TCC Podcast #221: Your First Year with Delesia Watson

For a lot of us, being a copywriter is something we just stumble upon accidentally. And for most beginners, it’s getting harder and harder to know what to do when you’re starting out. Our guest for the 221st episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast is Delesia Watson. If you’re a beginning copywriter, or you want a fresh approach on how to approach marketing and the world of copywriting, then this interview is for you. To hear everything that Delesia shared, scroll down and click the play button. Or download this episode to your favorite podcast app. You can also find a transcript below. We also talked about: •   how Delesia’s went from social media writer to copywriter •   Delesia’s start in Public Relations and how it helps her as a copywriter •   Delesia’s interview process that puts prospects and clients at ease •   A look into what her first year in business looked like •   Power of storytelling: Why it’s important •   Choosing the right words—what works and what doesn’t •   The importance of story and voice •   Underselling copy -- what makes the website fail •   Pitching -- how to get the right clients •   The kind of clients she works with •   Delesia’s secret to leveraging yourself without opening your wallet •   Her secret tip on how to market yourself •   A pet peeve—the one thing she hates doing the most in her business •   Can you succeed without knowing your niche yet? •   What Delesia wishes she knew in the beginning and what she knows now •   Rob and Kira’s advice to beginning (or struggling) copywriters The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: The Copywriter Accelerator Women Don't Ask by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever Ask For It by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever Bencivenga’s Bullets The Gary Halberd Letter Free and Inexpensive Resources for Copywriters Delesia’s Youtube Channel: Life is Deleesh Delesia’s Website The Copywriter Club Website Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group The Copywriter Underground   Full Transcript: Kira:   Who grows up thinking “I want to be a copywriter”? Somehow we all seem to arrive at this point in our careers after working as teachers, marketers, even professions like nurses and attorneys. Our guest for the 221st episode of The copywriter podcast is Delesia Watson, who like the rest of us, found her way into copywriting accidentally. But her background in communications, teaching, pageants and PR prepared her perfectly to make the jump. Rob:   But before we dive into Delesia's story, this episode is brought to you by The Copywriter Accelerator. That's our program for copywriters who want to build a solid business foundation for everything that they do. Members work through eight different modules all together, covering topics like branding, pricing, client management, getting yourself in front of the right clients. If you've struggled to get traction in your business, or if you're making a change in the kinds of clients that you want to work with, or the kinds of work you want to do, or you simply want to get better at processes and services that you sell, you owe it to yourself to learn more at thecopywriteraccelerator.com. Kira:   Let's jump in and find out how Delesia accidentally became a copywriter. All right, Delesia, we want to start off with your story as we always do. How did you end up as a copywriter? Delesia Watson:   That is hard to say, accidentally. I wasn't planning on becoming a copywriter or becoming a writer, I just knew that I was good at writing. And so my friends would ask for help writing papers and essays throughout my entire life. And then eventually I saw an opportunity to work with a smaller agency that was writing tweets. This is back in, I think 2015, they were writing tweets for thought influencers. So I was writing these people's tweets about technology or about business. And so that was something that I could add to my resume. And then from there, a friend of mine was working for a self-publishing company and she knew that I write and I'm always talking about grammar mistakes on social media. So she was like, "Hey, you should come help me copy edit books for this self-publishing company that I'm working for." So I was like, "Totally, I would love to do that." And I think what really made me feel like, "Hey, I'm probably a copywriter now," was connecting with a graphic designer. She needed a copywriter for the websites that she was designing. And so I connected with her and started to work with her on a few different projects. And so the bulk of what I do today is writing website copy. Rob:   So Delesia, I know you've got a lot of PR in your background as well. In fact, you've done all kinds of stuff, not only the copy editing and copy writing that you're talking about, but social media, you've worked at an agency, you've done the account side. We talk a little bit about that previous experience, maybe particularly what you did in PR that makes you a better copywriter today. Delesia Watson:   Sure. So I went to grad school for PR and after I went to grad school actually I worked for several agencies throughout college and grad school. I did some in-house work and then worked for a couple years after grad school in PR. And what I really learned while working there was about the power of storytelling and the power of choosing the right words to say when you want to communicate about your business or your brand or about who you are and really being specific about who your target audience is and who it's not. Kira:   Cool. And so how do you use that storytelling ability with your clients today in website copy? Do you have a unique approach or a way that you work with your clients in that website space? Delesia Watson:   I am an interviewer at my core, I love asking questions. I ask questions all the time in conversations. It's how I get to know people, how I make people feel comfortable. And so I'm not thinking of it as a strategy, but it's something that I naturally do. So whenever I take on a new client, I just interview them. I spend time talking to them, asking about their life experiences, about their business background, about what led them to start this business because it's primarily small businesses, entrepreneurs. And so hearing their story and listening to them tell about what's made them who they are, their struggles, their achievements, that's what really helps me get a grasp of the story that both they want to tell and that I think should be told to the audience. Rob:   And what's the next step in that research process? Because I know this is going to feel very familiar to a lot of copywriters who do some kind of an interview, some kind of a get to know you when they're working with their clients, but how do you take those answers that they give you and then turn that into copy that actually works for what your client wants to accomplish? Delesia Watson:   So they usually say certain things over and over again, like their own catchphrases that they don't really think are catchphrases. So a lot of times I'm taking notes as I'm interviewing them, of course. And I take that and I just make those catch phrases pretty. So they may say it in a different ways and then I'll look at my interview notes and oftentimes I'll actually replay the recording and hear the tone of their voice. And I use that along with what the feel of their mission or the feel of their values is to then craft their homepage, to craft their about page, so craft the service pages that they offer. Kira:   What would you say where do you think copywriters go wrong or maybe even some of the business owners that need to work with you and have not hired you yet? Maybe they're DIYing their own website copy. Where do we mess up when it comes to website copy? Delesia Watson:   I think we either oversell or undersell. Sometimes copy can be very in your face selling to you like, buy here, subscribe here, sign up here. And I think there's an art to the way that we soft sell, the way that we encourage people to join a community or sign up for a consultation or purchase a product without making them feel like we're selling. Because honestly, if I'm on social media and I see an ad, I can almost immediately tell that it's an ad and then I'm like, "This is an ad. I don't want to double-tap because it feels like an ad to me." But if I see content that looks and feels genuine and authentic and organic, then I'm more inclined to engage with it. And I think many people are like that today. Rob:   So Delesia, I'd love to dive into the nuts and bolts of your business. As you got started out, what were you doing to bring in those first clients? And then what kinds of work are you doing today? How has that changed over time? Delesia Watson:   Sure. So when I first started, I was working full time for a nonprofit as I was doing a bunch of different roles. I was their communications director, I was also teaching in public schools for a health education program that we had in contract with federal government. So I was working with the graphic designer on the side. And so that kind of boosted my confidence in my copywriting ability and actually came to a turning point in the work at the non-profit where I could either move into a new role or set out and do my own thing. And so obviously I was nervous. I'm like, "Oh my gosh, have I built up my side hustle to the point that I can just leave and not have any prospects?" And I felt like it was time. I prayed about it. I'd been praying for months about it, I fasted. And I felt like, "Okay, God, let's do it." And so for much of my first year of copywriting, I was working with the graphic designer. But then I was pitching. I joined a bunch of Facebook communities and Listservs and all of these other kinds of places that people go when they're like, "I need writing work."