Part I: What To Expect From This Series
Over the next 2 weeks, I’m bringing you a 6-part series with some of the best strategies, material and case studies I’ve ever created. And it’s all about freelancing.
If you’ve never heard of freelancing before, it’s pretty simple — essentially, it’s just selling your skills or services to someone on a contract basis and getting paid for it.
It’s an amazing way to make a TON of money if you do it correctly.
You may have thought of doing some freelance work on the side…but it all seems so scary and uncertain, doesn’t it?
- Which skill or service do I offer? Do I even have anything to offer?
- Exactly where and how do I find clients?
- If I do find clients…how do I get them to actually pay me?
^^ Those are all questions that came to my mind when I started my first freelance business a few years ago.
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to show you how to overcome all those roadblocks, step-by-step. I’ll compile all that here in this post so that you can use it as a massive reference guide.
Then, on Thursday, August 28th at 1pm EST, I’m going help you tie everything together and show you how to make your first $1,000 freelancing online at a special LIVE event.
More on that later 
For now, watch the video below and do me a lil’ favor…leave a comment below giving me a quick answer to the question I ask at the end.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what the next 2 weeks are going to look like (for those of us with YouTube ADHD)
Thursday, August 14th
You’ll get to see an awesome VIDEO case study with fellow Tribe member Blake where he breaks down EXACTLY how he used the methods I teach to start a thriving freelance business that makes him thousands EVERY month.
Umm…this is awesome, because it’s easy for me to tell you “Trust me…this works!”…but it’s way better to see someone else do it with your own two eyes
You’re going to love this!
Monday, August 18th
I’M ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS OF THE TWO $250 RICH20 BUSINESS GRANTS
I’m happy to give this to you. And I seriously hope you win. Ok…well maybe not all at once. I ain’t got that much money.
I’ll also be opening up seating for the LIVE event with me “How to Make Your First $1,000 Freelancing Online”
I’m letting the blog in on this first, then I’m opening it up to the public (e.g. Facebook traffic, etc). There are only 1,000 spots and I expect it to fill up. Not a fake scarcity thing…literally just a software limitation.
You’ll be able to register here when that’s ready. Don’t worry, I’ll let you know.
Thursday, August 21st
You’ll learn exactly WHERE and HOW to find freelance clients. No BS. Just straight up strategies. Even if you stopped watching/reading here, you’d have enough knowledge to make money. But you know that’s not all…
Monday, August 25th
You’ll be getting ACTUAL transcripts/screenshots of my conversations with a prospect and watch me turn them into clients in a few carefully-crafted paragraphs.
(No, not the edited versions or anything…literally ripped directly off my Elance account.)
Then I’ll walk you through step-by-step and tell you WHY I said every single word, and how I used persuasion to get them to pay me $995 in less than a week (and only a handful of messages back and forth)
Thursday, August 28th
THE LIVE EVENT: “How To Make Your First $1,000 Freelancing Online”
You’ll learn how to put everything together to start a freelance business that makes you thousands of dollars every month. Even if you have no idea what you’re good at. Even if you’ve never sold anything before.
You’ll also get a chance to be one of the first to try out my new private course Freelance Domination.
But now I’ve said too much
This post will be continually updated throughout the next two weeks as I drop all this awesome stuff, so stay tuned (I’ll also send you links ;p)
-DD
PS — Don’t forget to leave a comment below answering the question I asked in today’s video
Part II: How Blake Douglass Used Freelance Domination To Make $21,000 A Month
In Part I of the “How to Make $1,000 Freelancing Online” series, I gave you a rundown of everything that you’d be getting over the next few weeks. Now, let’s dig into it.
In Part II of the series, I’d like to introduce you to Blake Douglass. He owns a company called Artifice Marketing that specializes in branding, consulting and marketing.
I’ve known Blake for about 8 months now. I met him, like I meet many Tribe members, through email.
Blake hit me up through my contact form to ask me some questions about my Hacking Elance article.
Here’s what he wrote…
Blake’s first email to me, via contact form. Click to enlarge.
This is a pretty common question. Often, new freelancers want to know how people will be looking at them and what they need to do to stand out. I gave him some of the more inside advice that I’d learned perfecting my freelance approach. Only the most powerful stuff that I knew would work.
The sucky part about giving out advice online is, even when you KNOW it works…most people don’t follow it. Either they don’t believe you…or they “don’t have time.”
But Blake was different. Within TWO DAYS, he’d already implemented my advice…and it was paying off big time. In the form of cold, hard cash.
Check this out…
Blake’s progress, just TWO days after following my advice. Click to enlarge.
I’ve sent out 4 video proposals and set 2 Skype meetings (both made a point to mention how much the appreciated the video and loved my energy, they didn’t mention my cunning good looks but I know they meant to.) I just finished up with the first Skype meeting and at minimum it will be a $700 project for, what to me, is very easy work. That client also wants to bring us on with a monthly retainer for ongoing maintenance and additions! WOOT!Second Skype meeting with another potential client is set for monday. I am documenting it all, and will send you the results after our initial two week test drive. I imagine, similarly to you, we will have to begin turning away work.Not to sound like a little girl, but it makes me want to cry. I bust my ass daily being the web designer, copywriter, social media manager, etc, etc, for my company and something is finally giving. I can’t thank you enough my friend! Thank you thank you thank you!
Two new client meetings in two days…AND a $700 deal + retainer.
Then another…for $1,100. Things were beginning to click.
Pretty. Damn. Cool.
But we weren’t done. Over the next several months, we kept honing and honing his game. Blake went from that initial “win” to having almost too many damn options. From $1,000 projects, to $5,000 and beyond.
Now he doesn’t accept any project less than $10-$15k. And he’s a FAR cry from struggling to book his first client. All this happened in 8 short months.
When my Tribe members see success, IT PUMPS ME UP.
So I started working with Blake and a few other tribe members to build the strategies we implemented together into a course called Freelance Domination.
You’ll learn more about the course over the next few weeks — and I’m even doing a free web class with strategies pulled right from the course. But for now, I want you to hear more about how Blake was able to leverage the strategies from the course to make 6 figures in just 8 months.
Watch this interview to learn:
- 2:01 — Blake’s rocky beginnings, and why he felt insecure and unprepared to start freelancing
- 3:45 — How to avoid getting overwhelmed and confused with information about starting a business
- 5:20 — Why the “typical” approach to finding clients doesn’t work (and what to do instead)
- 6:21 — How he implemented strategies from Freelance Domination and got his first client…in ONE try for $1,100
- 7:45 — The “virus of self-confidence” and how it feels to actually make money doing something online
- 9:30 — The foundational, counterintititive lessons he learned after going through Freelance Domination that he’s using to grow his business
- 11:31 — His current revenue, how much he’s making and how he’s gradually scaled his project fee up to make over $21,000 last month
- 14:15 — Surprising advice for beginning freelancers, and where his business would be without Freelance Domination
How would it feel to have results like Blake’s?
Hell….how would it feel to just have HALF of Blake’s results? (Can I get an “amen”?)
Something to remember: You don’t need to be “tech savvy” to freelance online. If you can turn on a computer, you can do it. There dozens of ways you can leverage your skills to make a little bit of money on the side…or a WHOLE LOT.
You just need the proper system in place
Coming Monday 8/18
I’m extremely proud of Blake, and all my Tribe members who just go out there and f***ing get it!
That’s why this coming Monday (8/18) I’m excited to announce the winners of the two $250 Rich20 business grants. It’s just my way of saying “I love you” and thanks for reading.
I’m also PUMPED to launch the LIVE web class on Thursday 8/28 at 10am PST/ 1pm EST, where I’ll take you step-by-step through making your first $1,000 freelancing online.
You’ll also get to learn more about Freelance Domination there, and how you could use the powerful systems I built inside to get results of your own. I’m not opening up the seats yet — but I’d like to get an initial headcount.
You can register here:
If you’re ready for this live web class gimme a “OOOHHH YEAH” in the comments
Part III: Registration For My LIVE “How To Make Your First $1,000 Freelancing Online” Event Is Now Open — And It’s Free!
This morning I’m really excited because after weeks of planning, registration for my “How To Make Your First $1,000 Freelancing Online” event on 8/28 is officially open.
I’ve been talking about this for weeks — so if you’ve already decided you’re coming…then go ahead and sign up now. There isn’t enough room for everyone in the Tribe — just being honest.
So if you’re interested, go ahead and lock your spot down — even if you’re not 100% sure you can make it.
Click here to save your spot at the FREE event
Ok — now, if you’re just hearing about this for the first time, a brief explanation:
For the last 10 days or so, the Tribe and I have been working through a new series called “How to make $1,000 Freelancing Online”. It’s a six-part series culminating in a live event where I’m going to show you some of the best, proven strategies for making money on the side with skills you already have.
In fact, last Thursday, I featured a detailed video breakdown with one of your fellow Tribe members, Blake Douglass, who is using strategies from my upcoming course Freelance Domination to make over $21,000/month. (Not a typo).
He goes into crazy detail. F***ing epic.
If you haven’t watched that interview, scroll up to Part II and check it out!!
After over a month of preparation on my end, I’m finally opening up the doors to register for this free LIVE, FREE class with me.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- How to “mine” your skills and find hidden, profitable ideas that other people will pay you money for
- EXACTLY where and how to find clients online (hint: it’s not craigslist…)
- The secret psychological system that you can use to book 7/10 clients you pitch (without being sleazy or salesy)…even if you’ve never sold anything before
- How to create a consistent stream of clients that EACH pay you hundreds…or even thousands of dollars every single month…allowing you to stack up money on the side…or even quit your job (if you want)
Click here to save your spot at the FREE event
ALSO — ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS OF THE $250 Rich20 Startup Grants!!
I’ve used the software Contest Domination to track and tabulate the winners based on number of shares…and the winners are……
Guys, first of all CONGRATS!!
And thank you so much for sharing the contest. I’ll be getting in touch with you via email, so even if you’re not reading this, you’ll still get your prize
Thanks to everyone who participated. I have a new giveaway coming up soon!
-DD
Part IV: Where and How To Find Your First Freelance Clients
Welcome to Day 4 of our epic series on freelancing
If this is your first time reading the series, you’re definitely going to want to check out all the other stuff we’ve been talking about (just scroll up) as well as the over 100 SUPER detailed comments from the Tribe (just scroll down).
Today, I wanted to address one of the most frequently asked questions I receive regarding freelancing: “Where and how do I find my first freelance clients?”
In this video, I’ll cover 3 things:
- Why getting your first clients, even if they don’t pay, is psychologically CRUCIAL
- Where to find your first clients + what to say to them
- How to turn your first clients into AUTOMATIC referrals for new clients
Note to newcomers: If you’re looking for the registration page for the FREE event on “How to Make Your First $1,000 Freelancing Online” go here:
