High-Income Business Writing Podcast
Ed Gandia
Ed Gandia, co-author of the bestselling book, The Wealthy Freelancer, reveals how to propel your writing business to the six-figure level (or the part-time equivalent). In this nuts-and-bolts, no-nonsense podcast, you'll discover how to get better clients, earn more in less time, and bring more freedom and joy into your writing business. Ed will walk you through the practical, “doable” systems and strategies he has developed in his own writing business — the same systems he has taught his private coaching clients. He'll also show you what’s working for other business writers by bringing you real case studies from the field. And he'll share all this information in an honest and transparent way, with no hype or fluff. Topics covered include: getting better and higher-paying clients; banishing the feast-or-famine cycle; doing more of the work that excites you; how to raise your fees and rates; boosting your productivity; making your business recession-proof; discovering and leveraging your strengths; finding your niche; pricing content writing projects; pricing copywriting projects; writing white papers; writing case studies; writing web copy; writing articles; and much more.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 8, 2015 • 42min
#087: How to Get Through (and Absorb!) That Pile of Unread Business Books
I love to read.
In fact, I have more books I want to read than I have time to read them.
Sound familiar?
Yes, I've tried some speed-reading courses. They helped, but I've yet to reach a level where I can read 50+ books a year.
So when I came across Brandon Hakim's techniques on how to read and absorb dozens of books a year, I was intrigued.
Just by applying a few of his simple ideas, I've read two books in the past two weeks — something that would have normally taken me two months to accomplish.
In this interview, Brandon will explain how he reads over 300 books a year. He describes a key mindset shift you need to make in order to get to this level. Plus a handful of practical techniques to help you get through nonfiction books much faster.
Sep 24, 2015 • 37min
#086: Health Insurance Options for U.S. Freelancers
If you're in the U.S., this is an important interview.
It's about your health insurance options as a self-employed professional:
The ins and outs
Where to shop
What to look for
How to make the best decisions for you and your family
With open enrollment coming up soon ... and fines going up significantly for those who don't enroll in a plan ... this is the time to get educated and to investigate your options.
It's all here, including detailed show notes:
Sep 10, 2015 • 38min
#085: Why You Should Start a Newsletter (and How to Keep it From Being a Drag)
In today's episode, you'll hear from my friend and colleague Michael Katz. Michael is an authority on launching, publishing and leveraging a newsletter to grow your service-based business.
Aug 27, 2015 • 45min
#084: Michelle Ward on How to Make the Leap From Full-Time Day Job to Self-Employment
"How do I successfully transition out of a day job and into full-time freelancing?"
That's one of the most common questions I get asked by aspiring freelance writers and copywriters. And in today's episode, you'll get yet another perspective from someone who's made the leap successfully and coached many others on how to make this challenging transition — Michelle Ward, a.k.a. the When I Grow Up Coach.
Aug 13, 2015 • 50min
#083: Listener-Submitted Questions + My Answers
Trying something a little different this week. I'm doing a Q&A show with questions you submitted through a recent survey. I'd love to get your feedback on this format. If you like it, I'll do more of these in the future.
Jul 30, 2015 • 28min
#082: Your Biggest Challenge As a New Freelance Writer or Copywriter and What to Do About It
Over the past three years, I've worked with hundreds of new freelance writers and copywriters. I enjoy mentoring and coaching these new and ambitious freelance professionals, helping them build and grow their businesses. But through this process, I've uncovered a disturbing trend. This is not something I enjoy talking about. Mainly because it requires that I be blunt about some issues. But it's time to shine a light on this painful truth — and what you can do about it if you find yourself in one of these situations.
Jul 16, 2015 • 46min
#081: How to Get Paid Faster Without Chasing After Clients
If you've been freelancing for a few years, chances are you've had trouble getting paid at some point. The client was slow to pay. Or they lost your invoice. Or they held your payment for some weird and unfair reason. When that happens, you have a choice. You can rant about it. Foam at the mouth. Call Tony Soprano. Lose sleep. Or you can use that as a learning experience. And change what you do in order to prevent that from happening again (or at least to prevent it from happening as frequently). As passionate as I about my business and as much energy as I put into my clients' work, I've chosen to focus on the latter. Not only has it been more effective, but it has also enabled me to retain my sanity and peace of mind. And in this episode my guest, will share some very practical ideas for preventing these nightmares from happening.
Jul 2, 2015 • 40min
#080: How to Pick the Best, Smartest Niche for Your Freelance Business
The process of picking a niche can be extremely stressful. But I've found that most of that stress and frustration is the result of bad advice. In fact, most of what I read and hear on the topic of picking a niche is misguided. It treats the issue as a simple, one-dimensional decision. But in reality, this is a complex, multi-faceted topic that requires you to think about your business at a deeper level. At the same time, it requires you to take action, even before you feel 100 percent comfortable with you decision. Because in most cases, your best niche ends up finding YOU. . But in this episode, we're going deeper. My guest is Ilise Benun from . Ilise is a frequent guest in my podcasts and classes. And in this interview, she'll share some practical ideas to help you solve your niche puzzle.
Jun 18, 2015 • 40min
#079: Should You Use a Creative Brief?
Do you use a creative brief when working with clients? Have you thought about using one but not sure what to include? Do you even need one? You'll get direct answers to these important questions in this week's show. My guest is Pam Foster from and . Pam is a seasoned marketer with extensive corporate communications experience. She's a big believer in using a creative brief when working on client projects. In this episode, she explains: Why you need a creative brief What it should contain How to use one when working with a client How to customize it for different scenarios How to use them to deliver more value to your clients
Jun 4, 2015 • 43min
#078: How to Get Your Email Under Control
Email is dying. Not really. But that's what some social media pundits are claiming. Fact is, it really doesn't matter how much texting, tweeting and "Facebooking" people are doing these days ... email is not going anywhere. Love it or hate it, email is a wonderful tool. It's convenient and dependable. It's ubiquitous. The trick, however, is knowing how to keep it under control. In this week's session, we'll address the issue head on. You'll hear from Twyla LaPointe, a productivity expert and an email management consultant. Twyla will share a mix of strategy, workflow and simple tools to help you tame the email beast
