Double Your Freelancing Podcast

In this wrap up of Season 1, Brennan synthesizes the many insights from the first five episodes into a single step by step strategy for getting more clients. As a way to bring cohesion to the guests’ different approaches, Brennan follows the outline of DYF’s newest course, The Blueprint: Getting Clients Online. To get clients online, you’ll need to create a proper sales funnel. You’ll need to develop a service offering, validate it, set up proper marketing for it, and attract your clients. Since sales funnels can be leaky you’ll also need to look at the greater process and track where you’re losing your potential clients. You can start by thinking about what your end-goal is: a technical service offering, a consultation, a physical product sale, etc. In determining what form your end-goal will take and how to best present it, you should create a positioning statement or proposal. A good proposal takes a client’s need and merges it with the skills or services that you provide. The proposal will be a posi

Matt Olpinski is a full-time independent design consultant based in Rochester, NY. He has been designing user interfaces and websites for almost a decade, many of them leading to rapid user growth, large increases in sales, and millions in startup funding. Matt has designed native apps, responsive web apps, e-commerce websites, and marketing websites for clients in many industries including: fitness, shopping, video, food & beverage, industrial, law, education, automotive, music, social, SaaS, enterprise, non-profits, and more. Matt Olpinski is a UI and UX designer who had over 200 viable project leads in 2017. Through casual, but precise SEO, he’s become an expert in giving clients what they want. Matt’s site ranks extremely well on Google searches in his niche and with minor site tweaks, he’s ensured these leads go from “shopping around” to conversion. He shared some of his techniques with Brennan in this week’s DYF podcast on Lead Generation through SEO. Takeaways: How to create a useful message

Kev Kaye, founder of GrowthBOKs.com got into paid advertising when Facebook ads were still new. He saw untapped potential and started applying old methods to new media. In the decade since, Kev’s methods and the industry have both changed. He has sharpened his skills and built a rock solid funnel using paid acquisition, on demand webinars, and his customers’ freedom of choice. He has helped countless other independent creatives optimize their ads and in this episode of DYF Podcast, he gives insight into why you need paid ads in your marketing mix. How to use paid ads to get new clients How to create on-demand webinars How Facebook’s algorithm can work for you How to break down the value of a lead How to know if paid ads are working Kev Kaye’s first exposure to a growth engine was in 2008 when his roommate’s dad came to visit them in Florida and described his business as a hair salon marketing consultant. With such a specific niche, he was able to make a killing and showed Kev, with mathematical precisi

As a salary negotiation expert, Josh Doody faces a unique challenge -- how to convert a lead within the first hours of them visiting his site. Josh’s clients often find him within an hour or two of their salary discussions and are looking for help fast, cheap and with big results. His challenge has been to draw in clients sooner, address their needs right away, and to make sure they know he’s there for them long-term. He talks with Brennan about the tricks he’s learned for getting leads into his funnel, the best ways to experiment with your site, and what changes he’s had to make over the years. Takeaways: How to conduct useful SEO research and apply it to your content How to use content upgrades to optimize for opt-ins How to adjust your message for different clients Learning about clients by reading between the lines How to edit and refine your funnel Josh Doody, founder of FearlessSalaryNegotiation.com, teaches salaried employees how to make more money. His funnel starts with search engine optimizati

Does content marketing have the power to attract “whale leads?” In this episode, Brennan talks with Benji Hyam, founder of Grow and Convert, a content marketing agency based out of San Diego. Grow and Convert was started when founders, Benji Hyam and Devesh Khanal were introduced and immediately launched into a heated discussion about whether content marketing could attract high quality leads. Their debate turned into a partnership and the team set to work proving the untapped value of content marketing through hard work and simple, honest strategies. Key Takeaways: How to build trust through transparency Why credibility matters and how to build it from scratch How to make content marketing measurable How to create actionable case studies How to get guest posts published (script provided) Benji Hyam, co-founder of Grow and Convert believes that content marketing, at its core, is about trust. It starts with understanding what your customers care about and proving to them that you can deliver it. For Gro

Will guest appearances on podcasts benefit your consulting business? Is it worth it to start your own podcast even if your audience is limited? Matt Inglot thinks it is! In this episode of DYF Podcast, Brennan talks to 2016 DYFConf speaker, Matt Inglot, about using podcasting to get consulting clients and expand your audience. When Matt started his podcast, Freelance Transformation, he didn’t expect it to have any effect on his web-development agency. More than 145 episodes later, he has found that the impacts have been manifold. Not only has his podcast become one of the most prominent in the freelancing community, but it also helped him develop his contacts and directly led to a $60,000 gig. Other benefits have been less obvious but just as empowering, and Matt has learned all of the right and wrong ways to podcast along the way. Key Takeaways: How to determine if podcasting is right for you How to book your first few guests How to build your listenership How to use podcasts to build your authority

Where has Brennan been all this time (it's been 6 months!)? And what's next for the Double Your Freelancing podcast?

My guest today is Kelsey Kreiling, co-founder of Presence Agency and creator of Week of the Website, a productized website design business. Kelsey is a designer and website builder who has grown multiple businesses from the ground up. Her newest business, Week of the Website, builds amazing websites for their customers in only five days. On today’s episode we discuss her experience transitioning from client work to a productized service business model. Today’s topics include: Getting started in productized services, Focusing clients for success with clear communication, Using set processes to streamline service products, Building referral channels and recurring revenue, Opportunities for productized services in your own business Resources and links: Double Your Freelancing Academy Week of the Website Week of the Website - Website planning tool Presence Agency Kelsey Kreiling - Website Kelsey Kreiling - LinkedIn Kelsey Kreiling - Twitter FreshBooks Like the Podcast? Help us! If you enjoy the Double Your Freela

Today I’m talking with Joanna Wiebe, the founder of CopyHackers.com. CopyHackers is an online resource for everything you need to know about copywriting, including many informative case studies. Her new project, Airstory, is a fantastic content production tool for high-performance writing teams. Joanna taught me how to write effective sales copy and on today’s episode we discuss her Rule of One: how you can make sure that when you do write, your writing is focused on talking to one customer archetype. Today’s topics include: The Rule of One: 4-part definition and implementation, Niched marketing and personalized customer experience, Creating a reader archetype, Stages of customer awareness: problem, solution and product, Big ideas and your promise to the customer, Analyzing your offer to find missing details, Questioning common “best practices” Resources and links: Double Your Freelancing Academy Drip Email Marketing Automation - Double Your Freelancing Course CopyHackers.com Airstory Joanna Wiebe - Google+ J

My guest today is Meryl Johnston, founder of the international accounting agency Bean Ninjas. She has a background in accounting and began her first business as a consultant. She has grown her current business from the ground up and is now generating over $100,000 in recurring revenue through monthly productized bookkeeping services. We discuss her career, how she transitioned to a productized service business and lessons learned along the way. Today’s topics include: Transition from consulting to productized services Launching in seven days and growing the business through referrals Developing product offerings and pricing strategy Lessons learned since launch: hiring, customer niches Aligning marketing to customer niche Sales processes for productized services versus consulting Value of informational sales calls Resources and links: Bean Ninjas Dan Norris - 7 Day Startup Trello Project Management You Need a Budget Double Your Freelancing Meetup Groups Double Your Freelancing Academy FreshBooks Like the Podc

Today I’m talking with Barry O’Kane on niching down and creating a location independent business. He’s a Double Your Freelancing Academy student who has been working with Philip Morgan for the past few months while living in Edinburgh, Scotland and running his online business: Happy Porch. Barry has over 15 years experience in the web development industry and became location independent four years ago. Today’s topics include: Double Your Freelancing new drip email marketing automation course The importance of using Mastermind groups to improve focus in your business Mastermind group structure, leadership and relationships Running a distributed team using structured communication processes Recent evolution of Double Your Freelancing Academy How Barry founded his company Happy Porch Resources and links: Drip Email Marketing Automation - Double Your Freelancing Course Double Your Freelancing Academy Happy Porch Endzone Like the Podcast? Help us! If you enjoy the Double Your Freelancing podcast, support us to k

My guest today is Todd Tresidder, a former hedge fund manager and founder of FinancialMentor.com. He is a personal finance and investing expert coach who teaches how to grow wealth and reach financial independence. He emphasizes the importance of personal development and fulfillment in attaining the goal of financial freedom. A self-made millionaire himself, Todd’s FinancialMentor.com programs provide a step-by-step blueprint for building wealth. Visit Todd at FinancialMentor.com for free resources, courses, financial coaching and advice. Today’s topics include: Conceptualizing the importance of retirement and making it a priority The journey to financial freedom as a freelancer Controlling expenses is important, but increasing your income is less limited Adding value to yourself by being a revenue increaser, not an expense to your client The goal is not just to be rich but to experience fulfillment and happiness The Rule of 300/400: For every $1000/month you spend it takes $300,000-$400,000 dollars in asset

Today I’m talking with Michael Port, author of Book Yourself Solid and four other bestselling books. I came across Book Yourself Solid at a bookstore when I first started freelancing, and loved the online marketing techniques he describes. He has been running Book Yourself Solid programs around the world and training freelancers for the past 14 years. Michael describes six core self-promotion strategies that freelancers use, and more importantly goes into the backend of how to close sales and actually book business. He is a networking and direct outreach expert that has a daily routine to open doors and bring in clients. Even as an introvert, he has used public speaking, teaching and networking to create an international brand. Today’s topics include: Freelancers need to design a marketing and self-promotion system for their business. Building credibility, pricing yourself right and being able to have simple sales conversations are more important than self-promotion strategies alone. Marketing doesn’t get you

Today my guest is Jonathan Raymond the former CEO of E-Myth, he became the CEO in 2011 when the owner wanted to modernize the brand. He decided to break out on his own in 2015. The idea behind the E-Myth is that running a business is different than being great at whatever the business does. An example would be a great dancer who opens a dance studio and discovers there is more to running a dance studio than being a fantastic dancer. Jonathan now focuses on what it takes to create a great business and the culture, scale and team involved with doing so. He now focuses on refound.com and the core principles required to be a great leader and business owner. Jonathan has a new approach to leading and managing teams. He is also the author of the upcoming book, “Good Authority”. When it comes to managing teams, we not only need a new set of skills, we have to reimagine who we are and Jonathan and his business help leaders to be the best they can be. Enjoy! Today’s topics include: As an entrepreneur there is still cu

I’m super excited to share today’s interview with Ryan Waggoner with you. Ryan has an amazing consulting business and is pushing more than a million a year in profit. Ryan is killing it with mobile consulting, where a lot of people in that space struggle to make $100,000 plus. Ryan is an all around sharp guy, but I’m specifically bringing him on because he is really good at cash flow management. He has a great perspective on splitting up personal and business finance, and I want to capture that story. Ryan has been freelancing for 10 years. He started with website development and now he helps startups build mobile apps and know what not to build. Because there is a 6 to 8 week lead time in Ryan’s business, he always focuses on doing business development to avoid those feast or famine times when there is no work or too much work. He has a background process where there is always some form of business development going on. Today’s topics include: The emotions and behaviors of business and personal finance are i

Hello everyone, today I am talking with Diana Huff, the President of Huff Industrial Marketing a business that helps industrial manufacturers grow and succeed. Diana just released her new book Cash Flow for Freelancers. Today we will be talking about how to manage cash flow when you have a variable income. Diana started her business in 1998 when it was known as DH Communications. She is now a marketing consultant, but when she began she was focused on freelance copywriting in the B2B market. At the time, she had a 12 month old son that she wanted to stay home with. Over the years, her business has evolved, but last year there was a huge transformation. She changed her entire focus and now runs Huff Industrial Marketing. Diana wrote Cash Flow for Freelancers because she is very familiar with struggling with the cash flow issues that freelancers have, and she wanted to do something to help others. Today’s topics include: When faced with financial issues, Diana turned to all of the popular financial books. None

It's time to officially announce the opening of the Double Your Freelancing Academy. Get details and an insider’s scoop on the Double Your Freelancing Academy in today's episode.

Today our guest is Reuven Lerner, who teaches Python, Ruby, Git and PostgreSQL to companies around the world. Today we are discussing using training as a productized offering. Reuven will also be giving an extended presentation on this topic at the Double Your Freelancing Conference that we are having June 22nd through June 25th in Stockholm, Sweden. Reuven has over 20 years of experience as a software engineer and over 15 years experience teaching in high-tech companies. He has a PhD in Learning Sciences and incorporates student feedback into his courses. He offers on-site training courses that not only teaches programming, but teaches students how to think in new more productive ways. Reuven has been involved with the Internet since its inception, and his first website was even on Tim Berners-Lee’s list of all of the websites in the world. Reuven now lives in Israel. Enjoy the conversation. Today’s topics include: Reuven started out doing consulting and web development for businesses. He then started teachi

Hello everyone, today I am talking to Budi Voogt. He is an awesome guy from the Netherlands. He runs a recording label consultancy. I love looking beyond the typical web designer, copywriter, marketer kind of business and seeing how other types of entrepreneurs are successfully charging more, getting better clients, and putting systems in place. Budi is in the Hague, Netherlands. He went to school for Business Administration. Then started working in artist management and booking. From 2012 to 2014, he was Co-Founder of Heroes Managment which is now merging into Heroic Audio. He wrote “The SoundCloud Bible” and created the Music Marketing Academy. Today’s topics include: The music industry was a gate-keeper model, but technology has disrupted the industry Instead of convincing gate-keepers to take notice, Budi and his crew focus on the online model for marketing and distribution A lot of creatives struggle with having buyers for their service, Budi’s agency noticed that the online marketing model was really

Today I have an awesome interview with a long time student of mine, Eric White. When Eric started he was a typical commoditized freelancer, but he made the transition to high-value business consulting. He has a background in developing business software. He enjoyed working with people and was the guy who spoke with clients to find out what they wanted in their software products. Eric’s current consulting work is understanding what clients actually want with their software. He wants to meet them in the right place and discover what the solution for their problems are. He likes the job of figuring out what is motivating each side and what they need to make the project happen. His specialty is the higher-level people portion of managing software projects. Today’s topics include: Playing in the problem space can be more valuable than playing in the solution space Being able to articulate and understand problems is a skill that adds a lot of value Eric was going through his own business struggle when he came acro