Today’s guest is Cassandra Le, owner of The Quirky Pineapple Studio, a brand strategy and content marketing studio that works with Black, Indigenous and people of color, queer folks and intersectional feminists. 

Cassandra is originally from Virginia in the United States, but she now lives in Spain. For more than 13 years, she has been creating content across all mediums (written, graphics, audio, video, photography), and through her business. She works with mission-driven brands and thought leaders around the world in English and Spanish — helping them share their story, connect with their community, and drive brand awareness with content marketing that is enjoyable and anti-oppressive.

Cassandra believes believe business and marketing can be fun AND be used as tools to dismantle systems of oppression.

In this episode, we talk about: 

• How Cassandra’s studio, The Quirky Pineapple Studio, got its name. 
• How she went from freelance travel writing to running her agency. 
• Why content marketing is important, even to those who traditionally are able to rely heavily on referrals.
• Cassandra recommends that you start your content marketing strategy with a “cornerstone” piece of content. 
• Why you should plan your life before you plan your content. 
• Some of the current content marketing trends. 
• How to get started on TikTok (and do you need to?).
• Why you should use LinkedIn more.
• How content marketing has changed and why it’s now a long-term game. 
• How Cassandra builds an inclusive content marketing strategy through cultural competency and why that’s important to her. 
• The new app for Gen Z: BeReal.

Biz Bites: Put phone on “do not disturb” mode. And, “group tabs” on Google Chrome. 

Resources:

• The Quirky Pineapple Studio website
• The Quirky Pineapple Studio on Instagram
• Cassandra on Instagram
• I’m lost, so what? podcast
• How to group tabs on Google Chrome
• NPR article: BeReal is Gen Z’s new favorite social media app. Here’s how it works
• Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee
• Connect with Melanie on Threads @MelEdits_DC
• Connect with Melanie on LinkedIn
• Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group

On today’s show I provide a recap of The Content Byte Summit, which was held in Sydney, Australia, September 15-16. I attended virtually and was super impressed with the content, particularly all the discussion around artificial intelligence. There was also a lot of great tactical advice about running your freelance business, so even if you’re not a writer, I think you can learn from some of the advice I’m sharing today.  

Here’s what I share with you in this episode:

• A panel about humans versus AI discussed how a writer can stand out nowadays.
• Where AI fails and isn’t helpful.
• AI is a word predictor, so that means it has no original thought, no anecdotes, no creativity, no vulnerability. Those are areas you should include in your content. 
• Why Ed Gandia no longer uses the word “strategy.” 
• How to stop giving away your strategy and advice to clients for free. 
• Tips from a panel on how to escape the low-paying cycle and make more money. 
• Why accountability partners and mastermind groups can be good for you. 
• What types of letters of introduction (LOIs) to send out. 
• Tips from a session on how to find new clients. 
• A recap of Jennifer Goforth Gregory’s keynote presentation: “The Secret to My $15,000 Months and How I Consistently Hit Income Targets.” 
• Important questions Jennifer encourages us to ask as we build our business. 

Biz Bite: Provide a luxury good

The Bookshelf: “What the Dead Know: Learning About Life as a New York City Death Investigator” by Barbara Butcher

Resources:

• Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee
• The Content Byte Summit
• The Content Byte podcast
• Ed Gandia’s podcast: High-Income Business Writing
• Jennifer Goforth Gregory’s book and blog: The Freelance Content Marketing Writer 
• Writer and editor Carrie Hutchinson
• Freelance journalist Cameron Bayley
• Claire Kimball, founder and managing director of Squiz Media (an Australian news podcast)
• Lindy Alexander and her blog, The Freelancer’s Year
• Episode #156 of Deliberate Freelancer: The Risks and Opportunities of ChatGPT
• Episode #11 of Association Station (Melanie’s other podcast): In Conversation with Jemilah Senter, about Opportunities and Risks of AI Tools Like ChatGPT
• Episode #100 of Deliberate Freelancer: Lessons from a Pandemic Year, with Jennifer Goforth Gregory
• Episode #4 of Deliberate Freelancer: Work Only with Nice Clients, with Jennifer Goforth Gregory
• Episode #164 of Deliberate Freelancer: Using a “freakout” protocol to get work now, with Austin Church
• Episode #98 of Deliberate Freelancer: Six-Figure Freelancing: The Benefits of Selling Strategy and Outcomes, with Austin Church
• Episode #81 of Deliberate Freelancer: Six-Figure Freelancing: Focus on a Niche and Partner with Other Freelancers, with Lynne Testoni
• The Content Byte podcast episode with Melanie: Melanie Padgett Powers, US-based healthcare writer and podcaster, shares the secrets of her success
• Connect with Melanie on Threads @MelEdits_DC
• Connect with Melanie on LinkedIn
• Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group

The podcast is back after my summer hiatus! Thanks for continuing to listen and support the show. 

Here’s what I share with you in today’s episode:

• The importance of taking breaks for your mental fitness and for better client work. 
• The types of breaks you should be thinking about and planning for.
• Why planned and unplanned mental health breaks are important.
• What happens when you neglect your networking and marketing and slow down too much. 
• Why you have to work at getting referrals. 
• How I’m ready to embrace this new “back to school” season — and why I need to get my act together! 
• New episodes of my second podcast, Association Station, that might also appeal to you (see links below). 
• What happened to my Facebook account and the status of the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group. 

Biz Bite: The 1% rule of thumb (by Brian Hood)

The Bookshelf: “Beyond That, the Sea” by Laura Spence-Ash

Resources:

• Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee
• Melanie’s other podcast, Association Station
• Episode #10 of Association Station: In Conversation with Nabil El-Ghoroury, PhD, CAE, about Stress, Burnout and Other Mental Health Issues
• Episode #11 of Association Station: In Conversation with Jemilah Senter, about Opportunities and Risks of AI Tools Like ChatGPT
• Episode #13 of Association Station: In Conversation with Crystal Shelley, about the Importance of Using Conscious Language in Our Writing and Editing
• Connect with Melanie on Threads @MelEdits_DC
• Connect with Melanie on LinkedIn
• Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group
• Brian Hood’s 6 Figure Creative podcast
• Episode #65 of Deliberate Freelancer: The No. 1 Way I Find New Clients (Referrals)
• Episode #152 of Deliberate Freelancer: How Mary Tindall Began to Earn $200,000 a Year as a Freelancer
• Episode #162 of Deliberate Freelancer: My Solo Business Retreat Reminded Me to Always Be Marketing

Deliberate Freelancer is on a summer hiatus and will return toward the end of August or early September. Take this time to listen to some previous episodes or relisten to favorite guests! Or make a playlist of specific topics, like finding clients or pricing projects. 

The Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group will be active during this time, so please join us over there for great conversations with other listeners. You can ask for advice and share your experiences. 

If you have benefited from this podcast, please help support the show financially at Buy Me a Coffee.

And check out Melanie’s second podcast, Association Station. Season 1 debuted last summer, and season 2 will be released soon. So, subscribe now on your favorite podcast app.

Today’s guest is Austin Church from Knoxville, Tennessee. Austin helps e-commerce founders stand out online with their brand strategy. Lately, he’s been working as a fractional chief marketing officer (CMO), consulting for creator economy companies. He also coaches freelance creatives.

Austin was one of the six-figure freelancers I featured on the show in May 2021. We’ve since become friends, and his podcast, Freelance Cake, was in my ears during my recent solo business retreat — because I needed all his marketing advice!

I realized you all could benefit from hearing some of his great marketing strategies and tactics too, so I invited him back on the show.

In this episode, we talk about: 

• What a “fractional” role is for a freelancer and how Austin moved into that role. 
• How Austin defines and sells strategy.
• Why templates are so important. 
• How Austin works through a “content road map” with clients. 
• Austin’s marketing strategy and his “freakout” protocol. 
• The difference between “cold” leads and “warm” leads. 
• Austin’s 3 R’s of marketing: repeat business, referrals and relationships.
• How Austin uses LinkedIn to get new clients: tips from Sharon Wu.
• Don’t be afraid to ask other freelancers you know for referrals. 

Biz Bite: Have a shut-down ritual that identifies three priorities for the next day and include “marketing” as one of the priorities. 

Resources:

• Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group. 
• Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee.
• Austin’s website and his free freelance course: AustinLChurch.com
• Austin on LinkedIn
• Austin’s Freelance Cake podcast episode: 7-Step Freakout Protocol for Getting Last-Minute Freelance Income
• Episode #98 of Deliberate Freelancer: Six-Figure Freelancing: The Benefits of Selling Strategy and Outcomes, with Austin Church 
• How Austin uses LinkedIn to get new clients: tips from Sharon Wu
• Find email addresses: Hunter.io

Today’s guest is Helen Jane  Campbell. Helen is from Wales and recently moved from Hay-on-Wye, Wales, to Worthing, England.

Helen is a life and business coach for ambitious and creative entrepreneurs, bringing authenticity and energy to all she does.

Clients turn to Helen when they feel ready to bring more joy, energy, and abundance into their lives and their teams. She helps people create space and reconnect with their self-worth and creative freedom.

Prior to becoming a coach, Helen spent two decades of her career in PR and communications strategy — with a focus on creativity and on building and leading effective teams. She worked directly with decision-makers and CEOs. 

Helen is the author of the book “Founders, Freelancers & Rebels” and the co-founder of Hay Pride, the Pride celebration Hay-on-Wye. She also hosts monthly sessions on Zoom called Powerful Journaling. 

In this episode, we talk about:

• How Helen went from employee to freelance PR professional to business coach. 
• Helen’s book, “Founders, Freelancers & Rebels.”
• What Helen’s clients are feeling and dealing with now in 2023.
• Ask yourself: What assumptions are you making about your business? 
• Dealing with the feeling of uncertainty brought on by the pandemic.
• How Helen responds when people are feeling exhausted and overwhelmed.
• What did you love to do when you were 12?
• “RAIN” technique to try when you’re feeling scattered or unmoored. 
• The phrase Helen hates and why. 

Biz Bite: Fall Back in Love with Your Business 

Resources:

• Helen’s website
• Helen’s monthly Powerful Journaling workshop
• Helen’s book, “Founders, Freelancers & Rebels”
• Helen’s Substack newsletter
• Helen on Twitter
• Tara Brach’s RAIN technique
• Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group. 
• Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee.

On today’s show I share my structure, agenda and my action plan developed during my most recent solo business retreat.

Here’s what I share with you in this episode:

• Please leave a rating and review for Deliberate Freelancer on Apple Podcasts or any other podcast platform. 
• Why I chose Thomasville, Georgia, for my latest solo business retreat.
• How I structured my retreat and my theme for the two days.
• What happened when I stopped consistently following my Always Be Marketing rule.
• How Austin Church’s podcast Freelance Cake helped me.
• The two big questions I asked myself as I started my retreat. 
• How I evaluated my best income months from 2022 and built lessons and action around what worked in those months.
• How I created a list of top-level services that bring in money and are services I enjoy — so I can focus on getting work in those areas first. 
• The two areas I am focusing on as part of the new marketing strategy and action plan I created. 

Biz Bite: Let an app do your errands

The Bookshelf: “The Verifiers” by Jane Pek

Resources:

• Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group. 
• Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee.
• Melanie’s other podcast, Association Station
• Episode #153 of Deliberate Freelancer: My 2022 and Q4 Audit and Six Lessons from Last Year
• Episode #152 of Deliberate Freelancer: How Mary Tindall Began to Earn $200,000 a Year as a Freelancer
• Episode #160 of Deliberate Freelancer: The Dreaded Feast or Famine!
• Episode #98 of Deliberate Freelancer: Six-Figure Freelancing: The Benefits of Selling Strategy and Outcomes, with Austin Church
• Freelance Cake podcast: 7-Step Freakout Protocol for Getting Last-Minute Freelance Income
• From the Front Porch podcast
• The Bookshelf in Thomasville, Georgia

Today’s guest is Eman Ismail, an email strategist and copywriter who is originally from England and now lives in Finland. She also coaches copywriters. 

Eman is the person to call when you want to make money from your emails. As an email conversion strategist and copywriter, she helps six-figure-plus online business owners and ecommerce brands fire up their conversions, evergreen their sales and turn fans into superfans.

Eman is also the host of the podcast Mistakes That Made Me, which asks extraordinary business owners to share their biggest business mistake, so you know what NOT to do on your road to success.

I confess I had trouble coming up with a title for this episode because we cover a lot of ground and Eman shares such great advice and lessons. We talk in-depth about finding your niche and figuring out who the perfect clients are for you. Eman also goes into great detail about her intake form, which weeds out all the not-right clients. 

In this episode, we talk about: 

• How Eman niched down from a copywriter to an email strategist
• How finding your niche is not the only way to be successful but is perhaps the fastest way
• Try a bit of everything at first — your niche will often find you
• Don’t get distracted by going after the niche where you think you can charge the most; you have to enjoy your niche also
• How defining your core values as a business owner helps you focus your business goals
• Switching from monthly income goals to quarterly income goals
• Paying yourself first, with the same amount every two weeks or every month
• How Eman prepared for maternity leave
• Defining and focusing intently on the clients that are right for you
• Creating a detailed intake form so sales calls happen only with the right clients
• How to go from an intake form to the sales call to landing the client
• Tips for freelancers when creating their own email newsletters 
• Why Eman records all her sales calls
• Eman’s podcast Mistakes That Made Me 

Biz Bite: Session Buddy

(Google Chrome extension to save your tabs)

Resources:

Eman is offering Deliberate Freelancer listeners 50% off her A Week of Workshops bundle. Go to the link for more information. Click through to checkout and use coupon code: EMAN-MEL-PODCAST.

Eman’s website: Emancopyco.com

Eman’s free 35-minute class The Email Rules

Eman’s Like a Boss course about the business side of running a copywriting business. 

“Preparing for Maternity Leave with Eman Ismail” on the Being Boss podcast

Eman’s podcast Mistakes That Made Me 

Eman on Instagram

Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group. 

Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee.

On today’s show, I discuss how I found myself in the dreaded “famine” part of the feast-or-famine cycle and what I’m trying to do about it.

Here’s what I share with you in this episode:

• A few tips when you’re in the “feast” phase.
• How to tell clients no — and turn down work when you’re too busy. 
• My three-pronged approach to get out of the famine stage. 
• The importance of figuring out where your potential clients are and getting involved in that space.
• The upcoming Content Marketing World, which will be outside Cleveland, Ohio, for the first time. It will be held in Washington, DC, September 27-28, 2023.
• The importance of my Always Be Marketing rule. 
• Asking yourself big picture questions surrounding “how did I get stuck in this famine stage?” 

Biz Bite: Use the two-minute rule to get things done

The Bookshelf: “Nora Goes off Script” by Annabel Monaghan

Resources:

• Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group. 
• Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee.
• Episode #158 of Deliberate Freelancer: My Four Client Wins and One Fail in Q1
• Content Marketing World, Washington, DC, September 27-28, 2023

Today’s guest is Ernie Smith, a longtime writer for nonprofits and membership associations. He also has a lot of experience in graphic design, content strategy, content management systems, newsletter creation, and content.

Ernie is also a tech writer — that includes writing about technology for Vice magazine — and Ernie is a self-proclaimed tech nerd. His name and voice might sound familiar because I just had him on the ChatGPT episode a few weeks ago. That was episode 156. 

So, I thought he was the perfect person to come on the show and introduce us to a variety of tech tools that we might want to try out for our businesses. 

We broke this discussion down into various categories of tools, ones that can help with writing, note-taking, audio recording, scheduling meetings, graphic design, and newsletter platform tools. Ernie shares dozens of tools and also talks a bit about the benefits of publishing our own newsletter. 

In this episode, we talk about: 

• Writing tools, including Markdown, Bear, Obsidian, iA writer, Lex AI
• Tool to synchronize programs between computers and phones: Syncthing
• Google Docs feature we might not be taking advantage of
• Note-taking tools: Markdown, Evernote, Notion
• Task management tools: Flow Pomodoro timer
• Meeting and interview recording: Otter.ai, Rev
• Audio routing: Loopback
• Scheduling meetings: Calendly 
• The benefits of publishing your own newsletter
• Newsletter platforms: Substack, Beehiiv, Ghost, Newsletter Glue (a WordPress plug-in)
• Graphic design tools: Canva, Pixelmator, Affinity Photo
• The importance of optimizing a few tools that are best for YOU

Resources:

• Ernie’s newsletter: Tedium.co
• Ernie on Twitter
• Ernie on Mastodon: @[email protected]
• Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group. 
• Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee.
• Episode #156 of Deliberate Freelancer: The Risks and Opportunities of ChatGPT