Clever Copy Chats

Us copywriters, ooh we love a good niche.

And if we find one that aligns with something we genuinely love, even better.

So imagine being a copywriter for artists, the ultimate creative combo of words and pictures. 

But that said, if a picture paints a thousand words, who needs a copywriter?

And artists aren’t exactly known for their bulging bank accounts.

So how do you make being an Arts copywriter work for you and your business?

How do you turn that client contact blank canvas into a work of art?

And how the heck do two highly creative humans work together without tears and spilled paint?

Today’s guest explains it all.

Tune in to learn: 

• Why Ali decided to niche into Arts Copywriting
• What kinds of projects an Arts Copywriter works on
• What challenges come from working with artists
• How Ali finds copywriting clients
• Ali’s biggest copywriting career win
• Ali’s biggest career fail
• Ali and Kate’s favourite copywriting tools
• How Ali balances the work-life balance and her top mental health tip
• Ali’s top tip for newbie copywriters

Useful resources:

• Trello
• Keywords Everywhere
• ChatGPT
• SEO Nibbles
• Head to episode notes

Freebies

1. Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter

2. Free rates guide

Membership: Join now

Why the ‘boring’ social media platform is a copywriter's best friend

LinkedIn; it gives most people the absolute heebie-jeebies. 

It has a reputation for being the most boring social media platform, and so many of us hide on Facebook, on Instagram; anywhere, but having to show up on LinkedIn. 

But the truth is, as a copywriter, it's probably a pretty good source of jobs. 

So, how do we show up on LinkedIn, become a content creator, a content curator, and a content commenter, and actually have some fun and win some clients? 

Today we're going to explain all that and more.

Tune in to learn:

• Beck’s past jobs leading to copywriting
• How she settled into financial services and tech as her niche
• Why LinkedIn is so important for copywriters
• Beck’s 3 top tips to getting more out of LinkedIn
• Beck’s worst copywriting career fail
• Beck’s number one favourite writing tool
• How she achieved copywriting success
• How she achieves a healthy work/life balance
• Beck’s top copywriting tips

Useful resources: 

• Grab her Ultimate Guide to Stand Out on LinkedIn 
• Read her blog on how Copywriters can get more clients on LinkedIn
• LinkedIn Marketing Solutions
• Copy tool: Word Hippo

Head to episode notes

Freebies:

1. Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter

2. Free rates guide

Membership: Join now

In these short snappy episodes, I want to give you smart little Toon tips on how to hone your copywriting skills. Improve your copywriting business with straightforward doable advice that you can implement today. 

Today I want to talk to you about trading FOMO for JOGI. 

I’ve been digging into LinkedIn, and recently I got a question about FOMO and false scarcity.

“I’m currently writing up a LinkedIn post aimed at helping marketers discover better ways to use FOMO in their copywriting.

Consumers are more educated than ever these days, and copy like this just isn’t going to be believed anymore:

‘Sale ends soon!’ - you said that last month.

‘Limited time offer’ - limited to what?

‘Exclusive opportunity’ - bull.

I consider you one of the best copywriters in Australia and would love to hear your opinion on this.

Maybe people should be more specific? Use more relatable language?

I’m not really sure, but I’m no copywriter.

So, I’m wondering, what tips would you give people looking to make their FOMO type of messaging stand out?”

Tune in for my thoughts on false scarcity, endless sales, and JOGI (the joy of getting in). 

Freebies

1. Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter

2. Free rates guide

Membership: Join waitlist now

Let’s be honest, being a copywriter can be just a little bit lonely.

Days spent with your computer and possibly a furry companion.

You try to talk to your friends, your partner, and random strangers. 

But who else really understands the deep pain of a client that won’t use track changes? Or is willing to argue back and forth on the merits of semi-colons?

The answer? Other copywriters.

But hey, aren’t they your competition?

Our guest today has made an art of networking, a confirmed introvert who has not realised she’s an extrovert.

She’s going to give us some tips on how to make the most of events, communities and memberships; to bolster your confidence, find new clients and learn more about the wonderful world of copywriting.

Tune in to learn: 

• What Angela did before becoming a copywriter
• How being a diplomat influenced her copywriting
• How going to events has benefited Angela’s career
• Memberships - how they can help you feel less lonely as a freelancer
• Angela’s networking tips for other nervous, quiet copywriters
• Angela’s favourite copywriting tool
• Angela’s top copywriting tip

Head to episode notes

Freebies

1. Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter

2. Free rates guide

Membership: Join now

In these short snappy episodes, I want to give you smart little Toon tips on how to hone your copywriting skills. Improve your copywriting business with straightforward doable advice that you can implement today. 

Have you ever struggled to get a client to fill out your brief?

You send it off and they come back with daft answers.

Who is your ideal client: “Anyone with a pulse and a credit card.”

What is your desired objective: ‘That people buy stuff.”

What keywords to you want to rank for: ”I’d like to rank for cheese.”

Today I want to talk all about how I manage these clients, get the briefs to a usable stage, and fill in those blanks.

Freebies

1. Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter

2. Free rates guide

Membership: Join waitlist now

When you Google ‘copywriter’, you might notice one thing.

There are a lot of us.

And if you check out most copywriter websites, they’re very similar.

And the socials? We’re all posting Ernest Hemingway quotes, sharing advice on how to use colons and popping up pictures of our dogs.

So how do you stand out in a crowded market?

How do you become known for what you do?

Build that solid trustworthy reputation and become the go-to human in your niche?

Well, our guest today is not only a successful copywriter but a PR guru and my personal guide to becoming more known. 

Using a smart combination of award entries, PR, blog posting, podcasts and more, she helps people just like us, raise their profile and in turn win more customers and charge more money.

Tune in to learn: 

• Erin’s career journey before becoming a copywriter
• How the worlds of copywriting and PR crossover
• How to overcome shyness and getting yourself out there
• Award writing and entering awards - is it worth it?
• How to handle client’s expectations
• How Erin raised her profile
• The biggest mistakes copywriters make when trying to raise their profiles
• Erin’s top copywriting tip

Head to episode notes

Freebies

1. Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter

2. Free rates guide

Membership: Join now

So I’ve decided to launch a new stream to the Clever Copy Chats pod.

We have Tips and Chats and 101 episodes, and now I’m adding newbies.

These are chats with people who are brand new to copywriting. I want to chat about their challenges, their fears and what’s holding them back.

I want to dig into their goals and ambitions.

And I want to hopefully give them a little useful advice on the podcast.

Because it’s all very well hearing from established copywriters, with a client list as long as their thigh, processes up the wazoo and their pricing en point.

But perhaps you, like today’s guest, are just starting and need a firm pat on the bottom or a shoulder to weep on.

Well, that’s what the newbie episodes are all about.

Tune in to learn: 

• Vishma’s career path up to now
• Why Vishma took the leap and chose copywriting
• The biggest challenges Vishma has faced so far, and how she overcame them
• Positives to launching her new career
• Vishma’s top tip for new copywriters

Head to episode notes

Freebies

1. Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter

2. Free rates guide

Membership: Join now

In these short snappy episodes, I want to give you smart little Toon tips on how to hone your copywriting skills. Improve your copywriting business with straightforward doable advice that you can implement today. 

Today, I want to talk about why old is not a selling point.

As part of my Recipe for SEO success course, I do a lot of Unique Selling Proposition reviews.

And for those of you who don’t know what a USP is, it’s a short statement that summarises:

Who you are

What you do
Who you do it for

And why you do it better than anyone else.

And time after time I see phrasing in these USPs that relates to age.

As in the age of the business.

Examples include:

• Over 60 years ago 
• Combined experience of 72 years
• Since 1996
• Established in 1842

Yuck!

And I get it.

AGE feels like it should be a positive.

Being the original surely counts for something right?
The pioneer?

Having experience surely counts for something right? You’ve been there, done that, not like these young upstarts.

But in a world that is obsessed with Newness, I’m just not sure Oldness cuts it anymore.

Let’s break them down.

Freebies

1. Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter

2. Free rates guide

Membership: Join waitlist now

We recently ran a poll in the Clever Copywriting Community to see how long people could write for each day.
The average? 

Four hours.

Not due to lack of time, but due to running out of creative energy.

So imagine if after you’ve burned the copy candle to a stump, you had a second candle to light.

Imagine if you had a hybrid business that was part copywriting and part something else.

Our guest today has successfully married her yin and yang, combining a purrfect copywriting business with an equally fluffy WordPress business.

She explains the pros (and relatively few cons) of this approach and how it enables her to squeeze more out of her day and give clients a more seamless stress-free experience.

Tune in to learn:

• What Rachel did before she settled on copywriting
• How Rachel thought to combine her web developing and copywriting skills together
• The benefits of utilising different skills
• Rachel’s biggest freelancer fail
• Rachel’s biggest win so far
• Rachel’s top five tools
• Her top tips for anyone wanting to do more than just copywriting

Useful resources:

• Dubsado CRM
• To the Web Google Title & Meta description pixel length
• Hemingway App
• SEMrush
• Berrycast
• WordPress SEO course

Head to episode notes

Freebies

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

Membership: Join now

In these short snappy episodes, I want to give you smart little Toon tips on how to hone your copywriting skills. Improve your copywriting business with straightforward doable advice that you can implement today. 

Today’s tip is all about proposals. 

A member of the Clever Copywriting community recently asked:

“How do I actually get a proposal over the line? 

I’ve had some great leads and enquiries over the past months; some have ghosted me before the proposal stage and the rest haven’t jumped at the signing of my proposals I have sent.

I had a good lead contact me yesterday asking for work, we had a chat on the phone, and I said I’d send my packages/proposal.”

I’ll go through step by step how to set up a stellar proposal every time.

Freebies

• Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter

• Free rates guide

Useful links: 

• Recommended Rates Guide
• Rate Card Template
•  WIP Tracker
• Copywriting Proposal Template
• Copywriter Email Templates Pack
• Copy Shop

Membership: Join waitlist now

Have you always dreamt of seeing your name in print?
Of picking up the Sunday papers and reading your own article as you drink your morning coffee?

Well our guest today, Rashida Tayabali, has done just that.
She’s a successful copywriter, author and has been featured in more magazines than you could shake a stick at.

She talks with us today about why she chose not to niche down, how she balances life and writing, and gives us a detailed explanation of how to pitch and price your feature articles.

Toon in today to learn how having a great idea is one thing, but sticking with it until the end is the real challenge.

Tune in to learn: 

• Rashida’s journey to being a copywriter
• Why Rashida doesn’t niche
• Does feature writing pay more than copywriting
• How to come up with feature article ideas
• How to pitch your idea to the editor
• How to find the right person to pitch to
• Why you shouldn’t pitch your idea to multiple editors
• How to price your article
• How feature articles differ from blogs
• Rashida’s book and why she wrote it
• How Rashida manages the balance
• Her number one tip for copywriters

Useful resources: 

• Google docs

Head to episode notes

Freebies

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

Membership: Join now

I know that for many copywriters taking and making calls to prospective clients gives them the absolute heebeejeebees.

But it’s really a trial we have to get over.

Something that we have to build our confidence doing, and I promise you, it gets much easier.

So here are my top tips on how to wow clients on the first call.

Freebies

• Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter

• Free rates guide

Useful links: 

• Recommended Rates Guide
• Rate Card Template
•  WIP Tracker
• Copy Shop

Membership: Join now

If you’ve just started out as a copywriter, it can be intimidating.
Dang, even after a few years you’re still looking around thinking ‘why is this working for everyone else but not me?’.

You need to polish your processes and pricing, raise your profile and work out how to really put yourself out there.

But good things take time. Like a lump of coal turning into a sparkly diamond, sometimes they also take a little pressure.

Today, specialist tender writer Estelle Fallon talks about her journey towards finding her true copywriting self, building her confidence and giving herself time to embrace her skill set.

Tune in to learn: 

• How Estelle got started in copywriting
• What tender writing is
• Why managing people is so important
• How Estelle prices her tenders
• How Estelle deals with the pressure
• How she’s managed to be patient with her business
• Estelle’s number one tip for copywriters
• Why Estelle believes it takes time to form a great copywriter

Useful resources: 

• Capability Statement Copywriting Template

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 help you learn how to write more credible copy.

We all know how important, knowing, liking and trusting a brand or individual is when it comes to selling.

But how do we build the trust factor in our copy?

Freebies

1. Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter

2. Free rates guide

Membership: Join now

Some of us feel like freshly minted copywriters.
Just plopped out into the world and finding our copywriting feet like doddery gazelle babies.

Others are wise old sages, with years of like experience.

Today I’m talking to one of those - Clever Copywriting School Ambassador, Copy Cop and Copy Gandalf Gary Cooper.

After working in every career under the sun, he fell into copywriting as many do, and was able to use his previous experience to help him spot red flags, not sweat the small stuff, and work on projects that fit his lifestyle.

Today he’s going to share how he’s made a killing on Upwork, found a tool that helps him write well despite being dyslexic, and find a career that fits in around his busy life renovating a house in France.

Still curious, still willing to learn, Gary is an amazing member of my community and I  think you can probably tell, I kinda want to be Gary when I grow up.

Tune in to learn: 

• How Gary got started in copywriting
• How Gary has used Upwork to build an amazing client list
• His favourite client and why
• His worst failure and what he learned
• Gary’s life-changing copywriting tool
• Gary’s number one tip for winning new clients (it’s a doozy)
• Gary’s advice on how to keep pushing through
• And a wrap up of some of Gary and Kate’s favourite copy tips.

Useful resources: 

• Dragon Naturally Speaking

Head to episode notes

Freebies

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

Membership: Join now

Today I want to talk to you about how to find copywriting jobs without traditional marketing.

1. Post on FB that you’re now a copywriter
2. Update your LinkedIn profile
3. Email old colleagues and clients
4. Get business cards printed
5. Join a community with a job board
6. Join freelancer websites
7. Subcontract for more experienced copywriters
8. Contact agencies
9. Fluff brands you love

Freebies

1. Free webinar: Your first month as a copywriter

2. Free rates guide

Membership: Join now

Niching, it’s a word that sends shivers down the spines of many a copywriter.

Won’t I get bored writing about the same thing all the time?
How will I handle client conflicts?
Will I have to turn down clients who aren’t in my niche?

Today’s guest Nerissa Bentley has built a hugely successful business by narrowing her focus to health. She’s taken on big brands and bigger budgets, honed her marketing, and polished her processes so now the majority of her work is either retainer, repeat or referral (the dream).

But as well as that she’s worked hard on her own physical and mental health to find balance and get to the deep-rooted issues that were holding her back.

Tune in today to find out how becoming a specialist has helped Nerissa build a business she loves on her own terms.

Tune in to learn: 

• What was Nerissa’s journey to being a copywriter
• Why did Nerissa decide to niche
• The positives of niching
• Dealing with getting bored
• Dealing with client conflicts
• The financial benefits of being a niched copywriter
• Nerissa’s two biggest copywriting wins
• The importance of getting to the source of your business challenge
• Nerissa’s favourite copywriting tool
• Which book would Nerissa take to a deserted island (clue: It’s not the ARPHA guidelines)

Useful Resources: 

• Hemingway App

Head to episode notes

Freebies

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

Membership: Join now

I want to talk about why a lot of the copywriting I see coming from copywriters really suck.

I'm sorry!

Why concepts matter, and big ideas matter!

Freebies

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

Membership: Join now

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