The Mistake that Made Me Six Figures in Freelance Income
Do you know how fireworks were invented?
Apparently, 2,000 years ago, a (bored?) scientist decided to mix together a few items that were commonly found in the kitchen in those days. When these items (charcoal, sulfur and saltpeter) were mixed and compressed in a bamboo, it created an explosion.
Now, we don’t know whether this cook eventually got to keep his job, but his invention 2,000 years ago is a great source of happiness (and money!) for many people today.
A bored cook’s mistake is the reason we have fireworks today.
So what does accidentally inventing fireworks have to do with making a living as a freelance writer?
Two years ago, I made a “mistake.” Somebody contacted me to express interest in advertising on my blog. Considering that I don’t do adverts on my blog, I had gotten hundreds of similar requests in the past that I turned down or plain ignored. This day, though, I didn’t know what hit me. I made a mistake and did contrary to what I had been doing all the while. This mistake, though, resulted in $1,200 in income in a single day. Two years later, it has netted me six figures in freelance writing income.
Exactly what happened? A client sent the following email to me…
The email came from someone who wanted to advertise on my blog. I replied and told him that I don’t do adverts on my blog, and he sent the following email as a reply:
Usually, this is where it ends; I’ll admit, I’ve ignored a lot of sponsorship offers in the past by downright ignoring the emails or letting it end when someone says I should reach out in the future if I want advertising opportunities.
This time around, though, I thought to myself, “What this person really wants is exposure/promotion for his resource, and my blog is just one of the outlets he felt he needed. What if I turn this around and let him know I can help him write content and get them published on similar and much bigger blogs to mine?”
So, I sent him the following email:
As soon as he read the email, he took interest in my services and he commissioned a project worth $1,200 for a start. I requested 50% payment ($600) upfront and he paid immediately.
All this happened within two hours of my replying to his very first email.
More importantly, I’ve earned six figures with this particular client since I first started working with him. We can say my mistake made me six figures in freelance income.
What Does This Mean for Your Freelance Writing Business
If you blog, you’ve probably gotten emails in the past from people who want to advertise on your blog; perhaps you were unable to accept their offer because it isn’t relevant to your blog, or because you don’t do ads on your blog, but you should start turning that around.
If someone reaches out to advertise on your blog, it’s because they want exposure; that means they could be a potential client that you can introduce your services to!
So, why don’t you turn this around and pitch them your services instead?
Even if you do ads on your blog, your advertisers are potential clients; they can’t have too much exposure, and this is where your services come in. Pitch them; make them an offer and let them see how you can get them results.
I used strong social proof to close the deal with this client, but I would have closed the deal without it; this client had no idea about where I’ve been published before he reached out to me, and the key to my success lied in keying into his needs; more exposure, which my freelance writing services can provide him.
If you have a blog, it’s time to act — all those advertisers that you keep dismissing and turning down, start pitching them your services.
If you don’t blog yet and would like me to show you the right way to go about getting results from blogging, hit me up and let me know! it’s been a few years since I started blogging, but with 50,000 email subscribers, 28,000 push subscribers, millions of visitors and hundreds of thousands of dollars in freelance income all as a result of this blog you’re reading, I must be doing something right. If enough people contact me to express interest, I might start releasing some of my secrets 
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