TCC Podcast 28: Writing Effective About Pages with Marian Schembari

Copywriter Marian Schembari joins Rob and Kira on The Copywriter Club Podcast to share her thoughts on a long list of topics, including: • How she landed a job using social media (and why she doesn’t like SM now) • How she convinces clients to focus on the “one” reader • Her process for creating awesome About Pages • Why all copywriters should work with an editor • Dealing with depression when you work alone • How she raised her rates, an • Why storytelling is so important in copywriting This is a good one! To hear it all, click the play button below, or scroll down for a full transcript. The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: The Unmistakable Creative Guerilla Marketing for Job Hunters CouchSurfing 10X Emails Copyhackers Book Passage Where Stellar Messages Come From XO Jane The Great Value Proposition Test X-Files Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity Full Transcript: Marian Schembari on how to create an awesome about page, dealing with depression and much more... Kira: What if you could hang out with seriously talented copywriters and other experts, ask them about their success and failures, their work process, and their habits, then steal an idea or two to inspire your own work? That’s what Rob and I do every week at The Copywriter Club Podcast. Rob: You’re invited to join the club for episode 28 as we chat with freelance copywriter Marian Schembari about landing her first job using social media, and why she doesn’t like it very much, the secret writers need to know to create compelling about pages, running a business when you have depression, and how stories are the only reason customers buy anything. Kira: Hey, Rob. Hey, Marian. How are you? Marian: Hi. Rob: Hey, Kira. Welcome, Marian. Marian: It’s super weird to hear you talking about me like that. Your voices have been in my ears like every morning as I walk my dogs, so it’s really weird to hear you responding to me as I talk. Rob: Imagine how weird it’s going to be when you’re listening to yourself as you walk your dog. Marian: Here’s the thing, though. I love listening to myself. Is that weird? I’ve been on podcasts, and I definitely listen to them, and my husband will come home and be like, “Why are you listening to an interview with yourself?” Like, “Because I sound really smart, okay?” Rob: I love it. Kira: And you’re probably learning from yourself, as well. Marian: Totally. Kira: I feel like even with this podcast, I told Rob for awhile, I was not listening, because I did not want to hear my voice. I do like listening to Rob, but I don’t like listening to myself. Recently, I did listen to episode 20, and I was like, “You know what? I’m actually learning something.” In the interview, I miss a lot of details that I catch listening the second time around, I think just because I’m trying to get ahead. It does help. That’s a great segue into the conversation with you, because I originally heard you on a different podcast. It was an interview on The Unmistakable Creative. It was around the time when your name kept popping into my world, into my feed over and over again, until I think I finally reached out to you, and was just like, “Hey, we should be friends, right?” Marian: “We should be friends. Let’s hang out.” I was like, “Yes, please.” Kira: Yes. Now you’re here, I think a great place to start would be how you got into copywriting, especially if you could speak to just landing those first few gigs or getting that first bout of confidence. I know that’s what new copywriters are really interested in. Marian: It’s a weird roundabout story, but many years ago, I guess a decade ago, when I had just graduated from college, it was really, really hard for me to find a job. I was convinced I wanted to work in publishing, and I applied to every job under the sun, and nobody was getting back to me.