Hi friends!
Jorden here, and I’m back with another AMAZING student interview / Killer Cold Emailing course review! Today, we’re talking to Nabeel, a writer who is absolutely KILLING IT with his freelance writing business.
He has so much work that he’s thinking about scaling up to an agency (after spending YEARS trying to get clients using cold emailing with no success – UNTIL he took Killer Cold Emailing!).
But I’ll stop right there and let Nabeel tell you the rest of the story. 🙂
Enjoy, and click here to learn more about Killer Cold Emailing and enroll!
Killer Cold Emailing Course Review / Student Interview: How Nabeel Made $2,800 in 3 Weeks
1. Tell us a little about yourself and your business!
I’m a copywriter and content marketer, and have been for over three years.
First, I am location independent and can work from anywhere.
Right now I live in Asia, but quite often travel to the U.S., where I grew up.
Three years ago, I left my job in Texas to focus on my writing business full time.
I had a decent cushion of savings at the time.
But early on, there were times when I thought I wouldn’t make it.
In fact, I was bleeding cash every month, and I was so sure that I would return to the States – with my tail between my legs – for that grueling job search.
But somehow, I managed to make it work.
Now I have so much work that I need to start assembling a team of writers, and maybe scale up to a digital marketing agency!
Second, I am deaf.
Yep, that’s right. I can’t hear.
Now I can see you protesting, “but…but…but how the hell can you run your business if you can’t hear on the phone?!”
Well, I can say that it’s certainly possible to run a business without ever picking up the phone. I’m living proof of that. Granted, this doesn’t come without its own unique challenges.
I don’t want to hog Jorden’s soapbox here, so I will just link to an article I wrote in late 2018 about what it’s like to be a deaf entrepreneur.
Being deaf is also a big reason why I signed up for the Killer Cold Emailing course, because for the sake of my business,
I have to make email work for me.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nabeelk
Website: https://www.provectusdigital.com/
2. What is your niche / what kinds of clients do you work with?
Most of my clients are in software or SaaS, and others are in high-tech including manufacturing, supply chain management, Internet of Things, and the like.
I’m a former software developer, so my background comes in quite handy whenever my clients want something that requires more in-depth technical research.
I’m planning to expand into other niches this year, though.
3. What problems were you facing in your business that prompted you to join the Killer Cold Emailing course? Why did you decide to join?
I simply couldn’t get a client through cold email for three entire years.
LinkedIn wasn’t of much help either. It was a combination of two things:
One, my cold emails – frankly – sucked ass.
Two, the industries I pitch to tend to be very picky about their writers.
Because their content leans more technical, they don’t want to take chances on unproven writers.
Now, you might be asking how I got clients during those three years when my cold emails hadn’t worked.
I got clients through other prospecting methods like networking, referrals, using connections from previous employers, and community involvement.
But, I was worried that these methods aren’t sustainable, and I knew that I had to consistently get clients through cold email. That’s why I joined.
The LinkedIn profile optimization was a nice bonus that pushed me over the edge.
4. Did you have any hesitations about joining the Killer Cold Emailing course? If so, what were they?
At first, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to understand all the course content since it was all in video.
I had hoped they would be subtitled, and if they weren’t, Jorden had a money back guarantee. I almost never ask for money back, but it was nice to know it was there. So I took the plunge anyway.
Indeed, the videos weren’t subtitled (at the time).
But I went through all the courses anyway because there were plenty of visual aids, annotated screenshots, and some text that I could read and write notes on.
Afterward, I asked Jorden if she had any transcripts or even some rough notes on the courses.
She didn’t, and she offered to refund me in full. But I didn’t take her up on that because although I couldn’t hear the videos, I felt that I still got value out of them.
(Side note: A few months later, she updated her courses to contain transcriptions on all videos so that I could re-watch them in full. Thanks again, Jorden!)
5. What results have you seen since implementing what you learned in Killer Cold Emailing?
After implementing what I learned and correcting my previous mistakes, I got one client on a monthly retainer for weekly blog posts.
So far they’ve paid $2,300. I also got another client to pay me $500 for a one-off.
So that’s a total of $2,800 (and still counting) off cold emailing alone, and that’s just since February.
6. How long did it take you to see those results?
Not too long. Maybe 2 or 3 weeks.
After completing the courses, I emailed 100 prospects using what I’ve learned, plus my own personal tweaks.
While I didn’t close the deal off the first email alone, I followed up two or even three times before they finally responded, with two people saying “yes, we need a writer, can you send us samples and how much do you charge?”
If you asked me to give advice on cold emailing post-KCE, I would give you the 3 P’s: 1) be patient, 2) be polite, and 3) be persistent.
Companies, especially big ones, have multiple departments.
Things slip through the cracks. Emails don’t get opened. Their left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.
But they have money!
So keep trying and don’t give up – whether it takes you 3 days or 3 months (or in my case, 3 years!) to see results. At the same time though, don’t follow up 5 times in one week. There’s a fine line between being persistent and being annoying (or worse, desperate).
7. What would be the main reason(s) you’d give the Killer Cold Emailing course a positive review?
The main reason I would recommend this course is all the value that Jorden packs into it.
By taking her courses, you don’t just learn how to cold email.
Much of the value lies in optimizing your LinkedIn profiles, setting up a website and portfolio to position yourself as a successful business owner, and pitching guest post ideas.
Don’t neglect these!
8. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I would also add one final point. Cold emailing is far more effective if you are writing them from a position of strength, not from desperation.
If I were to do this all over again, I would draft my cold emails and follow up sequences at a time when I didn’t really need the cash.
It could have been while I was still working full time, or when I had just won a plum project.
In other words, don’t wait until you run out of work and are forced back onto the prospecting warpath to draft your outreach emails.
Thanks, Nabeel, for a great Killer Cold Emailing reviw… and a HUGE congrats on all your freelance writing success! 🙂
…Now, dear reader, do YOU want to be the next cold pitching success story? My bestselling course, Killer Cold Emailing, is now available!
This course bundle is your step-by-step process for creating a full-time freelance writing business.
Enroll, and you’ll discover the EXACT marketing methods I used to make my first $1,000 (and beyond!) as a freelance writer!
See you inside the course. 😉