🔆 Can You Trust Yourself? | Internetly Vol. 70

Hi there,

Greetings from Brooklyn!

I hope you had a restful and restorative holiday. I rang in the New Year’s in Times Square, and surprisingly, it wasn’t the dumpster fire I was anticipating (although I did pay $30 for a single shot of tequila…RIP).

In 2022, I set lots of lofty goals for myself. I was able to achieve quite a few, but I don’t have the same go-go-hustle energy for 2023. Instead, I’m focusing on one overarching resolution, and letting its side-effects seep into other facets of my life.

So for 2023, my goal is to become more confident by keeping my own promises.

Sure, confidence is synonymous with preparation and delusion. But the main source of confidence comes from saying you’re going to do something—and doing it.

For instance, completing Ship 30 for 30 back in January 2021 was a major confidence booster. I wrote 31 essays—one each day—which meant I was one of the few people who didn’t drop out.

It showed I could become a freelance writer, because I’d proved to myself I was capable of writing every day to build an audience.

But most importantly, keeping the promise meant I could trust myself. And trust = confidence.  

If you feel as though you have a strained relationship with yourself, ask yourself: “Do I trust myself? Can I keep my own promises?”

If the answer is “no,” it might be worth revisiting your inner contract—because it influences your self-esteem, patience, and confidence in more ways than meets the eye.

Ultimately, few things are as important as being able to rely on yourself. I’m reminded by a quote from Mike Wright, “It’s a wild, chaotic place. You can only rely on yourself.”

🖼 On Becoming a Prolific Creator

This Week: Harnessing Social Media to Boost Your Business

I’m moving this section somewhere else (announcement coming later this January!) but wanted to use this section to let you know I’ve released my first-ever digital product as a creator: The Freelance Writer’s Guide to Twitter. 🎉

I wouldn’t be where I am today without Twitter. It’s how I landed clients such as Miss Excel, Knowable, Matt D’Avella, and Zapier while building an audience of 21.4K people. 🤯

I got lots of questions on how writers could use Twitter to do the same, so I decided to create this guide. It includes…

✔️ 50 of my Top Tweets

✔️ The 1 Thing You Should Never Do On Twitter

✔️ 5 Proven Templates to Sell Yourself as a Freelance Writer

✔️ The 4 Ways to Network on Twitter as a Freelance Writer

✔️ A Half Dozen Twitter Tips to Help You Beat the Algorithm

✔️ Bonus: How to Cold Pitch Via Twitter DMs

The guide is currently retailing for $24.99, but I wanted to give you a discount since you’re a subscriber to Internetly. If you click here, you can get it for 40% off (so it’s $14.99 instead!).

In a few months, I’ll report back on everything I’ve learned about making and selling a digital product so you can learn the same (without the hassle I’m going through).

Hang tight!

🥒 Content Diet

📝 Project Planner for Freelance Writers by Marijana Kay — For the past two years, I’ve been using a dingy little Excel spreadsheet to calculate the income from my freelance writing business. No more! In 2023, I’ve upgraded to this beautiful project planner to help track my income and projects.

💰 34 Ways to Make Money as a Creator by Treyton Devore – If your go-to excuse for not being a creator is, “I don’t know how to earn money” this article is for you. A creative listicle of all the ways you can earn extra income, it reminds you just *how* many opportunities are out there.

And now, a wonderful reminder from Tim Urban as we head into 2023:

✍🏼 Freelancing Journey

This Week: You’re Doing More Work Than Expected. Now What?

It’s a freelance rite of passage.

You’re collaborating with a new client, and all is going well. They’re eager, full of ideas, and responsive. But soon, your Slack and email starts getting peppered by questions such as…

→ “Could you rewrite this article into a Twitter thread?”

→ “Can we loop you into our Tuesday marketing meetings?”

→ “Would love it if you could come up with article ideas for our next conference.”

About 1.5 years ago, I found myself in this position. I hadn’t written a proper project proposal yet that had a clearly defined scope of work, so these little requests went unaccounted for.

I ended up saying, “Yes, of course!” because, well, it was awkward to say no.

But these requests added up, and I was soon doing way more work than our original contract outlined (four articles a month). I began to feel under-paid, overworked, and a smidge resentful.

So, what’s one to do?

I ended up chatting with Nicolas Cole who suggested the following advice:

Near the end of the month, propose to hop on a call with the client to assess how everything is going. During the call, say this:

“We’ve gotten used to working together, and I’ve learned more about the team’s process and what this requires from a time investment standpoint. In order to hop on calls, hand in deliverables under quick turnaround times, and repurpose content, it requires a bigger time investment than I’d originally anticipated.”

From there, you offer two solutions:

1. Increase the Rate.

2. Decrease the Time Investment.

And if neither flies with the client, then you reply with the following:

“Shoot, unfortunately this project won’t keep working for me at this rate. [Month] will be my last month.”

It’s an uncomfortable (but necessary) conversation to have. But to avoid it all in the first place, just remember: clear communication is your friend.

Have your scope of work outlined in your project proposal, and if the client asks you for additional work, tell them it’ll cost extra.

Good luck!

That's it this week, folks!

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As always, let me know if there's anything I can help you with.

Stay Creative,

Alice