We’ve done a lot of talking about us on the blog lately, you and I. We’ve talked about our content, we’ve talked about our branding, and we’ve talked about our rates.

And while I love talking about us – I do – it is time for us to shift the focus of our little chats.

We’re going to shift our focus to someone who is, unbelievably, EVEN MORE AWESOME than you and I.

We’re actually going to take the perspective of the very coolest person in the whole, entire universe.

We’re going to think about…

…Your Next Client.

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Let’s talk about raising your rates.

In 2008, my first public coaching offer was “two hours for $99”.

Just in case the coffee hasn’t kicked in yet, that’s $49.50 an hour. Minus transaction fees.

That’s less than a mid-range plumber in a small town.

Whatever service it is that you’re offering, the odds are pretty good that you’re charging too little.

Some of you are charging WAY too little. So little that nobody’s taking you seriously. This leads to a lack of clients. (Or a lack of good clients, which is sometimes worse.)

Others among you are charging a basically decent rate, but not enough to meet your branding or financial goals. Yes, technically, it’s an OK rate. But it doesn’t afford you the freedom opportunities you’re craving, and it sure as hell doesn’t make you look A-List.

We’re going to talk about fixing that today. You might be surprised by how simple the process is.

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It has been said that if you have integrity, 99% of your decisions are made for you.

That sounds true.

However, I’m not in the integrity business. I’m in the marketing business.

In the marketing business, it’s a little different.

In marketing, if you have a solid brand, 99% of your decisions are made for you.

Branding can feel complicated and ethereal and confusing, but it doesn’t have to be.

In fact, you can build an entire brand out of just one word.

That’s what we’re going to do today.

We’re going to get you one word, and that can be your brand.

Today I’ll teach you something called The 200% Branding Solution, and it’s very simple.

If you’re brave, it can take about ten seconds.

Ready?

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I’m going to tell you about the very first rule I created for myself when I started blogging.

Following this rule helped me grow my readership amazingly fast.

Before I do, though, I have to give you a bit of a warning.

The “rule” has a bad word in it, and in this post, I’m going to say that bad word a lot of times.

(I used to use bad words a lot, as part of my branding, which I talk about here. Why did I stop? Well, my Virgo kid learned to read and he, uh… didn’t approve.)

(“Didn’t approve” is a nice way of saying that he read my blog one day and looked kind of green and blanched at the same time and I was pretty sure he was too traumatized to cry.)

(That was not a joke, in case you were wondering.)

Anyway, if you’re cool with that, we’ll continue.

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