 15 different ways.
5:04
SPEAKER_00: Now, some of these have been more successful than others, some of them have not been very successful at all, but these are all things that I have personal experience in.
5:12
SPEAKER_00: And that's why I want to share these with you so that you know you have some options and that you know that there are possibilities out there.
5:19
SPEAKER_00: So the way that I have this set up is that I have three categories of ways you can make money related to writing.
5:25
SPEAKER_00: There's content creation, technical services, and a category that I'm just calling other, because the things in that category don't fit anywhere else.
5:35
SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna go through these and then when I'm done going through this list, I want to talk for a couple minutes about how to get started, because that's probably the most important info in this whole podcast episode.
5:46
SPEAKER_00: Because I can give you a list of things, but unless I tell you how to get started and give and give you some tips that are gonna help push you in the right direction, it's just gonna be information and probably if you're anything like me, you're gonna hear a bunch of information and you're gonna get paralyzed and you're gonna feel overwhelmed.
6:02
SPEAKER_00: And I do not want to do that at all.
6:05
SPEAKER_00: In fact, I want this episode to be something that helps to free you and helps to release you and gives you a nudge in the right direction.
6:12
SPEAKER_00: I do not want to paralyze you with a boatload of information.
6:15
SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna give you the information first.
6:17
SPEAKER_00: I guess I'm gonna give you a boatload of information.
6:20
SPEAKER_00: I want to give you the info first, and then I want to wrap this episode up by sharing some really practical ways to get started because I do not want you to get stuck.
6:29
SPEAKER_00: All right, let's dive in here.
6:30
SPEAKER_00: This first category of ways to make money with your writing is what I'm calling content creation.
6:38
SPEAKER_00: Number one is book sales.
6:40
SPEAKER_00: Now, this is probably the most obvious one, right?
6:43
SPEAKER_00: It's the first thing that you think of whenever you think about ways to make money as a writer.
6:48
SPEAKER_00: But let's dig into this a little bit.
6:52
SPEAKER_00: First of all, this presumes that you have some books to sell.
6:55
SPEAKER_00: So if you haven't yet written a book or you haven't even thought about writing a book, I would really recommend getting started on that.
7:02
SPEAKER_00: ASAP.
7:04
SPEAKER_00: Second, a book can lead to a lot of other things.
7:07
SPEAKER_00: A book basically proves that you can write a sustained piece and that you have the discipline and the vision to complete a big project.
7:15
SPEAKER_00: And one of the reasons why having a book is such a special thing is it's not because it proves your writing skills, even though it can.
7:23
SPEAKER_00: Really, the thing with a book is that it proves that you can tackle a big project.
7:29
SPEAKER_00: Most people are not willing to go to the trouble of doing that, which is why that makes writing a book such a rare and valuable thing.
7:38
SPEAKER_00: And I say this all the time to people, especially with prospective ghostwriting clients, when I'm trying to talk about why a book is so valuable and important.
7:46
SPEAKER_00: I say the book is not really about the book.
7:49
SPEAKER_00: The book is about what the book does for you.
7:52
SPEAKER_00: And one of the things that a book does for you is that it proves you can do difficult things.
7:59
SPEAKER_00: Now, third, book sales are all about marketing, not just about having a good book.
8:04
SPEAKER_00: Marketing is a whole different discussion, but just keep in mind that you need to embrace marketing and understand that good marketing is a way to serve people.
8:12
SPEAKER_00: A lot of writers don't want to mess with the marketing side of things because they kind of think, well, I'm sort of above that, or I don't want to mess with that.
8:20
SPEAKER_00: I'm a creative person, I'm not really a business type.
8:22
SPEAKER_00: Well, the truth of the matter is that you've got to embrace the business side because that's where the action happens.
8:29
SPEAKER_00: And if you want to make income with your writing or really with anything else, you've got to embrace that business side and that marketing side.
8:36
SPEAKER_00: That's where real life happens.
8:38
SPEAKER_00: So don't be naive and believe that your books are just going to sell themselves.
8:42
SPEAKER_00: Now, you might get lucky.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: You might have, you know, a New York Times bestseller or something like that.
8:48
SPEAKER_00: That does happen to people.
8:50
SPEAKER_00: But way more often than not, when people have books that sell well, it's because they have a marketing plan and they they take action on that plan over time.
9:00
SPEAKER_00: They execute that plan over a period of time.
9:02
SPEAKER_00: So it doesn't usually happen because of an accident.
9:05
SPEAKER_00: So I encourage you, if you want to make money writing books, that you embrace that business and that marketing side.
9:12
SPEAKER_00: Okay, number two is ghostwriting.
9:15
SPEAKER_00: Now, ghostwriting has been my primary business focus the last year or so, and I've really, really enjoyed ghostwriting.
9:22
SPEAKER_00: I did an episode a few months ago on five reasons that ghostwriting is a great business for writers.
9:30
SPEAKER_00: So you can go back and listen to that for lots of detail.
9:32
SPEAKER_00: I don't remember what the date was of that episode, but it's been a few months ago.
9:36
SPEAKER_00: So go back and listen to that if you want to hear me really dive into why ghostwriting is such a great business for writers.
9:43
SPEAKER_00: Now, to be honest with you, I resisted the idea of ghostwriting for a long time because I thought, well, why would I want to spend my time writing somebody else's content?
9:52
SPEAKER_00: But the truth is that you learn a lot whenever you're ghostwriting.
9:56
SPEAKER_00: Ghostwriting makes you a better business person and it makes you a better writer.
10:00
SPEAKER_00: The things that you learn ghostwriting other people's books and content, you can then apply those lessons to your own business.
10:07
SPEAKER_00: But again, go back and listen to that episode for a much deeper perspective on ghostwriting.
10:15
SPEAKER_00: Now, I do want to say this, uh, since this is an episode about money, I can tell you that ghostwriting can pay very well.
10:22
SPEAKER_00: So far this year, with just two client projects, I'm almost making what I make in my day job.
10:29
SPEAKER_00: And that's, you know, that's just ghostwriting for the last few months as compared to having a day job for the whole year.
10:36
SPEAKER_00: And after doing a bunch of other types of freelance work, which I'll go through in a little bit, honestly, I would much rather do a few high-paying projects a year than do a whole bunch of little projects a year.
10:48
SPEAKER_00: So if you can write and you have a real service mindset, I would absolutely say that ghostwriting is an option that you should be considering.
10:57
SPEAKER_00: And by the way, you can also ghostwrite articles or other types of content for clients, but so far I've only focused on really writing books.
11:06
SPEAKER_00: And if you're interested in ghostwriting, the best resource is Ghostwriter School, which was created by my friend Nick Pavlitas.
11:13
SPEAKER_00: You can go to ghostwriterschool.com and check that out.
11:18
SPEAKER_00: Number three is writing articles for publications.
11:21
SPEAKER_00: And basically, this is writing for hire.
11:23
SPEAKER_00: Now, I've not done a lot of this in terms of getting paid for writing for publications.
11:27
SPEAKER_00: I've done a lot of writing for other things.
11:29
SPEAKER_00: But there's a lot of writers who make fantastic money writing for all kinds of different industry and special interest publications.
11:37
SPEAKER_00: The great thing is that you can get paid to write, but it also helps build your platform and your email list because potentially a lot of people are going to see your articles on those sites.
11:46
SPEAKER_00: For example, if you write an article for Forbes.com or the New York Times or Entrepreneur.com or something like that, lots and lots of people are going to see your writing, and that can very quickly help to build your business.
12:00
SPEAKER_00: And I would say the best resource for learning how to get paid to write for large publications is my friend, my friends uh Cindy and Kamanzi Constable.
12:09
SPEAKER_00: You can go to kconstable.com to learn a lot more about that.
12:14
SPEAKER_00: Number four is copywriting.
12:18
SPEAKER_00: Now we we toss around the word copywriting a lot of times, and people, it's a little bit of a mysterious concept because copywriting can mean different things to different people.
12:29
SPEAKER_00: I suppose just like the word ghostwriting can or freelance writing or really anything like that, but copywriting can definitely take a lot of different forms.
12:38
SPEAKER_00: The basic deal with copywriting, though, is it's writing to persuade people of something.
12:44
SPEAKER_00: Now, this can be material that you write for websites, for brochures, sales letters, social media, or a bunch of other types of things.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: Copywriting is a very specialized skill that can pay really, really well.
12:58
SPEAKER_00: But if you want to get paid very well at it, just like anything else, you have to be really, really good at copywriting.
13:04
SPEAKER_00: In fact, copywriting and ghostwriting are generally considered to be the two highest paid forms of client writing.
13:12
SPEAKER_00: Now, I've not done a lot of copywriting for clients in terms of just doing the copywriting.
13:17
SPEAKER_00: When I have done copywriting, it's been as a part of some other project that I've been doing.
13:22
SPEAKER_00: For example, doing web copy when I'm also designing the website or doing something else and some things like that.
13:27
SPEAKER_00: I do have a lot of great respect for good copywriters because copywriters have the ability to sell things and to really hone in on reader psychology, and that's a very, very valuable skill.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: Number five is speaking.
13:42
SPEAKER_00: Now I've made a little bit of money doing public speaking, but mostly I've done public speaking for free.
13:47
SPEAKER_00: There have been a number, I could probably count on less than two hands, the number of times that I have been paid to speak somewhere outside of doing it in a church setting.
13:55
SPEAKER_00: So my background is pastoral ministry, and in my day job, I still work at a Christian college, and sometimes we go out to churches and things like that, and we get paid for that.
14:04
SPEAKER_00: I don't really count those times in what I'm talking about here.
14:08
SPEAKER_00: I'm talking about more doing things, things that are outside of that context of the church in terms of times that I have gotten paid to do public speaking.
14:17
SPEAKER_00: But you certainly can, and there are certainly many, many people who are authors who have a very robust career doing public speaking.
14:24
SPEAKER_00: Not necessarily right now because we're in the middle of this pandemic, but I'm saying overall.
14:30
SPEAKER_00: Now, you might be thinking, hey Kent, I thought this was a podcast about making money writing.
14:36
SPEAKER_00: But remember that really what we're talking about here is content creation.
14:41
SPEAKER_00: And I want to encourage you to expand your view of what writing is and all the different ways that you can create content and get and get compensated for it.
14:49
SPEAKER_00: Now, I know that I'm making a very broad statement here, but just hear me out on this.
14:54
SPEAKER_00: In my experience, I have found that writing and speaking are really two very different skill sets.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: And I think generally people who create content either gravitate more toward one or the other.
15:08
SPEAKER_00: It's very, very rare that I have ever met or seen anybody who is really equally good in both areas.
15:16
SPEAKER_00: Usually somebody is a good speaker, but they're just an okay writer.
15:22
SPEAKER_00: Um, or somebody is a really exceptional writer, but they're just an okay speaker.
15:27
SPEAKER_00: If you are a really good writer, but you want to be a great speaker, you have to work really, really, really hard at that.
15:32
SPEAKER_00: Um, and the same is true for speaking.
15:34
SPEAKER_00: If you're a really super dynamic speaker, um, you've got to work hard to be a really, really good writer.
15:40
SPEAKER_00: And and honestly, this is why a lot of times people who are you know celebrities, they're speakers, they uh have very large platforms, speaking and things like that.
15:49
SPEAKER_00: That's why a lot of times they do hire ghostwriters, uh, or they help people with developmental editing, or they have a lot of help in that area.
15:56
SPEAKER_00: Just as great writers almost always have lots of help becoming a better speaker.
16:01
SPEAKER_00: That's just the way that it goes.
16:03
SPEAKER_00: So just kind of think about your skill set and whether you feel like you're more wired to speak or more wired to write.
16:10
SPEAKER_00: Neither is is better or worse.
16:12
SPEAKER_00: It just is a matter of, I think, identifying what you tend to gravitate toward and really capitalizing on that, and then not forcing yourself to not expecting or forcing yourself to be a rock star in the areas where you're not naturally as strong.
16:29
SPEAKER_00: I guess what I'm really saying here is it's okay just to accept the fact that, hey, this is where you're really, really strong, and this is where you're gonna win primarily.
16:37
SPEAKER_00: And this is the areas where you're probably not gonna win quite as much.
16:41
SPEAKER_00: These are things that that can complement where you're strong, but they're not gonna be your main thing.
16:46
SPEAKER_00: Okay, case in point.
16:48
SPEAKER_00: Uh for myself, I have always known that public speaking was not my strong suit.
16:54
SPEAKER_00: Even back in my college days, uh, I went to uh Christian college, in fact, the same college where I work now, St.
17:01
SPEAKER_00: Louis Christian College in Florida, Missouri, and I went there as a 17 or 18-year-old.
17:06
SPEAKER_00: I don't remember how old I was.
17:08
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but I went there and because I came from a small church in southern Missouri, that's where I grew up, I I felt called into ministry spiritually.
17:19
SPEAKER_00: But the only type of ministry that I knew was being a preacher.
17:23
SPEAKER_00: You know, at the the church where I came from, we didn't have, you know, like a music pastor or a youth pastor who was paid and that kind of stuff.
17:31
SPEAKER_00: So I just felt called to go into church ministry, but that was the only kind of ministry that that I knew of was being a preacher.
17:38
SPEAKER_00: So I went and did that, and I I did fine in classes, I made very good grades, but I never I never really enjoyed preaching.
17:45
SPEAKER_00: I just didn't find a lot of joy or satisfaction in that.
17:48
SPEAKER_00: And I felt kind of guilty about it, to be honest with you.
17:51
SPEAKER_00: And I'm so thankful that I got into a situation after college where I could use my real gifting, which was music and the arts and things like that.
18:00
SPEAKER_00: More more kind of creative type expressions.
18:02
SPEAKER_00: So I guess what I'm saying is that if you're a writer and you see all these people out there speaking, and you know, it seems like they're having great success with that, but you don't feel like you're that good of a speaker, that's okay.
18:15
SPEAKER_00: It really is okay.
18:16
SPEAKER_00: I'm the same way.
18:18
SPEAKER_00: I know that I'm not the world's greatest speaker.
18:22
SPEAKER_00: It takes me a long time to put together a really good talk, and I have to practice it a lot, and it there's just a lot of time and effort that goes into it.
18:30
SPEAKER_00: So I know that I'm probably gonna win with writing, I'm not gonna win with public speaking, although I do want to get a lot better at it, and I know that it's a way that I can complement my writing as well.
18:42
SPEAKER_00: But I'm I'm probably never gonna be like some highly paid speaker or anything like that, and that's totally fine with me.
18:49
SPEAKER_00: So I don't know if all that story resonates with you or not, but uh, I guess what I'm really saying is just kind of accept who you are and celebrate what your strengths and gifts are and don't try to be something that you're not.
19:01
SPEAKER_00: Uh you know, I could have I could have made that whole point in much less time, but anyway, as you can see, I'm a writer and I tend to go on with stories.
19:08
SPEAKER_00: So anyway, let's move on here.
19:10
SPEAKER_00: Uh the case, uh the point though, there is that you can make money speaking as a complement to your writing.
19:17
SPEAKER_00: Um, so let's go on here.
19:19
SPEAKER_00: Uh I'm recording this just like after 10 o'clock at night, so uh I'm probably a little bit loopy.
19:24
SPEAKER_00: Okay, uh number six is courses.
19:27
SPEAKER_00: Courses can can be a way that you can make money.
19:31
SPEAKER_00: I've done that myself, both by helping to create and refine courses for other people, as well as selling my own courses and creating those.
19:40
SPEAKER_00: Last year I worked on a few courses for other people, and the way that this would work is that they would give me the raw material and I would help write it or or or organize the material.
19:51
SPEAKER_00: Or I would have the course videos and then I would write summaries of the modules and the videos.
19:58
SPEAKER_00: I would help write curriculum material and that sort of thing.
20:01
SPEAKER_00: To be honest with you, I did not find a lot of satisfaction in that.
20:04
SPEAKER_00: And with that, with that particular gig, there were several of those, they did they didn't really pay that well.
20:10
SPEAKER_00: So I I was kind of like, you know, I probably don't want to do much more of this.
20:14
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure there's some really well-paying opportunities out there with creating courses for other people or refining courses and that type of thing, if you can get connected with those.
20:24
SPEAKER_00: Myself, it's not something I highly enjoyed.
20:26
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I would rather create courses for myself, I think.
20:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, but you know, we'll see where that goes in the future.
20:32
SPEAKER_00: Now, if you're a teacher or you're an educator or you'd like to organize information, this might be a great option for you to use your content skills to make money.
20:41
SPEAKER_00: So it's just something to consider.
20:43
SPEAKER_00: There are opportunities out there with courses.
20:46
SPEAKER_00: Number seven is editing.
20:49
SPEAKER_00: Now, this is a big one because editing can take a lot of different forms.
20:53
SPEAKER_00: Probably the most common way is editing books, you know, the very straightforward uh type of editing.
21:00
SPEAKER_00: I have several good friends who are editors, and let me tell you, editors are worth their weight in gold.
21:06
SPEAKER_00: They truly are.
21:07
SPEAKER_00: And why is that?
21:08
SPEAKER_00: It's because they take your writing and they polish it and they make it shine.
21:12
SPEAKER_00: If you have a good editor, they can take your writing that's already very good and they can really make it sing, and they're also gonna catch a lot of things that you miss.
21:21
SPEAKER_00: So anytime that you hire an editor for something, you know, don't question, well, maybe, you know, there are times, I guess, when you should question it if it's exorbitant or something.
21:31
SPEAKER_00: But, you know, just understand that if you have a good editor, they're gonna charge you some money.
21:36
SPEAKER_00: You might initially feel like it's it's a lot of money, but understand that they're going to take your writing and make it really shine if they're good.
21:44
SPEAKER_00: And that's that's a very, very good skill, and that's a very valuable skill.
21:48
SPEAKER_00: So if you're great with grammar, punctuation, sentence construction, and that sort of thing, editing is probably something you should consider.
21:57
SPEAKER_00: It can also pay pretty well if you're good, as I mentioned.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: Now, there are different types of editing other than just book editing.
22:05
SPEAKER_00: For example, if you're great with content organization or story structure, you might consider developmental editing.
22:11
SPEAKER_00: Developmental editing means thinking through the structure and the flow of the book on the front end.
22:17
SPEAKER_00: Or it could also mean reworking a book that's not working, or a book where the author is stuck and they don't know how to get through the book or make it better.
22:24
SPEAKER_00: Another form of editing is the kind of editing you do when you work for a magazine or a publication.
22:30
SPEAKER_00: A few years ago, for example, I worked for the Goodman Project, which is a large publication online.
22:36
SPEAKER_00: I worked for them for a year or two as a lead editor.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: And this meant that people sent me articles and I decided which articles to run in my sections, which are also called verticals in the publications world.
22:48
SPEAKER_00: So, like you'll, one vertical would be entertainment, one might be fashion, one might be health and fitness and other things like that.
22:57
SPEAKER_00: So then people would send me these articles and I would give them feedback if I needed changes, and they would send those back to me.
23:03
SPEAKER_00: And almost always I would make some changes in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and so forth.
23:09
SPEAKER_00: Now I will tell you that that experience did not pay very much, but the experience was really, really priceless on the other hand, and that's because the supervisors that I worked with, Dixie Gillaspie and Lisa Hickey, were absolutely amazing.
23:26
SPEAKER_00: They were two of the best supervisors that I've ever worked for in my whole life.
23:30
SPEAKER_00: In any job or any industry, they were just absolutely phenomenal to work for.
23:34
SPEAKER_00: So I learned a lot from that experience.
23:37
SPEAKER_00: And I think that brings up a good point with all this, and that is, you know, sometimes it's important for you to say yes to an opportunity, even though it doesn't necessarily pay very much.
23:47
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean you have to do it forever.
23:48
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean you have to do it for your full-time job, but it does mean, you know, if you can have an opportunity like being a lead editor for a website that gets millions of visitors per month, that can be really valuable.
24:01
SPEAKER_00: You're going to learn some skills.
24:02
SPEAKER_00: And then you're going to be able to take those skills and apply those to other areas.
24:06
SPEAKER_00: And you're going to be able to say, hey, I was a lead editor at so-and-so publication, which can give you some good cachet and give you, you know, some credibility and authority, which can be very helpful.
24:17
SPEAKER_00: Let's go on to number eight, which is podcast show notes.
24:21
SPEAKER_00: Now, for several years, really up until earlier this year, this was my bread and butter as far as freelance writing services go.
24:29
SPEAKER_00: I've done podcast show notes for, oh, I don't know, five or six clients, I guess, um, just writing show notes for their podcast.
24:38
SPEAKER_00: And one day, a little while back, I figured up how many podcast episodes I had written show notes for over the years, including my own show and of course those of clients.
24:47
SPEAKER_00: And it was something like 800 or 900 total episodes.
24:50
SPEAKER_00: And I'm talking about detailed show notes for each one of those episodes.
24:55
SPEAKER_00: So for those of you who may not know what podcast show notes are, these are literally the notes that appears when you look at a podcast in iTunes or on your podcast app or on a website.
25:08
SPEAKER_00: Usually they contain at least a few, if not all, of these elements.
25:13
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, you have a title and you need a title that draws interest.
25:17
SPEAKER_00: Oftentimes the title for me is the toughest part of a whole episode because yeah, and again, we're talking about copywriting skills.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: You know, I mentioned copywriting earlier.
25:26
SPEAKER_00: Podcast show notes is a form of content marketing, and it's definitely a form of copywriting because you know that headline has got to suck people in.
25:36
SPEAKER_00: Oftentimes, show notes will include a paragraph or two description of the episode where you're making sure to emphasize what the listener is going to learn or how it will benefit them.
25:47
SPEAKER_00: So, in other words, the show notes are designed to inform, but they're also designed to try and get the reader to listen because listening to the podcast is almost always better than them reading a summary of it or reading a transcription.
25:59
SPEAKER_00: And the reason is because when they listen to the podcast, you have more of an emotional connection when you're listening.
26:06
SPEAKER_00: It's not just reading it.
26:08
SPEAKER_00: So, in other words, there's some copywriting involved in this.
26:11
SPEAKER_00: The podcast show notes will also usually include a speaker bio or a guest bio, uh, which is usually, you know, 100, 150 words, something like that.
26:21
SPEAKER_00: Uh many times when you do podcast show notes, you'll be writing clicked tweets, which is you probably have seen these clicked to tweets before on podcast show notes where, or on a website where it'll be a little line.
26:33
SPEAKER_00: You you can click that and that automatically posts that um those couple of lines on Twitter.
26:40
SPEAKER_00: That's very, very helpful.
26:42
SPEAKER_00: And then then show notes will usually include guest links like the guest books, any courses they have, their social media links, and so forth.
26:50
SPEAKER_00: Now, podcast show notes can take all different kinds of forms.
26:54
SPEAKER_00: That's basically the kind of stuff that I include in my own podcast show notes.
26:58
SPEAKER_00: But other other podcasters have shown notes that are more extensive or less extensive.
27:04
SPEAKER_00: Uh, a lot of podcasters don't use any show notes, which I think is a horrendous mistake because, first of all, you're not serving your listener very well if you don't have show notes.
27:13
SPEAKER_00: Second of all, you're missing out on the SEO value, the search engine optimization value of having show notes.
27:19
SPEAKER_00: And there's other things as well, but I'll stop there.
27:22
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, you can tell that I'm a strong proponent of having good show notes.
27:25
SPEAKER_00: Now, if you want to pursue this as a way to make money with your writing, here's the key with writing show notes.
27:32
SPEAKER_00: Like if you want to make this more profitable for yourself, the key is that you can do these really quickly if you create them in batches and if you have a template to follow.
27:44
SPEAKER_00: Okay, what I mean is if you're doing show notes for a podcast, don't just do one episode and then move on to the next thing on your to-do list.
27:53
SPEAKER_00: Do like five or six episodes at once, if you can, because it goes away faster if you're doing repetitive work.
28:00
SPEAKER_00: That's the whole idea of batching work or batching content creation.
28:04
SPEAKER_00: And also if you have a template to follow, that makes it so much easier because you're writing the same kinds of things in each in each episode.
28:12
SPEAKER_00: Now, also, a tip that I would give you is that when you're listening to podcast audio and you're creating show notes, listen to the audio at 1.5 speed.
28:24
SPEAKER_00: You can still make out everything they're saying, but it goes by faster and you're not spending as much time listening through the audio of that episode.
28:32
SPEAKER_00: Uh, there's a client who I used to do show notes for, and each of their episodes was about 25 minutes long.
28:38
SPEAKER_00: And I could crank out about 20 episodes worth of show notes in one single workday if I really sat and I really focused the whole day.
28:46
SPEAKER_00: You know, if I follow these things that I'm talking about, using a template, working in batches, listening to the audio at 1.5 speed, and that type of thing.
28:56
SPEAKER_00: Now, let me stop here for just a second before I move on to the second category of technical services.
29:02
SPEAKER_00: I do want to say this.
29:03
SPEAKER_00: Something that might bother you about all this writing for other people is that you might think, why would I want to write for other people?
29:11
SPEAKER_00: Shouldn't I just be creating my own stuff?
29:13
SPEAKER_00: Well, there's a couple reasons that it's good to write for other people.
29:16
SPEAKER_00: One is that because you get paid, I mean, getting paid is always nice.
29:20
SPEAKER_00: But there's a more important reason, and that is because all that writing that you do for other people makes you a better writer for your own content.
29:28
SPEAKER_00: And trust me on this, I've written a lot of stuff for a lot of people, and the more people that you write for and the more types of writing that you do for other people, that that gives you skills and gives you experience that you can then apply to your own writing and to your own business.
29:46
SPEAKER_00: So I really highly encourage you to do client work of some kind because you will learn things from clients that you will not be able to learn any other way.
29:55
SPEAKER_00: Plus, I think there's a really critical life lesson here, and that is if all that a writer ever does is create material that promotes themselves, I think that's fine.
30:05
SPEAKER_00: You know, like if all you ever do is you write material that has your name on it, that's totally fine.
30:10
SPEAKER_00: But there's something fundamentally helpful about doing work for other people and helping support them and their business and their message that that I think is just that's a good impulse to do in life, you know.
30:24
SPEAKER_00: In other words, we don't have to put our name on everything that we do.
30:28
SPEAKER_00: It's okay to do work for other people and get compensated for it, or not get compensated if you're doing it um for someone for free, if you're doing it volunteer or or whatever arrangement that you have with them.
30:40
SPEAKER_00: It's okay to not have to put your name on everything.
30:43
SPEAKER_00: When you do that, it just it reinforces the idea that your writing is all about serving other people, and I think there's there's something helpful about that.
30:54
SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's move on to our second category, which is technical services.
30:58
SPEAKER_00: We talked in this first category about content creation.
31:03
SPEAKER_00: Now let's move on to a totally different type of way that we can use our writing-related skills to make money.
31:12
SPEAKER_00: And again, this is technical skills.
31:14
SPEAKER_00: Now, if you're listening to this and you're not a technical person, if things like building websites make you nervous, go ahead and listen for the next few minutes, but realize that these may not be the ways that you want to make money.
31:27
SPEAKER_00: However, if you like the technical stuff, these might be some really great options.
31:32
SPEAKER_00: Now, I'm talking about a few different kinds of technical skills here because if you're a writer, you're going to need to do these things for yourself.
31:39
SPEAKER_00: Either that or you're going to need to hire somebody to do them for you.
31:43
SPEAKER_00: Either way, whether you do them or you hired out, you're going to have to do these things that I'm going to talk about here in a minute.
31:48
SPEAKER_00: Um, for example, if you want to be a successful, successful author, you're going to need an author platform, which means you need a website.
31:56
SPEAKER_00: It means you're probably going to need an audio version of your books.
32:00
SPEAKER_00: It means you're going to need to do email marketing, you're going to need graphics, you're going to need book layout and cover design and those kinds of things.
32:07
SPEAKER_00: So keep in mind that all the things you're learning to do for your own author brand, you can also get paid to do those for other people.
32:16
SPEAKER_00: So let's dive in here.
32:17
SPEAKER_00: Number nine is building websites.
32:20
SPEAKER_00: Now, I have not done a lot of building websites for other people.
32:23
SPEAKER_00: I've built my own websites for a long time.
32:26
SPEAKER_00: And I would give myself a solid B when it comes to building websites.
32:32
SPEAKER_00: Maybe a B plus on a good day, but I would not give myself an A on any level for building websites.
32:38
SPEAKER_00: I can do it, I'm I'm very competent at it.
32:41
SPEAKER_00: If you're talking about WordPress websites, you know, that kind of thing, I can install the plugins, I can keep it running, blah, blah, blah.
32:48
SPEAKER_00: But um it's not something I find enjoyable, really.
32:52
SPEAKER_00: I find it very tedious and incredibly boring to mess with websites.
32:58
SPEAKER_00: So it's one of those things that I can do, but I don't find a lot of joy in doing it.
33:03
SPEAKER_00: Plus, to be totally transparent with you, I don't like the idea of being responsible for somebody else's website.
33:10
SPEAKER_00: Because especially if you're using something like WordPress, there's a lot of things that can go haywire with a website, you know, especially if you're talking about viruses and other kinds of things.
33:20
SPEAKER_00: It's just not something I really want to get into that much, even though I can do it.
33:24
SPEAKER_00: Now, this is why great web designers are expensive.
33:27
SPEAKER_00: The work they do is important and it's highly technical, and it's a very specialized skill if they're good at what they do.
33:33
SPEAKER_00: So that's why it costs a lot to have websites built.
33:37
SPEAKER_00: So if that's a skill that you have, then by all means, make that part of uh of something that you can offer to prospective clients, maybe packaged with some other services, uh, as I have done before.
33:51
SPEAKER_00: But I'm sure if you're a person who loves building websites, I'm sure you're a lot better at that than I probably am.
33:56
SPEAKER_00: But that's number nine, building websites.
33:58
SPEAKER_00: It's a way that you can make money.
34:00
SPEAKER_00: Number 10 is what I'm calling uh SAAS tools.
34:04
SPEAKER_00: SAS stands for uh software as a service, and that can mean a lot of things.
34:09
SPEAKER_00: But in the context of what we're talking about here, I'm talking about things like email marketing, lead generation, tools, and so forth.
34:17
SPEAKER_00: For example, I've set up MailChimp and Convert Kit for a few different clients, and not at the same time because they do the same thing.
34:26
SPEAKER_00: So you're not gonna use MailChimp and Convert Kit because they do the same thing.
34:30
SPEAKER_00: I'm talking about one or the other for different clients.
34:32
SPEAKER_00: Both of those are email marketing tools, and I've also set up ClickFunnels for a client, which click funnels generates leads for businesses, and as the name suggests, it creates funnels that move prospective customers along your sales process.
34:49
SPEAKER_00: Now, for me, this deal is the same as websites.
34:52
SPEAKER_00: I can do it, but I don't find very much joy in it.
34:57
SPEAKER_00: And people who do these things can get paid very well because these are all tools that can help grow a business.
35:03
SPEAKER_00: And for all of the clients where I did this type of work, that was part of an overall package where I was creating content and doing some other things as well.
35:11
SPEAKER_00: Number 11 is podcast and audiobook production.
35:15
SPEAKER_00: Now, if you already have a podcast, this can be an amazing service to offer to clients.
35:20
SPEAKER_00: For example, I am currently producing an audiobook for a client whose book I ghostwrote this past summer because I already do a podcast, I already have the workflow established.
35:29
SPEAKER_00: That was a very easy service for me to offer.
35:32
SPEAKER_00: And I also might be producing this client's podcast.
35:35
SPEAKER_00: We'll see about that.
35:36
SPEAKER_00: Uh, if that comes to fruition.
35:38
SPEAKER_00: Now, if you don't already do audio production, I would probably not recommend jumping into this.
35:44
SPEAKER_00: But if you do, you might consider it as an add-on service to other things that you're already doing for that client.
35:50
SPEAKER_00: Audio is huge right now, and it's only going to continue getting more popular and bigger, I think, as the years go on.
35:57
SPEAKER_00: Then finally, in this category, number 12, is graphic design services.
36:03
SPEAKER_00: This can take on a range of things from social media graphics, posters, logos, book covers, interior layouts for books, graphic design for merchandise to all kinds of other things.
36:16
SPEAKER_00: And again, with these other things that I mentioned in this technical category, I've only done graphic design as part of bigger packages for clients.
36:24
SPEAKER_00: Graphics is not really my strong suit, but I can do it on a decent level.
36:29
SPEAKER_00: And but these days, if I'm doing something like ghostwriting a book and I'm also managing the book production project as a whole, and I need to have a graphic designer, I will not do that myself.
36:39
SPEAKER_00: I will always hire that out because there are people who are far better at that than I am.
36:44
SPEAKER_00: Now let's move on to this third category, which I'm simply calling other, and that's because these ways of making money don't really fit in the other categories, but they are important ones.
36:56
SPEAKER_00: Number 13 is coaching.
36:58
SPEAKER_00: Coaching is a very broad term that can mean different things in different contexts, but generally being a coach means that you're there to help the client become more successful in a specific area.
37:10
SPEAKER_00: I've mostly done coaching as part of other packages like book development and that sort of thing.
37:14
SPEAKER_00: And if you have specialized knowledge or an ext or experience in a specific area, this can be a great opportunity to help people in a really deep way that can really hugely benefit them.
37:25
SPEAKER_00: I know I've benefited from coaching in a lot of different ways, and it can be very, very powerful.
37:31
SPEAKER_00: Number 14 is memberships.
37:34
SPEAKER_00: Now I've mentioned this a couple times before on recent episodes, but I'm very, very close to launching my daily writer community, which is going to be a membership for writers.
37:44
SPEAKER_00: And I will be launching the beta group probably here in the next couple weeks.
37:48
SPEAKER_00: Um, this will not be a public launch yet.
37:50
SPEAKER_00: This is people, it's kind of an invite-only type of a deal.
37:53
SPEAKER_00: And once I get that kind of established after a few weeks, I believe, then I'm gonna go public with that and open it up uh to other people.
38:02
SPEAKER_00: Memberships are great because people can get access to you, and the fact that it's a paid membership means that you're keeping out the people who only want the free stuff.
38:12
SPEAKER_00: Now, don't get me wrong, we should offer free help to people.
38:15
SPEAKER_00: This podcast is my main way of offering free content that's helpful.
38:20
SPEAKER_00: But if people want to grow, they need to have some skin in the game, I believe.
38:24
SPEAKER_00: And the way they show that they're serious is if they pay for access.
38:28
SPEAKER_00: Memberships can be structured various different ways, and I'll be sharing more details about the Daily Writer community shortly.
38:35
SPEAKER_00: But for now, just realize that this is a great way to help others in a community context, but it also for you creates recurring income, which can be very helpful.
38:45
SPEAKER_00: Then finally, number 15 is affiliate income.
38:50
SPEAKER_00: Now you might say, what is affiliate income?
38:52
SPEAKER_00: What's the deal with that?
38:53
SPEAKER_00: Affiliate income happens whenever you sign up as an affiliate for a company or a product and they give you a link that's unique to you.
39:02
SPEAKER_00: And then when people use your link to purchase that product or service, then you get a percentage of that sale.
39:09
SPEAKER_00: For example, I'm an affiliate for Convert Kit, which is an email marketing service.
39:14
SPEAKER_00: And whenever I recommend Convert Kit and I share my unique link, and people sign up to Convert Kit through my link, then Convert Kit gives me a part of that revenue that those people are paying to them.
39:26
SPEAKER_00: And it's awesome because everybody wins.
39:29
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't cost the person who signed up through my link any extra.
39:33
SPEAKER_00: They are paying the they're paying the exact same amount as they would if they were to just go directly to Convert Kit.
39:39
SPEAKER_00: Convert Kit gets a sale that they might not have gotten otherwise because now I'm out there on their behalf recommending them.
39:46
SPEAKER_00: So I win because I make a little money from that.
39:48
SPEAKER_00: Convert kit gets a customer, and the person that is purchasing through my link doesn't pay anything extra.
39:55
SPEAKER_00: So it's like a win-win-win sort of a deal, which is why affiliate programs are so popular and really such an amazing concept for everybody involved.
40:05
SPEAKER_00: Now I'm also an affiliate for a couple of other things like the writing software scrivener for Bluehost, web hosting, and also ClickFunnels, which I mentioned earlier.
40:15
SPEAKER_00: And you can be an affiliate for other types of things as well, such as memberships or courses or those kinds of things.
40:21
SPEAKER_00: So there you have it.
40:23
SPEAKER_00: Those are 15 ways to make money as a writer with your content skills or skills related to what you're doing as a writer.
40:30
SPEAKER_00: Now, to kind of wind this all down, let me take a few minutes here at the end of this episode and let's get down to brass tacks.
40:36
SPEAKER_00: So I've given you a bunch of options, but where do you go from here?
40:41
SPEAKER_00: So don't worry, I've got your back.
40:43
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I want to help you think through this and take action.
40:46
SPEAKER_00: So I've got uh just a few things I want to say in terms of wrapping up this episode and helping you to get started.
40:54
SPEAKER_00: All right, here we go.
40:55
SPEAKER_00: Number one, don't get overwhelmed with the options that I've just shared with you.
41:00
SPEAKER_00: Pick one thing that is the lowest hanging fruit.
41:03
SPEAKER_00: So if one of these areas that I've mentioned is something that you're good at and you want to start making money, just start with that one thing.
41:09
SPEAKER_00: Do not get paralyzed by all the options.
41:12
SPEAKER_00: Remember, any movement that you take is forward momentum.
41:18
SPEAKER_00: Any step forward that you take is gonna get you closer to your goal.
41:22
SPEAKER_00: And chances are very, very high that whatever you pick, you're going to adjust.
41:26
SPEAKER_00: You're gonna pivot, you're gonna learn some things, and you're gonna be like, oh, you know, I don't really like that so much, so I'm gonna pivot.
41:33
SPEAKER_00: That is totally okay.
41:34
SPEAKER_00: It's much, much better to step forward and then pivot than never step forward at all.
41:40
SPEAKER_00: If you don't hear anything else, I've said this whole episode, just hear that.
41:44
SPEAKER_00: Just pick something and get moving.
41:46
SPEAKER_00: Okay, and I'm talking to all the indecisive, introverted perfectionists out there.
41:51
SPEAKER_00: You know who you are.
41:52
SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna ask you to raise your hand, but you know who you are.
41:56
SPEAKER_00: Number two, remember that you've got to have a website if you're gonna be a writer, but also you need one if you're doing any kind of client work.
42:05
SPEAKER_00: So, regardless of what you're doing, you really need a website.
42:08
SPEAKER_00: So if you don't have that, get on that pronto so people can see what your services are and how to get in touch with you.
42:15
SPEAKER_00: Number three, don't worry about a bunch of marketing strategies.
42:20
SPEAKER_00: Just tell people you're building a business.
42:22
SPEAKER_00: And uh, for example, if you're doing freelance writing or editing, just tell people, say, hey, I'm building a freelance business or I'm building an editing business, and just start talking to people.
42:33
SPEAKER_00: That's how I have gotten my ghostwriting clients so far.
42:35
SPEAKER_00: It has not been through any marketing strategy.
42:37
SPEAKER_00: I have literally spent zero dollars on any kind of marketing campaign.
42:42
SPEAKER_00: It's all just been relationships, word of mouth, telling people I'm building a ghostwriting business.
42:48
SPEAKER_00: Uh the this podcast has been very helpful with all that.
42:50
SPEAKER_00: So don't go out and spend money on marketing.
42:53
SPEAKER_00: Just start telling people that you're building a business.
42:56
SPEAKER_00: Keep it simple and keep it relational.
42:59
SPEAKER_00: Number four, you've got to have what I call a founder's mentality, which means a founder is someone who founds something, they create something from scratch.
43:10
SPEAKER_00: That means you're taking action.
43:12
SPEAKER_00: That also means that you realize your success in a business is not just about your skills or your abilities, it's way more about customer service, it's way more about relationships, it's about delivering on time and going above and beyond for your customers and clients.
43:30
SPEAKER_00: Those kinds of things.
43:32
SPEAKER_00: For example, if you're a web designer who has equal skills to another web designer, and you're way more relational, um, you're a more positive person, you're in a good mood, you can talk to people on their level.
43:47
SPEAKER_00: Um, you don't explain things and all this technical jargon constantly and confuse people.
43:52
SPEAKER_00: If that's how you are, and you're competing with someone who is not friendly, they don't have good people's.
44:00
SPEAKER_00: Skills, they're constantly talking in technical jargon, and the average person can't understand what they're talking about, you're probably going to be the one who gets the gig because it's it's not so much about your skills.
44:10
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you've got to have the skills, that's a given, but it's way more about your ability to make people feel comfortable.
44:17
SPEAKER_00: And it's just all those soft skills, like you know, every business is talking about these days.
44:22
SPEAKER_00: That stuff is really, really important.
44:24
SPEAKER_00: Number five, if you're just getting started with client work, I would encourage you to not be too picky about what kind of jobs you take.
44:32
SPEAKER_00: I would encourage you to have what I call a yes orientation, which means even if a job is not the perfect job, even if it's not exactly what you want, go ahead and try it because you're gonna gain experience.
44:45
SPEAKER_00: You'll get better, and probably you're gonna have to start out kind of at the low end of whatever you're charging for.
44:51
SPEAKER_00: But the better you get, the more you can work up.
44:53
SPEAKER_00: So don't be too picky.
44:55
SPEAKER_00: You know, just uh dive in, make a little bit of money if you're just starting out with freelancing or with client work and that kind of a thing, and just get your feet wet, and then uh the better you get, the more you can charge for your services.
45:09
SPEAKER_00: Number six, get into the right circles.
45:12
SPEAKER_00: I encourage you not to hang around with negative people or those who don't understand that you're trying to build something.
45:18
SPEAKER_00: A lot of people in your life probably won't understand what you're doing.
45:22
SPEAKER_00: They may not even support you in you trying to build a business or trying to be a writer.
45:26
SPEAKER_00: And you know what?
45:27
SPEAKER_00: That's okay.
45:28
SPEAKER_00: Just find people in your life who are action takers, who are positive, who believe in you, who support you.
45:34
SPEAKER_00: Like, for example, like the people who are going to be in the daily writer community.
45:38
SPEAKER_00: There'll be some more info coming on that soon, but the point of this is to hang around the right type of people who are going to support you.
45:45
SPEAKER_00: Then finally, number seven, don't forget to build your own assets.
45:50
SPEAKER_00: Over the long term, you want to build toward passive and recurring income.
45:55
SPEAKER_00: And you typically can't do that if you're just doing client work.
45:59
SPEAKER_00: With client work, you only make money when you actually do the work.
46:02
SPEAKER_00: That's why it's important to have your own books and other assets out there making passive income over the long term.
46:09
SPEAKER_00: So as you're doing all this client work, don't forget to build your own assets that can produce passive income for you in the future.
46:19
SPEAKER_00: So this has been kind of a longer episode, but here's my final word.
46:22
SPEAKER_00: Actually, two final words.
46:24
SPEAKER_00: Number one, you can do this.
46:28
SPEAKER_00: My income has increased every year for the last four years or so, ever since I started freelancing.
46:34
SPEAKER_00: And this year, I I think I may mention this, it almost equals to what I make in my day job.
46:39
SPEAKER_00: My side business does.
46:40
SPEAKER_00: And that's not to brag on any level.
46:42
SPEAKER_00: In fact, it's to say it's taken me a really long time to get to that place.
46:46
SPEAKER_00: It really has.
46:47
SPEAKER_00: I should have done this uh a lot sooner.
46:49
SPEAKER_00: I just I had to go down a lot of pathways and I've made a lot of mistakes.
46:53
SPEAKER_00: I've tried a lot of different things, and I finally feel like I'm just getting to get some momentum this year.
46:59
SPEAKER_00: I'm an introvert who comes from the worlds of church ministry and education.
47:04
SPEAKER_00: Those are two industries where business skills are not usually part of the mix.
47:08
SPEAKER_00: So I'm telling you this because if I can learn to do this and develop more of a business mindset, I know that you can also.
47:16
SPEAKER_00: So this brings up my final point here, which is don't look down on your previous experience, whatever it is.
47:23
SPEAKER_00: My experience in ministry and education has served me really, really well in doing client work and in ghostwriting.
47:30
SPEAKER_00: So, whatever your past experience is in the work world, that is really a valuable experience that can help you in a lot of different ways in your writing business, whether you're doing writing or do you're doing other things for clients that are related to your writing business.
47:46
SPEAKER_00: Well, my friend, this has been a long episode, and I appreciate you hanging in there with me.
47:50
SPEAKER_00: But I did want to go over all these things because money is such an important issue in our lives.
47:56
SPEAKER_00: If we don't have money, uh, we're pretty much stuck, aren't we?
47:59
SPEAKER_00: Money kind of makes the world go around in many ways.
48:02
SPEAKER_00: It's not the most important thing in life, but it's it ranks up there as one of the high things because uh money gives us options, it allows us to help people, and it just makes so many possibilities real for us.
48:15
SPEAKER_00: So I hope this has been helpful for you.
48:17
SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for listening to this episode.
48:19
SPEAKER_00: And I asked this once in a while on the podcast, but if you could leave us a review in iTunes, that really does help a great deal.
48:27
SPEAKER_00: And if you know of anybody who would enjoy these episodes, please share it with them.
48:31
SPEAKER_00: And finally, as I always say, remember that your writing has the power to change people's lives.
48:37
SPEAKER_00: I'll see you in the next episode.