The Business of Copywriting
By Gary Hennerberg

1. Track your income.

I can go back to the first month I struck out on my own and tell you how much I’ve made each month since then. I don’t use any fancy tracking software. For me, an Excel spreadsheet works fine. I have little doubt there may be more efficient ways to track my business, but I like to keep things simple.

I calculate client income by quarter. And ultimately by year. Importantly, I calculate the percent of total income from each client so I see which of my clients are biggest.

2. Pay attention to your historical information.

I have accumulated enough information that I can pinpoint pretty reliably what months tend to be slower from a cash flow perspective. In case you’re wondering, for me February is a month I realize I should take a long vacation, because it’s traditionally slower than any other month.

I have a summary by client, by year, of what I’ve been paid. After nearly 100 clients over the years, it is fascinating to see who has been the biggest. The Pareto Principle, at least for me, holds almost true. About 80% of my income has come from around 10% of my clients. (The Pareto Principle suggests 80% likely comes from 20%.) Knowing this puts into perspective which clients are the ones you should work extra hard for.

3. Know where your business comes from.

I also track the source of each and every client I’ve served over the years. I note on a spreadsheet if the client came about because of a referral, networking, if they read an article I wrote, or heard a speech I gave. In recent years, the number of people who find my website has skyrocketed. Long ago I “optimized” my website – before the term “SEO” became a buzzword – and to this day my website ranks high on organic searches.

I can see, for example, that two different speeches I delivered a few years ago contributed to nearly $300,000 in income for me. Or that an article I wrote attracted another client who has been worth over another $300,000 to me. Or that my persistence calling on another client for three years before they gave me a chance in a test finally yielded over $400,000 in income for me. My website has generated well into the six figures so far.

4. Set goals and plan out how to achieve them.

On New Year’s Day, it’s a tradition for me to spend a few hours planning my goals for the new year. I determine my financial goal. Then prognosticate how much I should make from current clients. And see the difference in dollars that will have to come from new clients.

That’s always scary and thrilling all at the same time. But here’s what gives me confidence: I look back at the past year to see who those new clients have been. They were people I had never met, and often I didn’t know their companies even existed. And I never know who those new clients will be in the next year.

Tracking these various data points is somewhat tedious at the time you’re doing it, but it can also be fun. It’s fascinating to step back after a few years to see where you’ve been and what you’ve accomplished financially. Being somewhat of a data geek, I’ve even put this information into chart form so it takes life visually.