I know a few freelancers who are always wary of brands. They don’t give clients the benefit of the doubt. They’ve gotten the short end of the stick before, and so they can smell a bad client a mile away. Even when the client isn’t bad.

Ever wonder how creators with half your talent land jobs twice as big as yours? It’s because they know how to pitch. Pitching is what separates freelancers from hobbyists. Pitching is essential to making money as a freelancer. But knowing what to write in your decks is confusing–especially for visual artists. This is a shame, because brands speak the language of pitch decks.

Great writing does not exist in a vacuum. Great writing solves real problems for real people, pulling from real experience. Great writing is relatable, pulling poignant human truths from lived-in moments.

If you feel like you’re experiencing a block, keep pushing through it. The tension and frustration you feel now is necessary to open up your mind to new ideas and new strategies.

If you’re a freelancer, you probably have a freelance website. But unless you’re a freelance copywriter (like me) you probably don’t know what to write on that website. Fear not. I’m a freelance copywriter and I’ve written copy for dozens of freelance and small business websites.

It’s tempting to leverage old school hierarchy for your own advantage. But it’s exactly that: old school. The new world we live in and work in puts people on a level playing field, as far as what’s possible.

Since freelancing is inherently creative, many people find their creative ambitions used up by the time the work day is done.

Freelancing drastically changes the way you view money. It changes how you budget your personal finances in comparison to a salaried job. Here’s how.

The first step is to have something to show. You can offer to make videos for a small business, but if you’ve never made a video before, they won’t hire you. But if they don’t hire you, then how do you get something to show? By doing your own work on your own time with your own money.

Leveraging punishment or reward to motivate oneself based on things that have happened in the past is a bad strategy. Punishment is rooted in the past. It acts as a form of justice for a negative action.

This is the difference between Summer and Winter for ad agencies. Which means this is also the difference between Summer and Winter for brands. And if you’re a freelancer, and things feel a bit slow right now, this is also the difference between Summer and Winter for you.

Will yelling a random Italian name really going to help us overcome the fear and doubt in our hearts? Probably not. But the concept has merit! Here’s how to actually “Silenzio Bruno” in real life.

“Doing it right is hard. Doing it over is harder.” –James Clear

Eventually, I started making more money. What’s funny is that my scarcity mindset lingered. On one hand, it’s good to avoid lifestyle shift when you start making more money, so you can save more. But I was still thinking and living as though I had to pinch every penny.

A value clash is when your values clash. You value your creative work, no doubt, but you also value family, friends, work, leisure, entertainment. When these things clash, your creative output is most likely to lose the battle.

After a few months of following my routine, something terrible happened: a handyman was paid by my neighbor to remove all the concrete in their backyard. Right outside my window. Linked here is a video called 10 Hour Relaxing Jackhammer Sounds to help you imagine my experience.

As my friend stayed with this man, and heard about his one complaint a year, the next question he asked was a given: what was your complaint this year?

If reading is feeling too dense, or too heavy, then start jotting down notes, and doing a little thinking.

Sparkling beverage brand Mixwell is asking people to not buy their drinks. Well, not all people. They recently published a statement, a series of videos, and a collection of bus stop ads asking specific people, who hold a specific set of beliefs, not to buy their products. I’m here to break down why Mixwell’s campaign is actually unpersuasive and unethical–even while being genuinely impossible to ignore.

Happiness is in the middle. It’s somewhere between great expectations and full acceptance.