Hot Copy

Did you notice we missed an episode?

You’ve probably got bigger things to worry about right now. Like the C-word. We’re talking about COVID19, of course.

The truth is, we’ve been a bit scrambled too. Belinda is surviving on wine and 80s music.

Lockdown with memberships, communities, courses, launches AND managing the kid’s online learning.

It’s a bit bloody much.

We wanted to talk about that and what we’re doing to stay sane. We also got some questions about writing copy during this time.

We don’t know how useful this will be but we’re talking about it anyway.

Tune in to learn:

We’re revealing our lives right now including:

• How different lockdown is to school holidays
• How we’re managing our workload, relationships, homeschooling and screen time.
• Where our heads are at and how we’re managing our mindset
• Our coping strategies as time goes on
• Avoiding overdone content topics
• Whether you should be giving stuff away for free right now
• Guilty COVID pleasures

Share the pod love

If you like what you’re hearing on Hot Copy, the best way to support the show is to take just a few seconds to leave a rating and/or comment over on iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher. Thanks!

Oh and big hugs to Mejsh87 from Australia from Austraila for this lovely review.

“Am loving the podcast episodes and can’t wait to get through them all and implement the learnings! Just finished #62 and as always it was super practical and interesting with a touch of humour and lightheartedness. Thanks ladies and keep up the great work - it’s appreciated!!”

Some industries have a very straight-forward process to buy. I have a problem. I research alternatives. I choose one. I give them some money and I get something in return.

All very simple.

Other industries have a much more complex process. Very big (and expensive) projects often begin with a tendering process. Writing tenders for civil engineering and construction industries might seem like a dry idea to some but that’s what our guest today specialising in… and it’s way more interesting than you think.

Tune in to learn:

• How different tender writing is from other copywriting
• What are the different types of tender documents and the most common ones
• What goes into a tender and how long the average project takes
• How to charge and manage a tender writing project
• What the tender writing revision process looks like
• Where Estelle finds her clients
• The Do's and don'ts of tender writing
• Why Estelle chose this niche and how others an get started in it
• What kind of copywriter tender writing suits
• Estelle’s number one tender writing tip.

About Estelle

Estelle is a tender and SEO Copywriter who's been trying to find the Words That Fit for business for over 20 years. She cut her teeth on tenders and proposals for the recruitment sector before finding her absolute love working in the civil engineering and construction industry. These days she combines the two and has a lot of fun taking businesses through the tender process and beyond: from tender ready to web-ready to award ready.

Question for you

Is tender writing something you'd consider after listening? Share your thoughts on Twitter (@hotcopypodcast) or our Facebook page!

Share the pod love

If you like what you’re hearing on Hot Copy, the best way to support the show is to take just a few seconds to leave a rating and / or comment over on iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher. Thanks!

Oh and big hugs to GINA GODEEN from the USA for her lovely testimonial.

Kate and Belinda are always so fun to listen to (and not just because of their accents!). They have tons of great advice and are always willing to share their best copywriting tips. Great show.

Connect with Estelle

• Website
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

How many times have you Googled a symptom? Hands up. We all have. The need to make complex medical information accessible and readable has flourished with the advent of Google and the prevalence of internet access.

WHO NEEDS DOCTORS?

We do. Of course.

But as patients we’re more informed than ever and who writes the content we use to research the latest thoughts on medical science?

Medical copywriters!

Today we’re talking about medical copywriting -- accurately representing clinical data in a way that is clear, concise, and engaging. And we’re got specialist Nerissa Bentley to shed some light on this for us.

Tune in to learn:

• How Nerissa found her medical copywriting niche
• How she built her client-base in beginning
• Why understanding the rules and regulations is vital to medical copywriting
• The role research and referencing plays in medical copywriting
• The potential risks and hazards of medical copywriting
• Authority v approachability – how to nail the patient voice, and have authority without clinical jargon.
• Where Nerissa finds her clients now
• Whether medical copywriting is more lucrative than other forms of copywriting
• Whether writing medical copywriting takes longer
• The peaks and the pitfalls of working with international clients
• The quirkiest medical topic Nerissa’s ever written about
• Nerissa’s number one tip for newbie medical copywriters

Question for you!

Share your thoughts on Twitter (@hotcopypodcast) or our Facebook page!

Share the pod love

If you like what you’re hearing on Hot Copy, the best way to support the show is to take just a few seconds to leave a rating and / or comment over on iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher. Thanks!

Thanks to Traceluke from Australia for a fantastic review of the show.

Connect with Nerissa

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Instagram

The truth is most copywriters write solo, alone, with no one around but perhaps a farting dog, or keyboard obsessed cat. We need silence and solitude to rouse the creative muse.

But can working with another creative brain be a good thing?

In agency life we’re often paired with designers (shudders) to work on concepts as a team, but how about being paired with another copywriter, and writing pages of copy TOGETHER!!

Dun Dun Der. Is that even a thing?

In this episode, we chat about the challenges of writing together, the highs, the lows and some tips on how to make this a viable and enjoyable option for your business.

Tune in to learn:

We’ll be sharing our top 7 tips including.

• Know your personality flaws
• Match personality types
• Divide and conquer
• Stay open
• Work out your process
• Expect challenges
• Enjoy the adventure

Share the pod love

If you like what you’re hearing on Hot Copy, the best way to support the show is to take just a few seconds to leave a rating and/or comment over on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks!

Oh and big hugs to Steve Melbourne from Australia for his lovely testimonial.

 

The highs, the lows and the letting go’s.   The truth is most copywriters write solo, alone, with no one around but perhaps a farting dog, or keyboard obsessed cat. We need silence and solitude to rouse the creative muse. But can working with another creative brain be a good thing? In agency life we’re […]

Does cold emailing get you in a cold sweat? Is it something you’ve put off because you don’t want to be accused of being a spammer… Or face rejection, over and over again?

Many of us will find anything to do aside from sending a cold pitch email. We create and share content. We go to networking events. We participate in forums and FB groups where our ideal customers hang out.

All great marketing strategies but there comes a time when we need to get proactive about our lead generation.

Today’s episode features special guest, Laura Lopuch, and it will empower you to get on the front foot and start sending emails to bring in more work.

Tune in to learn:

• The career Laura left to become a conversion copywriter
• How she uncovered sending cold emails as her superpower
• Whether cold emailing is just a numbers game (and how to win)
• Tips on preparing to send an email to someone who you don’t know
• The structure of an effective cold email
• Surprisingly simple follow up tips
• How to get your mojo right to send a great cold email

Question for you!

Do you embrace proactive lead generation like cold emailing? Or does it terrify you?

Share your thoughts on Twitter (@hotcopypodcast) or our Facebook page!

Share the pod love

If you like what you’re hearing on Hot Copy, the best way to support the show is to take just a few seconds to leave a rating and/or comment over on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks!

Thanks to Kgb_kgb from Canada for a fantastic review of the show.

About Laura

Laura is an email conversion copywriter + strategist for startups, service professionals, and SaaS companies who want to send those infamous, money-makin’ emails you’ve heard so dang much about.

Her expertise lies in cold emails. Which are the hardest email marketing channel to master. Laura’s work has been seen on websites like Kissmetrics, Crazy Egg, Get Response, Copy Hackers, and MailShake. One of her cold emails brought in $20,000 in revenue.

Thanks to her work with many clients (including online biggies like Joanna Wiebe and Selena Soo), she’s seen firsthand that being ultra-relevant to your email reader is pure magic for getting sales.

Useful resources

• The 2 x cold email templates Laura made available to Confident Copywriters
• Laura’s FB live on the 7 Types of cold emails
• Boomerang (email scheduler and more for Gmail)
• Streak (CRM for Gmail)

Find Laura

• On Twitter
• On Facebook
• On LinkedIn
• On Instie

Discover the secrets of sending effective cold pitch emails to drum up more copywriting work.   Does cold emailing get you in a cold sweat? Is it something you’ve put off because you don’t want to be accused of being a spammer… Or face rejection, over and over again? Many of us will find anything […]

SEO is a topic we've often see discussed in copywriting Facebook groups and across the web.

And most copywriters either seem scared of it, confused by it or just overwhelmed by how to package it and sell it to clients.

The question most often asked? What does an SEO copywriter actually do?

And can you even call yourself an online writer if you don’t have mad SEO skills?

In today’s episode, we walk you through what we think SEO copywriting really means, how to do it, and how it can become a valuable arrow in your copywriting quiver.

Tune in to learn:

• What is SEO copywriting
• What SEO copywriting involves
• Can you really be an SEO copywriter if you don’t understand the big picture?
• Essential SEO know-how for copywriters
• How to package your SEO copywriting service
• The trick to making sure keyword research doesn’t steal all your time
• Kate’s keyword research strategy
• How to set client expectations of your SEO service
• Some rough guidelines on times for SEO packages

Question for you!

Do you think SEO copywriting is an essential skill? Do you feel confident about offering it?

Share your thoughts on Twitter (@hotcopypodcast) or our Facebook page!

Share the pod love

If you like what you’re hearing on Hot Copy, the best way to support the show is to take just a few seconds to leave a rating and/or comment over on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks!

Thanks to GinaGodeen from USA for a fantastic review of the show.

Useful links

• SEO Nibbles course
• Kate’s 10 Day SEO Challenge
• Kate’s SEO group on FB
• Kate’s SEO Copywriting rant on Youtube
• The WordPress Guy
• Pricing episode of Hot Copy Podcast
• Keyword Sheeter
• Uber Suggest 

Setting realistic expectations and ensure you know all the things SEO is a topic we’ve often see discussed in copywriting Facebook groups and across the web. And most copywriters either seem scared of it, confused by it or just overwhelmed by how to package it and sell it to clients. The question most often asked? […]

Christmas is a great time of the year to take a break from your business as your clients are on holidays. It’s also a great time to knuckle down and get some strategic work done… because your clients are all on holidays!

In this episode, Kate and Belinda share their own plans for Christmas 2019 and how they’re setting themselves up for success in 2020.

Did someone say INTENTION WORD?

Then, we go into infomercial mode because the Hot Copy Mastermind is 100% happening in early 2020 and we want to tell you all about it.

(You can actually hear Belinda chirping with excitement).

If you’re not interested in the Mastermind, you’ll still get a lot of great tips in the first half of the ep.

Dig in and enjoy!

Tune in to learn:

• How Belinda and Kate are spending their time off this year
• How they’re making sure school holidays don’t catch them by surprise (AGAIN)
• The word/s they’re using to focus their work in 2020
• Why a good wall planner is essential
• How YOU can tick off some strategic projects in 2020
• The benefits of planning personal time into your 2020
• What the Hot Copy Mastermind is all about including how it will work and who it’s for

Question for you!

How do you approach the end of the year? Do you take time off or work through? Do you plan the coming year or let it unfold as it happens?

Let us know on Twitter (@hotcopypodcast) or our Facebook page!

Share the pod love

If you like what you’re hearing on Hot Copy, the best way to support the show is to take just a few seconds to leave a rating and/or comment over on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks!

Thanks to Evan Postier, Minnesota, USA for saying that we’re funny in his fantastic review of the show.

Useful links

• Hot Copy Mastermind waitlist
• Hot Copy: Is copywriting making you a bad parent