4 Reasons You're Not Landing Clients

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Five years ago (almost to the day)…

I landed my very first client.

I wrote two $15 blog posts.

It wasn’t much.

But… it was the start of an incredible journey to full-time.

Since then, I’ve made hundreds of thousands of dollars with the written word.

And I’ve landed clients using almost every method imaginable.

But, what seems normal to me now is the biggest challenge for most new writers.

So, I’ve summed up the four biggest roadblocks to landing your first client.

Avoid these mistakes at all costs (if you want to get to full-time):

1/ You’re Not Writing & Learning Daily

If writing is a way for you to express yourself…

Or find clarity…

Then, do whatever you want!

But… If you want other people to give you money in exchange for the words you write…

You need to be good.

Really good.

It doesn’t matter how badly you want to make money as a writer.

If you’re just watching YouTube videos all day or you write two short form tweets per day, you’re not doing enough.

And no, you can’t just write 3 hours one day, buzz off for the next 5 days, and then write for another couple hours.

It doesn’t work like that.

You need to practice your craft every day.

When I first started learning how to write in January 2019, I went nuts.

I cut out hanging out with friends, watching Netflix, playing video games, and a long night’s sleep.

In their place, I wrote and consumed knowledge like crazy.

Every morning (before my 12 hour day job), I would wake up at 5 am and write for 30-60 minutes.

On the way to work, I’d listen to business podcasts.

After work, I’d handwrite sales letters.

Then I’d read copywriting books and take courses.

If you want other people to hand their money over to you for your writing…

You need to be good.

2/ You Think You’re a Writer

Want to get paid to write?

Stop thinking of yourself as a writer.

Instead, think of yourself as a marketer or business growth specialist.

Your job isn’t to write words.

Instead, your job as a digital writer is to:

• Generate traffic.

• Grow an audience.

• Convert prospects into leads.

• Turn those leads into paying customers.

• Nurture existing customers to keep them coming back forever.

Let me repeat this because it’s important:

Your job is to grow businesses.

You are not a writer.

You are a marketer.

Writing just happens to be the vehicle you use to grow businesses.

The more you understand this, the easier it will be to excel in your craft…

And land clients.

Business owners don’t wake up every day wishing they had a writer in their life.

They wake up every day wondering how they can generate more revenue in their business and increase profits.

They want more money.

The better you are at growing businesses with your writing, the easier it is to land clients consistently.

It’s how I’ve been able to do this full-time for 5 years while fully supporting my wife and kids.

3/ You Haven’t Niched Down & Specialized

Don’t be a generalist copywriter.

If you tell people that you do every type of copy under the sun...

Nobody will hire you.

Don’t send prospects a Google Drive full of 15 random samples.

They won’t like it.

Why?

Because you aren’t a master of anything.

Instead, you’re Bob the Generalist.

And he never gets hired.

One day, Bob the Generalist pitches a fitness coach who needs blogs.

So, he shows him a portfolio full of finance, business, AI, and cat copywriting samples.

Plus, Bob’s showing off landing pages, emails, blogs, ads, and more.

Well, Blog Post Billy shows up – the specialist.

When Billy pitches this fitness coach who needs blogs, guess what Billy shows him?

15 fitness blog posts.

Guess who’s getting hired?

Generalist Bob?

Or Blog Post Billy?

If you guessed Billy, you’re right.

When I first started writing, I quickly specialized in SEO blog writing. And, I niched down into business and marketing topics.

I specialized and niched down quickly.

This helped me land clients way faster – I got my first one in 6 weeks (and my second and third a few days after that).

Why?

Because I was Blog Post Billy!

Writers are scared to specialize because they think they’re limiting their options.

Guess what happens, though?

When you get hired as a specialist, the business owner often asks you to do other types of copy too.

Pick a specialty:

• Ads

• Blogs

• Emails

• Websites

• Lead Magnets

• X Ghostwriting

• Landing Pages

• YouTube Scripts

And pick a niche!

The top 3 broad niches to go into are:

• Health

• Wealth

• Relationships

From there, pick a sub-niche.

Then, own that lane.

4/ You’re Asking Before Giving

Want to make money as a writer?

Work for free.

You’re probably wondering, ‘Why would I work for free? I’m trying to quit my 9 to 5 here!’

Listen…

You know Alex Hormozi?

The $100 million dollar man?

In his first business as a fitness coach, he took 5 people on and coached them for free for 12 weeks.

FOR FREE.

At the end of the twelve weeks, he asked them if they wanted to continue; they had to start paying.

All five said yes, and he instantly made a full-time income.

When he founded his gym growth company, Gym Launch…

He did the same thing.

He would run different gym owner’s Facebook ads for 30 days for free (on his dime). If they liked it, they could begin paying him to keep running the ads.

If the $100 million dollar man started by offering free work…

Then you should too.

Especially since you can easily apply this strategy to your writing business.

How do I know that?

Because it worked for Chase DiMonda.

Last month, I finished off my 1:1 mentorship program with a new copywriter, Chase.

This guy (here’s his X account):

Handsome fellow, right?

Well, he’s also a good copywriter.

He was learning copy for a few months.

But, he had a problem:

He just couldn’t figure out how to land a client.

So, I worked side-by-side with him and made it happen.

In our final week together, he landed his first copywriting client.

How?

By offering free work upfront.

Here’s exactly what we did:

1. Niched down to fitness.

2. Reached out to fitness coaches on X.

3. Followed, liked, commented, and DM’d them

No, he didn’t pitch anything yet (as surprising as that sounds).

4. Then, once his prospect replied, it was game on.

5. Chase looked at his website and saw his landing page could use some work.

6. So, Chase updated it (without asking the guy first).

7. Then, Chase and I hopped on an hour-long call as part of the mentorship, and I helped Chase optimize the landing page.

8. Then, he DM’d the guy with tips on how he could improve his landing page (and sent the new landing page over).

And no, as surprising as it sounds, Chase STILL did not ask for anything.

Shocker, right?

He just gave generously.

Next thing you know, this guy messages Chase back...

With a voice message!

“Hey Chase. Wow.. Thank you so much… this makes so much sense — the tips you wrote down here. This landing page is awesome. Thank you man, I don’t know what to say…”

Chase landed the client.

Then, he did:

• His whole website

• His lead magnet

• His lead magnet landing page

• His five-day welcome email series

And now he’s on a retainer:

He’s writing the guy’s email newsletters every week.

Chase turned FREE into PAID quickly.

Why?

He offered value upfront.

And took all the risk off the client.

The client didn’t risk his money on a new copywriter.

The client didn’t risk his time with a new copywriter.

Chase took the bull by the horns and skipped the hardest step:

Landing a client.

He made this guy his client without him knowing it…

For FREE.

Rather than spamming, “Hey bro, If I could guarantee you 2-3x the revenue…” in the cold DMs…

Chase provided value up front, with tons of tips and a brand new landing page.

To Recap:

• Write copy and learn every day

• Learn the kind of writing to grow businesses

• Niche down and specialize to own your own lane

• Start giving free value upfront to prospective clients

Follow these four tips.

And if your work is good…

And you’re consistent…

You’ll land a paid client faster than every writer around you.

-Brandon “Blog Post Billy” Storey

P.S. Only 2/4 Spots Left in March Mentorship

My 1:1 paid mentorship program is closed for this month (all spots were filled).

But, my March mentorship is opening up soon.

I haven’t even announced it yet (this is the first “announcement”), and 2 out of 4 spots are already filled.

What’s my mentorship all about?

You land your first client in 30 days.

It’s as simple as that.

How?

I work side-by-side with you until it happens:

• Weekly calls

• Daily support

• Unlimited copy critiques.

• 24/7 Access to “Headquarters,” which is my entire client acquisition system accessible via Notion.

So you land your first paid client in 30 days…

Just like Chase did.

Mentorship opens March 1.

But, there are only two spots left.

So, book a FREE 15-minute strategy call now if you’re interested.

Here’s what one of my mentorship clients had to say about the Notion Mentorship Headquarters:

During the free 15 minute call, we’ll go over whatever you need.

I can…

• Review your copy live.

• Identify your biggest roadblocks.

• Show you exactly where to find hot clients.

• Help you figure out your ideal niche and writing specialty.

• Give you personalized insights into your specific situation.

More love from the past week:

If you’re struggling to get your feet off the ground…

And land that first client…

Let me help you.

Book a free 15-min strategy session now.

Especially if you’re interested in one of the two remaining spots in my 4-week mentorship.