In college, most people use their free time to drink, watch sports, or make lewd comments about women.
By contrast, I quietly and systematically polished my resume for over 100 man-hours in college until it gleamed perfection. I know, I know…this is what makes me irresistible to women.
Anyway, a few months back, I got in touch with Brazen Careerist to do some co-promotion since we both have similar audiences. But I’ve held off on mentioning them until the right thing came along.
Tonight Penelope Trunk (of Brazen Careerist) is doing a “Resume Boot Camp” webcast — Wednesday, 2/10 — and I thought you guys might want to check it out.
I recently took a look at some of your resumes for an upcoming project, and they were just terrible. I wish I had time to fix every one of them, but hopefully this will help you get a good start.
The short version: An all-new course that I’ve been quietly developing for a year, which includes 16 super-specific lessons on finding a profitable idea, testing it, finding clients, pricing, marketing, all designed to help you earn $1,000 (and more) on the side — every month. Also includes hours of gorgeous HD video strategies and tactics, Master Classes from people like Tim Ferriss (4HWW) on specific topics like marketing, time management & productivity, and psychology. Course registration ends tomorrow — click to see course details.
Q: What’s surprised you so far?
A: “The level of polish, thought, and effort that goes into every aspect of it so far. It is seriously the best looking, most relevant material I have seen online.”
–Ned White, Earn1k preview member
The detailed version: For the last four years, the #1 requested topic on my site has been “how to earn money.” Yet I’ve resisted creating a course for you guys, because most of the “earn money” courses I see are sleazy SEO plays or worthless courses that give you the same information you could find on Google. ‘Pick a market! Make a business plan. Network a lot!’
Give me a break.
But last year, when I went on my book tour, I met my readers in Starbucks and Barnes & Nobles in Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, Denver…and all over. When I asked them what THEY wanted me to write about, they all said the same thing: how to earn more money.
I asked them what questions they wanted me to answer, and here were some of the most common:
“I already have a full-time job. Can I really earn $1,000 on the side without spending 60 hours/week?”
“I don’t know which skills could actually earn me money. How do I decide what to do?”
“What can you teach me that’s new? I already know the stuff on Google.”
Their questions were really surprising.
That’s when I started seriously thinking about building the single-best course on earning money anywhere. Not just high-level advice, but specific strategies and tactics to help you use your skills, find a market, and charge competitive rates for side income.
You saw the first 3 weeks of January with all-new posts on earning more money, niche-ing it down, getting in your customers’ heads, and using a step-by-step process to earn money on the side.
As we’ve worked on this course for the last year, I wish I could go back to all those cities and tell my readers:
You DON’T need to spend 60 hours/week to earn $1,000 on the side…
You DON’T need to set up a sophisticated website or become an SEO master…
You DON’T need to get 10,000 Twitter followers or set up a YouTube/Facebook/LinkedIn page…
You DON’T need to create an ebook or product to earn your first $1,000…
You DON’T need to become a legal expert on business licenses…
Instead, you need to spend the majority of your time GETTING PAYING CLIENTS. Amazing when you eliminate all the BS.
It’s not just about the money
When I asked readers why they wanted to earn more money, the biggest reason across the board was NOT just about the money.
Actually, the #1 reason I got from you was to be able to eventually leave your job and work for yourself or travel.
Knowing this, I focused on not only new tactics to earn more, but the psychology of your own barriers — the barriers that are keeping you in a “meh” job. Are you too busy? Not sure where to start? Nervous about investing thousands into an unproven idea? The Earn1k course breaks it down step-by-step.
All these barriers (and more) can be systematically tested and used to help grow your side income.
In fact, here’s what some people said about the the preview version of Earn1k, which contained just a fraction of what the full course contains.
“I don’t feel scammed! No offense Ramit, but I’ve been burned by empty promises from other online courses. Also, I feel like I’m being taught and pushed to act, rather than merely inspired. It’s completely different than my other experiences. At this place in my life when I’m feeling poised to make changes and earn more money, it would be self-sabotage not to do it.”
–R. Cree, Earn1k preview member
“I am surprised how much I have gotten out of it, honestly. I came in thinking I might pick up some tools and tricks that could be used in my current business or to start my next one, but now I want to try freelancing. I knew in the back of my head that I shouldn’t try to make everyone happy, but you really hammered ruthless niching enough that it finally clicked for me. More niche = more rare = more concentrated demand = higher $/hr.”
–Blake Wager, Earn1k preview member
“Ramit’s course has already completely changed my perspective from what *I* want to what the *customer* wants. Learning about marketing is icky (for me), but also painfully eye-opening. I’m seeing that I was a fool when I started this, thinking only about me and what I wanted to sell. Now I am seeing why my original plan would have flopped before it even started. And why so many others’ do as well.”
–Karen, Earn1k preview member
All new material that you won’t find on my blog
The full Earn 1K course contains all-new, step-by-step content. This isn’t the kind of material you can find by Googling “freelancer” or “earn more money” (try it, you’ll see). To create the single best course on the market, we…
Surveyed thousands of freelancers and full-time employees to see where the biggest barriers are
Assembled a team of top freelancers to help put the course together, including specific solutions for turning your idea into income, finding your first clients, setting your rates, and marketing yourself
Hired a videographer to produce professional-quality video for the course
We hired a transcription team, in case you prefer text
Hired audio editors and professional designers
You can’t find this material anywhere else. It’s an investment to help you earn your first $1,000 on the side — and remember, you can make that income over and over again.
What’s in the Earn1k course
Here’s how I put the course together:
All-new, super-specific material in hours of professional HD video. This isn’t some 50-page ebook. I hired a professional videographer and created hours of HD video to demonstrate a structured process to help you earn money, crush psychological roadblocks, and take the years of tactics I’ve been developing and apply them to your market. Perfect if you want to learn the material at your own pace. Transcribed for your convenience..
Group calls and private forums to keep you motivated and address your specific skills. Many of us want to be held accountable. We want to see how others are handling the roadblocks that inevitably come up. And when we get stuck, we want to know how to push through instead of getting stuck. The course includes weekly group calls (recorded if you can’t make it) with live Q&A
Ready-to-use, field-tested scripts that we’ve used to ramp up our own freelancing and consulting businesses. We deliver detailed, ready-to-go scripts that we’ve tested and refined over years of successful freelance work. Including:
Pitching via cold email, with real-world examples and followup scripts
Questions to ask your client to build trust and uncover hidden problems, overcome objections and speak to desires
Actual questionnaires used to get inside your customers’ heads and get a deep understanding of your clients’ business (I use this in my own business)
How to charge a firm price and handle price objections
Scripts with Key Convincer Phrases to use with your clients so they acknowledge your value and happily pay your fee (most people never use these)
Upselling & getting more work at the end of the engagement
How to end unprofitable engagements without burning bridges
The most effective way to follow up with clients that are slow to pay (or aren’t paying at all)
How to ask for referrals that will snowball your freelance business
Access to the private “Earn More Insider Sessions.“I flew in my team of freelancers to San Francisco, where we got together to film private sessions that show you dozens of the best techniques we’ve created, tested, and engineered to help us earn significant amounts of income on the side
Master Classes from the best guest speakers on the planet. I assembled people who are master practitioners on specific topics — for pricing, marketing, identifying your customer, building a sales funnel, and time management — and convinced them to come together to teach you in private Master Classes
Powerful real-life case studies. Learn how people just like you are earning serious side income doing freelance project management, graphic design, software engineering, writing, Excel consulting, dog walking, professional room-organizing (really), and more. Comprehensive case studies where we ask them all the questions you want to — How much are you really making? What was the biggest waste of time? How’d you convince your customers to pay? Listen to them on the go or read the transcribed versions we’ve put together for you.
Office hours with me (Ramit) and my instructors. Private access to ask your questions and get specific answers — including how we’d write that pitch email or phrase your pricing increase. We’ll be here to make sure you have a helping hand in starting to earn money on the side
Inside stories that we’ve never revealed before. This isn’t some college textbook. We’ve added our own stories of ridiculous clients, tricks and techniques we’ve heard from other freelancers, and case studies on how others earn money on the side. Think of the best college class you ever had, where people wanted to be there.
Week-by-week course overview
Week 1
Learn the #1 biggest barrier you’ll face when starting, and then overcome it
How to pick the right field, even if you think you don’t have any skills
Psychological tactics to keep yourself highly motivated and even increase your performance
How to avoid what almost all new freelancers waste hours on – with ZERO results
Week 2
Learn the power of ‘No,’ to drive demand for your services higher than ever, while protecting your time and energy
How to instantly evaluate the demand for your service before ever spending time on marketing
The difference between creating a niche and specializing in one
How to use niche techniques to select a target market that’s irresistible to high-value clients
Week 3
Learn the 16 most effective emotional triggers that tap into your clients’ desire to buy
Why your ’skills’ aren’t as important as you think
How to construct rock-solid deliverables so clients see your value – and get desperate for your services
The upsell techniques that land you bigger projects, partnership deals, and even full-time job offers
Week 4
Choosing your price without agonizing or hedging
How to get clients to gladly pay you more than they originally planned
Why clients WANT you to sell to them (and how to do it so it works)
Learn the one tactic to use so you never again say “I don’t know where to find clients!
Week 5
Instantly spot dead-end leads, and learn how to avoid them
The right (and wrong) way to pitch a new client
Email scripts to help you pitch clients in minutes, not hours
Develop trust and obliterate your clients’ hidden objections with specific, proven phrases
Week 6
Getting to the ‘Yes’ before even telling them your rate
How to close any sale
When NOT to close – even if your client is ready to buy
The “1-2 punch” and other powerful email techniques to get people to respond
Week 7
How to gain your client’s trust, so they reveal to you their hidden fears and desires
Exact lines you can use to overcome even the biggest client objections
How to turn one-time clients into lifelong business partners
Your Must-Dos for the end of every client engagement
Week 8
How to turn around problem clients
Tactics to flood your inbox with more referral business than you can handle
Optimize your system to get more business with less effort
When it’s time to ‘make the leap’ and start working for yourself!
Top tier spots are already sold out
Tier 1 of this course included everything I listed above, plus private coaching with I Will Teach You To Be Rich instructors. We sold out of this premier level within just 2 hours of our initial private launch. We’re getting close to selling all the seats for our Master Classes – featuring speakers like Tim Ferriss and Pamela Slim – as well.
When I created this product, I never imagined there would be this much demand, and this much positive response. It’s shown me that people are hungry to to learn how to effectively and efficiently earn money on the side, so that they can one day be independent and high-level freelancers that set their own terms.
What being a member means
I built my own course on this topic because I personally tried so many other popular ones only to find that they were more of the same old material that didn’t get me results.
I invested tens of thousands of dollars of my own money into developing this course, flying top-notch freelancers across the country to contribute their expertise, and putting together the best lessons anywhere. I only care about developing super high-qualitymaterial that you can’t find anywhere else.
This is premium, never-before-released material, and because we’re teaching you how to earn money, you can re-use the system over and over again. How much is it worth to learn how to increase your earning power, earn extra money whenever you want, and replicate your money-making month after month and year after year?
We give you lifetime access to the course material once you’ve joined as a member. Use it now to grow your business, and refer to it whenever you like.
FAQ
Q: I don’t have an idea. Should I join?
A: That’s the point of the course — to help you find a PROFITABLE IDEA and implement it. In fact, if you had an idea, it probably sucks. In the course, we teach you how to rapidly test it to see what’s profitable and what’s not. You don’t already need an idea. It’s not about a magic idea — it’s about testing them.
Q: How much time do I need to do implement the course?
A: 5 hours/week minimum (2 to watch weekly course material, 3 to implement). Don’t kid yourself — the more time you put in, the more you’ll get out of it.
Q: I’m really busy and this isn’t a good time for me. Can I do this later?
A: I’m not sure if/when I’ll offer this again, and if I do, it will be significantly more expensive. You get lifetime access to the course so you can check it out whenever you want.
Q: I don’t have enough money to join
A: Then you should not join, and focus on savings instead
“I was really convinced that I couldn’t afford to pay the full course (and I wasn’t even gonna try to) but now I’m really decided to get a spot in the course I will become a thief if I have to. You really made me think in value rather than in cost. That’s a lesson that I will remember all my life.”
–Vladimir S., Earn1k preview member
Are you ready to invest in yourself? Learn how to earn your first $1,000–and more–on the side. Check out the full details (course enrollment closes tomorrow, Friday 2/5).
Here’s a technique I’ve used to earn thousands of dollars in salary and freelance negotiations.
The Briefcase Technique
God I love it
This is just one simple example of the hours and hours of HD video in a new course I’m launching, called “Earn Your First $1,000 on the Side.”
Live webcast tonight, Tuesday, 2/2
So tonight, I’m hosting a special webcast.
In the webcast, you’ll see…
2-3 “teardowns” of people’s freelance ideas: I’ll get them on the line, analyze their freelance business, and show them how to skyrocket their earnings. Live.
What the #1 mistake of people who try to earn more money is
The first public look at the new “Earn Your First $1,000 on the Side” course — choose which course is right for you
But over the last 11 months…I’ve been quietly working on building the I Will Teach You To Be Rich course on earning more money.
This week, after previewing it to 10,000+ people, I’m ready to release it publicly.
Here’s a quote from people one of my preview members:
Q: What’s surprised you so far?
A: “The level of polish, thought, and effort that goes into every aspect of it so far. It is seriously the best looking, most relevant material I have seen online.”
I’m in the middle of my private Earn1k course this week before announcing something next week.
I was doing a live webcast last night and I was trying to make a point, but I wasn’t sure how to say it.
It seems like 98% of personal-finance material (blogs, magazines, books) focus on spending LESS — keeping a budget, saying “no, no, no” to lattes, jeans, and vacations.
Why?
Why don’t they cover earning more, or negotiating, or increasing your responsibilities at work, or understanding the psychology of your own behavior, or all the other things besides cutting down on spending?
I’m trying to formulate 3 crisp answers.
So, what do you think? Why is the vast majority of personal-finance material focused on cutting down on spending?
[Also: No video office hours tonight. Too swamped on something else. Check out my YouTube videos if you miss me screaming at people.]
This course on earning more has been a lot of fun. Instead of more useless tips on saving money on lattes and burritos, we’ve gone through case studies, exercises, and specific email scripts to earn more money on the side.
The important thing is to understand that it’s not simply a series of formulaic tactics to follow. To earn money, you have to get inside your customers’ heads and understand what they really want. For example, check out the comments on this post — you’ll see that some people can do this very well, while others cannot.
Things will be quiet on the blog next week. I’ll be running a private email course, covering things like:
Case study: How an iwillteach reader started earning $1,500/month in the last 2 weeks– including a $750 check *I* am writing him each month (includes email script)
How one of my readers went from free to fee, convincing me to write him a $10,000+ check in one month (includes the presentation he used to convince me)
Psychological barrier training
If you haven’t already signed up at Earn1k.com, we’re closing it down soon. See you guys in a few days.