6 steps to pick your next money-making writing project
Recently I wrote about writing being the last thing you need to do to get your business off the ground, if you’re newer.
One of the philosophies behind my production labs is “right project.”
Right project means that you pick the project that stands the most chance of getting you to your goal.
See, a lot of business owners THINK that it’s their writing that isn’t working.
But that’s actually not true.
It’s usually one of two things: 1) they never stopped to pick a goal for their writing – what they want the writing to DO for them, or 2) they have a goal, but they picked the wrong writing project to get them there.
This is good news because it means you aren’t a crappy persuasive writer.
It just means that you need to go back, pick your goal, and pick the right project for your goal. THEN write that.
Here’s how I think about it:
Step 1 – Nail the basic message in your business and put together your main offer. Here at Stella Orange, we help with the first part (we do the second part for clients in Project Days and the Writing Brigade). In a nutshell, there are 6 elements of a basic message for a business. You need to know them, or your writing and marketing won’t work. We’ll write about that next week.
Step 2 – Pick your goal. Remember how I said a lot of business owners skip this step? Prevent this from happening by asking yourself, “if the project I’m writing totally worked, what would happen?” For many of the business owners we work with, their goals are things like: get a full roster of 1-1 clients, launch a group program, or write a website. The goal defines what you’ll do in step 3 –
Step 3 – Right project. ONLY PICK A PROJECT THAT STANDS A FIGHTING CHANCE OF MOVING YOU CLOSER TO YOUR GOAL. Sorry, caps lock. I spend a good part of my day talking business owners OUT of projects that don’t make sense for where they are in business, like the woman who had 160 people on her list who wanted to launch a low price group program through email.
The truth is, if you want more 1-1 clients, writing is not the fastest way to get there, for most of you. Talking to people and asking them for money is.
But that’s uncomfortable at first. It brings up your money sh*t, and brings up their money sh*t. You will get rejected a lot (we all do.)
So it seems a lot safer to diddle around rewriting your website 17 times in your yoga pants at home with a hot cup of your favorite beverage.
Oooh, I can feel a rant coming on.
Down, rant, down.
Good girl.
Again:
ONLY PICK A PROJECT THAT STANDS A FIGHTING CHANCE OF MOVING YOU CLOSER TO YOUR GOAL.
Step 4 – Write.
Step 5 – Learn one thing. Here’s my theory: action will set you free. You actually need to take your writing and put it out into the world, to test it and see how people respond.
There is learning that you will never get in the kiddie pool of other people’s programs and cert courses. Those can be great scaffolding, helping you make things simpler and build up your skills.
But certain things you can only learn when you get into Real Life Action.
Every time you send an email, learn one thing. Did that subject line cause more people to open your email, or fewer? How could you change it next time?
Every time you do a launch, learn one thing. Did the Q&A at the end of your preview call lead to more goodwill and sales? What would you do differently next time?
Every time someone introduces you using a bio you wrote, learn one thing. Did you forget to change the pronouns from “we” to “they” so your host doesn’t have to trip when she’s reading?
Step 6 – Repeat steps 2-6. Free spirits in the group, don’t read this:
Business is about repetition. There will be tasks and projects that you do over and over again, for as long as you are in business. Writing newsletters. Writing 100 word bios. Writing video scripts. Writing preview call opt-in pages.
And there will be new projects you layer on, as you become more advanced. Writing pitches. Writing sales pages. Writing copy for your promotional partners to send on your behalf.
The way I see it, the number one way to build clarity, skill, and insight into the minds of your audience is to write.
Write to get clear.
Then go out and test it on people.
Really, it’s that simple. And I’d much rather you realize that your business idea is a non-starter BEFORE you drop thousands of bucks on a website and logo.
The way I teach messaging is: okay, here are the 6 things you need to know about your business. Just make a decision now. Then go out and test it on real people and see if it resonates.
I do this in 4 weeks. Because you don’t need to have everything perfectly ironed out and crisp for people to start hiring you. This is true whether you are starting out or if you are shifting your target market or how you are positioning yourself in the marketplace.
Because as I like to say, “it doesn’t need to be perfect when ‘good enough’ makes you money.”
Love this article? Get my all new free guide: “10 Ways to Make Writing Easier, More Profitable and Sound Like the Real You” and enroll in the upcoming 4-week Craft Your Message production lab with me LIVE here. The lab starts October 21st, 3-4:15pm EST.
Mighty thanks to pshutterbug flickr photostream for the six.
