Research Equals Social Listening

On the 246th episode of The Copywriter Club podcast, we’re joined by one of our newest Think Tank members, Hira Usama. Hira is a social media manager and content strategist. Hira began her freelance journey on Upwork writing e-books and immensely undercharging. She now takes clients’ social media platforms from ghost town to binge-worthy. Here’s what we talk about: Going from a content creator for an agency to freelance work. Writing 4 e-books in one month while being pregnant and finding The Copywriter Club. How she got hired at 17 years old and was published in a magazine. How to effectively use online social platforms to expand your reach. The benefits of outbound engagement and using hashtags to connect with the right people. Social media strategy for the person who just doesn’t have the time or energy for engagement. Starting the process of working with a new client and what it’s like to work with Kira Hug. How to create effective content pillars and even mix in aspects of your life on social media. (Is there a method to the madness?) The beauty and the struggle of the hustle game. The truth about what leads to conversions. Why we need to be social on social media. (Shocking, huh?) How Hira uses Gary Vee in her approach to natural social media strategy. Copywriters who have got a killer approach to socials and what we can learn from observing. Why you absolutely need to be using swipe files. Realizing that no one is going to be as excited about your posts are you. The challenges of working on the other side of the world as your clients. Tips on working with business owners when there may be a language barrier. Creating a community for women who don’t have the means to work a standard 9-5. The struggles of building your own brand when you’re focused on so many others. (the life of a service provider.) If you want to ramp up your social media strategy and build a stronger online presence, listen to the episode or check out the transcript below. The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group The Copywriter Underground Think Tank Hira’s website Tamara’s website Full Transcript: Rob:  For most copywriters and content writers, writing comes pretty naturally to us, and that's the one big reason that we all seem to choose this profession in the first place. There are a few exceptions who learn copywriting as a means to do something else, but for most of us, we're pretty good writers and that's why we are writers as a profession. But it takes a lot more than the ability to write to start a successful copywriting business. To do that, you have to hustle and add the skills to help you solve problems for your clients. Today's guests on The Copywriter Club Podcast is Hira Usama. That's exactly what she did from landing her first content gig at age 17, to doing work today as a social media strategist. She's always learning and trying new things, everything from SEO to social media. In this interview, Hira shares exactly what she did to grow a successful business while working from Asia as a new parent. But before we get to that, let me introduce my guest, I guess, kind of host. Since Kira asked some of the questions, she was here when we recorded. But Kira is on maternity leave spending some time with her new baby, and my guests interjector, commenter, whatever we want to call it, is Tamara Glick. Say hi, Tamara. Tamara:  Hello, Rob. How are you? Rob:  It's good. I'm thrilled to have you joining us. Those of you who maybe are longtime listeners to the podcast know that we interviewed Tamara on episode 142. Tamara is a fashion stylist and also a content and brand stylist. She also serves her clients as a fractional CMO, helping them figure out their customer journeys and how they can improve their offers and all kinds of different things. You can find her at Tamaraglick.com, and I'm just happy to have somebody else talking about some of the stuff that we learned while we interviewed Hira. Tamara:  This was such a fascinating interview. I'm really excited to be here. Thanks for having me. Rob:  Yeah, of course. Before we hear what Hira has to say, this podcast episode is brought to you by the Copywriter Think Tank. Now, Tamara, you're actually in the Think Tank. You've worked with us in the Think Tank for a long time. We've talked about the Think Tank over and over, just promoting it, whatever. Give me your 30-second thoughts on the Think Tank. Tamara:  Oh my goodness. The Think Tank to me is such an ideal incubator for someone who has built a business that they're really excited about, and that does have legs and they're confident that it does but they're not sure what is going to happen next. You might be able to see the next step, but maybe not the staircase, and that's totally okay because you need to have people around you who can support your vision, help see things that you may not be able to see as of yet. Opportunities, potential roadblocks, new partnerships or new directions, and can support you along that journey. To me, the Think Tank is an ideal mastermind for copywriters and other marketers who want to challenge each other to create new revenue streams in their businesses, receive coaching from you and from Kira, and ultimately grow to six figures or more. Up until last year, the Think Tank was only open once a year. But now we invite a few new members every month. If you've been looking for a mastermind to help you grow, visit copywriterthinktank.com to find out more. Rob:  Tamara, like I mentioned, you worked with us in the Think Tank, and help keep things organized and moving smoothly. You know your stuff while you’re with us in Think Tank. Tamara:  Well, thank you. Rob:  Let's jump into our interview with Hira, and find out more about her approach to her business and social media. Hira:  Like any other freelancer who was told in their childhood that, "Oh my god, you write so well, you're so creative," I had this dream that I want to write my own book and stuff like that. When I was in my first year of college, I came across this job opportunity for a copywriter. I still remember that red brick wall where it was just posted like a notice, and that was my first ever gig. I was around 17 year old, and that month I ended up making around $150 and I was so proud of myself. But that was a kickoff for something so amazing for years to come. I worked with two different agencies as a copywriter and content creator for around two three years. Then I jumped off of that and focused on my studies. I was doing bachelor's in applied psychology. I did that for four years, got married, then got pregnant and realized that I need to do something with my life. This cannot go on because I'm a really creative person, I just can't sit still. I'm either writing something, reading something or watching something, and then I'm a thinker. I needed to put out my thoughts somewhere. I started by getting a few gigs on Upwork back then, and I wrote around four eBooks in one month when I was seven months pregnant, and I realized that I have to do something apart from creating really long form content. I then got a few other gigs where I wrote blog posts and all of that. Yeah, that was around the time in 2018, when I came across the Copywriter Club, and I came across you guys and saw this amazing community where everybody was appreciating each other so much, and a lot of people inside that group, they told me that, "Oh, you write so well. Why are you under charging yourself? You should be charging around $150, $200, $300 for one blog post, and that just kicked off my desire to grow into something big, and I got a kick for social media strategy and content creation, again from Upwork. But that's a really good kind, and that's when I just realized that I love social media. I love creating content on social media. It's far easier to write a set of different posts rather than just write a one long form content. It's just get very repetitive for me. Yeah, that's when I ... I didn't choose to be a social media strategist. I've been flowing through and growing through that process of becoming a freelancer, then a content creator, then a copywriter, and ultimately, a social media copywriter and then a strategist. Yeah, it's been very fluid for me. Rob:  I love the progression. You answer's like each step leads to the next one very logically. I want to go to the very first thing that you did as a 17-year-old. What did you do to get hired as a copywriter? There are people in their 30s, 40s and 50s that are struggling to get hired. How did you set yourself apart as a 17-year-old? Hira:  I don't know. I've been really good at creative writing. I won third position when I was in class one and that was the time my teachers really appreciated me, and I just started writing a lot of poems and a lot of essays and stuff like that. I used to do a lot of reading, and then I got published in a few local magazines as well when I was a kid. The writing part comes naturally to me. But what I did work on to set myself apart on that stage was working on how I do my research, how I structure my content, and how I make that relatable to my audience. Those were the three things that I worked on back then. I've never shied away from learning. I'm always learning since the past 10, 12 years. I'm either learning through a course or just listening to podcasts, taking notes, learning from experts, watching YouTube videos, and how back then I used to do a lot of research on SEO just to help my clients rank their blog posts. I was always learning. Kira:  Once you realize that you wanted to do more social media strategy after that first great client on Upwork, what did you do from there when you're like, "This is it.