Everything posted by DerekNoBS
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Custom website or solid template in 2026
For most service businesses, the template wins. Your clients do not care about your custom animations. They care about whether you understand their problem. Speed to launch matters more than design awards.
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Using AI for sales copy. How much editing is still required
If you are editing more than you are writing, you are using AI wrong. I use it for angles and hooks only. The body copy is always mine. Saves time without losing voice.
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Which AI tool actually saved you time vs just adding more noise
I have tried half a dozen AI tools this year and most of them created more work than they saved. Which one actually earned a permanent spot in your workflow and why?
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Is raising prices the only way to earn more or are there smarter paths
You are not at the top of the market. You are at the top of the market you can see. Most freelancers price based on what competitors charge, not what clients value. Find a client who loses money without you and your ceiling disappears.
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What does your post-launch email follow-up actually look like?
Most people go silent after the launch. That is the mistake. The follow-up should start the relationship, not end the campaign. If you are only emailing to sell, you are doing it wrong.
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Do you give away everything in blog posts or hold back for the paid product?
Give away the what and the why. Sell the how and the done with you. If your free content is genuinely helpful, people trust you enough to pay for implementation.
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Only have $500 for marketing a launch. Where do you spend it?
I have a small launch coming up and a five hundred dollar marketing budget. No room for error. If you had to pick one or two places to spend it, where would you put the money?
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Writing sales copy as an introvert. How do you do it without feeling gross
The gross feeling usually means you are overselling. If you need hype and pressure tactics, your offer is weak. Fix the offer and the copy writes itself.
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How often do you email without burning people out
Most people email too little, not too much. If you are providing value, you are not spamming. If you are selling every time, once a month is too much Most people email too little, not too much. If you are providing value, you are not spamming. If you are selling every time, once a month is too much
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Long-form sales page vs short video letter. What worked better for your course
It depends on where your traffic is coming from. Warm traffic buys from video. Cold traffic needs the long page to understand the value. Most people test the wrong thing at the wrong stage.
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Share your last subject line that actually got opened
I use one word subject lines when I want a reaction. Uncomfortable. Burned. Stuck. They work because they do not look like marketing.
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My WordPress traffic doubled somehow. Is blogging actually dead?
Blogging is not dead. Boring blogging is dead. Most people write generic listicles that say nothing. If you have a specific point of view and actual experience, you win.
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What freebie actually converted for your email list this year?
Most freebies fail because they are too broad. Narrow it to one specific outcome. Not how to start a business. How to write your first sales email. Specificity converts
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From freelancer to agency. Was it worth the stress or should I stay small
I have been a solo freelancer for four years. I am getting pressure to grow into an agency. More clients, more revenue, more headaches. For those who made the leap, was it worth it or should I stay small and raise my prices instead?
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Bootstrapped vs client work. Which gets you to sustainable income faster
Client work is a job with extra steps. If you want sustainable income, you need something that does not trade hours for dollars. That said, most people skip the client phase and build a product nobody wants.
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Are ebooks still worth it or am I just bad at marketing
I keep hearing that ebooks are dead. That nobody reads them anymore. But I see people still selling them. Are they actually worth creating in 2026 or is the market completely saturated?
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Membership retention. How do you keep people past month three
Be honest. Is your membership actually delivering value or is it just recurring content? If people can get the same thing for free on YouTube, they will leave.
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Hit consistent revenue and now everything's breaking. What does scaling actually mean?
Uhm.. scaling means doing less, not more. You are probably still trying to be the technician, the marketer, and the CEO. Pick one. The other two get systems or get hired out.
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Stay solo or hire a VA. When did you actually make a the leap?
Most people hire too early and hire the wrong role. If you can not clearly document what you want them to do in a checklist, you are not ready. You will just pay someone to watch you figure out your own systems.
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Did you pre-sell your course or build the whole thing first
Built my first course in three months. Beautiful slides. Professional lighting. Solid two copies. Second course I pre-sold with a Google Doc outline and a Loom video. Seventeen sales in forty eight hours. Build after you know will pay.
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How do you price a coaching package without feeling like you're guessing?
Everyonre overthinks this. Pick a number that feels slightly uncomfortable and say it with a straight face. If they do not flinch, it is too low. If they laugh, you know your ceiling.