The Copywriter Club Podcast

What’s the big deal about style in copy anyway? We invited Style Consultant and copywriter Tamara Glick to join us for the 142nd episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast to get to the bottom of that question. We covered a lot of ground in this one, but unfortunately we forgot to ask Tamara about joining a biker gang—even though we teased it in the intro. However, we think this episode makes up for that mistake because it’s our first interview to include the word, “huge-mungous.” Here's what we covered with Tamara: •  how she went from working as a fashion consultant to writing copy •  what it means to be a style consultant •  the importance of a personal brand and showing that to the world •  what she learned working closely with other creative in an ad agency •  what it took to transition full time to copywriting •  what she did once she decided to quit a full time job and make a living writing copy •  what she did to line up projects and find clients •  the changes she made when she went through the Copywriter Accelerator •  the packages, prices and other things she offers in her business today •  how she’s investing in her business today •  mindset and how she gets out of her own way •  her advice to others who aren’t as outgoing and energetic as she is To hear this episode, you’ve got to click the play button below or download it to your favorite podcast app. Prefer to read? Scroll down for a full transcript.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: The Copywriter Accelerator The Copywriter Think Tank Soho House Agnes Kowalski Tamara’s website Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group The Copywriter Underground Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity   Full Transcript: Rob:   This podcast is sponsored by The Copywriter Underground. Kira:   It's our new membership designed for you to help you attract more clients and hit 10K a month consistently. Rob:   For more information or to sign up, go to thecopywriterunderground.com. Kira:   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 Rob and I do every week at The Copywriter Club Podcast. Rob:   You're invited to join the club for episode 142 as we chat with copywriter Tamara Glick about leaving the safety of a job and going freelance full-time, the role that fashion and style play in her business today, what she's doing today to invest in her business, and whether it's true that she's a member of a biker gang. Kira:   Biker gang, what? Rob:   Hey, Tamara. Kira:   I feel like we're teasing that, but I want to know right now. So welcome. I know you and I have chatted about this for a while and getting you on the show, because definitely you have been through a lot of transitions in your own business that we want to talk about. But before we do, let's just dig into how you ended up as a copywriter. Tamara:        Sure, hi guys. This is so exciting for me. How I ended up as a copywriter is kind of a twisted, checkered story. I actually started my career in advertising, but on the business side. Originally I would be the person who was going between the clients and the creative teams and briefing a creative team from what I'd been given from a client, and then allowing the creative team to do their magical work, and then coming back and working through that again with the client, and back and forth and back and forth. I would be that person who would sit with the creatives right beside them kind of hanging over their cubicles and saying, ‘What you doing? Can I help? What can I do?’ So I really learned a ton from hanging out with my creative teams and appreciating the processes that they would go through, but I was working more on the business side. Simultaneously,

Writing quizzes is pretty hot right now. So we asked entrepreneur and Quiz expert, Josh Haynam to join us to share everything he knows about quizzes for the 141st episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. In this episode Kira and Rob asked all their questions about what copywriters need to know before creating great quizzes. Here’s what we covered: •  the story of how Josh and his partner built a business on quizzes •  some of the struggles he faced in starting his own company •  the moment Josh and others knew things were going to work •  why quizzes are such powerful tools for engaging your audience •  how quizzes can change the person who is taking it •  what the best quizzes have in common and why they work •  examples of people and companies that are doing quizzes right •  best practices for following up your quiz to engage your audience •  the tools Interact has created to help writers create a quiz •  the mistakes people make when creating quizzes •  what his ridiculous daily schedule looks like •  what he does to meditate for an hour and a half *really* We also asked Josh about how Interact got traction—the content strategy they followed as they grew, how he listens to customers to figure out what’s next, and what the future holds for Interact. To hear it all, click the play button below, download the episode to your podcast player, or scroll down read a full transcript.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Interact  

Thinking about joining a membership community for copywriters? This episode may help you make the decision to jump. For the 140th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast, Kira and Rob talk about The Copywriter Underground—what it includes and what you can expect when you join. And so it just isn’t us talking about a thing we made, we asked six members to join us and share their experience. The result is an episode that is a bit longer than what we usually share, but it was interesting to hear some of the things Underground members shared about their experience. Here’s what we covered: •  what has surprised us the most since launching The Underground •  what The Copywriter Underground includes (there’s a lot) •  how The Underground is going to change this July 1st—important if you’ve been thinking of trying it out •  how The Underground has helped members like Amy Jones, Derek Hambrick, Mladden Stojanović, Renae Rockwell, Emily Zoscak, and Natalie Smithson Like we said, this one is different. It's not a full-on sales pitch, but it is all about this community that we love. To hear more about it, click the play button below, or download the episode to your podcast player. Or to read the transcript, simply scroll down.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: David Garfinkel Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group The Copywriter Underground Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity   Full Transcript: Rob:   This podcast is sponsored by The Copywriter Underground. Kira:   It's our new membership, designed for you, to help you attract more clients and hit 10k a month, consistently. Rob:   For more information or to sign up, go to thecopywriterunderground.com. Kira:   Hey Rob. Rob:   Hey Kira, how's it going? Kira:   It's great. It's great. Rob:   We do not have an intro prepared for this episode, because we don't have a guest today. Well, we actually have six guests today, but not, this is a different kind of episode. We've never really done this before, and I think we were talking the other day about The Underground and we thought, you know, a lot of people ask us about what's going on in The Underground or what it is and they have questions. And so we thought, let's just go really deep on what's in The Underground, what we do there, and ask some of our members of The Underground what their experience is like, just so that people have a really good idea of what it is and how it can help somebody in their copywriting journey. Kira:   Yeah. So this is fun, because you'll actually hear the voices of the members. And we lovingly call them our moles. I don't know who started that, we think it was Justin Blackman, who coined the term. But our members seem to be very happy being called moles. So we will hear their voices as they talk through their experience in The Underground, which we haven't really shared before. And then Rob and I will just talk through what we've learned from running The Underground since September, right? Is that when we launched it? Rob:   Yeah, we launched it in September and it's been going now for seven or eight months. It's grown to almost 200 people. And we're actually going to close the doors to new members here in the near future, we've got a few weeks before that happens. But we'll talk a little bit about that as well, and the change behind that. So Kira, you know, let's, what's your experience been in The Underground so far? Like what has surprised you, what were you expecting and how has it turned out maybe differently or even better than what you expected? Kira:   Yeah. So I think so far what has surprised me the most is that the community aspect is more important than anything else. Then the trainings we create, live trainings in there, there's a ton of great templates and resources and scripts. Especially like, we add stuff from our own businesses that we use, and that's all been great, and the members use that.

Thinking about writing a book? Author and book coach Jennie Nash is our guest for the 139th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. Although we’ve talked about writing a book on the podcast before, Rob and Kira wanted to go even deeper on the topic, as well as learn what it means to be a book coach. We learned a lot from the discussion. Here’s what we covered: •  how she became a book coach and landed book deals for her first 3 clients •  the embarrassingly easy process of writing her own first book •  where creativity and book ideas come from •  when someone should consider working with a book coach •  where writers go wrong in the book writing process •  the three critical motivations that drive people to write books •  the she turned book coaching into a thriving business •  whether copywriters should have a book to support their businesses •  the place ego plays in writing a book •  how she prices her coaching packages and what they include •  the importance of structure and where you can find them If you've even considered writing a book, you should listen to what Jennie has to share. Click the play button below, download the episode to your favorite podcast app, or scroll down to read a full transcript.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: The Creative Habit by Twila Tharp Jenny’s website Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group The Copywriter Underground Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity   Full Transcript: Rob:   This podcast is sponsored by The Copywriter Underground. Kira:   It's our new membership designed for you, to help you attract more clients and hit 10K a month, consistently. Rob:   For more information or to sign up, go to thecopywriterunderground.com. 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 139, as we chat with book coach, Jennie Nash, about writing and publishing a book, working in the publishing industry, what her writing process looks like, and how we can avoid the mistakes authors usually make when sitting down to write a book. Welcome Jennie. Rob:   Hey, Jennie. Jennie:          Hey, thanks for having me. Kira:   Yeah, great to have you here. So, let's kick this off with your story, how did you end up as a book coach? Jennie:          Well, I guess we should start out by saying what a book coach is, because a lot of people have never heard that term. Rob:   That's the question, what is a book coach? Jennie:          And I may have made it up, I don't know. I mean, I'm not claiming to have started the internet kind of thing. But, lots of people have been using this term, but the way I distinguish it, is that, an editor usually works on a piece of writing after that piece of writing is finished, in order to move it forward and make it better. And a book coach helps a writer while they're writing. So, the way I describe it is, it's like a personal trainer for your writing life. And a book coach is focused on book writing. So, that's what a book coach is. And I stumbled into this career after a career as an author. I had published seven books in two genres, mostly with big five publishers. And I was teaching at the UCLA writers program, which is actually the largest adult focused writing program in the country. And what I realized when I began teaching, I taught there for 12 years, and I realized that I was teaching systems. And that, nobody else around me was teaching systems. And it began to be quite obvious that I was doing something different. And I didn't know I was doing that, it just was a thing that I naturally did. And as a result of that practice, I guess, I would call it,

Do you need better packages to offer your clients? Prerna and Mayank Malik join us for the 138th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast to share what they know about packages. This is something a lot of copywriters struggle with, so Kira and Rob asked Prerna and Mayank about the best ways to think about and structure packages. Here’s what we covered: •  what has changed in their business over the past two years •  their failure to reach a lofty revenue goal (and why it was still a success) •  the key team players they lean on for support •  how they create and refine the packages they offer their clients •  the IMAGE framework they use when they come up with a new product •  an example of how the use the framework to create packages •  why they’re so passionate about packages (and passion is definitely the right word) •  the mistakes copywriters make when creating a package •  why knowing your audience is the key to creating a good package •  how the packages fit together in their business •  how to get started creating a package for your business •  how to make your existing package more profitable •  their approach to launches and how they make sure the launch goes well •  the niches and businesses that packages won’t work for •  how they manage their days to finish work by 3:00 each day •  what to do before you decide to work with your spouse As usual, this is a good one. Click the play button below or download this episode to your podcast app. If you’d rather read, scroll down for a full transcript.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Prerna’s First TCC Interview The Copywriter Think Tank Profits on Tap Fully Loaded Launch Bushra Azhar Prerna’s website Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group The Copywriter Underground Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity   Full Transcript: Transcript to come...

Copywriter and entrepreneur, Austin Mullins, is our guest for the 137th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. We’ve known Austin for quite a while now and the more we heard him talk about his sales process, the more we knew we needed to have him share his process with the club. We covered a lot of ground—especially about sales processes—in this one, here’s a good list of most of what we talked about: •  how Austin became a copywriter in high school •  why he thinks it was a mistake (for him) to attend college •  what he did to find good clients beyond Upwork •  the #1 thing he did to grow his business—it has to do with sales •  why he chose the niche he is in and how it changed his business •  how he split his time between three “jobs” at the same time •  his “ideal” client acquisition process and selling on the phone •  what to do to encourage referrals or testimonials •  the mistakes copywriters make on sales calls (and how to fix them) •  what it means to be a growth strategist—and how to “do” strategy •  what his process for working with content clients looks like •  an in-depth review of what the sales process should look like •  how to teach yourself to “sell” To hear this one—and if you struggle with sales you definitely want to hear this one, click the play button below or download the episode to your podcast app. Readers scroll down for a full transcript.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: The Copywriter Accelerator The Copywriter Think Tank Danny Marguiles Joel Klettke SPIN Selling Austin’s website Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group The Copywriter Underground Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity   Full Transcript: Rob:   This podcast is sponsored by The Copywriter Underground. Kira:   It's our new membership designed for you to help you attract more clients and hit 10k a month consistently. Rob:   For more information or to sign up, go to thecopywriterunderground.com. 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 137 as we chat with copywriter Austin Mullins about what he does as a growth strategist for B2B SaaS companies, how he attracts and closes leads, what it's like to build an agency, and the challenges of investing his time in more than one business at once. Welcome, Austin. Rob:   Hey, Austin. Austin:           Thanks for having me, guys. Longtime fan of the podcast, so excited to be here. Kira:   Great to have you here, Austin. As one of our former Accelerator members and now a Think Tank member. It's about time we had you on the show, so let's start with your story. How did you end up as a copywriter and growth strategist? Austin:           Yeah. I started a bit early, so I first started doing a little bit of copywriting work in high school, actually. Stumbled across Upwork, which I know is often a dirty word around these parts but stumbled upon there and was interested in this freelancing thing. I had always been good at academic writing but didn't particularly enjoy it, but stumbled across this term, copywriting and started to do some really low-level work like helping people write reviews and such at first, and then gradually worked my way up to being a generalist copywriter, who would write blog content for all sorts of businesses, brochures, a little bit of web copy in there but not web copy done the right way with lots of customer research. Then did that for a while. Made the mistake of letting my family convince me I should go to college, and so, business dropped off. Then when I tried to get back into it, things didn't pick up quite as quickly as I thought they would,

Nikita Morell is our guest for the 136th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. We’ve known Nikita for a while now and given the success she’s had, it's a shame we haven’t had her on the podcast before now. Nikita has found a lot of success by niching her business and delivering exactly what her ideal clients need. We talked to her about: •  how she went from selling bread to selling ads to writing copy •  her accidental sales pitch that saved her sales job •  how a job in marketing taught her skills that she uses as a copywriter •  why she chose her niche—working only with architects and the impact on her biz •  how she changed her business to accommodate having a baby •  what she does to find clients—she’s a “prospecting nerd” •  what she did to raise her rates adding thousands of dollars to every project •  how she thinks about her brand and why she takes her brand seriously •  the marketing pieces she is using in her prospecting process •  how she makes her cold emails feel like warm emails •  this mistakes she’s made along the way—it hasn’t all been smooth sailing •  what she does to get a lot of “busy work” done and still avoid burnout •  the things she has done that have made the biggest difference in her business We also asked Nikita about working with subcontractors, creating a “pretty” framework to show how her process works and why she spends a lot of time with a Japanese floor loom. Nikita shares a lot of advice worth listening to in this episode. To hear it, click the play button below or find it on your favorite podcast app. Readers can scroll down for a full transcript.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Seth Godin The Copywriter Think Tank Mel Abraham Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group The Copywriter Underground Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity   Full Transcript: Rob:   This podcast is sponsored by The Copywriter Underground. Kira:   It's our new membership, designed for you, to help you attract more clients, and hit 10k a month, consistently. Rob:   For more information, or to sign up, go to thecopywriterunderground.com. Kira:   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 Rob and I do every week at The Copywriter Club Podcast. Rob:   You're invited to join the club for episode 136, as we chat with copywriter Nikita Morell about helping architects with copy and marketing strategy, her approach to choosing a niche and then narrowing it even further, why she created a framework for her process, and the role weaving plays in her life and business. Kira:   Welcome Nikita. Rob:   Hey Nikita. Nikita:            Thank you, hi. Kira:   Yeah, we're excited to have you here. You are one of our members of our Think Tank, so we've been able to witness your business growth, and we're really excited to share what's working, because so much is working for you in your business. So let's just kick this off with your story. Kira:   How did you end up as a copywriter? Nikita:            So, I started in corporate marketing for L'Oreal and George Weston Foods, which is Australia's biggest bread brand, and I quite quickly realized this corporate life just wasn't for me. I think it was just all the layers and I just wasn't that great at taking direction. And it was round about this time I was earning a full time salary, so I was frequenting lots of bars and different restaurants, and after a night out, my friends would come back and comment on the food, or the music, or the cute boy sitting on the bar stool, and I would be looking at the copper lights, or the timber joinery; and I think it was about this time I just became obsessed with everything design related. I signed up to an interior design diploma,

Copywriter Andrey Adison is our guest for the 135th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. We recorded this one on Valentine’s Day and are just now getting it in your podcast feed—hopefully it is worth the wait. We asked Dre about his background, what he helps his clients do today, and what he thinks writers will be doing in the future. Here’s what we covered: •  how he went from affiliate marketer to copywriter •  what he learned from affiliate marketing that he applies to his work today •  why he feels like he has a duty to get serious about mindset •  how Dre helps his clients find the core truth they want to share •  his framework for helping his clients build their message and audience •  how he finds his clients and what he charges for his services •  what he’s done to take his business to the next level •  why specialization is important and how it has helped Dre in his business •  what’s not working in his business today •  where he thinks copywriting is headed in the future This is a good one. To hear what Dre has to share, click the play button below or download the episode to your podcast player. And if you like reading, you can scroll down for a full transcript.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Rob’s book The Copywriter Accelerator Andrey’s site Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group The Copywriter Underground Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity   Full Transcript: Rob:   This podcast is sponsored by The Copywriter Underground. Kira:   It's our new membership designed for you to help you attract more clients and hit 10K a month consistently. Rob:   For more information or to sign up, go to thecopywriterunderground.com. 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 are invited to join the club for episode 135 as we chat with copywriter Dre Adison about growing his business. The one thing he has done to take his business to the next level, finding and working with clients and the deep dive question he asks his clients to help them get clear on their brand messaging. Kira:   This is a very special episode because it's Valentine's Day, even though when you listen to this, it might be more like Easter-time, but there's going to be a lot of love in this episode. Rob:   Tons of love. Kira:   So welcome Dre. Rob:   Welcome Dre. Dre:    Well thanks for having me. I feel the love already. Kira:   Before we start recording we basically shared our Valentine's Day experience thus far and Rob gives books to his children on Valentine's Day. Which is so ... Rob:   And my wife, not just my kids- Kira:   And your wife. Rob:   My wife and we give to each other. Love for everyone. Kira:   It's so on brand with who you are. I just give my kids a lot of sugar and cavities. Rob:   Which is also on brand. Kira:   Which is also on brand. Dre:    You gift them your own book? Your Brand Story book? Kira:   His autograph. Rob:   I don't think they would read it. I should do that. I should give everyone my own book. Kira:   It's a good way to get it out there. Rob:   Dre, what's your Valentine's tradition? Dre:    I usually go out the next day, my girlfriend she doesn't, she feels like Valentine's Day is so populated, all the restaurants and stuff like that. So normally the day after we go out to eat or we just spend time together. Rob:   So smart. Kira:   You can tell you live in New York City when ... I feel like all New Yorkers say that. It's like yeah we don't actually go out on Valentine’s Day. There's just no space for all these people. Dre:    Too many people. Kira:   Alright, so let's kick this off with your story Dre.

Grumpy Grammarian, Autumn Tompkins, is our guest for the 134th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. Autumn has been a member of the club almost from the beginning. And she’s shared her editing and proofreading advice with anyone who asked. Now we took the chance to ask a few questions about her business. Here’s most of what we talked about: •  how she went from ink slinger to grumpy grammarian •  her business rules that keep her from being miserable •  the difference between copyediting (art) and copywriting (science) •  the impact of spending 7 months in the hospital and how she dealt with it •  how she uses music to inspire what she does—and her copywriting mix tape •  the resources—her personal master class—she’s used to learn copywriting •  living with muscular dystrophy and what she’s learned from it •  the fine line between grumpy and bitchy and the need for lightheartedness •  her editing process and tips for doing your own copy editing •  the 5 mistakes she sees copywriters make over and over •  a few tips for improving transitions in your copy •  her 3 favorite rhetorical devices and why they work in copy •  how she finds clients and what her packages and pricing look like We also asked Autumn about her copy edit school and the 5 components she teaches her students. To get hear everything that Autumn has to say, click the play button below, or download the episode to your favorite podcast app. Prefer reading? Scroll down for a full transcript.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Erika Lyremark Copy Edit School The Grumpy Grammarian's Guide to Copy Editing Autumn’s Website Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group The Copywriter Underground Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity   Full Transcript: Rob:   This podcast is sponsored by The Copywriter Underground. Kira:   It's our new membership designed for you to help you attract more clients and hit 10K a month consistently. Rob:   For more information or to sign up, go to thecopywriterunderground.com. Kira:   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 Rob and I do every week at The Copywriter Club Podcast. Rob:   You're invited to join the club for episode 134 as we chat with author, copy editor, and grumpy grammarian, Autumn Tompkins, about the ins and outs of copy editing, how it's different from copywriting, what she's done to find success in spite of serious life changes, and we'll ask, ‘Why is she so grumpy?’ Kira:   Autumn, welcome. Rob:   Hey, Autumn. Autumn:        Hi. Thank you so much for having me. Kira:   It's great to have you here, Autumn, because we've worked closely on many different projects. You've cleaned up my copy many, many times. You've worked with The Copywriter Club on our newsletter as well, cleaning that up and making Rob and I look a little bit smarter than we actually are. So, it's so wonderful to finally bring you onto the show. Autumn:        Well, I'm so happy to be here. It's a total honor. Kira:   Well, let's start with your story. So, how did you end up as The Grumpy Grammarian? Autumn:        So, I used to be a copywriter for hire. I would sling ink for the right price. I had good intentions, write copy for business owners, so their prospects would buy from them. As soon as I landed my first client, I put my head down, never came up for air. And fast forward five years later, and I burned out. Back then, my marketing plan was simple. Find clients, write copy, get money, but part of the reason why I burned out was because that I didn't put my business first, and the other part of that reason was because I didn't know what I stood for. Who was I as a business owner and copywriter, and what did I believe in? Right around that time,

Doug Pew, composer turned copywriter, discusses his transition to copywriting, the impact of mentors, the MAESTRO framework for copywriting, the challenges of getting started, and the importance of being in a category of one. He also shares a favorite composer story and emphasizes the power of stories in copywriting.