How to Get the Most Out of Escape the Content Mills

Welcome to Escape the Content Mills! We want you to get way, way more than your money’s worth out of this class, so we have some suggestions for you.

1. Use the PDFs right.

Escape the Content Mills Lessons are in downloadable PDF format. Some of these PDFs are fillable worksheets. IMPORTANT NOTE: You must download the Lesson 1 PDF and Lesson 4 Worksheet PDF to your computer in order to fill out and save the fillable forms they contain. We also recommend printing the forms as a backup after you enter all of the fields.

DO NOT FILL OUT THE FORMS IN YOUR BROWSER! If you do so, you will NOT be able to save your completed version of the forms.

Most of the PDFs contain links to helpful resources. If you download the PDFs to your computer, when you click on a link, it will open in your browser. However, if you have the PDF open in your browser and click on a link, it will take you away from the PDF and you’ll need to hit the Back button in your browser to get back to the Lesson. The way to solve this is to right-click on the link you want to open, and you can select whether you’d like the link to open in a new tab or a new window.

2. Keep an open mind.

As you read through each lesson, don’t try to figure out ways the advice won’t work for you. Try to figure out how you can make it work.

For example, we talk in the Webinar about walking into the local businesses you frequent and introducing yourself as a writer to the owners. Instead of thinking, “I live in a rural area with no businesses so I can’t do this,” think “Hmm, maybe I can drive to the nearest big town and start introducing myself around!” Or “I’m visiting my sister in the Atlanta suburbs next week, so maybe I can walk around HER town and introduce myself!”

Also consider how to make each piece of advice work with your personality. You’re super outgoing and extroverted? Try cold calling prospects. The idea of calling a prospect makes you want to hide under the covers? Don’t bother. Write queries and letters of introduction instead, or reach out through social media. You don’t have to try everything we suggest — do keep an open mind and try new things, but also pick and choose the tips you know you’ll be able to do consistently based on your personality.

3. Do the homework.

At the end of each Lesson is a homework assignment. Do the homework! Don’t just read and hope you assimilated the skills by osmosis. It won’t happen. The secret sauce in all our classes is that they get you taking concrete action to build your skills and put yourself out there.

4. Give it 30 minutes.

Before giving up, or reaching out to someone in your circle for help, give our advice your very best try for 30 minutes. For example, in the Lesson on building your writer website, fiddle with the WordPress settings on your own for half an hour, and look for free online tutorials, before deciding it’s time to ask for help. In the Lesson on marketing, if the query letter is giving you trouble, search Google for an answer to your problem (there’s a TON of query writing advice online) and keep plugging for 30 minutes.

We humans tend to give up too early, but we learn best by actually struggling with a problem and trying to make it work on our own.

Chances are, you can solve the problem. And how good will that feel?

5. Email the right place for help.

If you’re having technical difficulties with the class — for example, your login isn’t working or you cannot access course content — email our helpdesk at help@usefulwritingcourses.com.

If you email Carol or Linda with a tech issue, we will just forward your email to the helpdesk — so skip the middleman and get a faster response! We have the helpdesk manned seven days a week.

That’s it! We hope you enjoy Escape the Content Mills. And even more — we hope it helps you land better-paying gigs!