Dutchi

Why you probably work too much (without getting paid enough): This one's going to hit you. But it's (once again) the truth. There's a big chance you're working too much for barely enough results right now. And sorry to say, but that's on you. You've bought the idea that hard work will eventually pay off. You've even started liking this suffering, because it makes you feel better about yourself. But I'd like to rephrase that to show you why that's not the case. And why there's a more intelligent way to go about things. See, everything has a logic to it. A logic is like a path: certains causes lead to certain effects. And usually the same causes lead to the same effects, just like an equation. This means that logic is a process that evolves with time. For example babies don't suddenly become adults. The body follows a logic: you eat, food fuels your cells, and you grow. I'll add that the body's logic never changes: when you eat, you grow. There was never a case of someone eating and shrinking. Given the same parameters, a logic always stays the same. It follows a direction. Even if that's not entirely clear to you, memorize this... Without a specific aim & logic, you will only waste your time and effort. Stop thinking in absolutes! "Hard work will pay" means nothing. Just push a boulder up a hill and watch what happens. Instead think in terms of context: "according to where I am right now, and the challenges I face, here's what I should do." I am ready to wager that you do not have a specific goal in mind right now. And that's why you're not where you want to be. You probably just waiting for things to fall in place by themselves. This is wishful thinking my friend. And we've all been guilty of it. Aimless hard work is not a virtue. It's folly, to say the least. So how do you start? Well... by understanding your current location on the map. Take the 4 stages of competence. You might be familiar with this idea: - Stage 1 is unconscious incompetence: you don't know that you don't know. You're unaware. Failure is inevitable. - Stage 2 is conscious incompetence: you know that you don't know. At least you're being honest with yourself and you can start establishing a path to competence. - Stage 3 is conscious competence. You're getting there, but at the cost of many hours of work and study. It's hard, but you're witnessing your first few W. - Stage 4 is unconscious competence. This is the ultimate stage because you've aligned your intuition to what works. Meaning that whatever you touch turns to gold with no effort whatsover. The way to go from Stage 1 to Stage 2 is curiosity & humility. You shut your mouth and start listening. A lot. You are nothing, you are no-one. Your sole purpose is to listen. You're a block of raw marble about to get chiseled. This process will take a few months. The #1 problem I see with new Copywriters is the inability to accept their incompetence. They thus prevent themselves to ever be anything other than complete failures. The way to go from Stage 2 to Stage 3 is imitation. At this stage you are not a Copywriter. You are not a thinker. You are not an thought leader. You just identify patterns and recreate them without ever interfering with your own ideas. Do not try anything original yet because you're learning how to differentiate good from bad and right from wrong. This process can take up to a few years, but you can actually start earning good money at the same time. There a multiple ways to go from Stage 3 to Stage 4, but the most important one is repetition. Once you've found what works, repeat it until you've moulded your subconscious. Your intuition must be aligned on what works. Reading manuals and books before this stage is detrimental, unless prescribed by your mentor. That's because more knowledge is NOT what you need until stage 3 or 4. You risk drowning in the sea of complexity. There's a fifth Stage that has no name. And to get there you must jump into Chaos. That's the final battle with the Demon of Creation. And the only step separating you from true genius. But that's another topic I'll keep for my private community (DM to join). At every Stage of competence you must set yourself precise goals. These goals must be (mosty) financial ones. That's because sales, and money, are FACTS. Whereas competence and skill are relative. They fluctuate too much. And you can't follow a relative path. You must base your journey on facts. Or else you just get lost in non-euclidian nightmares. In other words, always prioritize the money before anything else. Raise your prices. Ask for more. Use leverage. But always always base your journey on truth and facts. Do not delude yourself. You are somewhere on a map right now. Pinpoint this location with honesty and plan accordingly. A crucial thing that'll help you is having a mentor who has gone through the same stages before. They will tell you where you're at on the map. And help you plan the next steps. Not having a mentor is asking for trouble. You cannot do it alone. Be a smartass if you want, we'll just watch you struggle on our way to the bank. Ok? Ok. Good luck.

You could also market yourself. "Hey [name], Saw your Ads/Sales page/Funnel and identified a couple of things you could improve: A, B, C. [Give a reasoning] If you want I can do it for you and save you some time." Then get them on a call.