I’m calling this post “quick ‘n dirty” because that’s exactly what it is. A quick riff on a post that I’m still chewing on by Perry Marshall.

The topic is discernment, which doesn’t seem to be a common trait for most business people.

A copywriter friend was just venting how a newbie was peppering her with questions about copywriting, how to get started, how to find clients, etc. etc.

We’ve all been in that spot. When you’re first starting out, you’ll looking for information anywhere you can find it. However, relying on a colleague to be your main source for that information is 1) taking advantage of their time and 2) proving that you’re trying to find the easy way to getting ahead.

Freelancing is tough. It takes time to establish yourself and build relationships with clients who appreciate you. There is no easy way to getting there.

Perry Marshall says this:

Wise people research online and offline. Wise people take a trip to the library and search collections of used books. Fools suppose that if it can’t be found on the first page of search engine results, it surely must not exist.

Wise people know that education costs money.

Fools think that “information wants to be free.” Hey, if information is defined as that which most people don’t know or can’t know, then free information isn’t really information at all, is it?

Wise people focus on timeless principles. Fools focus on quick tricks. In March I did a teleclinic with Jonathan Mizel and Glenn Livingston, explaining the “www dash” technique. In short, it’s a domain name trick where, for example, you can’t buy http://doctor.com – but you can buy http://www-doctor.com. This can dramatically increase the CTR on a Google ad or other web advertising link, typically by 70% or more. Very exciting, potentially misleading, in some cases it’s the difference between a successful web project and an unsuccessful one. But if it’s the only competitive advantage you have, it’s gonna be short-lived. I don’t really like this technique (Bryan doesn’t either), but do I teach it as a competitive weapon that can be used very effectively in certain circumstances. And I also made sure that in our teleclinic, we delivered some substantial marketing strategies along with the promised tricks and techniques.

Check out his article.

Then think of whatever you’re doing today to achieve success and then find one more thing you can do that will make a difference. It could be reading a few classic books in your industry, finding a podcast that will educate you, or signing up for a free teleseminar.

The information is out there. You just need to find it. And there are plenty of resources online to show you just how to do that.