Author: James Cross

Are you ready to make your freelance life more efficient, enjoyable, and, let's face it, less chaotic? Our latest podcast episode is the perfect companion for your creative journey!

 

Discover the secrets to organizing your freelance business for more consistency and room to grow. Say goodbye to flying by the seat of your pants and welcome the magic of creating your very own “recipes” using the TOTS Playbook Method.

 

In this episode, we explore:

Don't miss this opportunity to level up your freelance adventure and tap into your full creative potential. Experience the difference that a little organization can make for your creative work and well-being.

 

🎧 Are you ready to unleash your creative superpowers? Click here to listen now!

 

In this episode you’ll discover:

What if breaking the rules and embracing your uniqueness could revolutionize an entire industry? 🤯

 

Meet Paco de Leon, a trailblazer who defied conventional wisdom and turned the world of finance on its head by being unapologetically herself.

 

As the author of Finance for the People and founder of The Hell Yeah Group, Paco has leveraged her personal brand to create an irresistible appeal that sets her miles apart from the competition.

 

Her unconventional approach has landed her features on TED, New York Times, Forbes, Business Insider, NPR, Vice, Bloomberg, Good Morning America, and countless others.

 

How did Paco achieve such success in an industry as notoriously bland as finance? She wholeheartedly embraced her uniqueness and used the 80/20 principle to make everything she touches turn to gold.

 

Feeling like you're putting in endless hours of work but not gaining any traction? Let Paco de Leon be your guide! Join our conversation to make this year a resounding “Hell Yeah!” year 🚀

 

You’ve probably heard my rants on hourly vs. project-based pricing before…

 

Yet you're still charging by the hour or day.

 

I've heard all the excuses at this point”

 

Well, Brandi Mowles, from the Serve Scale Soar Podcast, is here to show you that you can simplify your packages, without a bunch of added work… and the best part is that you can do it more profitably than hourly projects.

 

Brandi debunks the common myths, mistakes, and reservations freelancers have on switching from hourly to package pricing, and helps them hit the $10k per month mark without a team.

 

If you’re ready to get out of the day-to-day hourly grind, and truly soar in your business, listen in on my conversation with Brandi Mowles!

 

In this episode you’ll discover:

Writing all of the different elements for your website is one of the most painful things… especially if you're trying to create a website that turns strangers into clients.

 

Unless you are a copywriter, typing out a persuasive sentence feels like:

 

 

 

or

 

 

When these thoughts pop into our heads, it’s important to realize “persuasive” does not mean “sleazy.”

 

Converting the strangers on your website into paying clients is a massive step towards getting out of the feast-or-famine lifestyle, and you can do it without compromising any of your values.

 

Whether your website conversions are floundering, your about page is blank, or you just can’t get that client to respond with a testimonial, Delia Monk has answers for us!

 

As an expert in conversion-focused copy, she helps us turn all of our boring, vanilla website copy into personality-driven, radiant, and most importantly, high–converting websites.

 

Listen to my conversation with Delia to take the next step toward building your new 24/7 lead-generating machine!

 

In this episode you’ll discover:

You are AMAZING at what you do as a creative. You create stunning designs, produce incredible music, or breathe life into visual media like photos or videos. Paid ads aren’t for you, right?

 

The truth is, paid ads can work for anyone, including freelancers.  

 

This has been proven time and time again, in industry after industry… Paid ads are one of the quickest ways to multiply your income and bring in more clients.

 

The beauty of paid ads is that you have complete control over them.

 

It’s not like referrals, where you’re sitting around waiting for someone else to send you clients.

 

It’s not like cold outreach, where you feel like you’re spamming people.

 

It’s not like social media, where you’re relying on the algorithm gods to put your content in front of people.

 

By using paid ads, you can take matters into your own hands and steer your business in the direction you want.

 

If you’ve tried paid ads before and they “didn’t work,” don’t give up just yet. 

 

In this episode, I debunk 6 paid ads myths that are holding you back from using this powerful lead-generation tool.

 

In this episode you’ll discover:

I know the internet hasn't shut up about AI over the past couple of months, and you're probably thinking “dammit Brian, not another person talking about AI.” But, hear me out…

 

Right now, AI isn't something to be afraid of, but actually, a tool that can be used by freelancers in a bunch of ways…

 

Of course, you could always do this stuff on your own, but why make things harder for yourself? It’s a hell of a lot easier to let AI do all the heavy lifting and simply go back to tweak some words here and there.

 

Instead of jumping on the pity party bandwagon of:

 

 

Or brushing it off as:

 

 

The truth is, AI is here to help you, not to replace you (at least, not yet🤖).

 

Ready to take advantage of the opportunity that AI tools like ChatGPT can offer your business? Join me as I walk you through 9 ways to make ChatGPT and other AI tools work FOR you as a freelancer, not against you.

 

In this episode you’ll discover:

If I were to ask you to think of the most bizarre marketing ideas you could think of to get clients, what would you say?

 

I'd almost guarantee it doesn't include any of these:

These ideas are ridiculous, right?

 

Well, the creative marketing agency Dingus & Zazzy doesn’t think so. Their mantra is “no idea is a bad idea until we try it”.

 

And you might say:

 

“There is no way these methods would work, they’re way too far out there!”

 

And to that, I'd say JUST LOOK AT THE NUMBERS…

 

Dingus & Zazzy are bringing in over $500,000 per month in recurring revenue.

 

Yes, you read that right… per MONTH.

 

And this isn’t just a good month. This is automatic, recurring revenue every single month!

 

Whether you have aspirations of earning $500,000 per month, per year, or even $50,000 per year, this conversation has applications for your creative business at any level.

 

Listen in on my eye-opening conversation with Becca Kingsbury, co-founder and COO at Dingus & Zazzy, about her mastery of the recurring unlimited business model, hiring over 150 creative employees, and scaling to nearly 8 figures per year by using… interesting marketing methods.

 

In this episode you’ll discover:

I see a lot of creatives comparing themselves to their successful peers, saying things like:

 

 

While having experience, a network, and a niche are helpful to becoming a successful creative, I want to show you an example of how those things are NOT all required when you're early in your career.

 

Meet Joana Galvão.

 

Joana is the owner of the incredibly successful GiF Design Studios. When she launched her freelance design career straight out of college, her calendar was booked solid for 6 months…

 

Without years and years of experience…

 

Without a long list of contacts and relationships built up over time…

 

Without niching down…

 

Now that we have those excuses you had out of the way, listen in on my conversation with Joana to break down the concepts of lead generation, referrals, and how to thrive as a creative!

 

In this episode you’ll discover:

I know, I know, as soon as you hear “SEO,” you throw your headphones across the room and continue on with whatever fluffy, fun creative task you’ve been working on the past eleven hours.

 

While the technical jargon of SEO, marketing, and web traffic sounds boring as all hell, I’m here to suggest that you give it a chance.

 

The reason you should take a second glance:

 

 

 

OK, that's an over-exaggeration.

 

 

You'd never need to worry about making ends meet again. No more fumbling around on social media. No more endless barrage of cold email pitches.

 

If you are diligent about the SEO practices in this episode, you can develop completely organic traffic to your website (that means NO paid ads) and even monetize the visitors that show up through affiliate marketing.

 

Having worked with Disney, Omega, Nintendo, and many more big brands, Jacob Cass is THE guy to listen to when it comes to the secret sauce behind SEO.

 

If you haven’t quite hit that 1 MILLION site views per month milestone (like Jacob has), give this episode a listen!

 

In this episode you’ll discover:

After covering the marketing, sales, and problem-solving skill stacks last week, we should be ready to knock our creative business out of the park, right?

 

Not quite yet…

 

There are a few more “non-creative” skill stacks that are essential to get right if you want to be a well-rounded and effective freelancer in 2023 and beyond.

 

Some creatives may look at these skills and say…

If that sounds like you, then all I can do from the comfort of my sofa as I type this is facepalm. 🤦🏻‍♂️

 

Do you, your income, your business, and your clients a favor by at least giving this episode a shot. 

 

I wholeheartedly believe investing time and energy into these 5 skill stacks will improve your relationships, increase your productivity, and help you earn more this year.

 

In this episode you’ll discover: