The Copywriter Club Podcast

Copywriter Chris Orzechowski is our guest for the 112th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. We met Chris through our friend Kim Schwalm after they got in a bit of a fight over the best kind of clients. Needless to say, we're all friends now, but it was touch and go there for a little while : ). Rob and Kira sat down with Chris to talk about: •  Chris’s path from school teacher and wrestling coach to copywriter •  how he “embraced the suck” to make things work as a marketer •  how his teaching and coaching skills make him a better copywriter •  landing his first “real” clients—what worked and what didn’t work •  the moment he knew things were going to work out •  why you need to treat copywriting like a business and outwork everyone •  the #1 thing copywriters need to do in order to truly succeed •  how to find good retainer clients—exactly what to look for •  how to manage the back and forth with a retainer client •  what Chris charges for retainers and how it’s changed

Erika Lyremark, known as the “business whipstress,” is our guest for the latest episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. Like a few of our other guest experts, Erika doesn’t call herself a copywriter, but she has written her own copy (it’s good) in the past and knows a bit about the business struggle copywriters go through. So Kira and Rob asked her about: •  how she became the “business whipstress” •  her red carpet dream and how to find yours •  how to get clarity around “your thing” in your space •  the importance of clearing clutter (real and imaginary) •  the types of clients she works with and the problems she helps them solve •  the three things to focus on when developing products •  Erika’s creation process and how she goes from idea to glamorous products •  why it’s important to get outside of your bubble when creating your brand •  the biggest takeaways from each step of her career path •  how discipline and structure contribute to her success •  why she doesn’t call herself a copywriter even though she writes a lot of copy •  two things you need to do to establish your authority •  how to get better at selling (and why you should) •  boundaries and how to get comfortable with them Sounds pretty good, right? We think you’ll like this one. To hear it, click the play button below, or download it to your favorite podcast app. Readers scroll down for a full transcript.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Think Like a Stripper (Erika’s book) Mark’d Mastery (Erika’s business program) Autumn Thompkins Laura Belgray Sam Horn Cashvertising Hypnotic Writing Tony Robbins Paul Jarvis Erika on Instagram Srini Rao DailyWhip.com Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group 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. 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 are invited to join the club for episode 111, as we chat with author and business coach, Erika Lyremark about how she became a business whipstress, what it takes to truly stand out, writing great copy, even though she doesn't call herself a copywriter and what she has done to up level her business. Kira:   Welcome Erika. Rob:   Hey Erika. Erika: Hello. Kira:   I'm so happy to have you here. You have been a mentor to me for years before I even started my copywriting business so I feel like this is just such a great place to be with you right now. Erika: Well I am very thrilled to be here as well. Kira:   All right. Let's start with your story. How did you end up as a business whipstress? Erika: I don't think that was on my list of occupations when I was a young lady. I wanted to be a race car driver, I wanted to be a doctor, I wanted to be a fashion designer, but I always knew that I wanted to be in charge. Like no matter what I was doing, it's like if I'm not in charge, I actually don't do well. I'm a terrible employee, but if I know that I'm in charge, I actually excel at that. So, I mean, long story short, I'm super nerdy, I love learning. I'm hardcore Type A, I'm super driven. I've always been really really motivated in my life. I'm also highly creative. I've always been really creative. I'm very much left brain, right brain split, so there's one side or the other. It's constantly arguing with the other side. In the 1990s I was a stripper for nine years out in Seattle, Washington, where I live now and in 2001,

There’s a lot of talk lately about money mindset and “blocks” that keep you from achieving the success you want. In this episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast, Kira and Rob talk with the Queen of Passive Income, Colleen Arneil, about money mindset and how to discover the mind trash that is holding us back. We talked about: •  her path from psychology to money mindset coach •  why we don’t finish the majority of training programs we start •  why money mindset is important even if you think it’s woo-woo •  a few of the most common “money blocks” and why we get stuck in them •  some of the questions to ask to figure out your money blocks •  how to move past negative feelings from pressing financial needs •  how Colleen became the passive income queen •  how to build passive income into our businesses •  what she would say to people who think passive income is “easy” •  selling the transformation that a client gets •  how to you earn your authority (it helps to have a niche) •  the importance of “self care” and how Colleen approaches it Some pretty good advice in this one. To listen, click the play button below or download it to your favorite podcast app. Want to read it instead? Scroll down for a full transcript.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Colleen’s website Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity   Full Transcript: Kira:   What if you could hang out with seriously talented copywriters and other experts, ask them about their successes and failures, their work process, 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 110 as we chat with course creation expert and money mindset coach, Colleen Arneil about how she became the passive income queen, why money mindset is so important, even if you think that it's a little woo-woo, building passive income into our businesses, and how copywriters can build their authority and expertise. Kira:   Colleen, welcome. Colleen:        Thank you so much for having me. Kira:   We’re glad you're here. It's a pleasure to have you here. We've worked together in the past. I know so many copywriters really are working on their money mindset. Even if they don't know they need it, we know that they need it based on the questions they're asking us on a regular basis. Let's just jump into your story. How did you end up as a money mindset coach? Colleen:        It's actually a roundabout way. When I was younger, I always thought I was going to be a psychologist, so I went to university, I did my undergrad, went onto grad school, did my Master’s in clinical. As I was almost done with my PhD, I had this awakening, at least in the traditional sense of being a psychologist, it wasn't the right path for me. I'd come so far, I just finished out my degree. Then, I launched an e-commerce program online and love customer service, passionate about it. That's where I started in the online field. What I noticed as I was taking courses to learn how to market and grow my e-commerce business was there was some people who could teach programs in an amazing way and other people who had so much knowledge, but they just didn't know how to share that information to actually get people results and help get them transformation. I had spent a lot of years at the university level lecturing and teaching. I just got really inspired to be like, ‘Okay, I need to help people better understand how they can create their curriculums and develop their programs and share their information so that it's a really positive experience and people get results.’ I transitioned out of my e-com business and that's how I first came online and was teaching a strategy part. What I noticed was happening was a lot of my students weren't getting to the end result.

Comedy writer Eric Cunningham talks about what it takes to be funny with Kira and Rob for the 109th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. A lot of writers dream of working for comedy shows like Saturday Night Live or one of the late night shows. But there’s a lot of competition and success isn’t guaranteed. What does that have to do with copywriting? It turns out, quite a lot. We talked to Eric about: •  the career path to become a comedy writer and what it takes to succeed •  how to deal with the up and down of project work •  what a day in the life of a comedy writer looks like •  how to stand out in a competitive space •  why you can’t wait to be chosen and what to do instead •  what sets the successful comedy writers apart from those who fail •  what does it take to be funny (and what we can do to be funnier) •  why he says “Yes” to lots of things (including condo board meetings) •  why copywriters should use more humor in their copy •  the one thing he has done to up-level his career •  where comedy is headed in the future We had some technical difficulties half way through the show but it doesn’t affect the excellent advice Eric shares about what it takes to succeed in the world of comedy—and copy. Listen by clicking the play button below. Or subscribe on your favorite podcast app (we like Overcast). Prefer to read? Scroll down for a full transcript.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Streaks Eric’s Twitter Upright Citizen Brigade Theater Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity Full Transcript: 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 are invited to join our club for Episode 109 as we chat with comedy writer Eric Cunningham about writing for TV outlets like Comedy Central and TruTV. What it takes to stay sharp as a comedy writer, his writing process and what we might borrow from it, and what it all has to do with copywriting. Welcome Eric. Rob:   Hey Eric. Eric:   Hello! Thanks for having me. Kira:   I'm so excited to have you here. I was just telling Rob, Eric is a good friend. He's close to home. He's a fellow New Yorker, and I've known him for a while and he's married to one of my best friends. So, this is a very special interview. I'm really excited that you're here. Rob:   Don't blow it Eric. Kira:   Yeah. No pressure! Eric:   What if this ruins a friendship? A long lasting .. Kira:   Right! Yeah, just to have you here as a comedy writer and someone's who's really outside of our space as copywriters and what we're doing, I feel like there's a lot we can learn from what you do day to day and just your experience so far. So, let's kick this off with your story. How did you end up as a comedy writer? Eric:   Sure, so I was not a funny child at all. I was like a big nerd and, you know, liked politics and all that stuff. And then, in college, I was kind of like looking for my thing and I couldn't find it because my whole thing growing up was being smart and then when you go to college, you're surrounded by all smart people, and then I was like oh, I don't have a thing anymore. So, I was just desperately looking for something that would differentiate myself a little bit, or just like find a home. And, they were taking columnists at the school newspaper and I was like, I don't have the attention span to write a full column, so I'll just write ... essentially this is ... I mean this is how old I am. It was basically Twitter before Twitter was there. It was just like short little one liner observational jokes that were not associated with anything else and just like here’s joke, here's a joke, here’s a joke. And,

Copywriter, coach and former defense attorney, Linda Perry is our guest for the 108th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. Linda’s career hasn’t followed the typical marketing to copywriting track. She’s spent time in prisons and courtrooms around the country, honing her skills for empathy and persuasion. Add in serious training as a coach and she’s got plenty of copywriting advice to share. We talked with Linda about: •  how she went from defense attorney to copywriter •  how her legal background makes her a more persuasive copywriter •  her experiment with life coaching and the impact it had on her writing •  the “suitcase” exercise that helps with the next evolutionary leap •  the “one thing” that has helped her uplevel her career •  the run-down on the StoryBrand framework and how it’s 4x-ed her business •  what keeps her focused and on-message •  a deeper look at her on-boarding process •  what her kick-off calls look like and the information she gets there •  how she’s using Instagram and video to get in front of her clients •  the behind-the-scenes with her video creation process •  the questions she’s asking about where her business will go this year •  what’s working for Linda in social media •  the mindset mistakes copywriters are making today •  the “what-if” beliefs that are real and those that aren’t •  what she’s most excited about in her own business This is not an exhaustive list of all the stuff we covered, so you’re going to want to download this to your podcast player to hear it all. Or just click the play button below. If you prefer reading, scroll down for a full transcript.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Debbie Ford Marie Forleo Amy Porterfield StoryBrand Zoom The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson Tony Robbins Soul Genius Branding Linda on Instagram Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity   Full Transcript: Kira:   What if you could hang out was seriously talented copywriters and other experts, ask them about their successes and failures, the 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 108, as we chat with copywriter, brand strategist, and coach, Linda Perry, about why she made the jump from prosecutor to copywriter, the processes she uses to clarify her client's messaging as well as the importance of getting the right mindset and how hidden beliefs can sabotage your success. Kira:   Linda, welcome. Rob:   Hey, Linda. Linda:    Hey guys, thank you for having me. Kira:   I feel like, prosecutor to copywriter that sounds like a podcast. I feel like you should get that started. Rob:   That does sound like a podcast, more than just an interview. Linda:    Right. I hate to burst your bubble guys but I was defense attorney. Rob:   Oh no! We've ruined the intro. Linda:    It doesn't have the same ring to it, too. Kira:   Linda, let's start with your story and how you ended up as a copywriter. Linda:    I definitely don't have traditional path, but I feel like even though I was a defense attorney, the seeds of being a copywriter literally started when I was like six years old. I think I gave every stuffed animal, every Barbie, every car, a story. I was always really wrapped up in the storytelling part of life. I always wanted to be a copywriter but with immigrant parents that we're like, ‘No, no. You need a profession’, I went and became a lawyer. Part of what I loved about being a lawyer was really my paper walk through the door before I did. It was always about telling someone's stories. After 17 years of being a criminal defense attorney, you get tired, you get a little worn out. I really started to think about who is it that I want to be. With a little life coaching background,

Just a short introduction to The Copywriter Underground and an invitation to join our first-ever hot seat call for members of The Copywriter Club. To learn more, go to thecopywriterclub.com/tcu. Click the play button below. The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: The Copywriter Underground Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity Because this episode is simply an introduction to The Copywriter Underground and the special hot set webinar next Tuesday, there is no transcript for this one.

Copywriter Joel Klettke shares his thoughts with Kira and Rob about how copywriters like to show off only the best parts of their business and how that affects other writers struggling to make things work. It’s a great discussion, but we covered a lot more than that. Here’s a look at what you'll hear in this 107th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast: •  what he’s doing and how his business (and life) has changed in the past year •  how audits and research have impacted his business •  what Joel does in an audit and how he prices them for his clients •  how he sells the audit and then hands it off to the client or another writer •  why he’s taking on fewer projects and the season of “no” •  the instagram-ification of some copywriter’s businesses—and why it hurts •  why we end up chasing the wrong goals (and maybe what to do instead) •  what to do if you aren’t performing as well as you think you should •  what is “enough” •  a few ideas for building confidence and the impact on your business •  the biggest mistakes copywriters make that ruin your conversion rates •  his advice to new dads and why you might need “guilt cancelling headphones” To get the low-down on how Joel’s business has changed since the first time we talked to him more than a year ago, click the play button below. Or if you’re the reading type (and lots of copywriters are) scroll down for a full transcript. And you should be able to find it on your favorite podcast app as well.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Joel’s first interview Joanna Wiebe Case Study Buddy Chantelle Zakarisian Val Geisler Laura Belgray Joels’ Conversion Killers Presentation Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity   Full Transcript: 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 a club for Episode 107 as we chat for a second time with freelance copywriter and case study specialist Joel Klettke about what he's accomplished in the year since we last talked. What it really takes to grown and run a six figure business, balancing copywriting with building a second business and being a new dad, and the biggest conversion killing mistakes copywriters make. Kira:   Welcome Joel. Rob:   Hey Joel. Joel:   Hey guys, thanks so much for having me. Kira:   Yeah it's great to have you back. All right, so let's kick this off Joel with what you've been working on over the last year. What's changed for you? We know quite a bit has changed for you, but what's changed since the last time that we had you on the show? Joel:   I kind of started off the year, I made the promise to myself I said, ‘I'm going to step back from the copy projects, and I'm going to press into the case study business, and focus on growing that.’ And so, that was kind of my mental goal. I thought, ‘Yeah I need to see what I've got in that.’ And that went well for all of like 10 minutes, and then projects cross your desk, and it's difficult to say no. But, I have kind of stepped back a little bit from writing. I'm taking on fewer but bigger projects now, which was a big goal of mine. But I think obviously the most significant change is now I'm a dad, so I've got a little guy in the house, and learning to work, and live, and adjust my sleep schedules and life in general around this little person, which is pretty interesting. And then the other side of it on a totally different side of things, I looked up kind of midway through the year and realized outside of case studies, and outside of my writing projects I've actually made more money, and had more work on the audits and review side of things,

Copywriter Kirsty Fanton joins Kira and Rob to talk about psychology in copy in this episode off The Copywriter Club Podcast. Kirsty’s experience includes a degree in psychology and work as a counselor and what she learned in those roles has had a big impact on her work for her clients. She shares how you can use psychology to forge a better connection with your clients. We talked about: •  How a travel blog helped Kirsty discover copywriting and land her first clients •  The things she did to get started the right way •  How her work as a counselor makes her a better business owner •  The importance of reflective practice and her 3-pronged approach that she uses to improve •  How she conducts a debrief call •  The different lenses her psychology background gives her to find the “meaty” parts in her research •  How she uses “naming” to discover what prospects are really feeling •  How she builds rapport quickly with prospects when she’s interviewing •  Narrative therapy and how copywriters can use it effectively •  The one question everyone asks—knowing it will make your copy better •  The two kinds of persuasion techniques •  How she keeps it all together and gets things done •  The mistakes she sees other copywriters making (that she’s avoided) There are a lot of great ideas and “psychological tricks” you can borrow to improve your own interviewing and copywriting. And, if you haven’t read her post about indirect hints in copy, you should click here. To hear the interview, click the play button below, or visit iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcast app. And if you’re the type that likes to read, scroll down for a full transcript. The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: The Copywriter Accelerator Kirsty's website Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity Full Transcript: 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 106 as we chat with copywriter Kirsty Fenton about how her background in psychology helps her write great copy for her clients, the narrative therapy techniques she uses to get prospects to take action, and the one question people regularly ask and how you can use it to your advantage in just about everything you write. Hey, Kirsty. Kira:     Kirsty, welcome. Kirsty: Thanks guys. Great to be here. Kira:     Before we jumped in with Kirsty and started recording, we were telling her how we haven't interviewed someone in at least two months because we both had been on vacation, so I'm sweating over here like I feel really anxious, Kirsty. A good place to start is with our basic question. Let's start with your story and how did you end up as a copywriter? Kirsty: Yeah, sure. So I got into copywriting and quite a roundabout way. As you said, I have a background in psychology, so when I finished high school I went to Uni, did an undergrad in psych and a post grad in counseling and then worked as a counselor for five years, and also lectured a couple of psych subjects at university here in Sydney. Anyway, all was going well and then in 2014 my partner and I decided we wanted to take a belated gap year. We packed up our lives and moved over to France for 12 months, which was amazing. While we were over there I kept a blog of our adventures just as a way of keeping our friends and family in the loop on what we were actually getting up to. Anyway, by the time we got back to Australia at the end of 2015, a couple of my friends had started their own business and they liked the way I'd written about our travels on my blog and asked if I'd like to write their copy, so I said yes.

Copywriter Sarah Grear is back for a second appearance on The Copywriter Club Podcast. Kira and Rob wanted to learn more about how she is shifting to offer more consulting in addition to copywriting, the tools she uses to land clients and how she structures her business so she gets paid even while on vacation. It this episode (#105 for those who are keeping score) we talked all about: •  how she made six figures last year (and took four months off) •  what Sarah’s accomplished since we last talked with her •  what she does to help her clients have massively successful launches •  the “gift” she gives her clients that closes the deal •  what it takes to create a launch map and feel confident about sharing with her clients •  the five phases of a launch plan •  the ins and outs of a successful “launch debrief” and how she sells the next project •  how she continues to get herself on stage (and what she teaches) •  why she publicly celebrates every win today •  the strategies Sarah uses to create more freedom in her personal life •  how you can leverage your strengths to add consulting to your copy business •  her “mindset” advice for copywriters who want to up-level to consultant There’s lots to love in this episode. To hear it, click the play button below, or scroll down for a full transcript. You can also find it at iTunes, Stitcher and on your favorite podcast app. The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: The first Sarah episode (#32) MindMup for G Suite Abbey Woodcock Tarzan Val Geisler SarahGrear.com/copy Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity Full Transcript: 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 105 as we chat for a second time with freelance copywriter, Sarah Grier, about what it takes to grow a copywriting business past six figures, her recipe for launch success, why she books two projects at a time and spreads payments over six months, and how to add consulting to the services you offer your clients. Hey, Sarah. Welcome back. Rob:   Hey Sarah. Sarah:  Hey, thanks for having me. It's so fun. I can't believe you guys have done 106 interviews. And you're still standing. Rob:   Barely. We're actually ... I think we're both sitting right now. Kira:   Sitting all day long. Which we need to work on. So why don't you just give us a quick update. What have you been working on and what's happened since last time you were on our show? Rob:   And that was Episode 32, for anybody who wants to check that out, because it was a really good one. So, yeah, check that out. Sarah:  I know. I became the take four months off in your business woman since then. But, yeah, I've done that. I took four months off last year, intermittently. If you listen to the old episode you can hear how. So, I'll leave that as a tease.  Since then, in 2017, I worked on 52 projects for 19 clients, and still managed to take all that time off. Kira:   What? Rob:   Wow. Sarah:   I know. Rob:   It's crazy. Kira:   That is crazy. Sarah:   When you have systems in place it makes a huge difference. But also I had this astronomical launch that stood out from all the other ones. We did seven figures in a single launch. Sarah:    And it was the first time we had worked together. Basically, that changed the way that I was showing up with my clients, because I realized when my clients grow to that level or grow that quickly, they don't always need a copywriter at that point because they usually hire an in-house production team. And so I started doing small percentage of consultant work alongside the copywriting work t...

Copywriter Colin Theriot joins Rob and Kira for the 104th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. Colin is well known as the leader of the Cult of Copy (as well as four or five other related Facebook groups). He often jumps into the club to answer questions or comment on something, and we thought it was about time to talk shop with him. In our discussion, we covered: •  how Colin became a copywriter •  why he started The Cult of Copy •  the short cut to getting people to know who you are •  how beginning copywriters can create a copy learning experience •  the most important thing for beginners to learn (this skill is portable) •  his philosophy for running more than one Facebook group •  why he offers a “jobs” group and why you probably shouldn’t use it •  the five Vs of the Viking Velociraptor Formula