How I Use Dubsado as a Copywriter

Quick note: I’ve recently updated my business processes, so this blog post is slightly out-of-date. The information is still helpful, though, so I’m leaving it posted! If you have any questions about using Dubsado in your service-based business, feel free to visit my Contact page to set up a connection call.

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Before I switched to Dubsado, I wasted hours on the minutia of my business. Booking new clients, onboarding them, and communicating during a project was such a headache! Although Dubsado took me quite a while to learn and set up, the time I spent getting it exactly the way I want has been well worth it. Read on to learn how I use Dubsado as a copywriter—and why you should implement it in your own business ASAP.

💡 Prefer to see it in action rather than read all about it? Click the video below for a BTS walkthrough.

Lead Management

I use Dubsado for nearly every piece of my business, starting with lead management.

Potential clients fill out a form on my Contact page. My contact form is pretty in-depth, as I want to make sure that I have all the information I need to best help them. Once they’ve submitted the contact form, Dubsado’s automatic workflow kicks in. It immediately sends a canned email with a link to my portfolio, Instagram account, and calendar.

Being able to instantly invite potential clients to book a call saves me so much time compared to my previous booking process. Once they’ve booked a spot on my calendar, Dubsado sends automatic email reminders with links to add the event to their calendar, reschedule, or cancel if needed.

Before using Dubsado for lead management, I always felt a bit behind. I’d see a lead come in, have to remind myself to follow up, and worry about writing an email on the fly. Having this part of my business completely automated has reduced my stress levels so much!

One caveat: Dubsado’s scheduler is in beta and it isn’t quite as intuitive as other calendar services. I’ve grown to love it, though, because all of my appointments show up on my Dubsado dashboard AND in my Google calendar. Even if it has a learning curve, I’ve found it to be pretty seamless after getting the hang of it.

Booking & Onboarding

Once we’ve had a quick call and decided it’s a good fit for both of us, I send the client a proposal. Proposals in Dubsado are magical! You can include all sorts of helpful information about your business, your packages, testimonials, and more.

Best of all, you can attach a contract and an invoice to your proposals. This means you only have to send ONE email with the three key pieces you need to book a project.

Each proposal, contract, and invoice is customizable on a by-project basis. I have templates that are 99% of the way there and then quickly customize for each project before sending it to the client.

I also use a standard proposal/contract/invoice for productized services. The JLC Day Rate is a great example of this—clients can book whenever they want without needing to reach out or set up a call.

Client Homework

After the proposal, contract, and invoice are complete, Dubsado automatically sends an email to the client. This email includes a link to their homework, depending on the project type. I use Dubsado’s questionnaires to get homework information from my clients. I love that they can upload files, send me links, and answer questions all in one place.

Deliverables Sign-Off

Larger copy or design services require a few rounds of revisions. I like to use Dubsado in between rounds to ensure that a client has reviewed their deliverables and given feedback.

I’ll send their deliverables via email with a link to a sub-agreement, where they have to electronically sign off after they’ve left feedback. The project doesn’t move forward without their feedback and signature.

Offboarding & Feedback Requests

Once a project is completed, I’ll send a final email via Dubsado with a link to the client’s deliverables and a feedback request form. Having all of my feedback come through Dubsado makes it easy to organize afterward!

I’ll also follow up with a client if it’s been a few weeks and they haven’t left any feedback. Dubsado makes it easy to send a quick canned email as a reply!

Payment Plans

Lastly, I adore the payment plan options in Dubsado. They’ve recently upgraded these features to allow for automatic recurring payments, email reminders for nearly-due or past-due payments, and they let you create bespoke payment plan templates. I’m able to give my clients more flexibility to pay on a schedule that works well for them AND know how much recurring income I can expect over the next few months.

Dubsado Resources

Although I’ve grown to love Dubsado and now use it for every single client touchpoint, I do recognize that it can be a bit tough to get started. Here are some of my favorite Dubsado resources:

Dubasdo’s own free courses

These are comprehensive, informative, and have excellent guest expert lessons.

Dubsado Rockstar by Rae Targos (aff link)

Rae’s course helped me think critically about my workflows and get things set up properly. She’s very responsive to questions and is a certified Dubsado expert! I highly recommend her course if you’re ready to go all-in on Dubsado.

Forms & Flows by Alice Louise (aff link)

If you want your forms, questionnaires, proposals, and contracts to look amazing, you need a template from Alice! I currently use her “Sunflower” template for all of my forms, although I previously used her “Juniper” template. I love that I can quickly install a form template from her, edit a few quick items like the fonts, photos, and colors, and have a gorgeous form ready in under an hour. Plus, her templates can be used over and over again in Dubsado, so you don’t have to reinvent your forms every time! I just like the option to change styles occasionally. 😉

The Contract Shop (aff link)

Every entrepreneur needs a contract to protect themselves and their clients. The Contract Shop has the best ones around. Christina Scalera, the attorney behind The Contract Shop, gives crystal-clear instructions on how to customize and implement her contracts. I also love that she has created specific contracts for tons of different businesses, from coaches to copywriters to designers to shop owners!

My Canned Emails Pack

Canned emails save SO MUCH TIME. Once you’ve got them loaded into your Dubsado account, you can use them over and over again. Pop in your email address below to snag 10 of my canned emails—complete with Dubsado’s personalization tags!—that you can add to your Dubsado account straight away.

Ready to Try Dubsado Out for Your Business?

Dubsado is FREE for your first 3 client projects. Once you’ve tried it out, you can save 20% on your first monthly or annual payment to Dubsado (aff link).

Some of the links in this blog post may be affiliate links and are denoted as such. I only share products or services that I love and use. If you purchase something through one of my affiliate links, I’ll receive a commission at no cost to you. Thanks for supporting me and my work!

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