This week Rachel and Lynne have a special guest talking about how nicheing down (or specialising) can bring you higher income clients and a more successful and resilient business.  Funnel strategist and conversion copywriter Abi Prendergast shares her story on how she found her niche of working with course creators and why specialising works for her. We talk about:  Why she loves the 'laptop lifestyle' Working with Copyhackers and how it set her up for success Going viral in the copy world Why she loves working for herself How solving problems for clients is the key to success Why you should work on your business regularly The skills you need for 2024  Connect with Abi here: https://www.aptcontent.co.uk/  or via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abi-prendergast-2a5953b1/  Sign up for updates for the 2024 Content Byte Summit at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/    Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au   Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com  Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

Specialising your way to higher rates with Abi Prendergast

Hosts Rachel Smith (from Rachel's List) and journalist and content writer Lynne Testoni are serving up weekly short bites of advice, tips and strategies, plus special guests, for freelancers who make a living from using their words. We're shooting for 15-minute episodes, but can't promise anything because we can both talk the leg off a chair.

Education

Training

Language Courses

Higher Education

K-12

Educational Technology

Business

Investing

Careers

Management & Marketing

Business News

Shopping

This week on the podcast, Lynne and Rachel are speaking with Cathy Anderson, a senior editor at LinkedIn Australia. Cathy shares her inside knowledge on how LinkedIn works, and how to make the most of the platform. It's a valuable and revealing conversation. We talk about:  The special courses available for journalists through the platform How to increase your reach on LinkedIn How the LinkedIn news team works and what they are looking for How the LinkedIn Premium accounts work  As Cathy explained, they are always looking for great posts to be featured by the news team as part of the Idea of the Day (here’s an  example from a journalist) as well as creator spotlights, which is where they send a notification directly to the person’s post. These topics are really broad, such as  cloning your voice via AI,  corporate manners and  work vs family. Connect with Cathy at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathy-anderson-bb2648b4/ and Cathy is happy for people to InMail her their posts to pitch. The next ‘LinkedIn for Journalists workshop’ is on Monday July 1 at 10.30am -11.30am (AEST). Experts will cover the latest product updates and guidance about how journalists can use LinkedIn as a tool for research, contacting sources, networking, building your voice on LinkedIn and more. If you are a journalist and interested in accessing these benefits, please fill in the attached form by 24th June.   Don't forget about The Content Byte Summit from September 12-14, 2024 in Sydney. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

All about LinkedIn and how to make it work for you, with Cathy Anderson

This week, Rachel and Lynne chat with the Pricing Queen, Jasmine Parasram, and talk all things pricing, an issue that we know freelancers, both new and experienced, struggle with. Jasmine talks about:  How to price your work Hourly pricing vs value and project-based pricing When (and if) to discount Charging with confidence How to attract high-paying clients  It's a great episode with lots of a-ha moment that will help you rethink the way you value your work and the clients you work with. Locate the resources that Jasmine mentions here: https://creativebusinesskitchen.com/calculate/rachel-kurzyp/ Or connect with Jasmine via her website: https://jasminedesigns.com.au/  Don't forget about The Content Byte Summit (which will tackle lots of issues about pricing and creating a financially sustainable business), from September 12-14, 2024 in Sydney. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au    Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au      Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com    Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

All about pricing for freelancers with Jasmine Parasram

This week Rachel and Lynne welcome investigative journalist Louise Milligan to the podcast hot seat. Louise talks about her work on Four Corners and her previous non-fiction books, Cardinal, The Rise and Fall of George Pell and Witness, An Investigation into the Brutal Cost of Seeking Justice, as well as Pheasants Nest, her newly released novel.   The discussion covers:  The creative process of Louise's first novel and how it differs from journalism and non-fiction How the book expands on the usual way we consume a crime story  Covering confronting issues in both fiction and journalism Gendered violence and how that played into the plot of her novel How she juggles writing novels with her journalism work Some of the stories she has covered and why she will never forget them  Trigger warning: Our chat with Louise Milligan covers some confronting topics, including sexual assault, gendered violence and suicide. If these topics are a trigger for you, you might like to skip this episode or come back another time. Pheasants Nest is available at all good bookshops. Connect with Louise on Instagram @milliganreports  and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012038172584  This is your last week to secure Early Bird tickets to The Content Byte Summit, from September 12-14, 2024. The Early Bird discount ends on May 31. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au    Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au     Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com   Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

Louise Milligan on storytelling, investigative reporting and her new book, Pheasant’s Nest

We just love to meet freelancers who have managed to combine different types of writing into a successful career. This week, Rachel and Lynne chat with Caroline Riches, a news journalist for 25 years who works in the SBS newsroom part time and then does freelance writing work for the rest of the week. We talk about:  Balancing the two roles Why she loves the flexibility of casual work What newsrooms are looking for from casual journalists and how to get a foot in the door The stress of covering big news stories How great it is to be part of a newsroom and being surrounded by the big news stories of the day Where and how she secures agency work  Connect with Caroline at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-riches-978656113/  Caroline's website is: https://www.carolineriches.com/  This is your last week to secure Early Bird tickets to The Content Byte Summit, from September 12-14, 2024. The Early Bird discount ends on May 31. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au   Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au     Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com  Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au ), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

Combining freelance writing and news journalism with Caroline Riches

This week, Rachel and Lynne are doing something different! They have turned the microphone over to some of their listeners. In this great compilation episode, listeners and former guests share some of their stories about difficult times as freelancers and how they recovered. It's all about real-life experiences and resilience - and learning from our mistakes. Thanks to the following people for contributing (and those who aren't listed here as they preferred to stay anonymous): Anf Chansamooth https://www.anferneec.com/ Rebekah Lambert https://unashamedlycreative.com.au/ Belinda Weaver https://www.copywritematters.com/ Susan Reoch https://theuxcopywriter.com/  Brook McCarthy https://brookmccarthy.com/ Caitlin Wright https://caitlinwright.com.au/ Claire Chow https://connect4social.com.au/ Ed Gandia https://b2blauncher.com/ Emma Lovell, https://www.emmalovell.au/ John Burfitt, https://jbmedia.com.au/ Monica Davidson, https://creativeplusbusiness.com/ Theresa Miller - media trainer - TM Media https://www.theresamiller.com.au/training And, don't forget about The Content Byte Summit, from September 12-14, 2024. Time is running out to secure the Early Bird discount, which ends on May 31. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au    Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au ), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.  Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

Specialising your way to higher rates with Abi Prendergast

Download our free app to listen on your phone