TCC Podcast #233: Finding Your Copywriting Lane with Mariah Phillips

For the 233rd episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast, Mariah Phillips shares the secret to building a copywriting business in the nonprofit sector. Mariah is a Digital Marketing Strategist and Copywriter based in Baltimore, Maryland. She teaches entrepreneurs how to market their businesses and tell their stories. If you’ve been looking for a way to make an impact in your copywriting career, give this episode a listen. (Or read.) Here's what we talked about in this interview: •  Mariah’s journey through brand story development and the secret to long standing brands. •  How to write for top nonprofits AND earn a living. •  The right way to build a local community event with the power of words. •  The brilliant way to pivot and share knowledge with others about your expertise. •  A day in the life of an agency writer: sampling 10’s of voices?! •  The truth about going down the rabbit whole. (Can it actually be a good thing?) •  What you need to know about working in fundraising. - and storytelling. •  The formula to learn when writing to people not directly receiving a benefit. •  The better way to navigate a conversation with agencies and their strategy. •  Why you should give more value than your client pays for. •  How to go from scrappy freelance mindset to empowered CEO mindset. •  The quickest, easiest way to NOT connect with your clients. •  Why it’s vital to connect with people where they’re at. •  5 ways you should use the same metaphor. - or shouldn’t. This is an interview you won't want to miss. To hear it, click the play button below. Or school down to read the full transcript below and while you’re reading… subscribe with your favorite podcast app and never miss an episode.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group The Copywriter Underground   Full Transcript: Kira: Time and time again, guests on our podcast have told us they started copywriting without actually knowing that what they were doing was writing copy. They were just figuring out how to market a product or service and copy was a natural part of the process. That's also true of today's guests for the 233rd episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast, Mariah Phillips. Mariah jumped from PR to fundraising to SEO before figuring out that the thing she did best in all of those roles was copywriting.  Rob: Before we share our interview with Mariah, this podcast episode is brought to you by The Copywriter Think Tank. The Think Tank is a private mastermind group for copywriters and other marketers who want to challenge each other, create new revenue streams in their business, receive one on two coaching from the two of us and ultimately grow their businesses to six figures or more. If you've been looking for a mastermind to help you grow, email us at help@thecopywriterclub.com to set up an interview or go to copywriterthinktank.com.  Kira: Now let's jump into our conversation with Mariah.  Mariah: Somehow I've always been a copywriter and didn't know it. So as I worked... I started in corporate America, I worked in a boutique PR firm in then New York Metro area. And so while there, we had to do a lot of brand story development for clients. Some of our clients were global and longstanding brands, and since some of them were brand new and sold quirky things like monocles, like this was their first time ever stepping out. And so my responsibility was to write their brand story, write copy, and even write pitches which isn't necessarily copy, but pitches to the media are making a sale. So, I did that and then I transitioned to working for an ed tech company called 2U, Inc. And in the process there, I started off as a placement specialist for a clinical social work program. And if you don't know anything about 2U, Inc basically they power the biggest universities in the country, they power their online master's programs.