TCC Podcast #193: The Find a Client Challenge with Brittany McBean

Copywriter Brittany McBean is our guest for the 193rd episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. We wanted to talk to Brittany after we heard about the success she had when she completed the “Find a Client in 3 Weeks or Less” Challenge we offered in The Copywriter Underground this past April. In addition to that, Brittany shared her path to copywriting and the nuts-and-bolts of creating a paid workshop for your list. Here’s what we covered in this interview: •  going from acting in musical theater to network marketing to copywriter •  the on-the-job training she gave herself when she landed her first project •  what she learned as a signer, dancer and actor that makes her a better copywriter •  how she approaches marketing for herself so it doesn’t feel spammy •  her advice for people who are using Facebook to go live with video •  Brittany’s experience with the Find a Client Challenge in The Copywriter Underground •  the three different kinds of clients you need in your business •  what surprised her most about the challenge… and why she did it anyway •  how you can replicate the momentum Brittany built during the challenge •  what it takes to create and run a masterclass and the supporting materials •  the financial results she got by finishing the Challenge and how she used the money •  what she’s going to do next with her workshops and business •  her adoption journey and how she worked through the difficulties of the process •  her struggle with anxiety and working and the results of dealing with it •  her approach to talking about hard things and helping our clients do it too •  what she’s excited about doing next in her business This is a great discussion about how much you can create in a short time—and a lot more. To hear what Brittany had to share, scroll down and click the play button. Or scroll a little farther to read a full transcript. Better yet, subscribe on your favorite podcast app and never miss an episode.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Brenda McGowan The Project Plan Trello Board Sara Heselin Woods Brittany's website Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group The Copywriter Underground   Full Transcript: Kira:   This episode is brought to you by The Copywriter Underground, the place to find more than 20 templates, dozens of presentations on topics like copywriting and marketing your business, a community of successful writers who share ideas and leads, and The Copywriter Club newsletter mailed directly to your home every month. Learn more at thecopywriterunderground.com. Rob:   What if you could hang out with seriously talented copywriters and other experts, ask them about their successes and failures, their work processes, and their habits, then steal an idea or two to inspire your own work? That's what Kira and I do every week at The Copywriter Club Podcast. Kira:   You're invited to join the club for episode 193 as we chat with copywriter, Brittany McBean about why she became a copywriter, what her business looks like today, her experience with the find a client in three weeks challenge in The Copywriter Underground, and what she's done recently to think bigger about her business and clients. Welcome Brittany. Rob:   Hey Brittany. Brittany McBean:   Hi, thanks. I just had some free time and thought I'd help you guys out and just ... No, I'm just kidding. My palms are sweaty and I'm really honored and excited to be here. Rob:   This is really good. Kira:   Yeah. We're so excited to talk to you. And this initially started around a challenge that we offered in The Underground in April. And it was how to book a client in three weeks challenge, although it had like a snazzier name and it was the first challenge we ever did in the underground. And it was quite intense because I don't think I knew what I was doing when I was throwing out these challenges. And you were one of the few people, there were a couple who completed every single challenge that we threw out there, which is 12 in depth challenges. And you did all of them. And then you had a really great story too about the impact on your business. So I know we're going to talk about that today and then a whole lot of other things like your success that you've had over the last year in your business. But let's start with your story. How did you end up as a copywriter? Brittany McBean:   Yeah. Sometimes I'm not even sure if we're being honest. I hear there are two paths and one was incredibly nonlinear, and this was not their background, or they were in a marketing agency and they saw who made the most money and they went and did that. So I'm more of the nonlinear path. So, my degree is in musical theater. That's what I went to school for. I always say that I have a degree in singing a high C and kicking my face. And I love that. That was my passion for a very long time. I acted professionally after that for about three years, just in different theaters, around the country, professional theaters and some touring. And I just got exhausted. Burnout is going to kind of be a theme throughout this, but I loved it. But it is really hard, like always traveling in a van or a bus or getting paid $250 a week and having to have another job and rehearsing for eight hours a day and doing a show at night or two shows a day, all that stuff. I loved it. But I also knew that I wanted a family more than anything else. And I was going to move to New York and do the New York thing. And I had a boyfriend in Richmond, Virginia, and I came here instead and then left him immediately and stayed in Richmond. And I loved it here. And I started working for a regional theater in their education department and writing curriculum and creating programs and all of that stuff. And then ended up leaving that job. It just was not a great fit. I nannied for a while after that because I've always loved kids and families. And while I was nannying, I was feeling very creatively bored and I had a lot more to offer. Even though that work was like exhausting and fulfilling, I just wanted to do something. And this was back in 2014 when there was not a lot of network marketing on the internet like it is now. Nobody was popping into my DMs asking me to do a group or a party or anything like that. And a friend of mine was doing network marketing. I liked her a lot. I respected her. I was like, "This looks fun and different." So long story short, I did network marketing for five years and I was pretty successful. I got to like the 0.08% of my company. And I had a large team of women. And about a couple of years in, I was looking at my leaders who are telling us to do this stuff that just felt really gross and spammy. And I was like, "No, if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it my way." And so I started finding a way of marketing on social media and sharing myself and my story in a way that sold products. And I did a lot of teaching and then reverse engineered that and taught that to my team. And what's been really cool and really interesting is looking at a lot of the trainings that I did and that over the years really align with all the things that I'm learning now. There are just a lot more smarter people who put better words to them, but it's really like validating to be like my instinct was really good. So I'll fast forward even more. I quit nannying and went full time with my network marketing business, ended up getting really, really, really burnt out. Like just really burnt out and really over it. And I was looking for something different. I started doing some social media management and realized I hated that, like I hated that. So I thought, "Okay, I'm good at this. I'm going to do social media coaching." And I did social media coaching and I was only coaching people on messaging. They were like, "How many times a day should I post?" And I was like, "Yeah, I'm going to email you that, don't worry about that. Let's talk about like your brand and what makes you," you and all of the stuff that I learned by showing up on social media, sharing my story, and making an income by teaching and educating. But while I was doing the social media coaching, a project came across my desk basically, and it was supposed to just be social media. And I looked at her whole brand and she had really, really big goals and a ton of content out there. And it was not up to the level of, I guess, where she was in her career and where she wanted to go. And I just kind of was like, "I don't know how to write a website, but I honestly think I could be helpful. I really think I could do this and I could do it well." I don't do things that I don't really think I can do well, but the problem with that is like, I think I can do anything so that doesn't always work well. But I just was looking at her emails and her website. And I just felt like, "I think I know what you're saying. And I think I know what people want to hear. And I think I can help you say it." But I was really nervous to take a copywriting project, especially it was a big one and I had never done it before. So I had a friend, Brenda McGowan, she's a great copywriter. She's an email copywriter and Instagram strategist, and we were friends and we're talking and I just said, "Hey, if I take on this copywriting project, can I hire you to mentor me and just check all of my work and help me know what I don't know? Because I want to deliver a great product." This client, I didn't feel good about taking money for something I'd never done before without having someone helped me. So I brought her on and in the middle of this project, I'm literally like Brenda would say, "Okay, find three people to interview." And I would Google, "Why would a copywriter need to interview?" It was pretty on the job training. And then I just really, really,