The One Writing Rule That Will Help You Lose Unsightly Stomach Fat while Earning $3,276 in One Week!

I had every intention of writing you a nice, long sales page full of random lies and musings. I was hoping that I could create a really cool, (imaginary) expert name for myself like Dr. Rebecca Frankenfurter, M.D. so that I would have instant credibility through my fake letter when I went to sell you some aspirin in a pretty bottle I colored with my son's smelly markers. Then I realized that I didn’t really want to do any of that - except maybe the name. Actually, I don’t really like to write sales letters or heavy sales pages. It’s not what I do.

I do, however, have a rule that I follow that has brought me the sort of limited success only an overworked mother can truly appreciate. More on that later.

It’s taken five or six years in an online writing career to determine that I don’t like to do what a lot of other writers like to do. (This is an important point – you should write that down.) You don’t have to like what they like either. You can do whatever you want.

I’m sick to the point of vomiting hearing about the almighty sales letter and how they are the 'best' way to make money online. It's where the real money is, apparently. Maybe you didn’t know, but if you sign up for my newsletter and mentoring program, I’ll even teach you how to write a killer sales letter so that you can be a kickass copywriter just like me. After all, it’s so easy we can ALL learn to write sales letters in about five minutes after paying $200. /sarcasm.

To be honest, over the last five years I haven’t even been interested enough to try and get interested in learning the killer secrets of a killer sales letter. You don’t care, and neither do I.

That’s exactly my point!

I don’t care about sales letters. I don’t care about starting a regular newsletter and I don’t care about telling everyone how to do exactly what I already do through an endless series of emails.

I just do what I like to do and it works for me.

Here’s my one big rule. It will probably not do a damn thing to help your weight, but it might earn you some money:

Figure out what you actually like to do with your writing and then make it work for you.

I already did this once in a big way when I walked away from very profitable consulting and power accounting to become a lowly teacher. I teach (as I’ve said before) because I actually enjoy teaching teenagers. I still love it nine years later. The paycheck is a very welcome added bonus.

I started writing online because it was fun and I could write well enough to have some credibility. I’ve tried over the years to get really excited and involved in things that I should do based on abilities or because they can be profitable. But I didn’t really care about them, and ultimately I never really developed that area of my business.

I walked away from one well-paid job because I wanted to do what I liked, not something I didn’t like because it paid well. Now I’m at the point where I’m comfortable admitting I’m doing it again with this career.

Best of all? It’s worked for me very well in both cases. I make enough money to support a very comfortable lifestyle. I’m able to do this by utilizing my skills in areas I enjoy day and night. I’m also able to do this while spending a lot of time with my kids.

If that’s not a big rule to follow in life, I don’t know what is.

And I didn’t even need an obnoxious sales letter to tell you so.

Of course, if you wanted to send me your money anyhow, I won’t turn you down. You can write the checks payable to Dr. Rebecca Frankenfurter, M.D.

Oh, and since the number one rule is to do what you want with your career – you don’t have to take my advice at all. Just ignore this and go back to pursuing the almighty dollar if that’s what floats your boat. It’s your boat – be your own captain.

Profile image for Rebecca Garland
Rebecca is a full-time everything. She teaches English and reading to her much loved, if challenging, high school students during the day and is a freelance education writer in the evenings. With almost ten years in the classroom and advanced degrees in business and information science, Rebecca specializes in materials that inform, educate and entertain. Rebecca indulges herself by pretending to have spare time and writing about the ups and downs of being a freelancing mama whenever she gets a chance.

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6 thoughts on “The One Writing Rule That Will Help You Lose Unsightly Stomach Fat while Earning $3,276 in One Week!”

  1. Dang, Rebecca, sitting at my computer writing over the past 20 months has brought on a smidgen of unsightly belly fat and I’m making no where near $3k+ per week – I really need that rule! Seriously, I agree with you 100%. I also dislike those sales pages that go on and on and include testimonial after testimonial – and I don’t want to write that way. Give me concise info without the hype and maybe a few real people (like 3 or 4 max) sharing how whatever it is has worked for them. And spare me the bright colors, anything that flashes or moves, and buy now buttons every paragraph or so. Geez, am I too dumb to figure out how to make a purchase if the opportunity isn’t screaming at me all the time?

    Reply
    • I’m with you – I like the concise letters, but then we’re the experts working online who know how to see through all of that fluff (or at least I hope all online workers can.)

      I don’t like ’em, so I don’t write ’em. Of course other people love ’em, so it all works out in the end.

      And sadly, if you ask the cynical marketers out there, the sales pages work because the people that buy stuff from them do tend to be “too dumb to make a purchase if it’s not screaming at them.” I’d go with unaware or ignorant, rather than dumb, but the fact that they convert so well is evidence enough for me…

      Reply
  2. Those sales pages are too gimmicky to me, but they are definitely convincing to some people. Despite all the hundreds of thousands of dollars you can make in under one year by writing killer ads, sales copy just isn’t my thing. I’m glad I found my niche. I could stay here forever.

    Reply
    • Killer ads work for some folks and they love that niche as much as you love yours. I’m with you, though. I love what I do at this point, but I’d like to streamline it even more to keep things lively.

      Reply
  3. I think this is like the best post I have seen on the subject of freelancing. For the first 4 years of my freelance life I wrote about things I could care less about. I was just out for the money. Because I was out for the money some days I would slack off and provide my clients with crappy unuseful work. Of course this back fired and made clients fire me. But I hated it. I hated being used and doing things that I actually dreaded doing.
    It took me forever to open my eyes and heart and actually start to fall in love with what I love to do … Writing. I’m not saying right now I write just what I want to write instead its a vivid mixture of the things I dread and the things I am passionate about ( only because I need money. ) However I really think this posting inspired me to walk away from the subjects and clients I dislike and focus on the things I actually want to prefect. Great posting. Thank you for helping me see the light.

    Reply
    • I don’t think that anyone will ever be able to live in a land of fairy tales and gumdrops. There are always parts of a business that aren’t any fun to do. I’m pleased that you’re inspired by my cynical musings, and I wish you the best of luck. Reading your comment, though, I worried that you might walk away from the paying gigs on principle. Just be sure you can pay your bills while living your dream, okay? I’d hate to have that on my already overwhelmed conscience. 🙂

      Reply

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