Increase Your Prosperity I.Q.

“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious behavior.”
–Henry David Thoreau

In This Issue:

Increase Your Prosperity I.Q.
by Krista Jones

One of the things that surprised me most about having my own business was how many financial factors there were to consider. Knowing what fees to charge for various copywriting projects is only a small part of the financial puzzle you are faced with.

In addition to establishing appropriate rates, you have to consider insurance, taxes, and business expenses to name a few. But the one thing I didn’t taken into account when I became my own boss was how I felt about money.

It might sound crazy, but one of the best things you can do for yourself before you make the leap into your freelance career (or even if you’ve already jumped in) is get clear on your beliefs about money. It will help you determine if you’re infected with programming that will limit your income over the coming months and years.

To help you get started, answer the following questions:

If you answered ‘yes’ to two or more of those questions, you are probably, at best, financially stagnant. I know because I used to be in a major stagnancy cycle.

For years I struggled to top $80,000 a year. I was on a financial roller coaster where I’d make a $70,000 salary one year and then I would either switch to part-time to allow me time to pursue “other interests” or I’d just find a new job that happened to pay less. Finally, I reached the coveted $80K level with my last environmental job. So what did I do? I quit to become a copywriter. Of course that meant I had to start all over again.

Have you ever done something like that?

I’m sure I would have continued in that cycle had my financial success in copywriting not snuck up on me. As crazy as it sounds, I was so committed to making it as a copywriter and so lost in doing the work that I actually wasn’t aware of how much money I was bringing in.

Of course that’s no way to run a business. And that prompted me to examine my beliefs about money.

When I did, I recognized some of my parents’ teachings: Money doesn’t grow on trees. You can’t have everything you want. You don’t need that much money to be happy. Uncovering those subconscious beliefs helped me to better understand the imaginary financial limits I had been operating under for most of my life.

So I started reading, journaling, and doing affirmation work that helped me adopt more empowering beliefs about money. That kept me from unknowingly doing things that restrict the flow of money through my life.

Once you’ve identified your limiting beliefs, do whatever it takes to reprogram them with more positive ones. This process will help you become conscious of the subtle things you might do to sabotage your own success. And it will make it easier to catch and correct yourself when you’re doing things that reduce the flow of money into your life. Then you’ll be on the brink of breaking through to real professional and personal success.

Resource Referral: Early Bird Registration Ends Tomorrow

Okay, this is it. Time is up. Not to beat a dead horse, but I wanted to remind you that early bird registration for AWAI’s FastTrack to Copywriting Success 2007 Bootcamp ends tomorrow.

The event is nearly sold out—and that’s only because AWAI added 25 additional spots. So if you’re planning on coming, I urge you to register now to get $200 off the regular price and make sure there’s a spot reserved for you.

We’re excited about meeting you there!

Quick Copy Tip: What’s a Lead?

More than one person has asked Monica and me how long a lead should be and how you know where the lead ends and the body copy begins.

It’s a great question, but unfortunately it’s one that I don’t have a clear answer for. The problem with writing a lead is there’s no objective way to measure where it ends. It can be the first paragraph of the letter, the first two pages, or anything in between. In other words, you can’t determine the lead by its length (although a general rule of thumb is that it should be about 10-20 percent of the total copy); it’s more of an emotional connection.

To me the lead is however much copy it takes for you to get the reader hooked—the point where he really wants to keep going to learn what you’ve got to say. Others say the lead is as long as it takes you to introduce your product. If you look through a few promotions in your swipe file, you’ll see how much that varies from one promotion to another.

What does all this mean for you? In the beginning you might struggle with knowing where your leads end. But I promise you this, as you gain more experience writing copy, it will get easier. You’ll start to get a better feel for where the reader is hooked and you can launch into the body of your copy.