Clever Copy Chats

Do you loathe marketing? Putting yourself out there? Performing like some kind of happy copy chimp to lure clients in.

Believe me, I know how exhausting it can be.

Our guest today, Lisa Cropman, has taken a different path. Instead of trying to market to many, she woos her clients one by one. Building close relationships, setting up contras, forming partnerships, and then spending her precious marketing time, nurturing those relationships.

It's allowed her to create a steady flow of clients and enabled her to home in our clients she genuinely wants to work with. She also takes Friday off every week and makes time for regular dog walks.

Toon in to find out how Lisa has created a good business working with good people, and pretty much managed to avoid marketing altogether!

Tune in to learn:

• How Lisa markets herself
• How Lisa started as a copywriter
• Lisa's biggest copy win and flop
• Lisa's biggest relationship win
• Advice about contras
• Lisa's work-life balance tips
• Lisa's number one copy tip
• Lisa's number one copy tool?
• Why Lisa wants to live up a tree

Useful Resources

• WordHippo
• Toggl
• Rounded
• TCCS template bundles

Head to episode notes

Freebies

• Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter
• Free rates guide

Membership: Join now

In this episode, I want to give you a little tough love. On the one hand, you're not making enough money to feel successful. To feel like you're not always scrambling for the next job.

To end the feast and famine. But you also know you're not charging enough, offering discounts, giving away time for amends and chats. It has to stop.

Freebies

• Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter
• Free rates guide

Membership: Join now

Some writers write as a hobby. Some to bring in some extra, but not essential income.

But how does being the breadwinner change all that?

When your copywriting income is the sole or main income to support your family, how does that impact the decisions you make about pricing, clients, niching, and the day-to-day?

Today we talk with established B2B copywriter, Amanda Vanelderen, about how she's narrowed her focus but expanded her confidence. Tackling big brands with big budgets and barely flinching.

She tells us how her human-first approach to clients has to lead to a comfortable flow of return business and how she maintains a business approach while still wearing Lion King pyjama pants.

Tune in to learn:

• Amanda's copywriting journey
• How she found her niche
• How being a breadwinner has changed her approach to business
• Amanda's top pricing and how to be a $250-an-hour copywriter
• Amanda's biggest business fail
• Amanda's tip for established copywriters
• What Amanda wears to write copy

Useful Resources

• Reddit
• Glassdoor

Head to episode notes

Freebies

• Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter
• Free rates guide

Membership: Join now

Copy Tip Time: In these short snappy episodes I want to give you smart little Toon tips on how to

1. Hone your copywriting skills
2. Improve your copywriting business

Straightforward doable advice that you can implement today. Today I want to talk about: Adding the razzle dazzle to your copy. Freebies

• Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter
• Free rates guide

Membership: Join now

Are you a people pleaser?Do you struggle with boundaries?

Do you give give give until you have nothing left?Today we're talking about boundaries, not just in client relationships but in the work you do for clients.Our guest today Joh, is an SEO keyword research expert, and could so easily slip down the rabbit hole, spending hours on research so she's learned to place boundaries on her services.

She's also learning how to place boundaries on the number of clients she works with, and she has a plethora of amazing copywriting tools and some smart mental health tips to share.

I think you'll find this podcast a refreshing take on what it means to be a working copywriter, the challenges, the wins and how collaboration really is the key. Tune in to learn:

• Joh's path towards being a copywriter
• How she chose her niche, or how it chose her
• Her biggest copywriting win
• Her lowest career moment
• How she onboards her clients
• Joh's favourite copywriting tools
• Joh's top advice on dealing with mental health struggles.
• Joh's number one tip for newbie copywriters

Useful Resources

• Draftium
• KWFinder (Mangools)
• Loom
• Berrycast
• Dubb
• Grammarly
• Good old Word

Head to episode notes Freebies

• Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter
• Free rates guide

Membership: Join now

Copy Tip Time: In these short snappy episodes I want to give you smart little Toon tips on how to

1. Hone your copywriting skills
2. Improve your copywriting business

Straightforward doable advice that you can implement today. Today I want to talk about: Let the client see your quirks.

Freebies

• Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter
• Free rates guide

Membership: Join now

Whenever I'm in a copywriting group I see the same comments. "SEO ruins conversational copy." "SEO ruins conversion copy." "You don't need to use keywords any more. Google will work it out." "SEO copy is boring copy."

(Heavy sigh)

These kinds of comments show a fundamental misunderstanding of what SEO copywriting is and how it works. And these copywriters who think that Google will magically work out where to rank you no matter what you write on the page, well they're either naïve or just plain lazy.

If anything great SEO copywriting is even more important now than it's ever been.

So in this podcast, I'm going to get back to basics and give you an overview of the important elements in SEO Copywriting, and a few tips on how to please humans and Google too.

Tune in to learn:

• What is SEO Copywriting and how does it differ SEO content writing
• The CGF way to understand your customers
• Why the marketing funnel and searcher intent matters
• How to choose keywords
• How to set up your structure
• How long should SEO copy be?
• Why does readablity matter?
• Beyond copy: Layout and links
• My SEO copywriting process
• Important measurement metrics

  Head to episode notes Freebies

  • Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter
  • Free rates guide

  Membership: Join now

Copy Tip Time: In these short snappy episodes I want to give you smart little Toon tips on how to

1. Hone your copywriting skills
2. Improve your copywriting business

Straightforward doable advice that you can implement today. Today I want to talk about: Writing skeleton drafts.

Freebies

• Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter
• Free rates guide

Membership: Join now

What are your copywriting ambitions? Do you dream of running an agency?Working with big brand clients, with lush, juicy budgets?Being able to hire your dream time of bright minds?Today's guest Sarah Spence has done it all. While making two humans and dealing with a clutch of mental health challenges.She's an amazingly smart cookie who's scaled a remote team and taken on the kinds of projects that would keep me up at night/And she's not scared to admit that sometimes they keep her up at night too.Toon in to find out how Sarah realise the world would wait for her to find her copywriting feet, and how when she did, she began sprinting to success. Tune in to learn:

• Sarah's copywriting journey
• Her biggest win and worst fail
• Her favourite copywriting tool
• How she manages her team
• Her view on content marketing: Pillars Clusters Waterfalls
• How she deals with imposter syndrome and self doubt
• Her tips for newbie copywriters

Useful Resources

• Asana
• Vegetable quiz

Head to episode notes Freebies

• Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter
• Free rates guide

Membership: Join now

Copy Tip Time: In these short snappy episodes I want to give you smart little Toon tips on how to

1. Hone your copywriting skills
2. Improve your copywriting business

Straightforward doable advice that you can implement today.

Today I want to talk about: Writing tighter copy