Jordan here, wanted to share a pretty incredible story with you: How I earned over $3k on Upwork in just a few short months and only 33 hours of work.
I wouldn’t have believed it was possible, but the numbers don’t lie. I’ll even share a quick screenshot with you of my Upwork profile:
I still can’t believe the above is true, but it is, and it feels so good!
I love working on Upwork because it aligns with all of my goals:
- The ability to work from anywhere
- Earning income on the side
- I can work whenever I want
- I choose how much I charge, instead of being told how much I am worth
This post isn’t about why you should get on Upwork, even though I do recommend you give it a try. That’s not what we are going to be talking about here.
Instead, I want to show you how a book can give a level of credibility and authority that is currently unmatched.
When you publish a book on a topic that people care about and can relate to, magic happens.
Becoming a thought-leader in your field of expertise and/or passion will elevate you to a whole new level. One way to do this is to “write the book on it” and become an established expert.
Whether you opt for self-publishing or go the traditional route, writing a book is a step in the right direction for many businesses and brands.
When you write a quality book on your chosen niche, you immediately level-up in authority and positioning within your field.
If you are skeptical, just take a look at my numbers again from above. Sure, they don’t match some of the bigger gurus in the field, but writing a book shows people you mean business and know what you’re talking about.
At the time I didn’t know it, but this is what I did when I wrote Book Launch Gladiator: The 4 Phase Approach to Kindle Book Marketing Success in 2018.
In the book, I share my experience of marketing four self-published books as an author with a small platform. I list strategies of how authors can start from nothing and still market their books effectively with the right goals, a plan, and proclivity to hustle.
The book shows exactly how someone that fits the mold of new author can still find success. The book received great reviews and is now my #1 marketing tool and business card to share my services with prospective clients.
When I write proposals I always share a full copy of my book as an attachment. Doing so has landed me great clients (that I love working with) who have said things like:
“Well, I had to hire you! You wrote the book on the subject after all.”
“Thanks for sharing your book with me, it’s much better than most books I’ve read on the subject of book marketing.”
“I appreciated reading your book Jordan, thanks for sending it over with the proposal, it’s obvious you know your stuff.”
At the time, these comments floored me. I hadn’t written my book for the purpose of working on Upwork and finding the right clients. I wrote it primarily to boost the credibility of my launch package with Archangel Ink.
It’s only after the book’s launch and the above comments that I realized I had a powerful calling card in my hands. With the writing of my book, I had an easily accessible and extremely powerful business card that I could share with clients.
This realization was powerful and eye-opening.
It set me apart from other people submitting proposals with only marketing experience. Having a book on the subject elevates me as an authority on the subject of launching books as a new author.
What’s more? I had one client tell me the following:
“Thanks for reaching out. You’re much more pricey than other bids but I do like your comprehensive approach and I can tell that the price fits what you’re looking to do. In fact, you’re probably undercharging…”
This client was telling me I was undercharging at $75 an hour? What!?
This is the power of knowing your own worth, and then sharing that knowledge in the form of a book.
What the client heard me say in my proposal was: “Yes, I charge more, but I can get you results, I’ve done it, and I can and will take care of you.”
This is exactly what clients want to hear. If you can make a client feel this way, they will close every single time.
Here at Archangel Ink, we believe the #1 reason you should write a book is to build a platform or expand your current following. Writing a book is one of the best ways to accomplish this goal.
Platform building involves many different facets, but creating a book can quickly elevate you above others in your field.
Writing a book is for you if you want to:
- Find ”good fit” clients that will pay you well to accomplish a task that you are an expert in
- Build or expand upon your existing platform
- Create more time with the ability to charge more for your work
- Enjoy more periods of “deep work” with adequate time for your family or other hobbies
- Find the right work-life balance, all while advancing your career/influence to the next level
I can’t tell you exactly how much of a boost in credibility you’ll get from writing a book, but I know that it’s worked for me, and it will work for you.
Your success is not restricted to solely freelancing on a platform like Upwork. You could use a book to build your audience in many ways like:
- Creating a lead magnet for attracting the perfect client
- Using it as a calling card at a business expo (just think how professional it will be when you have a few copies of your book neatly stacked in the corner on your table)
- Showing a sampling of your work to gain clients as a freelancer
- A way to build trust and respect with current clients by sending them a copy of your book with a handwritten note that says how much you appreciate them
- A chance to dive in to a new field and get ahead of the curve
I love writing books and have become more attuned to the process over time. When it comes to marketing books—I enjoy that process even more now.
I’ve found that my love of marketing and helping new authors has become the perfect way to support my ultimate goal of writing works of fiction and becoming location independent. Writing a book has become a source of revenue and credibility in ways I could have never expected.
If you want to know more about why you, as a professional, should choose to publish a book, check out our series called the “Self-Publishing Series.”
In it, the hero and legend himself, Rob Archangel, shares a series of emails that will get you on the right path to deciding whether publishing a book is right for you and your business.
If you want to get on the right path towards financial freedom and desire business and personal growth, writing a book might just be the golden ticket you’ve been looking for.
At the very least, I am sure you would agree it’s worth considering.
Until we meet again, best of luck to you as you continue on your entrepreneurial journey.
-Jordan and the Archangel Ink Team