Photographers and videographers amaze me with how terrible they usually are at copywriting. The most common questions I get from visual artists are about copywriting. How do I write a good bio? How do I pitch my services? How do I describe what I do? I get it. Copywriting can be tough. But with a little thinking and a little guidance, you’ll be writing a killer bio in no time.

Clarity is so important in pitches, because your service is uncharted territory for the client. The reason they would hire someone like you is so you can bring new expertise that they don’t have. So when your pitch is unclear, it makes a foggy experience even more difficult to comprehend for your client.

If you have a big decision to make, write a list of pros and cons. Some people say not to write lists of pros and cons, because it’s too rigid of a rubric to judge important, flexible decisions. I disagree.

No one will teach us how to spend our vacation time. There’s no college class on how to have a restful Sunday. High schools don’t teach personal finance or taxes or time management.

Many freelancers start their careers the opposite way that Tesla did. They do projects for razor thin profit margins, convincing themselves that they’ll get more clients, make the process more efficient, and generate a lot of revenue that way. But they rarely do.

In advertising, unexpected things capture consumer attention. Expected things don’t capture consumer attention–they fall on deaf ears and glazed-over eyes. And somewhere in the middle of unexpected and expected, advertising is proven to be low-risk and effective.

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.