Getting books into the hands of readers no longer means having to query and secure a literary agent and then, by some miracle, land a publishing contract with a New York publishing houses. Creating a book independently is easier than ever, and much of the negative stigma around self-publishing has vanished as self-published books like Andy Weir’s The Martian have hit it big with readers and with Hollywood.
More and more, we keep hearing from readers and customers about ConvertKit, the email marketing and automation tool for professional bloggers, podcasters and more. People have been raving to us about ConvertKit so much that I had to see for myself what all the fuss is about.
For our businesses to flourish, we have to stay focused on the right things. If you’re an indie entrepreneur, you essentially live and die by the projects you complete, the ideas you bring into the world.
How’s that for a headline? Headlines are an arms race these days, with every article competing to toss in more excitement and bigger promises. One of my biggest annoyances is the way “science” is shamelessly used to back up weak claims in link-bait listicles. You may have noticed how common it is to include the phrase “backed by science” in a headline lately.
Working as a freelance writer has attractive benefits, including flexible working hours, location independence, and the ability to build a business doing something you love. Learn how to become a freelance writer in this guide featuring insights from 25 experts.
Studio Neat are a duo of product makers out of Austin, Texas. They make simple, well designed products for everyday life… mostly for geeks. They had several big successes on Kickstarter like the original Glif, the Cosmonaut Stylus, and the Neat Ice Kit, garnering press like this article in Wired which calls them the “Kickstarter Kings.”
I reached out to a blogger with a huge audience recently and asked him if he knew about a course called Start A Blog That Matters. I chuckled, thinking to myself, ‘this is going to make for a great intro to the announcement.’
Here’s a challenge we all face, whether we’re bloggers or podcasters or freelancers or makers or hopeful entrepreneurs of any shape… We’ve got to be experts to succeed.
Finding your voice as a writer is sometimes as easy as picking a single person to write to. BUT who you pick is important.
In his new book Born For This, author Chris Guillebeau highlights the story of Shenee Howard, a brand strategist who found herself “broke and clientless” back in 2011: Instead of talking to experts in hopes of obtaining wisdom and advice, Shenee decided to turn the tables and talk to 100 regular people, asking them about their problems, with the goal of using her unique skills to find solutions for them. Using social media and email, she offered unlimited 15-minute strategy sessions by phone to anyone who had questions about branding — for free.