☐ Samples hosted on the simple page; link in every profile you own
Success check at day seven: a stranger could watch your three samples and state, in one sentence, what you do and for whom. If they could not, the samples are unspecific, not the sentence.
Days 8 to 14: The List and the First Batch
☐ Forty-name list built with the three columns (who, what they publish, gap noticed)
☐ First batch of three free samples cut and sent
☐ Every touch tracked: sent date, reply, next action
☐ Second batch of three sent the same week
☐ Marketplace profile live: bio aimed at your exact client type, three gig packages with fixed scopes, portfolio link at the top
Days 15 to 21: Convert and Diagnose
☐ Follow-ups from batches one and two sent at day five per prospect
☐ Replies turned into short conversations and paid test projects: small, full price, deposit taken
☐ Batches three and four sent (outreach continues while you deliver)
Symptom by day 21
Most likely cause
The fix
Sent 12+ samples, zero replies
Samples generic or targets wrong
Sharpen the observation in each message; re-check that every target publishes continuously in your lane
Replies but no calls
The ask is buried or the clip missed
Lead with the clip, end with one clear line: "want a batch like this weekly?"
Calls but no paid tests
Price fumbled or scope vague
Practice the test-project script aloud; quote, then silence
Tests delivered, no retainers
Delivery or communication gap
Ask the client directly what held them back; fix that one thing
Zero revenue at day twenty-one with the volume done is a fixable diagnosis, not a verdict. Most first months end with one or two paying clients and a pipeline that finally makes sense. Two retainers by day sixty is the realistic pace; anything faster is weather, not climate.
Days 22 to 30: Systematize and Compound
☐ Best outreach message turned into the template
☐ Test-project delivery given the onboarding treatment: contract, invoice, review link, delivery date
☐ Referral ask sent to every completed client: "Loved working on this; if anyone in your space needs an editor, an intro means a lot."
☐ Month closed with the numbers in front of you: samples sent, reply rate, tests run, revenue, hours spent (revenue over hours is the business's true north)
The Thirty-Day Scoreboard
☐ Lane and position sentence written; three samples live on one page
☐ Forty-name list built; twelve or more samples sent with follow-ups
☐ Marketplace profile live with three scoped packages
☐ At least one paid test project delivered under contract
☐ Referral ask sent to every completed client; month reviewed against hours