• Whoever came up with this section of the dictionary really was a grumpy old sod

    What is it with “N” words? How they are just so… negative? Have you noticed this? Yesterday I was looking for an “N” word to use in an acronym for a product I’m developing. So I yanked out John Carlton’s… Read more…

  • He looks like Uncle Fester!

    “He looks like Uncle Fester!” exclaimed Leah, my youngest daughter, while stabbing a finger toward my head. “O my gosh, yes!” chimed in Sarah, our middle child… choking back a laugh. “Oh, no!” sighed Vicki… Who was just returning home… Read more…

  • Why getting creative costs dollars

    There’s a thing creative types like to do. Especially writers. And I’ve been guilty. It’s… Getting creative… when you should be getting clear. Case in point yesterday… A writer on Facebook said their business name was related to “tea” (as… Read more…

  • Run an internet business without… social media?!?

    Yep. It’s possible to run a thriving internet business without social media. 😲 “Chris, you’ve finally blown a gasket! What are you talking about? Everyone knows you can’t do business online without social media!” Daniel Throssell or Ben Settle would… Read more…

  • A numbers game you can win

    Although there’s an art to writing Upwork proposals… It’s also a strategy and numbers game. There’s NEVER a 100% hit rate for writing proposals and landing jobs. It’s just… the better you write proposals. And the more you send. The… Read more…

  • Uh-oh… I feel like I’ve been here before

    You know that déjà vu feeling? Like Neo in the Matrix, spotting the two black cats walking past? It’s happening again… Feeling like I’ve swum out too far. Too fast. Before I had gained enough strength to be confident playing… Read more…

  • Why every freelancer needs to build their own email list

    The typical advice to freelancers who want to free themselves from the hamster-wheel of hustling is… get retainers. So you have steady work from a small handful of clients. And you’re not burning yourself out chasing new work month after… Read more…

  • Pointless comparisons

    One thing I’ve found that really starts to get me down is… Comparing myself to others. I’m picking you’ve probably experienced that at times too. I mean… It’s so easy to look at other peoples’ success and wonder… “why not… Read more…

  • Email open rates aren’t what you think

    When I started learning email marketing there were two key metrics to track: Open rates and click-through rates. Yeah, there are others, like conversion rate. But they’re dependent on the first two. Metrics like unsubscribes and spam rates play more… Read more…

  • Dealing with racking-the-brain syndrome

    A friend shared the story of her email copywriting win. She was doing an email course run by an A-list copywriter. (Names withheld to protect the innocent 😉) This copywriter said they LOVED her emails. It was because of her… Read more…