How Nicolas Cole Scaled a 7-Figure Ghostwriting Agency on Cold Outreach
Oct 9, 2023
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Nicolas Cole, ghostwriter-turned-agency-owner, shares insights on scaling a 7-figure ghostwriting agency through cold outreach, content marketing, and community engagement. They discuss the importance of cold outreach for freelancers, specializing and building expertise, and the power of educating and providing value in cold outreach. Cole also talks about choosing a niche and scaling your freelance or agency business. They highlight the ideal candidates for the premium ghostwriting academy and address common objections.
When doing cold outreach, focus on solving one problem for one specific person in one industry in one specific way.
Obtaining specialized knowledge comes from starting with a broad skill set and refining it over time based on patterns and experiences.
To test a service offering, start with skills you already possess and isolate specific tasks or projects within your skills that can be packaged and offered to clients.
Building confidence in specialized skills comes from practice, experience, and delivering results, so focus on becoming an expert in a specific skill set.
Deep dives
Cold Outreach: Educate and Solve Problems
When doing cold outreach, the key is to educate the client about a specific problem within their business before selling your service. Focus on solving one problem for one specific person in one industry in one specific way. Use your own experience and skills as a case study to show that you can deliver results. Avoid trying to sell yourself as a generalist and instead specialize in a specific niche to differentiate yourself and provide value.
Acquiring Specialized Knowledge
Obtaining specialized knowledge comes from starting with a broad skill set and refining it over time based on patterns and experiences. By focusing on doing one specific thing really well, you can acquire the expertise needed to offer valuable services. Practicing on yourself and gaining hands-on experience is key, but you can also gain additional expertise by offering pro bono work to clients, allowing you to refine your skills in a real-world setting.
Testing and Validating Service Offerings
To test a service offering, it is more effective to start with skills you already possess rather than jumping into uncharted territory. Instead of cold outreach for an untested service, focus on isolating specific tasks or projects within your skills that can be packaged and offered to clients. This allows you to gain experience and validate your offerings before scaling up.
Building Confidence in Specialized Skills
Building confidence in specialized skills comes from practice, experience, and delivering results. By focusing on a specific skill set and becoming an expert in that area, you can confidently offer your services to clients. It's important to validate your expertise by achieving results for yourself and for clients before positioning yourself as a specialist in a particular domain.
Importance of Educating on the Problem
It is important to educate clients on the problem rather than just providing a solution. When clients are educated on the problem, they have a better understanding of the issues and can make informed decisions. This approach is more effective in gaining their trust and showcasing your expertise.
Creating an Irresistible Offer
Crafting an irresistible offer is crucial in attracting clients. Instead of focusing on social proof or testimonials, it is more important to establish a clear and compelling frame for the client. This includes outlining the problem, the reason behind the problem, the consequences of not solving it, the proposed solution, the benefits of the solution, and the desired outcome. By effectively communicating this frame, clients are more likely to recognize your expertise and be willing to pay higher prices.
Consistent Cold Outreach
Maintaining a consistent cold outreach strategy is key to sustaining a steady flow of clients. Even if you have a full pipeline, it is crucial to spend a couple of hours each week on cold outreach to continuously nurture new leads. This allows you to have a waitlist of potential clients and ensures a consistent stream of business in the long run.
If you haven’t heard of Nicolas Cole, he’s a ghostwriter-turned-agency-owner-turned-product-course-creator-biz-owner.
He is the co-founder of Ship 30 for 30, the largest cohort-based writing course on the Internet; Typeshare, the leading platform for Digital Writing tools & templates; and Premium Ghostwriting Academy, an 8-week training program teaching writers how to enter the world of ghostwriting & land high-ticket clients.
Cole is also the author of 10 books, including the best-seller, The Art & Business of Online Writing. His writing has accumulated hundreds of millions of views, and has been republished in TIME, Forbes, Fortune, Business Insider, Inc Magazine, and many more. In 2017, he built the first ghostwriting agency writing on behalf of 300+ Silicon Valley founders, investors, and CEOs of publicly traded companies, Grammy-winning musicians, Olympic athletes, and NYT best-selling authors & speakers-and to date has ghostwritten more than 3,000 articles for industry leaders on the Internet.
Today he shares his experience scaling his agency with cold outreach, and gives us a behind-the-scenes look into his story transitioning from agency work into products.
