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Industry news

🗞️ AI search stories that matter this week

💰 ChatGPT ads hit $1bn in under 200 days. Tens of thousands of advertisers are already buying ads on ChatGPT, and brands in India, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa can buy placements directly. Ads sit beneath ChatGPT's answers, in front of 900 million weekly users. Amazon has already started selling that space to advertisers through its own ad platform.

📉 Google admits “position 1–10” doesn’t mean what it used to. Asked how Search Console counts AI Overviews, Google’s John Mueller said the old position 1–10 has become hard to map or make useful. Every link inside an AI Overview gets the Overview’s position, not its own.

🦄 Profound raises $180M to track who AI recommends. AI visibility platform Profound raised $180 million at a $1.8 billion valuation. That's less than seven months after its $96 million Series C. It serves more than 1,000 enterprise brands, including over a third of the Fortune 100. In other words, "does ChatGPT mention us?" is now a boardroom question.

💬 ChatGPT ads can now talk back. OpenAI is testing Sponsored Agents with select US advertisers. Click an ad and you can open a labelled chat with the brand's own agent, ask questions, then visit its site. It arrives with HubSpot and Shopify integrations. Your ad just became a salesperson, so it had better know your product.

📈 GEO is the hot new service. In Fiverr's 2026 Holiday Marketing Index, 67% of freelance search specialists report rising demand for GEO, compared with 56% for traditional rankings. 83% say clients now want strategy over execution. The advice: invest in both rather than choose.

Mention worthy

🎙️ John Lewis made a chat show. The audience is a chatbot.

Most brands are rewriting product pages to get into ChatGPT's answers. John Lewis went another way and hired a TV presenter.

The department store is launching a YouTube “vodcast” called Gift List, hosted by Angela Scanlon, along with a social media studio. The stated aim is to make John Lewis more visible to chatbots and more prominent in AI search results. Louis Theroux is the first guest, and six episodes run up to Christmas.

A year ago, 0.3% of John Lewis customers searched for products through tools like ChatGPT. Today it’s 2.5%.

Why it works

👉 It creates third-party voices. AI models tend to prioritise third-party advice and live content when they build an answer. When guests talk about gifts, that counts as other people talking. It isn’t John Lewis talking about John Lewis.

👉 It never goes stale. The studio lets them respond within days to a live cultural moment, for example by filming around the Bayeux tapestry exhibition at the British Museum. Six episodes plus a clip machine means a steady supply of new material for AI models to find.

👉 It lives where the models look. An analysis of 46 million citations found YouTube accounts for 23.3% of AI Overview citations. John Lewis chose one of the platforms AI reads most.

💡 Steal this: the 20-minute guest chat

You don’t need to hire Louis Theroux. You need someone who isn’t you, talking about a question your buyers ask AI.

Once a month, record 20 minutes with a client or a respected peer. Title the video with the question, for example “How much should a brand identity cost in 2026?” Post it to YouTube, cut three clips, and put the transcript on your site.

It costs nothing, and you end up with three new sources that mention you.

Buzzwords of the week

🗣️ SEO vs AEO vs GEO

Think of them as three ways to win at a party.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) gets your name on the guest list. You rank in the blue links, and people choose to click on you.

AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) makes you the person who answers when someone asks a question out loud. Be the direct answer, not one of ten options.

GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) makes you the person everyone quotes when they retell the story the next day. You get named and cited inside the answers that ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity write.

💡My take: these aren’t three jobs. It’s one job with three scoreboards: clicks, answers and mentions. Don’t let anyone sell you three separate retainers.

Steal this playbook

📘 LinkedIn’s guide to winning AI search

LinkedIn recently published Unlocking AI Search Visibility: The B2B Marketer’s Guide to LinkedIn, written by its VP of Marketing, Davang Shah. It’s built on 18 months of LinkedIn’s own testing.

Three bits worth stealing:

👉 Your profile is a citation asset. The guide cites Meltwater research finding that 75% of LinkedIn’s AI citations came from individual member profiles, not company pages.

👉 Get the whole team saying the same thing. LinkedIn recommends coordinating company content with executives, employees, subject-matter experts, creators and press coverage, so credible sources reinforce the same themes about your brand.

👉 Date it and lead with it. Put specific dates in your posts so AI can tell the information is current, and open with the most important point. LinkedIn’s internal data also suggests posts with 10 or more comments seem to do better.

And the stat that should wake you up: LinkedIn’s own marketing sites have seen non-branded search traffic fall by as much as 60%. If it’s happening to LinkedIn, it’s happening to you.

Before the bots

🍺 How a beer brand built the first answer engine

In November 1951, the managing director of the Guinness Brewery, Sir Hugh Beaver, was on a shooting party in County Wexford, Ireland. The group argued about which was Europe’s fastest game bird. Back home, they couldn’t find a single reference book that could settle it.

Beaver saw the bigger picture. He reckoned the same kind of friendly arguments were happening every night in the 81,400 pubs across Britain and Ireland.

So he hired Norris and Ross McWhirter, twin brothers who ran a fact-finding agency in London. The first Guinness Book of Records came out on 27 August 1955. The first 1,000 copies were laminated against beer spills and given to pubs free as a promotion. They were so popular that Guinness started selling the book, and it was a UK bestseller by Christmas. Now it’s in its 71st year, published in 100 countries and 40 languages.

💡 The lesson for 2026: the book didn’t advertise beer. It became the source that settled the argument, so the Guinness name came up every time someone said “look it up.”

That’s AI search in one sentence. ChatGPT is the new pub, and your customers are arguing in it every night: “Is X better than Y?”, “How much should this cost?”, “Who’s the best at Z?”

👉 Your move: find the question your industry argues about most, publish the definitive answer, and make it the page everyone cites.

See you next week 🚀

Sam

- If you enjoyed issue #32, please tap the Like button below 💙 Thank you!

P.S. Want to know what ChatGPT says about your business? Reply to this email (or drop a comment). I’ll tell you if AI recommends you, who it recommends instead, and one thing to fix. It’s the first step of The Mention Method, the process I’ve developed to get brands named in AI answers.

“Aren’t you worried people will just copy you?”

Usually right after I’ve shared a template, a pricing breakdown, or the blueprint I follow when I am looking for new clients.

Usually right after I've shared a system from 6,700+ projects, the pricing that got me to the top 0.04% on platforms like Fiverr, or the blueprint I’ve used to work with clients in 100+ countries.

Fair question. I used to worry about it too.

Then I discovered a bartender from 1862 who settled it for me.

His name was Jerry Thomas. At the peak of his career in New York, he did something nobody in his trade had ever done.

He wrote his recipes down. All of them.

Every other bartender in America kept recipes in their head. The recipes provided job security. Jerry sold his for $2.50.

It’s the same call you’re making every time you decide whether to share your process, pricing, systems, or templates. Jerry got it right. Here’s how to copy it.

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📖 The recipes went public. The bar got busier.

Before 1862, if you wanted to learn how to make a proper cocktail, you found a bartender who knew one and you watched him make it. Nothing was written down. Recipes got passed along like a family secret.

Jerry’s book, The Bar-Tender’s Guide, was the first time anyone in America had put cocktail recipes in print.

Now think about what he was risking.

Anyone with $2.50 could read how the most famous bartender in America made his drinks. Including the person across the street who wanted his job.

You'd expect that to end badly for him.

But four years later, Jerry opened his own bar on Broadway. It became the most famous saloon in New York. Why?

Because a recipe can’t pour the drink for you.

And it can’t make you feel like you got the best seat in the house.

The book didn’t replace Jerry. It was an advert, sitting on the shelf of every bar that owned a copy.

A new edition came out in 1887, two years after he died, with his name still on the front. You can even order a reprint on Amazon today (164 years later!)

This shows NOBODY is just paying you for your process.

They’re paying YOU to run that process inside THEIR business. Publishing the process doesn’t give that away. It proves you’ve got one.

I did this in October.

I published the 5 unconventional things I did to hit $589K on platforms like Fiverr.

Some said I was handing over the keys, but nobody copied me out of business, and I generated new business.

Copy this:

If you’re a designer 👉 post a before and after with the two changes you made and why. It’s the only way someone can see the thinking they’re paying for.

If you’re a coach 👉 post the first email you send a new client. Anyone nervous about booking gets to see exactly what happens next.

These quick growth ideas cost you nothing and still work in six months.

🔥 Jerry turned a hot toddy into a magic trick

The Blue Blazer is whiskey and boiling water with a spoon of sugar.

That’s a hot toddy. It’s what many grandparents have given us to treat a cold.

Jerry set it on fire and poured it, still burning, in a long blue arc between two silver mugs. Back and forth. That was the closest thing to magic most had ever seen in the 1800’s.

What you sell is a hot toddy. Copywriting, lead generation, coaching services. The client can get the ingredients anywhere from a thousand people at a thousand prices.

But what they remember is the moment it ARRIVED.

So stop attaching a file and typing “let me know your thoughts.”

1. Record a 2-minute Loom.

2. Walk them through the work and the decisions you made on purpose.

3. Say why you cut the thing they asked for. Put “here’s what I’d test first” at the bottom of the delivery email.

The work is the same either way. What changes is how it feels to receive it.

Jerry knew that. He had the same whiskey as the bar across the street. People paid more because of how he delivered it.

💸 Then he bet the bar on something he didn't understand

Jerry poured cocktails. He wrote a book about pouring cocktails. He toured Europe pouring cocktails. Then he opened his bar on Broadway and poured cocktails there.

That’s how he made money. Every dollar came from the same place.

BUT… then he started playing Wall Street.

He lost. Badly enough that he sold the bar and auctioned off his art collection to cover it. He opened another bar, and it was never the same.

I watch this happen to solopreneurs who are doing WELL.

You get good at one thing. It pays. And the second it pays, the money starts whispering about something completely different.

• A course.

• An agency.

• Investing in crypto.

Meanwhile, the easiest money you'll ever make is sitting in the work you're already delivering.

Let’s say you write email sequences.

Those emails have to send people somewhere, and you already know the offer and the voice. So why not sell them the landing page too?

💡 Your Friday takeaway

Jerry Thomas was one man with a bar, in a trade where everyone had the same ingredients.

He won by putting the secrets in print, by turning an ordinary drink into a performance, and he lost by walking away from the thing he was best at.

📖 Publish your process. The recipe isn’t the product. You are.

🔥 The delivery is part of the job. Show them the thinking, not just the file.

💸 Protect the craft that pays. That’s the bar. Don’t bet it.

TL;DR: Jerry Thomas (1830–1885) wrote the first cocktail book published in America and gave away every recipe. It made him the most famous bartender alive, not the most copied. He set a hot toddy on fire and called it the Blue Blazer, got paid $100 a week in 1860 just to be seen behind a bar, then lost the lot on Wall Street. Share the process. Sell the moment. And don't bet the bar.

See you next week 🚀

Sam

—If you enjoyed this issue, please tap the Like button below 💙 Thank you!

Money-back guarantees. Free delivery. The celebrity endorsement. An invite-only launch. The illustrated catalogue. Or a rep who turns up at your door with samples.

One man did all of them first. He made plates.

Josiah Wedgwood died in 1795 with one of the most famous brands in Europe and around £600,000 in the bank. That's comfortably north of $100 million today, made out of clay dug up in Staffordshire.

I went down a Wedgwood hole this week. Deeper than planned. And there are some proper Quick Growth Ideas buried in how he sold and how he launched.

Let me show you.

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👑 One customer was worth more than a thousand

In 1765 an order came down from St James's Palace. A cream-coloured tea set for Queen Charlotte.

Wedgwood made it, sent it off, and then did the bit that mattered.

He asked for permission to call himself "Potter to Her Majesty". Got it and…

• Put it on his invoices

• Put it on the showroom sign.

• Renamed the whole product line "Queen's Ware".

• And mentioned the Queen in his newspaper ads, because who was going to stop him?

The palace didn't pay him a fortune for that tea set.

Didn't matter. One order turned into a permanent line on the letterhead, and every family in Britain with a bit of money and something to prove wanted the same plates the palace ate off.

👉 Your move: You've got one client whose name people recognise. Right now it's probably buried on page four of a case study. Message them: "Would you be happy for me to mention we've worked together?" Most say yes. Then write it as a title, not a footnote: "The copywriter behind [Client]'s launch that generated XYZ." Put it in your headline, email signature, next proposal, and more!

❌ He removed every reason to say no

Here's what Wedgwood was offering customers in the 1770s:

• Free carriage of his goods anywhere in the country.

• Free replacement of anything that broke on the way.

• Your money back if you didn't like it.

In the 1770s. When “delivery” meant a crate of pottery on the back of a cart on a dirt road, and a fair bit of it arrived in pieces.

Look at it from the buyer’s side. Why would you order plates from a factory 150 miles away?

What if it breaks?

What if I don’t like it?

What’s the carriage going to cost me?

Wedgwood answered every objection before it was asked, and made the answer part of the product.

👉 The lesson: Write down why the last three prospects went quiet on you. Not the polite reason, the real one. "What if I don't like it?" "What if it's late?" Now put the answer on your sales page and in the proposal before they have to ask. An objection you've already answered doesn't come up on the call.

🎟️ He sold tickets to look at someone else's dinner plates

In 1773 Catherine the Great ordered a dinner and dessert service. 50 settings. Roughly 950 pieces. Every single one hand-painted with a different landscape.

By most accounts Wedgwood made little or no money on it. Might even have lost some.

But before a single crate went to Russia, he laid the whole lot out across five rooms of his showroom on Greek Street in Soho, set the tables as if dinner was about to be served, and opened the doors in June 1774.

You needed a ticket to look at plates you couldn’t buy, on their way to a woman you’d never meet…

High society in London queued anyway.

👉 The lesson: Next time you land the big one, negotiate the right to show it while you're building it. A build-in-public thread. A teardown of the brief once it's live. Wedgwood didn't need Catherine to write him a testimonial. The queue on Greek Street was the testimonial.

💡 Your Friday takeaway

Wedgwood has been dead 231 years and people still queue to look at his plates behind glass in museums.

Now you have three quick growth ideas he used. Pick the one that’s cheapest for you to try this week (probably the client-name one, it’s a single email) and do it before Monday.

TL;DR: Josiah Wedgwood (1730–1795) turned a royal order into a product name, killed every objection with free delivery and a money-back guarantee, and sold tickets to see his biggest job before it shipped. All three still work for a one-person business in 2026.

See you next week 🚀

Sam

—If you enjoyed this issue, please tap the Like button below 💙 Thank you!

A website called Red Flags For Cash pays freelancers and solopreneurs a 10% commission (for life) on every bad-fit lead they send over.

These are the leads nobody wants.

• Low budgets.

• Vague scope.

• Tight deadlines.

• Hagglers.

• Tyre kickers.

They are the leads that make you close your laptop and go for a walk.

Red Flags For Cash takes those leads, closes them, and sends you a cut of every project that client buys…forever.

I came across it this week, and there are some great Quick Growth Ideas hidden in the model, the brand, and how it’s sold.

Let me show you.

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🚩 Every freelancer has a trash folder full of money

You know the leads I’m talking about.

The ones where the budget is £250 for a full website build.

The ones who want “just a quick thing” but can’t describe what it is.

The ones who haggle the price down on every deliverable.

Normally, we all do the same thing:

Politely decline and move on.

Red Flags For Cash looked at that moment and saw a business.

The pitch is simple: Forward your bad-fit lead, and if the project closes, you get 10% of the value. And 10% of every future project that the client buys. For life.

After working on 6,000+ projects, I can think of hundreds of leads I’ve turned down and forgotten about.

Now I can see these leads are worth something to someone.

👉 Your move: Think about the last 5 leads you rejected. Where did they go? If the answer is “nowhere,” find one person in your network who handles the work you turn down, and build a referral deal.

💸 The numbers speak for themselves

A theatre production company was referred by a web agency. Red Flags For Cash sold them on a £6k website build. The agency got £600 for sending one referral email.

A co-working company was referred by a developer. Red Flags For Cash quoted £17k. They went for it. The developer got £1,700 for sending one referral email.

I hope you’re starting to see how simple this model is.

The lifetime commission is a real selling point. It means a £500 lead today can turn into thousands over the next few years.

👉 The lesson: Rejected leads feel like dead ends. They’re starting points. A referral email to the right person can create a new revenue stream.

🎨 The brand is a masterclass in personality

The model is smart. But I love the way Red Flags For Cash sells itself.

The headline? “Red Flags For Cash.”

The tagline? “Refer your bad-fit web design leads and get paid. For life.”

Bad-fit clients? They are called “clowns.”

The stats section boosts credibility and confidence in who you’re referring the bad leads to. They are experts.

This is a brand you’d actually want to refer people to. The personality proves credibility in a way a portfolio never could.

👉 The lesson: Does your website sound like you, or like every other freelancer? Red Flags For Cash works because you can hear a real person in every line. Personality is a trust signal, and people refer business to people they like.

💡 Your Friday takeaway

You don't need to build a referral site from scratch. But you can steal Quick Growth Ideas from this playbook.

🚩 Your rejected leads are someone else’s ideal client.

Every “no” you send is revenue walking away. Build a referral relationship with someone who handles what you turn down.

🎨 Personality closes.

Red Flags For Cash works because it sounds human, not like a template. Your website should do the same.

🧠 Your FAQ is a sales tool.

List the objections yourself. Answer them like you’d answer a friend. A great FAQ removes every reason to say no.

We all have a folder of rejected and forgotten about leads. Red Flags For Cash figured out that the folder has a price tag.

You might as well get paid for the leads you can’t use.

Don’t you think so?

See you next week 🚀

Sam

—If you enjoyed issue #29, please tap the Like button below 💙 Thank you!

At The Connaught Bar in London, you’ll pay £30+ for one.

And there’s a queue to get through the mahogany doors.

The Connaught has been ranked in the World’s 50 Best Bars for 16 consecutive years and is currently sitting at number 6.

People fly to London specifically to sit at one of their tables lit by intimate amber lighting.

I had the opportunity to visit last year.

Since then, I’ve been thinking about it, because what they do with a cocktail is exactly what most solopreneurs fail to do with their service.

The Connaught Bar sells how a drink makes you feel.

And the way they pull it off has three lessons worth stealing.

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🍸 They sell one drink better than anyone else sells a hundred

The Connaught could fill a menu with 200 cocktails. They don’t.

Their signature? The Dry Martini (Connaught Martini)

And they’ve made it the most famous cocktail serve in the world.

Here’s how it works:

• A number 10 trolley rolls up to your table.

• The bartender stirs your chosen spirit with a house blend of vermouths.

• They lift the mixing glass overhead.

• And pour into a bitters-adorned glass in one ceremonial motion.

It’s a performance. And it’s the same drink every time.

This is the lesson I learned the hard way as a copywriter.

When I started on Fiverr, I called myself “a copywriter.” Generic, invisible, and competing with thousands of other people using the same title.

So I narrowed it down.

My positioning went from “I’m a copywriter” to “I will professionally write your website to boost sales.”

The impact was immediate.

Clients could find me, and when they did, I looked like a specialist, not a generalist competing on price.

The Connaught does the same thing.

They have a full cocktail menu, but the Martini is the reason people come.

👉 Your move: Look at your current offer. Are you listing 10 services hoping one sticks? Pick the one you’re best at and make it your Martini. Build your reputation around a single, specific thing you do better than anyone.

✨ The ceremony IS the product

The martini itself? Gin, vermouth, bitters. You can make it at home for a couple of quid. The ingredients aren’t special. The experience is.

The trolley. The pour. The bartender selecting your bitters based on what your evening “calls for.” The lighting, the room, the pace.

Every detail is designed to make a £30 drink feel like it’s worth ten times more.

Most freelancers deliver their work in a Google Doc or an attachment in a Slack message.

The work might be great. But the experience of receiving it?

Forgettable.

After 6,400+ projects, I’ve seen what separates freelancers who charge £10 from those who charge £100+ for similar work.

The quality gap is smaller than you’d think, but the delivery gap is enormous.

Think about how you hand over your work.

1. Do you send a file, or do you present it?

2. Do you explain why you made the choices you made?

The Connaught doesn’t hand you a glass. They give you a show.

Your service should feel the SAME way.

👉 The lesson: Look at your delivery process. Add a walkthrough video explaining your thinking. Create a branded PDF. Send a short Loom with the delivery. The work is the work. But the ceremony is what makes people pay more and come back.

💰 Premium pricing is a presentation problem

The Connaught charges £30+ for a martini, and nobody flinches.

By the time you’re sitting in that Art Deco, wood-panelled room, watching the trolley approach your table, the price feels completely fair.

The David Collins-designed interior. The cubist art. The Champagne Room. Their house-distilled gin. Every detail builds perceived value around a simple drink, and none of it is about the drink itself.

Most freelancers try to justify prices by listing deliverables.

“You get 5 pages of copy, 3 rounds of revisions, and a style guide.”

That’s selling ingredients.

The Connaught doesn’t list gin and vermouth on a spec sheet.

👉 The takeaway: If prospects keep pushing back on your prices, look at everything surrounding the work like your proposal, your results, your delivery. Premium pricing is about building an experience that makes the number feel right.

💡 Your Friday takeaway

You don't need a hotel bar in Mayfair. But you can steal Quick Growth Ideas from how The Connaught operates.

1. 🍸 Make one thing your signature.

   The Connaught has a full menu but they’re known for the Martini. Pick one service and become the person clients think of for that specific thing.

2. ✨ Design the delivery, not the work.

   A £30+ martini can taste the same as a £2 one. The trolley, the pour, the ceremony, that’s what people pay for. How you hand over your work matters as much as the work itself.

3. 💰 Build context around your price.

   The Connaught doesn’t justify £30 by listing ingredients. They surround it with design, story, and atmosphere. Start selling the experience of working with you.

A martini is gin and vermouth. Copywriting is words on a page.

The Connaught figured out that what you wrap around the thing is worth more than the thing itself.

That’s the lesson.

See you next week 🚀

Sam

—If you enjoyed issue #28, please tap the Like button below 💙 Thank you!

The hoodie makes you $52. The magnets? $5,832.

A company called Magnet Lover figured this out.

They sell merch to the music industry:

• Musicians

• Touring artists

• Festivals

But while everyone else fights over t-shirt designs and hoodie margins, they went all-in on the one product.

Fridge Magnets.

And the way they’re selling them has lessons freelancers and solopreneurs can copy to stand out in a crowded market.

Let me show you what Magnet Lover is doing and what you can steal.

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🎯 One stat. That's all it took.

Before Magnet Lover says a single word about their product, they hit you with this:

If you’re an artist touring 50 cities, playing to thousands of fans a night, and 80% of them walk straight past your merch table… that’s a problem.

You don’t need Magnet Lover to tell you it’s a problem.

The number did it for them.

This is what most freelancers and solopreneurs get wrong about selling. They lead with the solution.

👉 Your move: Find the number in your industry that makes people uncomfortable. If you're a web designer, that might be "70% of visitors leave your site in under 3 seconds." Open with that instead of your features or your process.

🔎 They sell one thing in a market that sells everything

The music merch industry is enormous. T-shirts, hoodies, vinyl, posters, hats, patches, tote bags, wristbands… the list goes on.

Magnet Lover looked at all of that and said: We’re just doing magnets.

And because they only do one thing, they can go deeper than anyone else.

They know:

1. The exact sizes that work (2x2 inches and 1.75x2.75 inches).

2. The print quality that matches an artist’s brand (Mylar gloss, rigid cores).

3. The constraints (merch competes with production gear for cargo space).

No generalist merch company is thinking about cargo space. Magnet Lover is.

Take a look at how they split their pitch:

Artists hear about margins, volume, and space. Fans hear about keepsakes, memories, and affordability.

The magnet is the same. The reason someone buys it is completely different depending on which side of the table they’re standing on.

👉 The lesson: Pick the one thing you do better than anyone and build your identity around it. If you're a copywriter, don't sell LinkedIn posts, emails, and website copy. Be the person who writes landing pages that convert. Specificity IS the positioning.

🧮 They built a calculator that does the selling for them

This is the part I LOVE.

Most companies would say “magnets have better margins than t-shirts.” Magnet Lover shows you a calculator and lets you figure it out yourself.

One t-shirt takes up enough space for 167 magnets. One t-shirt makes you $28 profit. The same space in magnets? $1,503.

Then they show you sweatshirts:

And hoodies:

They never say “magnets are more profitable.” They don’t have to. You can see it.

👉 The quick win: Stop telling your clients what you’re worth. Show them. Build a simple comparison, calculator, or before/after that lets them do the maths. An ROI calculator or time-saved breakdown is a great format to use.

💡 Your Friday takeaway

You don’t need to be in the music or merch industry to steal Quick Growth Ideas from this playbook.

1. 🎯 Lead with the gap, not the fix.

   Magnet Lover opens with “only 20% of people buy merch.” Find the stat in your industry that makes your audience uncomfortable. Let the problem sell the solution.

2. 🔎 Sell one thing and own it.

   They ignored an entire industry of merch options and went all-in on magnets. Pick the one offer you’re best at, go deep, and stop diluting your pitch.

3. 🧮 Build a tool that does the selling.

   Don’t say “I’ll save you money.” Show a calculator that proves it. When the prospect reaches the conclusion themselves, there’s nothing left to object to.

Magnet Lover gets it. That’s why a fridge magnet company is making touring artists rethink their entire merch strategy.

See you next week 🚀

Sam

—If you enjoyed issue #27, please tap the Like button below 💙 Thank you!

That’s when I came across Kudos Wiki.

Kheoh Yee Wei got sick of Netflix recommending the same 30 films.

So he wrote a Python script, let it run for 12 hours, and scraped Wikipedia for movies described as “critically acclaimed.”

1,800 films. 83 countries. 19 genres. Going back to the 1910s.

Now he’s selling the full list for $50.

I’m not telling you to buy it. I’m telling you to study how he built it.

Because inside this weird little movie project is a playbook for how any solopreneur or freelancer can turn free information into a lead magnet, a digital product, and recurring revenue.

Let me show you what you can copy. And how it applies to you.

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🔍 He didn't create anything. He filtered it.

Kheoh didn’t write 1,800 movie reviews. He didn’t build a streaming service.

He found one signal:

Wikipedia articles that say a film “received acclaim from critics”

And scraped everything that matched.

Then he manually reviewed every result. Over 2,400 of them. Cutting anything where the acclaim was for an actor’s performance rather than the film itself.

That human filter is the product people are buying.

Without it, you’ve got a spreadsheet. With it, you’ve got something people trust enough to pay for.

👉 Your move: Stop trying to create from scratch. What information already exists that your audience struggles to find, sort, or filter? That’s your product. You don’t write it. You organise it.

🧲 The free list is the magnet. The paid list is the money.

Look at how he set this up:

Two clear CTA buttons to avoid confusion.

The free version gives you 1,000 movies. That’s genuinely useful. But it’s also enough to make you think “wait, there’s 800 more?”

The paid version? Everything. Plus monthly updates as new critically acclaimed films hit Wikipedia.

👉 The lesson: If your free version doesn’t make people say “this is incredible,” your paid version won’t sell. Give away the good stuff. Charge for the complete stuff.

🎮 A spreadsheet didn't do this. The packaging did.

This is where most people would’ve stopped. Export a CSV. Throw it on Gumroad. Call it a day.

Kheoh didn’t do that.

The whole site feels like flipping through someone’s personal film journal.

• Children’s drawings as illustrations.

• Movie posters in rounded cards you want to click.

• Soft pink palette.

Two people could sell the same list of 1,800 movies. The one who wraps it in personality will win every time.

👉 The takeaway: Your directory doesn’t need to be complex. It needs to feel like you made it. Design, personality, and a point of view turn data into something people want to spend time with.

📣 Don’t guess. Find the demand first.

414 Reddit comments on a post asking for movie recs across any genre, any length.

Reddit, Facebook groups, niche forums… they’re full of people begging for curated recommendations that algorithms don’t give them.

👉 Your move: Before you build anything, search Reddit and forums for posts where your audience asks “where do I find…?” or “can anyone recommend…?” If you find threads with hundreds of replies, you’ve found your directory.

🧩 This isn't just a movie thing.

The model works everywhere. Here’s how it looks across different industries:

Freelance designer: Curate the 100 best landing pages sorted by conversion type. Source from Dribbble, Awwwards, One Page Love. Give away 200. Sell the tagged, searchable collection.

Marketing consultant: Build a swipe file of 1,000 high-performing email subject lines by industry and campaign type. Free tier gets 300. Paid gets the full library plus monthly additions.

Real estate agent: Neighbourhood guides for every suburb in your city. Walkability, schools, prices, local gems. All public data. Free covers 10 suburbs. Paid covers 50 with quarterly updates.

💡 Your Friday takeaway

You can follow this playbook and apply the same formula every time:

1. 🎯 Find the signal. Kheoh found “received acclaim from critics” on Wikipedia and built everything around it. What’s the filter in your industry that separates great from average?

2. 🤖 Use AI for the grunt work. A Python script on an old laptop processed 150GB in 12 hours. You don’t need a team. You need a tool and a weekend.

3. 🧠 Add the human layer. He reviewed 2,400 results by hand. Automation collects. You curate. That’s the part people pay for.

4. 🎁 Give away the good stuff. Sell the complete stuff. 1,000 movies free. 1,800+ for $50. Make your free version so useful the paid version sells itself.

5. ✨ Make it feel like something. A spreadsheet is forgettable. A discovery experience with personality, updates, and a story behind it? That’s a product people tell their friends about.

Freelancers and solopreneurs who get that curation is creation will ship products faster than anyone trying to build from zero.

See you next week 🚀

Sam

—If you enjoyed issue #26, please tap the Like button below 💙 Thank you!

I get asked this all the time by aspiring freelancers and solopreneurs.

No portfolio → no clients → no portfolio.

So they wait.

Maybe apply for a couple of projects and hope someone takes a chance on them.

You know. I know. That’s not how to build a profitable and sustainable business.

Whether you’re starting from zero or leveling up what you’ve got, this is the fastest path to building a portfolio and proof clients care about.

Keep reading and steal my 7-day portfolio sprint.

Subscribe now

👀 "7-Day Portfolio Sprint" Explained

Every job brief or post is a confession.

A potential client is admitting:

1. What they need

2. How they describe it

3. What they’re willing to pay

That’s market research most people pay consultants for and it’s sitting on platforms like Upwork, LinkedIn, and Fiverr for free.

The key to a successful sprint is:

• Picking a brief that fits your niche and offer

• Building the deliverable as if you won the job (adjust the details)

• Adding to your portfolio and talking about it on socials

👉 Why a sprint works better than random “practice projects”?

The portfolio sprint means you’re building what the market already wants.

Your samples will speak to the deliverables the client is looking for

(Not what you THINK they’re looking for)

And when you apply for similar gigs, your portfolio speaks the clients language.

This is what makes the difference.

The client doesn't have to imagine what the work might look like… they can see it.

They don't have to wonder if this person understands their industry… the proof is right there.

🚀 Your 7-Day Portfolio Sprint

🔍 Day 1: Search for the brief

Scan platforms like Upwork, Fiverr and LinkedIn for a job post in your niche with clear deliverables.

”I need some writing stuff, will discuss details later” is a cry for help, and you should keep scrolling.

The brief needs to be specific like this example:

Save the brief. Steal the language. The way clients describe what they want? That’s going straight into your portfolio descriptions and proposals.

🧱 Day 2-4: Build the thing

Create the deliverable as if you landed the job. Change the company name, tweak the industry, make it yours.

Don’t spend three weeks “perfecting” a sample and end up with nothing to show.

Spread it across a few days if you need to. But cap yourself at 90 minutes per day total.

Done beats perfect.

A finished B+ sample will outperform an imaginary A+ masterpiece every single time.

✏️ Day 5: Write your mini case study

Show a quick breakdown:

• What was the brief asking for?

• How did you approach it?

• What problem does this solve?

Congrats, you just turned a random sample into a story which works for your portfolio, social posts, and for proposals when clients ask “walk me through your process.”

Three birds, one stone, zero clients required.

✅ Day 6: Add it to your portfolio

Upload it to your Fiverr gig, Upwork profile, personal site, wherever you live online.

PRO TIP: title your samples the way clients think.

❌ “Brand Messaging Project”

*(What does this even mean? Who is this for? Why should I care?)*

✅ “Website Copy for a Fitness Coach Launching an Online Program”

*(Oh, I’m a fitness coach launching an online program. This is for me.)*

🌍 Day 7: Share it publicly

Post your sample on LinkedIn or X. Show your work. Explain your thinking.

Copy this:

*”Found this brief on [platform] for a SaaS landing page. Loved the challenge, so I built it anyway. Here’s what I came up with → [link]. If you’re working on something similar, I’d love to help out.”*

People see themselves in the work, send you a DM, and your wake up to inbound leads instead of rejections.

(there’s no better feeling! 👌)

💡 Your Friday takeaway

Steal this 7-day portfolio sprint and make your portfolio a living experiment instead of a graveyard of old work.

You can repeat this sprint over and over again.

The more sprints you do the more proof you create and the bigger your personal brand becomes.

That’s how you win in 2026.

See you next week 🚀

Sam

P.S. Missed my post about hitting $589K as a freelancer? Check it out below.

—If you enjoyed issue #25, please tap the Like button below 💙 Thank you!

They’re E Ink keyboards with one purpose: typing words.

And they’re not cheap.

We’re talking $500+ for what looks like deliberately crippled technology.

But writers are lining up to buy them.

Russell Brunson won’t write books without one, and the Freewrite community has typed over 611 million words.

Freewrite’s goal isn’t to compete with laptops.

They’re competing with the distraction epidemic and winning by removing features.

Here’s what freelancers and solopreneurs can steal from this.

Subscribe now

🧠 The problem nobody admits they have

1. You open your laptop. Start typing.

2. Remember you need to fact-check something. Open a tab. See an email notification. Click it. Respond.

3. Return to your doc. Realise you’re hungry. Check your phone.

4. Forty minutes gone. Three sentences written.

Russell Brunson calls it “right brain/left brain ping-pong.”

Your creative brain wants to flow. Your analytical brain wants to edit. The internet gives you infinite ways to avoid both.

Freewrite forces you to just write.

When you’re done, it syncs with a 3rd-party document (no open internet access required).

Users report writing 2-3x more words per hour using these distraction-free devices.

👉 What solopreneurs can steal from this

Most of us think we grow by adding more.

More services. More platforms. More “I can do that too.”

Freewrite did the opposite.

They took a computer and surgically removed everything except the keyboard.

Then charged more for the subtraction.

When you offer “website copy, emails, social posts, landing pages, and blogs,” clients see you as interchangeable.

You’re competing with 50,000 other generalists.

But when you say “I only write SaaS educational email courses”, you’re not competing with everyone anymore.

You’re the specialist they’ve been looking for who:

🎮 Turn boring specs into a story

Freewrite’s new firmware update could’ve been announced like every other tech company: “Version 2.3 - Performance Improvements.”

Instead, they called it Sailfish.

They also named their special editions:

Hemingwrite Signature Edition (channels Hemingway’s legacy)

Valentine Special Edition (designed to “fall in love with writing again”)

👉 Stop describing what you do in generic terms

Compare these:

• “I’ll optimise your email sequence” vs “Your subscribers will look forward to Tuesdays”

• “I provide business coaching” vs “You’ll finally stop second-guessing every decision at 2am”

Clients don’t buy deliverables.

They buy the end of a problem or the beginning of a feeling.

Freewrite knows writers don’t want a keyboard. They want to remember WHY they started writing in the first place.

What feeling are your clients paying for?

💡 Your Friday takeaway

Five ways you can apply the building blocks behind Freewrite:

1. 🔍 Audit what you offer. What can you remove that clients don’t need?

2. 🎯 Name your constraint. “I only do X” becomes your advantage, not your limitation.

3. ⚖️ Show the compromise. Make a comparison showing what trade-offs your competitors force. Then show how you eliminate it.

4. 🎨 Build sensory language. Speed isn’t “fast delivery.” It’s “momentum you’ll feel tomorrow morning.”

5. 🚪 Create a gateway. Let people taste your approach at 10% of the price before they commit.

See you next week 🚀

Sam

—If you enjoyed issue #24, please tap the Like button below 💙 Thank you!

Not the other way around.

Emily Lonetto left Webflow.

But instead of quietly updating her LinkedIn and disappearing into a new role, she built an entire microsite documenting her experience.

And it’s a masterclass in how to exit with momentum.

Let me show you what Emily did, plus why every freelancer and solopreneur should steal this playbook.

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🎯 Most people quit quietly. Emily built a launch pad.

Standard exit:

• Update LinkedIn: “Excited for my next chapter!”

• Maybe post a “thank you”

• Hope someone remembers you in 6 months

What we can learn from Emily’s exit:

• Full microsite with quantified impact

• Visual proof of every major project

• A public archive that shows up when you Google her name

• Email capture for “what’s next”

📊 Build a portfolio without calling it a portfolio

Look at how Emily structured the page.

Every section is a case study dressed up as a memory:

“World Wide Webflow”
Translation: I built and scaled a global partner program from scratch.

“Ryan Reynolds Campaign”
Translation: I can handle high-visibility projects with impossible timelines.

“Partner Summit in 8 weeks”
Translation: I execute under chaos and deliver measurable results.

Emily is showing receipts.

And the metrics? They’re everywhere:

Those numbers tell future clients: When I show up, the metrics follow.

💬 The lesson: Specificity beats corporate speak

Here’s what kills most portfolios and LinkedIn profiles:

“Led cross-functional marketing initiatives.”
“Managed vendor relationships.”
“Drove engagement across multiple channels.”

Cool. So did 10,000 other people.

Now look at what Emily wrote:

You can feel the hustle. You want to work with someone like that.

Emily’s not sharing a resume. It’s a story people remember (and hire).

🛠️ How this works across industries

You don't need to work at Webflow to use this playbook.

Copywriter leaving an agency?

❌ Not: “Wrote email campaigns for various clients”

✅ Instead: “847 emails. Open rates jumped 18% → 34%. One sequence: $2.3M in 90 days.”

👉 Screenshot the Slack praise. Show the subject line tests. Include the metrics.

Developer leaving a startup?

❌ Not: “Built features and mentored team members”

✅Instead: “52 features shipped. Load time: 4.2s → 1.6s. 3 junior devs I mentored are now senior engineers.”

👉 Show the GitHub commits. Include the performance graphs. Name the people (with permission).

Consultant leaving corporate?

❌ Not: “Led transformation initiatives globally”

✅ Instead: “14 projects, 6 countries. $47M identified in savings. 3 clients promoted to C-suite post-engagement.”

👉 Use anonymized case studies. Show your frameworks. Remove company names, keep the impact.

And YES, you can prove impact without breaking NDAs or contracts.

Emily showed “1,800+ agency partners” without naming a single one. You can too.

💡 Your Friday takeaway

Your last day at a job doesn’t have to be the end of your visibility. It can provide the momentum you need as a solopreneur.

Here’s action steps you can implement today:

1. 📝 Open a doc called “Exit Archive”
Start dumping every project, metric, win, and lesson from your current role. Even if you’re not leaving soon.

2. 📊 Find your numbers
What metrics prove you make things better? Revenue, growth, efficiency, scale, people developed.

3. 📸 Screenshot the wins
Grab the Slack messages, the client emails, the team photos. Collect the proof now while you still have access.

4. 🚀 Build your goodbye like a product launch
When you eventually leave, treat it like you’re launching the next version of yourself. Because you are.

5. ✅ Make your exit memorable
People remember how you leave. Make them think: “I’d hire someone like that.”

Most people leave jobs like they’re sneaking out of a bad date.

Emily left like she just headlined a sold-out show.

Guess which one has clients lining up?

See you next week 🚀

Sam

—If you enjoyed issue #23, please tap the Like button below 💙 Thank you!

Lenny’s Newsletter does it. And a handful of other creators I follow.

They’re all running some version of a “product pass” where partner deals are bundled into their paid subscriptions.

At first glance, it looks like a glorified coupon book.

But when you dig into how it works, there’s something way more interesting happening here.

Let me break down what’s really going on and how you could use this in your own business.

Subscribe now

🔑 They’re not selling discounts. They’re selling access.

Lenny offers thirteen software tools inside Product Pass.

These tools normally cost $24,000+ per year if you bought them separately. With Lenny’s $200 subscription, you get them all free.

The pricing structure caught my attention.

Wait. The annual plan costs LESS than monthly but includes $24,000 in products?

That’s the whole game right there.

Stack so much value into annual that choosing monthly feels like a mistake.

Most people will use three or four tools. The rest will sit there, claimed but unopened.

And that’s completely fine.

Because the value isn’t in using everything. It’s in having access to everything.

This follows the Costco principle.

You don’t go there planning to buy a kayak, but knowing you COULD buy a kayak for $299 makes the membership feel worth it.

🤝 The partner companies are buying distribution.

Let’s think about what PostHog gets out of this.

They’re giving away $16,500 in value to Lenny’s subscribers.

That sounds insane until you realise what they’re actually getting…

Access to 1,000,000+ product builders (Lenny’s subs) who’ve already demonstrated they’ll pay for quality tools.

These are qualified prospects who pay $200-$350 to access his newsletter and tools.

When someone claims their PostHog code, PostHog now has:

• Their email

• Proof they’re willing to pay for tools

• A year to convert them from “free user” to “paying customer”

✅ So how can you copy this playbook?

You don’t need thousands of subscribers to make this work.

Simply partner with complementary businesses, bundle their offers into your service, and use that combined value to justify higher prices or longer commitments.

Let me show you what this looks like across different industries.

If you’re a copywriter:

Partner with:

• Unsplash+ or Shutterstock (negotiate 50 accounts/year for client stock photos)

• Grammarly Business (pro accounts for your clients’ teams)

• Asana or ClickUp (project management with team licenses)

• Kit or Mailchimp (email marketing startup tier access)

Now, when someone hires you, you’re selling copy PLUS $5,000 in tools they’d need anyway. Your retainer suddenly looks like a bargain.

If you’re a business coach:

Partner with:

• QuickBooks or Xero (accounting software for solopreneurs)

• HubSpot or Pipedrive (CRM for client management)

• Zapier or Make (workflow automation platforms)

• Rocket Lawyer or LegalZoom (contract templates and incorporation docs)

Your coaching isn’t $1,500/month anymore. It’s $1,500/month for coaching plus the entire tech stack they need to run their business.

🧠 The psychology that makes this playbook work

Notice how Lenny frames it.

He’s not asking people to “unlock” anything. You’re redeeming codes. Like you won something. Like you’re claiming a prize you earned.

👉 The takeaway: Stop asking people to “sign up” or “get started.” Ask them to claim their spot, secure their template library, or redeem their strategy session. The action is the same. The feeling is completely different.

💡 Your Friday takeaway

The product pass model works because it solves three problems at once:

1. For you: Higher perceived value, easier justification for annual pricing, ongoing relationship with partners who send referrals back.

2. For partners: Qualified user acquisition, potential conversion to paid plans, brand exposure to your audience.

3. For clients: More value than they expected, tools they needed anyway, feeling of getting a deal.

Start small.

Find one complementary business. Add it to your next proposal or pricing plan.

Watch what happens to your close rate.

See you next week 🚀

Sam

—If you enjoyed issue #21, please tap the Like button below 💙 Thank you!

What grabbed my attention was a big, glassy 25:00 floating over two fluffy blue monsters.

Welcome to Monster Pomodoro!

It’s a tiny, hyper-specific project that checks almost every Quick Growth Idea:

• Character-driven brand

• Ultra-simple product

• Low-friction monetization via Ko-Fi

• Cause-driven hook

• Built for a very specific kind of brain

Let’s break down what they’re doing and how you can steal the thinking.

Subscribe now

👾 They turned a boring tool into a character universe

Check out how Monster Pomodor introduces itself:

“Because some brains (hello ADHD and Autism!) deserve more than ticking clocks.”

That’s a statement of belonging.

Monster Pomodoro was made by a family of six with ADHD and Autism. They’re building for themselves first.

When you solve your own problem, you can’t fake the understanding. You know where the generic solutions fall short.

👉 Your move: Pick the specific audience you understand. Not “small businesses” or “busy professionals.” The narrower, the better. Your lived experience is the moat.

🧸 They turned a timer into a friend

Most Pomodoro apps give you settings and themes.

Monster Pomodoro gives you this:

Different monsters. Each with a flavour and personality:

• Creaming Soda + Fizzyhoof – pops and fizzes like a bubbly brainstorm

• Orange Roughies + Roughbeard – grumbles but keeps you on task

• Cotton Candy + Fluffquatch – soft, sweet, and sneakily focused

• Purple Rain + Fuzzberryprince – purple-powered and groove-approved

• Blue Raspberry + Sasqberry – cool as a frozen howl

You don’t just “pick a theme.” You adopt a monster who chomps down on distractions with you.

And here’s the thing.

When someone asks what timer you use, you don’t say “a Pomodoro app.”

You say “I’ve got Fuzzberryprince helping me focus today.”

That’s free marketing through curiosity.

👉 Your version: Give your client a monster to root for. Your proposal isn’t “Q4 Marketing Strategy” - it’s “Operation: Make Your Competitor’s CMO Nervous.” Your welcome packet isn’t an onboarding doc - it’s “Your New Unfair Advantage.”

🔊 They removed the guilt

Most productivity apps punish you. Harsh alarms. Red notifications when you miss a session. Streak counters that make you feel terrible when you break them.

Monster Pomodoro went the opposite direction.

Instead of aggressive beeps, you get roars and squeaks.

“Giggly growls” when it’s break time.

They call these “sensory-safe cues,” but really they just made it feel less like a drill sergeant.

That’s a completely different relationship with productivity.

👉 The lesson: Stop making people feel bad for being human. Don’t guilt-trip newsletter subscribers who haven’t opened your emails. Don’t make clients feel awful when they miss a deadline. Just... be nice. It works better anyway.

☕ They use Ko-Fi to make support feel like a tip, not a bill

Monster Pomodoro doesn’t hit you with:

• “Create an account”

• “Start your 7-day free trial”

• “Upgrade to Pro for $7/month”

Instead, they lean on Ko-Fi.

People pay what they can. Some pay $5. Some pay $20. It’s contribution, not transaction.

50% also goes to charity. That builds trust without saying “trust us.

You don’t need fancy payment infrastructure. You need a dozen people who believe in what you’re doing enough to support it.

👉 Your lesson: Test your next project with “pay what you want” pricing. Gumroad. Ko-Fi. Whatever. You’ll immediately see who your real supporters are. Those people become your advisory board.

💡 Your Friday takeaway

1. Find your specific people. Not “everyone who needs marketing.” The specific group you understand because you’ve been there.

2. Add personality to boring things. Your service packages. Your invoice descriptions. Your Zoom backgrounds. Anything that’s usually generic.

3. Try Ko-Fi for your next project. See if people will support what you’re building before you build the whole thing.

4. Remove the guilt. Make everything easy to buy, easy to use, easy to walk away from. Counterintuitively, this builds loyalty.

5. Stop sounding like a company. Sound like yourself. The rough edges are features, not bugs.

Monster Pomodoro could’ve been another productivity timer. Instead, they built something people want to tell their friends about.

That’s the difference between a product and a thing people care about.

See you next week 🚀

Sam

—If you enjoyed issue #20, please tap the Like button below 💙 Thank you!

Really Good Emails is hosting its 2025 awards show live on December 17th.

I’m not telling you to attend. I’m telling you to study how they’re selling it.

Buried inside their landing page and announcement emails is a blueprint for how solopreneurs and freelancers should grow in 2026.

Let me show you what they’re doing and what you can steal.

Subscribe now

🔒 They’re building an asset AI can’t touch

Here’s how they’re pitching the awards:

“Connect with marketers who geek out over open rates, debate font choices, and celebrate clever CTAs. This is your community.”

They’re selling access to a community of people who care about the same weird details you do.

RGE built an audience of email nerds. Now they’re letting those nerds find each other.

The awards are just the excuse.

👉 Your move: Stop trying to build your audience from scratch. Find where your ideal clients already gather (newsletters, podcasts, communities) and become the person who connects them.

🧪 Their landing page is a lesson in conversions

Look at what they’re doing on the registration page:

Two different CTAs. Two different goals and zero confusion about which one you should click.

They’re not asking you to “learn more” or “explore categories.” They’re giving you two paths: watch or participate.

Then scroll down, and you hit this:

Eleven award categories presented as retro game cartridges. Each one has:

• A creative name (not “Email Newsletter Category #4”)

• A one-line description and memorable tagline

“Cart Abandonment. One last mission: complete the cart.” 
“Win-Back Campaigns. Rise from the ashes of inactivity.”

They could’ve just listed categories. Instead, they made each one feel like something you’d want to be part of.

👉 The lesson: Stop hiding your value behind generic labels. Name things in ways that make people feel something.

🎁 They’re using exclusivity without being exclusive

Check out this section from one of their announcement emails:

Sticker packs cost almost nothing to produce. But watch what they accomplish:

1. Creates urgency (first 250 only)

2. Makes early action feel rewarded

3. Gives attendees something physical to remember the event

4. Turns attendees into walking billboards when they use the stickers

The stickers aren’t valuable because they’re expensive. They’re valuable because they’re limited and they signal “I was there.”

👉 Your version: Find the lowest-cost thing you can make exclusive. First 50 people get a template. First 20 clients get lifetime access. First 10 to reply get a free audit.

The number matters more than what you’re giving away.

🏆 They made submitting feel like winning

Look at how Really Good Emails frame the submission process:

They’re not just asking you to “enter a competition.” They want you to claim recognition for work you’re already proud of.

This is psychological judo.

Instead of creating a barrier (”am I good enough to enter?”), they’ve created permission (”you already know this was good, just make it official”).

👉 The takeaway: Stop asking people to “sign up” or “register” or “apply.” Ask them to claim something, join something, or get access to something. The action is the same. The feeling is completely different.

💡 Your Friday takeaway

You don’t need to run an awards show. But you can steal Quick Growth Ideas from this playbook.

1. Build borrowed audiences. Stop creating content in isolation. Connect your people with others who get it.

2. Name things like they matter. “Monthly Newsletter” → “The thing 500+ freelancers check first on Thursday mornings.”

3. Create low-cost exclusivity. First 25 people get [literally anything]. Scarcity creates value.

4. Send the same message from multiple angles. One announcement won’t cut it. Announce it via email, on X, and places your audience talk.

5. Frame participation as claiming, not asking. Don’t make people feel like they’re begging to be chosen.

Solopreneurs, freelancers, and biz owners who understand community, exclusivity, and human psychology will win everything.

RGE gets it. That’s why their awards show makes people take notice.

See you next week 🚀

Sam

—If you enjoyed issue #19, please tap the Like button below 💙 Thank you!

Not because I’m special. Not because I have a massive following. And definitely not because I’m posting LinkedIn carousels every day.

I stopped hunting for clients because I built a mafia.

Not the illegal kind!

The kind where 12 people quietly send work my way without asking.

The kind where I never have to cold email again because someone’s always saying…

“You need to talk to Sam for copywriting.”

Every client you’ve worked with knows 10-50 people who need what you offer. But they won’t be because you’re not visible.

Let me show you how to fix that 👇

Subscribe now

🧬 Why Past Clients Are Your Best Distribution Channel

Patrick Campbell built ProfitWell (acquired for $200M by Paddle) almost entirely through word of mouth. His strategy? He obsessively stayed in touch with everyone who used his product.

He called past clients “a network of evangelists”… people who naturally recommended ProfitWell because he never let them forget he existed.

When someone pays you, they mentally file you under “people I know who do X.”

But that file gets dusty.

Three months after a project ends, you’re a vague memory.

Six months later, when their friend asks “do you know a good XYZ?” they’ll say “uh… I can’t remember their name.”

The Client Mafia fixes this.

🎯 Step 1: Rank Your Clients by Influence (Not Invoice Size)

Your $50K client might be a dead end. Your $2K client might know everyone.

New York Times Best Seller Ramit Sethi discovered this early on.

His smallest clients became his biggest source of referrals because they were well-connected startup founders. Corporate clients paid more but referred nobody.

I want you to open a spreadsheet and list every client from the past 1-3 years.

Now rank them by distribution power:

1. High-Influence: Well-connected founders, VPs, agency owners active in your target communities.

2. Medium-Influence: Solid professionals who could introduce you to 3-5 people.

3. Low-Influence: Great clients but not well-networked (might be in a junior role)

Identify your top 10-15 high-influence clients. These are your mafia.

✅ Copy this: Check LinkedIn. Who has 2,000+ connections and gets engagement from decision-makers? Target them.

🔥 Step 2: The Monthly Experiment Email

Brian Dean (founder of Backlinko) used this strategy. Every month, he’d email past clients and partners with a specific SEO tactic he was testing.

Those emails kept him top-of-mind. When those people needed SEO help or knew someone who did, Brian was the first name they mentioned.

So, once a month, I want you to send a short email to your top 10-15 clients. Here’s your template.

Subject: “Quick update: what I’m testing this month”

Body:

Hey [Name],

Quick note — I’m experimenting with [new tactic] for clients right now. Early results: [one interesting finding].

Thought you’d find it useful given your work on [their business].

How’s [specific thing] going?

— [Your Name]

Why this works:

• You’re giving value (not asking for anything)

• You’re proving you’re still sharp

• You’re personalising it (shows you remember them)

✅ Copy this: Set a monthly calendar reminder. It takes 20 minutes to send 15 personalised emails.

💬 Step 3: The Specific Intro Ask

Don’t make this mistake: “Hey, if you know anyone who needs [service], send them my way!”

That’s lazy. It puts ALL the work on them.

Stripe’s early growth came from the founders, Patrick and John, asking Y Combinator batchmates for specific intros: “We’re looking to talk to anyone building marketplace platforms. Do you know anyone?

Your version:

Hey [Name],

I’m looking to work with more [specific type of company] in [specific industry]. I know you’ve worked with folks in that space.

Is there anyone in your network I should know? Happy to send a quick intro blurb you can forward if it helps.

Why this works:

• Specific = they know exactly who to think of

• You’re doing the work (intro blurb = no effort for them)

• Not asking for a favour (just exploring their network)

✅ Copy this: Only ask high-influence clients. Provide a forwardable intro blurb.

🕵️‍♂️ Step 4: Run Your Mafia Like an Insider Club

Superhuman (the email app) did this brilliantly.

Before they launched publicly, they built a waitlist of 180,000 people. But existing users could skip the line by referring friends.

Those users felt like insiders. They talked about Superhuman everywhere because being “in” was a status symbol.

I want you to give your mafia perks that strangers don’t get:

• Early access: New service? Offer it to past clients first

• Exclusive rates: “You worked with me before, so you get a special rate”

• Priority booking: “I have one slot opening - wanted to check with you first”

• Behind-the-scenes: Share your business experiments and lessons

✅ Copy this: Create a “past clients only” email list. Send them stuff before anyone else so they feel special, talk about you, and are incentivised to refer.

🚀 Step 5: Public Recognition Creates More Intros

When Morning Brew was starting out, cofounder Alex Lieberman used a simple tactic to explode their referral flywheel.

Every time someone helped them (shared the newsletter, hosted them on a podcast, plugged them in a thread), Alex publicly thanked that person on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Every. Single. Time.

This strategy helped Morning Brew grow past 4 million subscribers.

Your version:

Just wrapped a project that increased [Client X]’s conversion rate by 40%. 

Shoutout to @Sarah @Mike @Tom who introduced me to this team. This wouldn’t have happened without you.

✅ Copy this: Tag people who helped you. They’ll share it. New intros happen.

💡 Your Friday takeaway

You don’t need 10,000 followers.

You need 10 people who remember your name when someone asks “who should I hire?”

• 10 clients × 50 connections each = 500 warm leads

• 1 intro per quarter = 40 leads/year

• Close 25% = 10 clients without cold outreach

That’s your mafia.

TL;DR: Past clients are your best distribution channel. Rank them by influence. Stay top-of-mind by sharing what you’re testing. Ask for specific intros. Give your top 10-15 insider access and perks. Publicly thank people who help you. Turn those relationships into a client mafia that works forever.

See you next week 🚀

Sam

—If you enjoyed issue #18, please tap the Like button below 💙 Thank you!

100+ downloads. 40% open rates. Good feedback.

But those subscribers have a lifetime value of $0.

Marketers spending $10,000/day on ads have been using advanced tracking to validate this, and the data is clear… free opt-in subscribers don’t convert.

But charge $1? Suddenly, they become repeat buyers.

Here’s why and how to copy it 👇

Subscribe now

🔍 What is the $1 Lead Magnet Strategy?

Don’t give away your best content for free to cold traffic. Instead, charge $1-$10 for what you were planning to give away.

Here’s why:

✅ Instant buyer qualification (they’ve proven they’ll pull out their card)

💰 Ad costs covered immediately ($1 × 100 people = $100 toward your ad spend)

🎯 10x higher conversion rates on backend offers (buyers keep buying)

🚫 Zero tire-wasters (freebie seekers are filtered out automatically)

❌ The problem with free lead magnets

Daniel Fazio runs a marketing agency and spends $10,000/day on ads. He uses Hyros to track every customer from first click to final purchase.

Here’s what Daniel has to say about the $1 Lead Magnet Strategy:

“People who get free lead magnets never buy anything because they’re non-buyers. They just don’t buy. If you make your lead magnet $1 or $5, it magically works out with LTV.”

The rule is simple: Buyers are buyers. Non-buyers are non-buyers.

No amount of email nurturing changes this.

🧠 The psychology behind the $1 barrier

1. The Commitment Escalator

When someone pays (even $1), they’ve:

1. Pulled out their credit card

2. Entered payment information

3. Confirmed the purchase

4. Received a receipt

They’re now a customer, not a lead. And customers buy again. Leads ghost you.

2. The Sunk Cost Effect

People who pay are more likely to:

• Consume the content (they paid for it)

• Take action on what they learn (justify the purchase)

• Open your follow-up emails (they’re engaged)

• Buy the upsell (already in buying mode)

🎯 Example: How Alex Hormozi does this

Alex Hormozi doesn’t give away his books for free. He charges “for shipping.”

Step 1: Charges $9.95 to qualify buyers (will you pull out your card?)

Step 2: Uses that $9.95 to partially cover ad costs

Step 3: Identifies serious business owners vs. time-wasters

Step 4: Backend offers: $5,000+ programs, software deals, partnerships

Results:

• The book has generated millions in backend sales

• Created a self-liquidating offer (ad spend breaks even on book sales)

• Built a list of ONLY proven buyers

Someone willing to pay $10 for a book is far more likely to pay $5,000 for his programs.

🚀 How to build your $1 Lead Magnet Funnel (4 steps)

Step 1: Take your lead magnet and charge for it

Don’t overthink this. Take what you were giving away for free and price it at $1-$10. You can add a small upgrade if you want:

• Quick walkthrough video

• Templates or scripts

• Simple checklist

But honestly? You don’t need to. Just charge for what you already have.

✅ Copy this: Use Gumroad, Stan, or ThriveCart. Setup takes 30 minutes.

Step 2: Run cold traffic to the purchase page

Send ads, cold emails, or LinkedIn messages straight to your $1-$10 offer.

• They pay immediately (no opt-in form, no nurture sequence)

• You filter for buyers on Day 1

• Ad costs get covered by sales

✅ Copy this: Start with $10-20/day on Facebook or Google ads. Test small before scaling.

Step 3: Upsell your main offer right after purchase

After someone buys your $1-$10 product, immediately offer your higher-ticket service ($97-$297).

• Their card is already out

• They just said “yes” to you

• Trust is at its highest point

✅ Copy this: Most platforms (ThriveCart, Stan, Gumroad) let you add a post-purchase offer in one click.

Step 4: Email ONLY the people who paid

Forget the 5,000-subscriber free list. Build a 200-person buyer list instead.

• Email 1: Deliver the product + welcome

• Email 2: Share a quick win they can implement today

• Email 3: Case study or testimonial

• Email 4: Soft pitch your main offer

• Email 5: Direct pitch with urgency

✅ Copy this: Buyers who paid $1 are 10x more likely to buy your $297 offer than free opt-ins.

🍪 Bite-Sized Growth Idea of the Week

Guinness Launches the “Guinnbrella.”

Guinness created a miniature umbrella to protect your pint from the rain.

Quick Growth Idea: What’s the absurd, hyper-specific tool your audience needs?

👉 Copywriter? Create a “Bad Headline Generator” that purposely writes terrible headlines, then offers your service to fix them.

👉 Designer? Make a “Canva Crime Report” tool that analyses someone’s graphics and roasts their font choices.

👉 Coach? Build a “Solopreneur Burnout Calculator” that shows them how many hours they’re wasting on $10/hr tasks.

💡 Your Friday takeaway

Would you rather have 5,000 people on your email list who never buy anything?

Or 200 people who already proved they’ll spend money with you?

You need more buyers.

And the fastest way to find them? Make them pay on Day 1.

TL;DR: Free lead magnets to cold traffic have a $0 lifetime value. Charge $1-$10 instead. Put your lead magnet on Gumroad/Stan, drive traffic to it, and upsell your main offer after purchase. Buyers who pay $1 are 10x more likely to buy your backend offers.

See you next week 🚀

Sam

—If you enjoyed issue #17, please tap the Like button below 💙 Thank you!

Not with a long apology email.
Not by “explaining your value.”
And definitely not by hoping clients will just understand.

You do this by launching something new.

I call it the “Invisible Price Increase” and it’s how smart businesses boost revenue by 30-40% while making existing clients feel like VIPs.

Keep reading. I’m going to show you the 4-step playbook to use 👇

Subscribe now

🔍 What is an “Invisible Price Increase”?

You create a new “Premium” tier at your desired higher price, offer existing customers an exclusive upgrade discount, then quietly remove your old tier from public view.

Here’s why this works:

• ✅ Existing clients keep their rate forever (loyalty rewarded)

• 🎯 New clients only see premium pricing (no cheaper option to compare)

• 🔥 30-40% of current clients upgrade voluntarily (bonus revenue)

• 🤝 Zero perception of “raising prices” (you launched something new)

🎯 Example: How Astalty raised prices 40% with zero churn

Astalty, an NDIS software company, needed higher pricing but had hundreds of loyal customers on legacy plans.

❌ What they DIDN’T do:

• Send a “we’re raising prices” email

• Force customers onto new plans

• Set expiration dates on old pricing

✅ What they DID do:

• Step 1: Launched “Premium” tier at 40% higher than their old “Pro” plan

• Step 2: Emailed existing customers an exclusive 30% upgrade discount

• Step 3: Removed “Pro” from their website (existing customers kept it, new signups never saw it)

• Step 4: Let legacy customers stay on original pricing forever

New customers paid Premium. Old customers felt like insiders. Astalty made more money. Everyone won.

🚀 How to do this in your business (5 steps)

Step 1: Create your Premium tier

Add 1-2 improvements to your current offering.

Examples:

• Faster turnaround time

• Priority support

• Extra revision rounds

• Bonus strategy call

✅ Copy this: Survey your last 10 clients. What’s one thing they asked for as an add-on? Build that into Premium.

Step 2: Set your Premium price

Price it 30-50% higher than your current rate.

Example:

• Old rate: $1,000

• Premium rate: $1,300-$1,500

✅ Copy this: The improvement justifies the increase, but really? Your expertise justifies it. You’ve just been undercharging.

Step 3: Offer existing clients first access

Email current clients BEFORE going public with an exclusive upgrade offer at 20-30% off.

Subject line: “Something new I built for you (exclusive access)”

Email body: “I’ve created a Premium tier with [benefit]. As a valued client, you get first access at 30% off Premium pricing. Totally optional. Your current rate stays locked forever if you prefer. Interested? Just reply and I’ll send details.”

✅ Copy this: Make the offer time-limited (5-7 days). Creates urgency without pressure.

Step 4: Remove the old tier from public view

Update your website, proposals, and intake forms to show ONLY Premium pricing.

Existing clients on legacy pricing keep their rate. You just don’t advertise it publicly anymore.

✅ Why this works: New clients never know a cheaper option existed. No comparison point = no price resistance.

🍪 Bite-Sized Growth Idea of the Week

Welcome to the world’s heaviest billboard.

GymNation in Dubai built a 1-ton billboard made of 40 weight plates to promote their Strongman class.

Quick Growth Idea: What’s the physical manifestation of your service?

👉 Writer? Send prospects a coffee mug with their worst headline printed on it, and your rewrite on the bottom.

👉 Designer? Show their competitor’s mediocre work side-by-side with your portfolio shot. No words needed.

👉 Financial advisor? Send a custom Monopoly “Get Out of Debt Free” card with your consultation offer on the back.

💡 Your Friday takeaway

Start charging what you’re worth.

But you don’t need to “raise prices” and risk the backlash.

Launch something new instead:

• Existing clients feel valued (they keep their deal)

• New clients pay your real rate (no cheaper option to compare)

• 30-40% upgrade voluntarily (bonus revenue)

You’re not being sneaky.

You’re creating something BETTER with the “Invisible Price Increase” formula.

TL;DR: Create a Premium tier priced 30-50% higher. Offer existing clients an exclusive upgrade discount. Remove your old tier from public view, but let legacy clients keep it forever. New clients pay higher rates with zero pushback.

See you next week 🚀

Sam

—If you enjoyed issue #16, please tap the Like button below 💙 Thank you!

“I don’t want to seem pushy.”

“They already paid me.”

“I’ll offer it next time.”

Every time you skip an upsell, that’s $10–$100 left behind.

Multiply that by hundreds of projects each year, and it adds up!

The fix?

A simple message sent at the perfect moment.

I call it the “In-the-Zone Upsell” and it works because you’re offering value when clients are already invested and you’re already doing the work.

Keep reading to steal the message that converts 90%+ of the time.

Subscribe now

🧠 What is an “In-the-Zone Upsell”?

You offer a complementary add-on 24-48 hours after work starts, while you’re deep in their project.

Here’s why the timing is everything:

• ✅ Client anxiety is gone (you’ve started, they trust you)

• 🎯 You understand their needs better than your initial brief

• 🔥 You’re genuinely “in the zone” with their brand voice

• 🤝 A small add-on now feels like the right move

The result?

Your AOV increases without chasing new clients or raising prices.

🥇 Real example: $121 → $124 AOV in 8 weeks

I tested “In-the-Zone Upsell” on Fiverr. Here’s what happened.

❌ Before:

✅ After implementing the “In-the-Zone Upsell”

That’s a $3.04 increase per order.

With 800–1,000 projects per year, that’s $2,400–$3,000 extra revenue from one message.

Prices can range from $10 to $100 per upsell… this means the profit potential is HUGE!

💬 The upsell message I send (steal this)

I send this message 24-48 hours after an order starts:

⚡ Client responses within 30-60 minutes

Then I send the discounted custom offer through the platform. Accepted. Done.

🚀 How to execute an “In-the-Zone Upsell”

Step 1: Identify your micro-upgrade

✅ Steal this: What’s one small add-on you can deliver in under 20 minutes? Think: variations, strategy notes, quick audits, short videos.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Look at your last 10 projects. What mini-task did clients often ask for? Turn that into your upsell offer.

Step 2: Time your message

✅ Steal this: Send your upsell 24–48 hours after the order is placed.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Use a calendar reminder to ping clients mid-project with your upsell message.

Step 3: Keep it friendly and optional

✅ Steal this: No pressure. Keep the tone casual and offer it as a bonus opportunity.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Always start with “Everything’s coming along great…” - it lowers client defensiveness immediately.

Step 4: Track results

✅ Steal this: Record every upsell attempt. Accepted vs. ignored.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Add an “Upsell Tracker” column in your CRM or software to track data over time.

Step 5: Refine your offer

✅ Steal this: Test different versions of the message - discount angle, urgency, or result framing.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Try offering “quick A/B headline variations,” “bonus intro paragraph,” or “extra design options.” Find the 1 that gets consistent YESSSSS’s.

💡 Your Friday takeaway

You’re already doing the hard part: delivering great work. The “In-the-Zone Upsell” captures the value you’re creating.

Remember, every project is an upsell opportunity:

• You’re already in their brand voice

• You’re already in their strategy

• They’re already invested

That context is currency. Use it.

TL;DR: Wait 24-48 hours after a project starts, offer a complementary add-on at a discount, frame it casually with “totally optional,” send the custom offer when they say yes. Your AOV increases without chasing new clients or doubling your workload.

See you next week 🚀

Sam

—If you enjoyed issue #15, please tap the Like button below 💙 Thank you!

• Posting daily on LinkedIn for 18 months

• Sacrificing your soul to an algorithm

• Spend $3K on ads to get 24 email subscribers

• Send 500 cold emails hoping for 5% reply rates

There’s a shortcut waiting to be copied.

It’s called the “Poster Boy Formula” and it works because you’re giving companies what they desperately need: proof their product works.

Keep reading to steal the formula for reaching huge audiences for free.

Subscribe now

📣 What is the “Poster Boy Formula”?

You become a walking case study for brands your ideal clients already trust.

Here’s how it works:

You:

Use [Their Product] → Get results → Document everything → Share your story

The Brand:

See undeniable proof → Feature your success → Promote you to their audience

Result:

You borrow their credibility and reach their audience without building it yourself.

Companies spend thousands on testimonials and case studies.

You’re giving them one for free, backed by metrics and your business attached.

🥇 Examples of the “Poster Boy Formula”

#1: Bryan Harris x AppSumo

Bryan sent his case study to AppSumo, who then emailed it to their 600,000+ subscriber list and featured Videofruit on their course landing page. His story also landed in a Lifehacker article. The “Poster Boy” strategy helped Bryan go from not having a business to quitting his job and doubling his salary in 8 months, ultimately building his email list to over 10,000 subscribers.

#2: Marketing School Listener x Neil Patel & Eric Siu

A podcast listener implemented strategies from Neil Patel and Eric Siu’s Marketing School podcast. Instead of keeping quiet, they compiled results into a detailed breakdown. Sent it to Neil and Eric with specific numbers and got mentioned. This was free exposure on a podcast approaching 100 million downloads.

#3: Cloudways x Ahrefs

Cloudways documented how Ahrefs’ SEO tools helped them find competitor backlinks and spot content gaps. They tracked everything: Site Explorer for backlink profiles, Content Explorer for content ideas. This provided a detailed case study Ahrefs couldn’t resist sharing. Cloudways was featured in Ahrefs’ SEO community and positioned itself as a power user.

🚀 How to execute the formula (steal this)

Step 1: Pick your poster brands

✅ Steal this: Make a list of 10 products, services, or content creators you use. Filter for brands with audiences that match your ideal client. Target companies big enough to have reach but small enough to value your story.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Open your last 30 days of purchases and subscriptions. Which 3 products helped you get a specific, measurable result? Those are your candidates.

Step 2: Document every win

✅ Steal this: Track measurable results from using their product. Screenshots, metrics, before/after comparisons. Make it undeniable. Companies need proof.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Create a Google Doc titled “[Brand Name] Wins.” Every time you get a result using their product, log it with the date and metric. Aim for 5-10 documented wins before reaching out.

Step 3: Warm them up (don’t be a stranger)

✅ Steal this: Reply to their welcome emails. Leave thoughtful comments on their posts. Share their content. Make them recognise your name before pitching your story.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Set a 15-minute weekly reminder to engage with 3 brands on your list. Comment on LinkedIn posts, reply to newsletters, tag them when you share their content. Do this for 4-6 weeks before reaching out.

Step 4: Share your story (with zero ask)

✅ Steal this: Send them a detailed breakdown of how their product helped you. Include specific metrics, screenshots, and the steps you took. End with genuine gratitude. No “Can you feature me?”.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Use this subject line: “How [Their Product] helped me [Specific Result] in [Timeframe].” Keep the email under 300 words. Attach a one-page PDF with your full breakdown including screenshots and numbers.

Step 5: Follow up every 90 days

✅ Steal this: Stay on their radar with brief updates every quarter. New wins, bigger numbers, additional results. Show momentum. Not every company will feature your first story, but consistent wins build relationships.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Set a recurring calendar reminder every 90 days: “Update [Brand] with latest wins.” Each update should take 10 minutes max. Keep it short and show progress from your last update.

💡 Your Friday takeaway

You’re already using products that could feature you to 100K+ people. This includes:

• Every tool in your tech stack.

• Every course you’ve taken.

• Every service that’s gotten you results.

Those are audiences sitting in your inbox right now.

TL;DR: Stop building audiences from scratch. Pick products that got you results, document wins obsessively, warm up the brand, share your story without asking for anything, and follow up. You become their “poster boy or girl”. They become your loudspeaker.

See you next week 🚀

Sam

—If you enjoyed issue #14, please tap the Like button below 💙 Thank you!

Most solopreneurs play it safe with generic taglines, watered-down pitches, and vanilla content that could be for anyone.

After studying Nike’s 2025 Chicago Marathon campaign, they didn’t flood Chicago with product shots or celebrity athletes.

They put up billboards with lines like “SHUT UP, BRAIN.” and “TOENAILS ARE FOR LOSERS.”

Keep reading and steal 5 ways to speak like your audience… not corporate gibberish.

Subscribe now

🎯 Show up where it matters

Nike positioned billboards at mile 18, when runners hit the mental wall.

But there were no product shots or “Buy our shoes” taglines on show. Instead, they used rallying cries that proved Nike gets runners.

The impact?

Thousands of runners and spectators posted these billboards on social media, creating free word-of-mouth marketing from people who felt seen.

What can a solopreneur steal from this strategy?

Make sure you're hyper-relevant in one moment rather than vaguely present everywhere else.

💀 Safe marketing is a slow death

Let me show you what I mean.

Generic messaging:

• “I help businesses grow through marketing”

• “Professional copywriter with 5+ years experience”

• “Let’s take your brand to the next level”

What Nike did instead:

• “ASK YOUR LEGS FOR FORGIVENESS. NOT PERMISSION.”

• “THE BEGINNING OF THE END(ORPHINS).”

• “WHATEVER YOU’RE DOING, KEEP DOING IT. FOR 22 MORE MILES.”

See the difference?

Generic sounds like everyone else.

Nike sounds like it was written specifically for you at the right moment.

When I analysed my biggest client wins, I found the same pattern.

The clients I closed fastest had one thing in common: my outreach felt like I was reading their minds.

Not “I can help, I’ve been copywriting for 5+ years.”

But “Your landing page has a 2% conversion rate. Your hero headline buries the emotional benefit. Here’s what I’d change…”

🥇 3 bold moves Nike made

1. Nike embraced insider language

“TOENAILS ARE FOR LOSERS” means nothing to casual runners. To marathoners? It’s a badge of honour.

2. They removed all product marketing

No shoe close-ups or “Get 20% off.” They provided encouragement and emotional connection.

3. They got uncomfortably specific

“FOR 22 MORE MILES” only makes sense at mile 4. “SHUT UP, BRAIN” only hits when you’re battling demons at mile 18.

Most brands would go safe with “You’ve got this!” Nike said, “ASK YOUR LEGS FOR FORGIVENESS. NOT PERMISSION.”

🚀 5 ways to talk like your audience (steal this)

Don’t worry. You don’t need to purchase billboards in Chicago.

#1: Use your client’s words

✅ Steal this: Open your last 20 client messages. Copy the phrases they use to describe their problem. Paste those words into your website, emails, and pitches.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Create a “client language” doc. Every time a prospect says something like “we’re throwing spaghetti at the wall” add it. Use these phrases in your next 3 outreach messages.

#2: Show up where your audience struggles most

✅ Steal this: Find one place your ideal client is struggling right now. Show up with a solution and help.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Set a Google Alert for “[your niche] + struggling” or “[your niche] + help needed.” Also, comment with solutions on Reddit or LinkedIn threads.

#3: Give value without asking for anything

✅ Steal this: Create one piece of high-value content this week. No CTA or pitch. Prove you understand their world.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Record a 3-minute Loom teardown of a prospect’s website, landing page, or recent launch. Send it with the subject line: “Noticed something about [their project] - no strings attached.”

#4: Get dangerously specific

✅ Steal this: Rewrite your positioning to exclude 80% of people. Name the specific problem, industry, and situation you solve.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Add 3 disqualifiers to your homepage. “Not for agencies, not for B2C brands, not if you’re pre-product-market fit.”

#5: Lead with emotion, not specs

✅ Steal this: Rewrite your main pitch. Replace every feature with the emotions your client feels before hiring you.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Interview your last 3 clients. Ask: “What were you feeling the day before you hired me?” Use their words (frustrated, overwhelmed, stuck) in your next outreach.

💡 Your Friday takeaway

Nike’s campaign worked because it felt like a fellow runner cheering you on. Not a brand selling shoes.

For solopreneurs:

1. Stop trying to appeal to everyone. Go deep with the right people.

2. Use your audience’s language, even if outsiders don’t get it.

3. Show up at their hardest moment with zero expectation of immediate payback.

TL;DR: Nike turned marathon billboards into rally cries by speaking fluent runner.
Do the same: use your client’s language, show up when they struggle, and prove you understand before you sell.

See you next week 🚀

Sam

—If you enjoyed issue #13, please tap the Like button below 💙 Thank you!

It’s the first-choice career for Gen Z (and everyone who wants control over their time, income, and location).

After completing 6,120 projects and generating $589K+ in revenue as a copywriter, I’ve realised most freelancers focus on the obvious stuff:

• BETTER profiles

• MORE reviews

• FASTER replies.

Sure, these are good building blocks.

But the biggest jumps in income came from weird, quick growth ideas that most overlook.

I’ve already shared my ultimate freelancing playbook:

Now, here’s a special behind-the-scenes look at 5 MORE unconventional quick growth ideas I used to get here.

Subscribe now

#1

I turned my Fiverr inbox into a swipe file

Every freelancer fears one thing: silence.

When my inbox goes quiet, I don’t panic. I go to work.

Here’s what I do when new orders slow down, and how those weeks usually lead to my biggest revenue spikes.

I start by rereading every message from the past 30 days and look for patterns:

• What questions do buyers keep asking first?

• What phrases do they use to describe what they want?

• Where do they hesitate or drop off?

Last time, I noticed many wrote, “I need something that sounds human.”

So, I added that phrase to my profile, descriptions and client messages.

That’s free audience research most freelancers ignore.

#2

I turned every project into 2-3 revenue streams

I stopped delivering just what was in the brief and started stacking complementary services:

• Facebook ad clients: Added audience targeting suggestions + video script variations

• Landing page clients: Offered extra headline variations + FAQ sections

• Email sequence clients: Included SMS copy + social DM templates

These upsells are natural extensions that make the primary deliverable more effective.

When a client sees “Website copy + 2 high-converting headline variations”, they don’t see a bigger invoice. They see more options for testing and achieving success.

#3

I collected “proof of work” obsessively

Every positive review, results screenshot, client win - I documented it.

Then I created a simple page with:

• Screenshots of 5-star reviews with quotes

• Client testimonials with specific results (”Your ad copy is pushing 12X ROAS”)

I share these proof of work snippets on my gig images, portfolio and in follow-up messages.

When a buyer sees undeniable proof that you’ve solved their problem for other people, objections suddenly disappear.

#4

I use Fiverr Analytics like a growth dashboard

Every week, I dive into Fiverr’s Analytics to study what’s actually working - impressions, click-through rate, conversion rate, and the past 30-day trend line.

If a gig’s CTR drops, I rewrite the title or the first line of the description (the one that shows up in search previews).

Small tweaks there often double visibility.

Then I dig deeper.

I use Fiverr’s keyword data to see what buyers are searching for and how well those search terms perform.

That’s free SEO intelligence most sellers ignore.

#5

I stayed a practitioner first, seller second

My final point shouldn’t be unconventional, but it sadly is:

I remain a copywriter first, freelancer second.

I’m more focused on:

• Testing new frameworks with client projects

• Studying what’s converting in 2025

• Implementing strategies before teaching them

If I only wrote proposals and pitched services without actually DOING the work → my business would have a 0% success rate.

For anyone building a freelance or solo business… ALWAYS prioritise your craft first, selling second.

Do this and you WIN! You also get the opportunity to work with some pretty cool clients across the globe.

💡 Your Friday takeaway

Freelancing is the new business school.

You learn sales, positioning, storytelling, and client psychology in real time.

1. Over half of Gen Z (53%) is choosing freelancing as a full-time career.

2. Nearly half of CEOs plan to increase freelance hiring.

The opportunity is massive. But only if you differentiate.

TL;DR: I hit $589K by mining my inbox for buyer language, offering mid-project upsells, weaponising social proof, and reverse-engineering search data. Follow these growth ideas and try the first-choice career for Gen Z.

See you next week 🚀

Sam

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