15 Minute Freelancer

Let’s be honest, running a freelance business is hard work! It’s normal for motivation to ebb and flow. This week Louise shares her 7 top tips for riding out those dips in motivation and pushing through to the other side, including:

• Why does motivation dip?
• When to "sail" and when to "row"
• How picnic mode can help you master motivation
• What your gym instructor can teach you about motivation
• Avoiding shiny object syndrome
• When it's time to quit

Don't forget to sign up for the 15 Minute Freelancer newsletter for bonus clips and extra resources: 15minutefreelancer.substack.com

Mentioned on this episode:

The Dip by Seth Godin

Say hi to Louise:

Louise Shanahan is a freelance health and medical copywriter and a big fan of finding your freelance niche. She's on a mission to help others build a freelance business that feels easy and works for them – in weekly snack-sized bites.

LinkedIn: Louise Shanahan
Twitter: @LouiseShanahan_
Website: thecopyprescription.com
Ask a question for a future episode on memo.fm/15/

Support the podcast! If you find this episode helpful and you'd like to show your appreciation, consider leaving a tip over at ko-fi.com/15minutefreelancer. Donations help cover the cost of running the podcast and are very much appreciated.

Two firsts for the podcast this week, a quick-fire question round and a GIVEAWAY!

My guest is the queen of website copywriting herself, Gill Andrews. In just 15 mins, Gill answers all your burning questions about the dos and don'ts of freelancer websites.

Listen in to find out:

• What's the most important section of your website?
• Why "contact me" might not be the best call to action for your freelancer website
• Should freelancers have a blog on their website?
• How much detail to share about your experience and past projects
• A freelancer's guide to SEO
• My most-used tip from Gill's book, ‘Making Your Website Work’
• How to enter the giveaway so you can get your hands on a signed copy of Gill's book!

[LINKEDIN POST to enter giveaway: click here!]

Get bonus clips and tips in the 15 Minute Freelancer newsletter: 15minutefreelancer.substack.com

Say hi to Gill:

Website: https://gillandrews.com/
LinkedIn: Gill Andrews
Twitter: @StoriesWithGill

Say hi to Louise:

Louise Shanahan is a freelance health and medical copywriter and a big fan of finding your freelance niche. She's on a mission to help others build a freelance business that feels easy and works for them – in weekly snack-sized bites.

LinkedIn: Louise Shanahan
Website: thecopyprescription.com

Ask a question for a future episode on memo.fm/15/

Support the podcast! If you find this episode helpful and you'd like to show your appreciation, consider leaving a tip over at ko-fi.com/15minutefreelancer. Donations help cover the cost of running the podcast and are very much appreciated.

One for the quiet freelancers.

We're often told that creating a successful business requires us to "just keep putting yourself out there". But what does that mean if you're more introvert than extrovert? Self-promotion can be tough for anyone, but if you're the quiet type, common strategies for sales and marketing can be energy-draining and uncomfortable.

In this episode,  I’m joined by Carmel Finnan, a freelance Communication & Storytelling Consultant. Carmel shares her thoughts on how quiet freelancers can be found by the right clients in a noisy online world.

Our conversation includes:

• Should we even use the word "introvert"?
• Recognising that modern marketing tactics were developed for big personalities and big businesses
• How to manage your energy as an introvert so you can be visible on your own terms
• Marketing options when you don't want to post every day on social media
• Why (and how) you need to build a business that aligns with your personality.

Resources:

Get bonus clips, insights, resources and "15 Minute Actions" in the 15 Minute Freelancer newsletter: 15minutefreelancer.substack.com

Carmel’s blog post about Marketing for Introverts: https://storydialogue.com/blog/marketing-for-introverts/

Say hi to Carmel:

LinkedIn: Carmel Finnan
Website: https://storydialogue.com/

Say hi to Louise:

Louise Shanahan is a freelance health and medical copywriter and a big fan of finding your freelance niche. She's on a mission to help others build a freelance business that feels easy and works for them – in weekly snack-sized bites.

LinkedIn: Louise Shanahan
Twitter: @LouiseShanahan_
Website: thecopyprescription.com

Leave me a voice note on memo.fm/15/

Support the podcast! If you find this episode helpful and you'd like to show your appreciation, consider leaving a tip over at ko-fi.com/15minutefreelancer. Donations help cover the cost of running the podcast and are very much appreciated.

"You can't be everyone's cup of tea, or you'd be a mug!"

Advita Patel is the founder of Comms Rebel, which aims to revolutionise workplace and business culture by encouraging us all to be a bit more rebellious. She's also the co-founder of A Leader Like Me, which is a membership for underrepresented women looking to progress in their careers.

Her message for freelancers is to be bold, brave, and step outside our comfort zone to thrive. To develop our careers, we need to find the confidence to take risks to find new opportunities.

We discuss:

• How to unleash your inner rebel (especially those who have been urged to follow the rules)
• The importance of being visible and talking about what you do
• Celebrating yourself and not waiting for validation from others
• Why we all need to do the work to understand our purpose and our values
• The small steps we can take to bring more rebellion into our lives.

Get bonus clips, insights, resources and "15 Minute Actions" in the 15 Minute Freelancer newsletter: 15minutefreelancer.substack.com

Mentioned in this episode

Comms Rebel: https://www.commsrebel.com/about
A Leader Like Me: https://aleaderlikeme.com/
Calm Edged Rebels Podcast: https://calmedgedrebels.com/podcast/

Book: Rebel Ideas: The Power of Thinking Differently by Matthew Syed

Say hi to Advita:

Website: www.advitapatel.com
LinkedIn: Advita Patel
Instagram: @advitap
Twitter: @Advita_p

Say hi to Louise:

Louise Shanahan is a freelance health and medical copywriter and a big fan of finding your freelance niche. She's on a mission to help others build a freelance business that feels easy and works for them – in weekly snack-sized bites.

LinkedIn: Louise Shanahan
Twitter: @LouiseShanahan_
Website: thecopyprescription.com

Ask a question for a future episode on memo.fm/15/

Support the podcast! If you find this episode helpful and you'd like to show your appreciation, consider leaving a tip over at ko-fi.com/15minutefreelancer. Donations help cover the cost of running the podcast and are very much appreciated.

Do freelancers ever need a CV? Before this conversation, I'd have said no – after all, I can just send potential clients to my website, can't I?

But Jenny Stallard has a different take. Jenny is a freelance writer, business coach, speaker, and the brains behind Freelance Feels. She makes a compelling argument for why we should all have a CV (or even more than one) as freelancers.

In our conversation, we cover:

• Could you be missing a trick by not having a CV that showcases your experience and expertise to clients?
• The difference between a portfolio and a CV
• What to include and what to leave out!
• How to decide which projects to include to attract ideal clients
• What to do if you don’t have much experience or have gaps in your career history

Get bonus clips, reflections, resources and "15 Minute Actions" in the 15 Minute Freelancer newsletter: 15minutefreelancer.substack.com.

Say hi to Jenny:

Instagram: @freelance_feels
Twitter: @freelance_feels
Website: https://www.freelancefeels.com/

Say hi to Louise:

Louise Shanahan is a freelance health and medical copywriter and a big fan of finding your freelance niche. She's on a mission to help others build a freelance business that feels easy and works for them – in weekly snack-sized bites.

LinkedIn: Louise Shanahan
Twitter: @LouiseShanahan_
Website: thecopyprescription.com

Leave me a voice note or question for a future episode on memo.fm/15/

Support the podcast! If you find this episode helpful and you'd like to show your appreciation, consider leaving a tip over at ko-fi.com/15minutefreelancer. Donations help cover the cost of running the podcast and are very much appreciated.

Do you follow your gut instincts when making business decisions? Or do you prefer poring over logical lists of pros and cons?

Intuition and logic might not be as far apart as you think. On today's episode, Helen Pamely, a former city law firm partner turned wellness coach, helps us figure out how to tune in to our intuition and why it can be such a powerful guide in business. We cover:

• What is "intuition" and how do we know what it's telling us?
• Is intuition something you're born with or can it be learned?
• How do we tell the difference between gut instinct about red flags and a fear that's holding us back?
• How to explain intuitive decisions to clients who may be looking for concrete data.

Get bonus content, reflections, resources and more "15 Minute Actions" in the 15 Minute Freelancer newsletter: 15minutefreelancer.substack.com

Say hi to Helen:

LinkedIn: Helen Pamely
Instagram: @helenpamely
Website: https://www.helenpamely.com/

Say hi to Louise:

Louise Shanahan is a freelance health and medical copywriter and a big fan of finding your freelance niche. She's on a mission to help others build a freelance business that feels easy and works for them – in weekly snack-sized bites.

LinkedIn: Louise Shanahan
Twitter: @LouiseShanahan_
Website: thecopyprescription.com

Leave me a voice note on memo.fm/15/

Support the podcast! If you find this episode helpful and you'd like to show your appreciation, consider leaving a tip over at ko-fi.com/15minutefreelancer. Donations help cover the cost of running the podcast and are very much appreciated.

"Stop building boring businesses!"

Kirsty Waite is a business coach who firmly believes that running a business shouldn't be serious all the time. Being yourself in business takes a bit of practice, but giving ourselves permission to have some fun while we work can make us happier, open up new opportunities and help us attract our ideal clients.

In this convo, Kirsty shares her tips for unlearning corporate rules, having fun while still taking your business seriously, and giving yourself permission to break the rules.

>> Bonus clips! Sign up for the 15 Minute Freelancer newsletter: 15minutefreelancer.substack.com/about >>

Check out Kirsty's Thriving in Business Mastermind!

Say hi to Kirsty:

LinkedIn: Kirsty Waite
Website: www.kirstywaite.com/

Say hi to Louise:

Louise Shanahan is a freelance health and medical copywriter and a big fan of finding your freelance niche. She's on a mission to help others build a freelance business that feels easy and works for them – in weekly snack-sized bites.

LinkedIn: Louise Shanahan
Twitter: @LouiseShanahan_
Website: thecopyprescription.com

Leave me a voice note on memo.fm/15

Support the podcast! If you find this episode helpful and you'd like to show your appreciation, consider leaving a tip over at ko-fi.com/15minutefreelancer. Donations help cover the cost of running the podcast and are very much appreciated.

Are you on track to meet your freelancing goals this year? We're now halfway through the year, which means it's time for a 6-month check-in. In this episode, I dig into what's worked and what's been a bit sticky in my business over the last 6 months, using my 6-step framework for setting and reviewing goals.

P.S. We have a newsletter now! Check it out at 15minutefreelancer.substack.com

Mentioned in this episode:

• Ep 43: How to set goals to grow your freelance business in 2022
• Ep 15: Is it time to raise your rates?
• Ep 47: Q+A on negotiating your freelance rates
• Emma Cownley – Kiss My A's: Using quarterly reviews to build a better freelance business
• Mai-Kee Tsang: Converse with Consent workshop

Say hi to Louise:

Louise Shanahan is a freelance health and medical copywriter and a big fan of finding your freelance niche. She's on a mission to help others build a freelance business that feels easy and works for them – in weekly snack-sized bites.

LinkedIn: Louise Shanahan
Twitter: @LouiseShanahan_
Website: thecopyprescription.com

Leave me a voice note on memo.fm/15/

Support the podcast! If you find this episode helpful and you'd like to show your appreciation, consider leaving a tip over at ko-fi.com/15minutefreelancer. Donations help cover the cost of running the podcast and are very much appreciated.

Podcasting is a great way to connect with people, but it's also a bit of a one-sided conversation. How do we cultivate a community vibe?

This week, 15 Minute Freelancer's very own editor Charles Commins gets on the other side of the mic to join me for a chat about community-building. We focus on podcasts but the lessons apply to any kind of content you create, e.g. newsletters, blogs and YouTube channels.

We cover:

• how to build a thriving podcast community (or any content-based community)
• ways to foster connections with and between listeners
• how to set the tone for friendly banter and support (and handle bad behaviour)
• pros and cons of Patreon, Slack, Meetup and Discord 
• the monetization question

Mentioned in this episode:

MIC’s Podcast Club - https://www.meetup.com/micpod/
It’s all Cobblers to Me - https://cobblerstome.com/

Say hi to Charles:

Charles' website: vibrantsoundmedia.com
Twitter: @charlescommins
LinkedIn: Charles Commins
Instagram: @charlescommins

Say hi to Louise:

Louise Shanahan is a freelance health and medical copywriter and a big fan of finding your freelance niche. She's on a mission to help others build a freelance business that feels easy and works for them – in weekly snack-sized bites.

LinkedIn: Louise Shanahan
Twitter: @LouiseShanahan_
Website: thecopyprescription.com

Leave me a voice note on memo.fm/15/

Support the podcast! If you find this episode helpful and you'd like to show your appreciation, consider leaving a tip over at ko-fi.com/15minutefreelancer. Donations help cover the cost of running the podcast and are very much appreciated.

Follow me for a day! In this episode, I take you behind the scenes of a typical day as a freelance copywriter, including:

• Revisiting theme days as a way to structure your week
• Do I really work just five hours a day?
• Reducing decision fatigue and making the most of "shark mode"
• How I split my day between deep work and shallow work
• Figuring out your anchor actions to get the important bits done.

"One of the things that I love most about working for myself is the flexibility. I couldn't spend my days like this if I didn't work for myself. But that flexibility and freedom does require a bit of planning and discipline to achieve."

Mentioned in this episode:

Being Freelance Episode 268 – with Louise
Episode 6 - Spend less time on client work with theme days
Episode 63 - How to take a break as a busy freelancer
Copy Hackers
Cal Newport - Deep Work
Brain FM
Jill Coleman 

Say hi to Louise:

Louise Shanahan is a freelance health and medical copywriter and a big fan of finding your freelance niche. She's on a mission to help others build a freelance business that feels easy and works for them – in weekly snack-sized bites.

LinkedIn: Louise Shanahan
Twitter: @LouiseShanahan_
Website: thecopyprescription.com
Leave me a voice note on memo.fm/15

Support the podcast! If you find this episode helpful and you'd like to show your appreciation, consider leaving a tip over at ko-fi.com/15minutefreelancer. Donations help cover the cost of running the podcast and are very much appreciated.