The dentist office I went to as a kid always had the latest Highlights magazine in the waiting room.
I would spend the entire wait poring through its pages. My favorite feature was Goofus & Gallant, the cartoon series drawn by Garry Cleveland Myers. It taught kids how to behave with courtesy by presenting everyday scenarios and then comparing how a brute (Goofus) handles them versus a young hero (Gallant).
Goofus is a total a-hole, Gallant is an unlikable Eddy Haskell.
Like this one about saying Grace before eating:
“Make it fast, I’m hungry,” says Goofus the a-hole.
“We have so many things to be thankful for,” says Gallant, the ass-kisser.
Barf.
Which brings me to this blog.
Using a similar Goofus v. Gallant format with (hopefully) less nauseating results, this Better Freelancer blog will feature its own brute and hero, which is the freelancer I was versus the freelance I’ve become.
90’s Mike the comedian vs. Modern Mike the writer
Among other things, this Better Freelancer blog will share all the idiotic and ineffective ways I used to do freelancing back in the 1990’s and 2000’s as a standup comedian and improvisor and contrast that with how I do freelancing better these days as a writer.
That includes how I’ve used technology and modern marketing to build an audience that I can nurture until they are ready to buy my valuable products.
Also how I’ve used the internet and free software to bypass the middleman that used to exist between writers and their fans.
These tactics have helped me get un-stuck as a mid-5-figure freelancer and have pushed me into the 6-figure territory for years now.
That’s because there is a huge difference with how freelancers like me used to handle clientele and how we do it nowadays.
For example:
90’s Mike entertained his customers at various comedy clubs around the nation and then simply moved on.
“They’ll figure out when I’ll be in town again,” he thought. “Or someone else will tell them.”
Problem was, sometimes they did, but more often they didn’t, so 90’s Mike never became a huge draw.
Modern Mike the writer entertains his potential fans and then collects their emails into his list.
“This way I can let them know the next time I have something valuable to offer,” he tells anyone who will listen.
He’s learned how to use marketing funnel software to build up a database of potential customers whom he nurtures with free but valuable content until they are finally ready to buy what he is selling.
Speaking of which…
What a difference a little knowledge (and a few decades of freelance evolution) makes.
Hopefully, it will quickly become obvious why becoming a better freelancer is both creatively and financially beneficial to your gigging, whatever it is that you happen to sell online or in person.
Here’s to better freelancing,
Mike
