TCC Podcast #305: Sustainable and Cruelty Free Copywriting with Topaz Hooper

Our guest for the 305th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast is sustainable and cruelty-free copywriter, Topaz Hooper. Topaz focuses on working with eco-friendly brands whose values align with her own. The slow fashion, environmentally conscious niche is growing rapidly, and Topaz spills all the details for those who are keen to join in on the movement to help the planet. Here’s how the conversation goes: How Topaz became a vegetarian and transitioned to veganism. Her beginning in the vegan coaching industry and how it was the catalyst for her copywriting career. What are the benefits of going vegan? Is Rob going to give it a go? How she tuned into her audience's needs and wants, so she could speak directly to them and shape their transformation. What mistakes copywriters are making in their sales copy – and how to fix it. How can you get paid to make mistakes? How she quickly became known as the cruelty free copywriter in 2022 and scaled her income to $10k months. Her method for working less hours, earning more, and achieving what she’s only heard about on podcasts. What mistakes do copywriters need to avoid to scale their businesses? The simplest way to go about getting testimonials – and something to absolutely avoid. Is there room for copywriters to enter the cruelty free industry? (you’re not going to believe how much it’s worth). How to find clients in the sustainable and cruelty-free industry. What is she doing differently as a strategist and how it helped her land a huge tech client. How The Copywriter Accelerator helped grow and scale her business. The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Join the Accelerator  Join the Flip the Switch Workshop The Copywriter Think Tank Kira’s website Rob’s website Topaz's website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group The Copywriter Underground Free month of Brain.FM Episode 253   Full Transcript: Kira Hug:  Could this be the TCC episode that turns Rob Marsh into a vegan? Possibly, or maybe this conversation simply highlights a gigantic opportunity for our community of copywriters and content writers and marketing strategists. We're talking about a fast-growing industry that is estimated to be worth $7 billion and growing. We're talking about the plant-based food space and cruelty-free products.   And today, we're talking with content strategist, cruelty-free copywriter, and our guest on The Copywriter Club podcast today, Topaz Hooper. Topaz chose her niche based on her morals and values. And she's built a six-figure business out of it. She's also managed to snag a huge client that we don't actually mention in this episode. We never actually name the client. But if you do a quick Google or a quick LinkedIn search of Topaz, you'll quickly figure out the client that we're talking about in this conversation. You won't want to miss everything Topaz is about to share with us. But first, I have a special guest as my co-host today. So I am so lucky to be here with my co-host, Mike Garner. Mike is an Accelerator alumni member, and a current member of the Think Tank Mastermind. Mike is finishing, about to finish a book, his first book, or did you just finish it, Mike? Mike Garner:  I'm just finishing the first draft. I'm editing. Kira Hug:  It's in editing mode. Mike is also an incredible email copywriter, and we just figured that out after working together on an email sequence recently, with so much talent and so much experience to share with us. So I feel grateful that you're here, Mike. Is there anything else you want to share that's really important to know about you before we continue? Mike Garner:  I feel slightly embarrassed at an introduction like that. I've been a copywriter for far too many years than I care to remember. I was a translator before that. And like you said, I fell out of the Accelerator into the think tank because I wanted to build more than just an okay business. And that's actually happening at the moment. Kira Hug:  And I'm sure we're going to talk more about that as we reflect on this conversation with Topaz. First, we like to sponsor our episodes. So this podcast is sponsored by the Copywriter Accelerator program. You're going to hear a little bit about it in today's episode. Topaz was a member of the program, Mike as well, like we just mentioned. It's a business builder that we're about to kick off in September. It's an intensive where we work closely with copywriters who want to focus on the business-building aspect of launching or pivoting their copywriting career. And Mike, maybe you can just share one or two sentences about the key benefit from your perspective after having been through the program. Mike Garner:  I think the main benefit is apart from what you learn and the ability to put everything all in one place, because you could do this on your own, to be quite Frank. It would take you much longer to do. And you're benefiting from the previous experience of other people. But I think the major, major, major, major benefit is the community. It's just being able to talk to other people every time things go well or not so well. You've always got a large community of people that you can just draw from and give to. Kira Hug:  Yes. And people, it's people like Mike, people like Topaz, who you will soon meet. So if you have any interest in the Copywriter Accelerator, don't wait because we only launch it and run it twice a year. And again, we're about to start in September. So you can check out a link to explore this opportunity in our show notes and on our website. Mike Garner:  So let's get into the interview with Topaz. Kira Hug:  So Topaz, we're going to kick this off with your story. How did you end up as a copywriter? Topaz Hooper:  So first thing, I started writing when I was 11. I knew that writing was my communication of choice since then. I was writing poetry and processing all those 11-year-old feelings that people have. And I realized that I wanted to be a writer. Of course, family, parents, "Oh, aren't you going to be a doctor or politician or something more useful?" That conversation happened. So it was sort of a windy journey after that. I decided to go vegan in 2015, and started a plant-based coaching program in 2018 to get more people to go vegan or plant-based. And what happened was I started writing my own copy. I was sort of teaching myself how to write copy. I didn't have the word for it then. But I did know that I wanted people to enroll in my coaching program. I wanted them to feel comfortable with me. I wanted them to be engaged in my email, and I was just figuring it out. So in 2018, when my coaching program was starting to get leads, starting to get enrollments, I'm like, "Oh! This writing thing can be more than just poetry." So after that, when 2020 hit, we all know what happened in 2019-2020, I had that sort of mid-pandemic crisis where I thought, "I think I'm ready to pivot from weird, odd jobs and different avenues to being a full-time writer." So I decided at that point to take three months of courses. I really was not knowledgeable about copywriting back in 2020. But I took a bunch of courses, read a bunch of books, joined the Copywriter Club Facebook group, and listened to the podcast. And after three months, I landed my first full-time copywriting role at a supplement company in my city of Boulder, Colorado. So that's how it all happened. And then I learned on the job, and now I'm here with my own business. Rob Marsh:  I don't want to skip over the vegan thing, but you're sitting here with a pretty decent meat eater. Give me the two-minute pitch on why I need to be eating more veggies, even if I can't give up meat altogether, what helps me be healthier. Topaz Hooper:  Here's my one-sentence pitch. If you want to save the world, go vegan. Rob Marsh:  There you go. Topaz Hooper:  I say that because the environmental impacts are tremendous with going vegan. You reduce the amount of animals that are eaten, which means you reduce the amount of methane that's produced, which means you reduce the amount of water that's used, which means that you reduce the amount of forests that are cut down. And so there's environmental impacts to going vegan. That can be really as simple as just having a salad once a day, or choosing to have one meat-free meal. And that simple change can change some of our climate. You also can change your health. Eating more vegetables and fruits can help you feel better and maybe be nicer like me. I'm nicer with more fruits and vegetables day to day. And that alone might change your relationships, might change how you show up in the world or on podcasts or with friends or family. And that can change how you feel and how other people feel about you, which can change the world. So there's all kinds of benefits in that way. But for me, it was mostly the lazy environmentalist perspective that got me into it, and a little bit of the health perspective that helps me show up and feel better every day. Rob Marsh:  I like that. So while I'm thinking about this, if I were to experiment with it and say, "Okay, I want to try it out." I'm not committed yet, but how long until I start to feel some pretty good effects to say, "Oh yeah. Okay, this is a good thing." Or if after three weeks I'm still craving bacon, I go back to the old me and destroy the world. Topaz Hooper: Fortunately, we have bacon alternatives that you may or may not be satisfied with at first. But I think after about a month, you'll start to feel like, "Okay, I'm feeling a little lighter. My mood's a little better. That weird ache that I keep having in my back kind of went away." It starts to have those impacts, I would say, about a month in. But maybe after the first week you might start feeling a little bit lighter.