Today’s guest is somebody who’s going to teach you how to talk about what you do in a way that makes people want to lean in and hear the rest as opposed to the elevator pitch that makes people say “oh, okay” and the conversation is over. Jenny Beres has run a successful freelance writing business for 10 years. She started with $75.00 in her bank account and quickly transformed it into a six figure freelance copywriting business. She helps brands tell their story in a compelling way and she also helps a lot of freelance writers or freelance social media people run a successful business. So it’s the skill of writing itself, what stories to tell, what stories to leave out and then on the other side of it the business aspect of running a freelance writing oriented business. 

Compassion and inspiration: Whether you’re a business owner writing your own copy or you’re a copywriter on a team and you’ve been hired to capture someone else’s story you must write from a place of compassion and inspiration. Those are the two places that marketing copy must come from. You must speak to your audience, which essentially if you’re a business owner is maybe you five years ago before you found the solution to the problem that you were experiencing. 

Vulnerability and oversharing: One of the main questions a customer asks is “Do you see me? Can you feel what I’m feeling?” so being vulnerable by saying “I’ve been you” (if you have) is a great place to start. You aren’t coming across as inauthentic but at the same time you aren’t oversharing. Make sure the story you’re telling is the story that’s related to your audience. Find the intersection where your story connects with your target audience. It’s very easy to get lost down that rabbit hole of sharing so much you turn your client green. There is a fine line between being vulnerable and oversharing and that intersection keeps you from crossing over it. 

Questions Jenny asks her clients and recommends you ask yourself and discuss with someone you trust:

When you make a mistake: If you feel like a joke didn’t land right or an email didn’t come across as intended being direct about it is the best way. Jenny said she used to fret and apologize for ten hours whenever she made a tiny mistake and she had to learn to rein that in. She would email the person immediately and say “I just re-read my email and it didn’t come out quite the way I meant. If you took it the other way I’m super sorry. This is what I meant…” and then she would clarify what she meant.