The Copywriter Club Podcast

Copywriter, course creator, and coach, Belinda Weaver joins Kira and Rob for the 103rd episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. Belinda's also the co-host of the popular Hot Copy podcast. We talked with Belinda about the variety of ways she's created income streams for her business. Note: links and a full list of what we discussed is coming soon. Click the play button below, or scroll down for a full transcript. The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity Full Transcript: The Copywriter Club Podcast is sponsored by Airstory, the writing platform for professional writers who want to get more done in half the time. Learn more at Airstory.co/club. 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 103 as we chat with freelance copywriter and coach Belinda Weaver about building an information business as a copywriter, what she's learned coaching other writers, creating courses, and running one of the most popular copywriting podcasts, and how tap dancing makes her a better copywriter. Welcome, Belinda. Rob:   Hey, Belinda. Belinda:   Hi, guys. It's really great to be here. Tap dancing, flashback. Oh my gosh. Rob:   Should we jump into tap dancing immediately, or do we want to save that to the end? Belinda:   It's completely up to you. I think it's a lovely hook we can leave people with. Kira:   Let’s save that for the end. Let's start with your story, Belinda, and how you got into copywriting. Belinda:   Well, like most people, had a day job I didn't really like, was looking for an opportunity to do something else. I was working in marketing in Melbourne. We lived just over an hour out of the city, so two plus hours of commuting every day, plus a job I didn't really like. My husband and I started talking about a family, and I started thinking, ‘Well, how is this going to work?’ So I was open to new opportunities, and then I got taken to this kind of sales day with the job. It's a lot of people standing up, giving presentations, doing their pitches. One of them was about copywriting. Now, I did copywriting every day, but I didn't know it was a thing you could actually do as a job on its own. So when, at the end of the presentation, this copywriter started talking about running your own business as a freelance copywriter, I didn't listen to the rest of the day, because that was the idea that I'd been waiting for. As soon as we got back to work, I quietly registered my business. Maybe not that day. I took a day or two to brainstorm a name, but I registered my business. Then, while I was pretending to work, I started marketing and figuring out how to run a business and developing service packages, and then being on social media, and I started getting work. So I did that for about six months. I did my day job. I worked, did copywriting at night and on the weekends. Then after about six months, I was confident enough in my marketing abilities to know that I could get more work. So I was getting regular leads coming in, and I thought, ‘Yeah, I can do this.’ Then on my last day, rather than walking through the office going, ‘Screw you all,’ I put together a presentation for the MD, and I said, ‘I can save you $20,000 on your marketing if you keep me on at my new freelance rate,’ and I just stopped doing all the time-wasting activities. I divided my job into value tasks and low-value tasks, and I had this whole little spiel, and he actually agreed before the presentation had finished. So I had my first client before the end of the day. Rob:   Wow. I mean, that's so smart. Love it.

Community manager Harmony Eichsteadt is the guest for the 102nd episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. We chatted with Harmony about a wide range of topics related to connecting with clients to building communities for both customers and peers. Harmony knows a thing or two about building healthy communities—she’s done it with groups like The Good Life Project and NationBuilder. We asked Harmony about: •  how she became a community manager (with stops as a dating coach and cancer survivor along the way) •  the first steps to take to build a community around ourselves •  who is better for community building: introverts or extroverts •  the biggest misconceptions around building a community •  where you can build a community and how (it’s not just online) •  some of the benefits of building and belonging to a community of copywriters •  how to connect with others within communities you don’t own •  whether there’s a growing hunger for new communities today •  why everyone is already a community leader and how to get better •  the differences between online and offline community interaction •  how to connect with people in the real world •  how copywriters can build deeper connections with other writers We also asked Harmony for her advice about when you run an event (we’re starting to think about round two for TCC IRL) and what it takes to win a poetry slam. She let’s us in on the fact that we probably won’t win one. Maybe we’ll have Harmony to our next event to perform a bit of her award-winning poetry—yeah? To hear this one, simply 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: Inward 2019 Event Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity Full Transcript: The Copywriter Club Podcast is sponsored by Airstory, the writing platform for professional writers who want to get more done in half the time. Learn more at Airstory.co/club. 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 102 as we chat with professional community builder, Harmony Eichsteadt about what it takes to create strong communities, how to work a room online and off, what she does to land and rock a speaking gig, and writing poetry good enough to win a poetry slam. Kira:   Welcome Harmony. Rob:   Hey Harmony. Harmony:     Thanks so much for having me. Kira:   We’re excited that you're here so we can talk about something that we really haven't covered on this podcast. All about community development, community engagement and relationships. So, why don't we kick it off with your story. How did you end up as a relationship and community expert? Harmony:     It's such a good question and I think for many of us we can start the story at a lot of different places. So, the more deeply I get into my work, the more I can see tendrils from even my childhood of like, ‘I've always been very fascinated about connecting people.’ So, I think there's some thread that was maybe there from a young age, but how it crystallized for me was actually I started out as a dating coach, which I think is, now I think is very funny. I spent a few years working with people on writing dating profiles, on how to flirt, and think about developing relationships. That morphed into this current career for a few different reasons. One is that I got diagnosed with thyroid cancer when I was 29 and that was not what I was planning to do with my 29th year on the planet. I had other items on my agenda, but it threw a monkey wrench in things.

We’re kicking off our second century of podcasts by flipping the tables and answering your questions for the 101st episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. Justin Blackman (of 100-Headline-Project fame) grabs the microphone to ask Kira and Rob all about: •  who Rob and Kira really are •  how Rob and Kira met and decided to start The Copywriter Club together •  where the idea for The Copywriter Accelerator came from •  the story behind the creation of the first Copywriter Club event •  why we shut down our second program and what we learned •  some of the other mistakes we’ve made over the past year or so •  how The Copywriter Club has changed our own businesses •  the progress we’ve made on the goals we shared in episode 50 •  how the podcast (and our guests) have helped us improve our writing and processes •  what we’ve learned going through The Copywriter Accelerator for the third time •  when we plan on taking a break from learning •  what’s coming up for The Copywriter Club in the coming months Plus Justin asked a long list of “lightning round” questions that we do our best to answer—but let’s face it, we’re not very good at the whole quick answer, lightning fast thing. So, if you want to know more about Rob and Kira and a bit of what’s going on behind the scenes at the club, download this one to your favorite podcast player. You can also hit the play button below or scroll down for a full transcript. The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Justin Blackman The Copywriter Accelerator The Copywriter Club IRL Event (link coming soon) Brian Kurtz Kim Krause Schwalm Amy Posner The Copy Clinic Tarzan Kay Sam Woods Joe Schriefer Sarah Grear Sean D'Souza Bond Halbert Tanya Geisler The Copywriter Club book lists Dan Kennedy Wikipedia’s List of Lists Seth Godin Eman Zabi Mel Abraham Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity Full Transcript: Justin:   What if you could hang out with two moderately talented copywriters, who spend all day asking seriously talented copywriters, about their successes and failures, they're work processes and their habits, and steal an idea or two to inspire your own work? That's what I'm going to do with Kira and Rob this week, at The Copywriter Club Podcast. You're invited to join the club for episode 101 as I turn the microphone on Rob Marsh and Kira Hug and dive into what it's like to run a gigantic Facebook group, interview copywriting royalty, develop a training program, and create a think tank, on top of managing their own work. Rob, Kira, welcome to your show. Rob:   Moderately talented, might give us more credit than what we deserve. Might be overstating things a little. Kira:   That's true, I'm flattered. Thank you. Justin:   Exactly. Rob:   Let's do this Justin, let's do it. Justin:   Let's do it. So, I'm going to turn the tables a little bit. We're going to get into what it's like to run The Copywriter Club and Facebook group, your Accelerator, The Think Tank, your own client work. So we're going to get into it a little bit about who are Rob and Kira? I know you guys, you're a bit of an unlikely pair. Rob you're a little more formal, a little buttoned up and corporate. Kira, a little wild child, dressing up like a pirate, you got your hair colored like a troll. But somehow you guys, you make it work. So I want to hear a little bit of rundown about how you guys met, and what's the history of the TCC. Kira:   Rob, I'll let you tell our Tinder story. Rob:   I think you tell it better than I do actually though. So, yeah, the short story is that, yeah, we met on Tinder and we both swiped right, and it just was meant to be. And then the longer version is that it had nothing to do with Tinder and we met in a mastermind group run by Copy Hackers. And it took us about maybe a year, but over that year we sort of got to know each other a little bit,

Former copywriter and current business advisor, Jay Abraham is the guest for the 100th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast with Kira Hug and Rob Marsh. Jay is the perfect guest for this milestone episode because Jay teaches the importance of pre-eminence—and what is more pre-eminent than appearing as the expert on the 100th episode of this podcast? And Jay delivered. Here’s a look at some of what we covered: •  how he went from copywriter to business advisor to thousands of companies •  the expert authors he learned from when he started out •  how he accidentally got into the seminar business •  the business ideas (USP, LTV, Risk Reversal, Allowable Cost) you should know •  how to deliver continuous breakthroughs for our clients •  copy versus concept and which one matters most •  why you shouldn’t offer stuff for free (and what you should do instead) •  the biggest challenge you have to overcome with your audiences •  why achieving pre-eminence is so important (and how you do it) •  the shortcuts to engineering a continuous stream of breakthroughs •  how to get mindshare for the clients you’re working for •  a few of the places copywriters should do research in order to be great •  what it takes to be an “original synthesizer” (versus a plagiarist). •  who the client you’re really working for is (it might not be your client) •  the thing that bugs Jay the most about list building Jay also shared a ton of bonuses for listeners to the podcast. Check out the links to those resources below. Then, click the play button to listen to the interview, or scroll down for a full transcript. And of course, you can find this episode on iTunes, Stitcher or in your favorite podcast app. Go get it! The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Dan Rosenthal Claude Hopkins George Hotchkiss Victor Schwab Robert Collier Entrepreneur Magazine International Living Scientific Advertising My Life in Advertising Albert Lasker Tony Robbins Steven Covey Brian Tracy Mary Lou Tyler The Deming Institute A Technique for Producing Ideas The Three Bonuses (The 100 Greatest Headlines, 37 Million Dollar Headlines, and Copywriting Formulas) 50 Shades of Jay 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 and steal an idea 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 100 as we chat with Jay Abraham, the founder and CEO of the Abraham Group about how he solved business problems for clients in more than 7,000 industries, thinking strategically about copywriting and what we offer our clients, the importance of preeminence and what we can do to find new breakthroughs in our own businesses. Hey, Jay. Kira:   Welcome, Jay. Jay:    Thank you very much. It's a distinction and an honor to be podcast number 100. Rob:   It is. In fact, we were talking to Sonny, who's on your team and she's in our group. She suggested, ‘Hey, you know, I don't know if you're doing anything interesting for your hundredth episode, but maybe we could connect with you.’ We thought, actually would make perfect sense to have you come on for number 100 because of how you talk about preeminence and to have a super special guest like you on episode 100. We're thrilled to have you here, so thank you so much. Jay:    It's my pleasure. As I told you, at a certain point in one's career, you become very focused on being privileged to impact people's thinking lives and the impact they can make on multitudes of others. It goes both ways. I am taking the gloves off. You guys have access to whatever you want. I don't know where you're going to take it but I like surprises. Rob:   Cool.

This is the last episode of the podcast before we hit triple digits—and it’s a good one. Health copywriter Jason Rutkowski joins us for the 99th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast and we covered a lot of ground, from Jason’s secrets for connecting with both mentors and clients to a look inside his copy mastery process (he sent us a screen capture of his file system so you can see what he’s talking about during the podcast). Here’s a look at what we covered: •  how Jason failed his way to copywriting as a career •  finding his first few clients and figured out his niche •  the “one thing” he tried that resulting in connecting with good clients •  the strategy Jason followed to get A-list copywriters to share their stories with him •  the single most important thing you can do at live marketing events •  what it’s like to be “cubbed” by an A-list copywriter •  why you absolutely need to reverse engineer great copy to get better •  the difference between a copywriter and a master copywriter •  the foundational copywriting reference everyone should study •  Jason’s research process (and how he reverse engineers A-list research) •  how to get started writing in the health industry •  the gmail hack for studying the market you want to write for •  the reason A-list copywriters work with copywriters (an opportunity?) If you’re interested in not just being a copywriter, but becoming a great copywriter, you’re going to want get this one. Click the play button below, or scroll down for a full transcript. And of course, you can find it on iTunes, Stitcher or in your favorite podcast app.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Clayton Makepeace Parris Lampropolous Marcella Allison Paul Martinez John Carlton Gary Halbert Jim Rutz Carline Cole David Deutsch AWAI Barnaby Kalan The Single Best Way to Get Clients Parris’ book list On Writing Well by William Zinsser The Brilliance Breakthrough by Eugene Schwartz Brian Kurtz New Market Health Health Sense Media Dr. Gundry Advanced Bionutritionals Nature City Patriot Health Alliance The Agora JasonRutkowski.com 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 99 as we chat with freelance copywriter Jason Rutkowski about writing in the health and wellness niche, investing in himself and his expertise, his business and writing processes, and what it took to gain traction as a copywriter when he was just starting out. Rob:   Hey Jason. Kira:   Welcome Jason. Jason:    Hey Kira, hey Rob. Kira:   How's it going? Glad you're here. Jason:    Oh no, I'm excited. I haven't done one of these in a while, so I was excited to do it with you. Rob:   Definitely took a little time to get our schedules aligned. We've been trying to make this happen for a little while, because we know a little bit about you and where you write and we think it'll be a great conversation, so we're glad to have you here. Jason:     Yeah, definitely. Kira:   All right, so let's kick this off. Jason, how did you end up as a copywriter? Jason:     Okay, I'll give you the quick story about this. I was 19. I just finished my freshman year of college. I got an internship at a normal 9-to-5 job. And I realized I hated it. I was like, oh man. I saw all these people who worked in an office, you know, 30, 40 years; I'm like, is this really going to be my life? And also at the same exact time, I was on the internet one day and I found an internet marketing forum. And I was like, what's an internet marketing forum? I don't know.

For the 98th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast, Kira and Rob bring back one of the most popular guests from the first few weeks of 2017—Tarzan Kay. Tarzan’s been a great friend to us (and the club) so we were thrilled to have her back to talk about how her business has changed in the year since we last talked and how having a baby forced her to change how she worked. We talked about: •  how her business has changed since we talked more than a year ago •  why (and how) she has moved to day rates for most of her projects today •  how day rates work and why clients like them •  what day-rate clients can expect as far as deliverables go •  what the day rate process and schedule looks like •  the next step for clients after they book their first day •  the place mindset plays with day rates and asking for more money •  ideas for stepping out of your own thoughts to work on mindset •  how you can identify your mindset around money •  her approach to affiliate launches and what she does to succeed •  the #1 lesson she’s learned from working with affiliates •  how she found balance through a major life-change •  her advice to copywriters who want to take their business to the next level Tarzan has built a following among copywriters working on their mindsets and looking for new models for their business. If you’re like them, you’ll want to listen in on this discussion. Click the play button below, or scroll down for a full transcript. And of course you can also find it at iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcast app.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Tarzan’s first episode Denise Duffield Thomas Laura Belgray Julie Stoian B-School Copy School 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 Kira and I do every week at The Copywriter Club Podcast. Rob:   You're invited to join the club for episode 98 as we chat with freelance copywriter, Tarzan Kay, for the second time about her business and what's changed over the past year. What it takes to do a successful affiliate promotion, getting over money issues and selling day rate intensive packages. Kira:   Welcome back Tarzan. Rob:   Hey Tarzan. Tarzan:   Thanks for having me back guys. Rob:   We are so excited to have you back. In fact, like you're one of the very rare few people that have come back to the show more than once. So thanks for doing that. Tarzan:    It's a real honor you know. I actually think you guys should do more episodes just the two of you, because I really like those ones. They're some of my favorites. Kira:   Awe, thank you for saying that. Rob:   Now, we'll let you go and Kira and I will talk ourselves. Kira:   And this interview is over, we are done. Rob:   Thanks, thanks for that. Hey let's start out by you catching us up on what's been going on in your business over the last year. Because, the last time we talked, and people can go back to that episode 9, 89 episodes ago, and check out what you said then. What's been going on for you over the past year? Tarzan:    Well, a lot has changed. So in August, I was surprised to learn that I was pregnant. Total surprise baby, which I wasn't planning for at all, and it threw a major monkey wrench into my plans, in the best way though. So, I had to adapt, and figure out how I was going to take time off and really change, kind of restructure a little bit. For one thing, I used way more hours with my VA and I've scaled that up since learning that I was pregnant. In January, and February since then, I've pretty much transitioned to day rate work almost exclusively. I have two clients who I just love the heck out of,

Copywriter Michal Eisikowitz joined Kira and Rob for the 97th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast and we go deep into her business. Michal has made some amazing changes to her business in the last year (including creating one of the best copywriter websites we’ve ever seen). You’re going to want to listen to this one. Here’s what we covered: •  how she turned a degree in speech pathology into a career as a copywriter •  the “experiment” that led solidified her career choice •  what she learned from her other jobs that made her a better copywriter •  how what she accomplished in the Accelerator helped her walk away from her previous job •  the evolution of her business, the kinds of work she does and what she charges today •  how long the exploratory phase should last before you choose your niche •  the work she does today and how she plans to evolve her business •  what her process looks like from start to finish •  why she has branded herself as a “perfectionist” •  how she balances her work with everything else in her life •  what she did to upgrade her website and how to know if you should upgrade yours •  what she has her VA do at the end of every project •  the packages she offers to her clients and how she came up with them •  how she uses LinkedIn to generate leads for her business (and the tool she uses) •  what she did to triple her income this year •  the mistakes she’s made along the way Finally, we asked Michal where she plans to take her business in the next year or two. Note: we lost Kira’s sound for the last few minutes, but it doesn’t detract from this fantastic episode. To hear this one, visit iTunes, Stitcher or use your favorite podcast app to download it. Or scroll down and click the play button or read the full transcript.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: The Copywriter Accelerator The Copywriter Think Tank 30 Day Social Michal’s website LinkedIn 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 97, as we chat with freelance copywriter Michal Eisikowitz about how she became a copywriter, how she's transformed her business over the past year and her amazing new website, how she uses LinkedIn to connect with potential clients and what she's learned as she started mentoring other writers. Kira:   Welcome Michal. Rob:   Hi Michal. Michal:     Thank you. Great to be here, you know how much I love you guys, so the chance to spend another hour with the two of you. Rob:   The feeling is mutual, so this should be fun. Kira:   All right, let's kick this off with your story and how you got into copywriting. Michal:     I have a really winding path to copywriting. I actually am a licensed Speech Language Pathologist. I trained in Communication Sciences, I have a Masters. My mother is also a Speech Language Pathologist, I have a background in education, so I thought special education was going to be a great fit. Then while I was earning my Masters I wanted a job, side job and I interned at a publishing company as the marketing assistant. I interned there for about three months and then was hired full-time and I ended up working there for two and a half years. I just loved every minute. I did everything to do with book publicity, marketing and copywriting, book titles, press releases, back flaps, book descriptions, catalog descriptions. All kinds of as ad copy, you name it, I was doing their marketing work. This kind of work really gave me this broad foundation in marketing and copywriting and I realized, wow,

For the 96th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast, Kira and Rob talk with copywriter Ridge Abraham. Ridge recently left full time employment with The Agora and now works freelance for financial clients and is taking on clients in other fields as well. You’ll want to listen to this one if only to get all of the books Ridge recommends as we talked. In this wide ranging interview we talked about: •  how Ridge went from Los Angeles DJ to financial copywriter •  how his very first mailed promotion pulled $7 million •  how he uses swipe copy without stealing ideas •  his writing process •  the projects he works on today—since he left Agora full time •  how he structures his compensation for the projects he takes •  what he does to connect to potential clients •  how he keeps his skills sharp today •  his thoughts about mentorship and why it is so important •  what he’s learned from his famous dad—Jay Abraham •  the “unbelievable” mistake he sees a lot of other copywriters make •  the failures he’s experienced and how to know when to give up •  several ideas to try if you want to write in the financial niche We also asked Ridge about what he thinks will happen to copywriting in the future and he turned the question back on us, so we shared our thoughts as well. To hear this one, visit iTunes, Stitcher, or download it on your favorite podcast app. Or you can simply click the play button below, or scroll down for a full transcript. The people and stuff we mentioned on the show:   Agora Financial Great Leads Influence Made to Stick Money Map Stansbury Research The Oxford Club Cremes and Lotions Steal Like an Artist A Technique for Producing Ideas Joe Schriefer Abbey Woodcock Ian Stanley Gary Bencivenga Jay Abraham The Dip Chanti Zak 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 96 as we chat with copywriter Ridge Abraham about his path into financial copywriting, what he did to generate seven million dollars with the first campaign he ever wrote, why he's so hard to find online, and the most important lessons he learned from his famous dad. Kira:   Ridge, welcome. Ridge:   Thank you guys. Thanks for having me. Rob:   It's really good to have you. Kira:   We were joking before we started recording about how Ridge is the hardest person to find online. We had to scour the internet to find you. Ridge:   That way you guys can't ask me those trick questions. Kira:   I know. Ridge:  It's even been easier to find Paris Lampropolous online, than it is to find me, which is saying something because he hides. I think he's got a bigger body of work than me, I don't know. Kira:   So let's kick this off with your story and how you ended up as a financial copywriter. Ridge:   Okay. So it's actually a pretty funny story. So, like I was telling you guys, I went to school for music. I was really into music production, songwriting. I was DJing. I was living in LA, and I really want to play shows. I wanted to travel and do stuff like that, and it is tough right out of college. If you want to be like an entrepreneur in the music business, it's very difficult to make it and you're often times broke. So I was working this internship at ... It was like a subsidiary of Hans Zimmer Music for Film studio, and I hated it. I was the intern that every day I would just go and get people lunch. I was just like the gopher. Worst job ever, miserable. I was really like, okay, I need to figure something else out. So I was listening to a lot of entrepreneurial podcast an...

Copywriter Julia Reinisch is in the house for the 95th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. Julia chatted with Kira and Rob about a variety of topics from how she came to join The Copywriter Think Tank to her favorite dive spots in Roatán. Long time listeners know that we like to talk with copywriters at all stages in their business, and while Julia is not a beginner, many listeners will relate to the effort Julia is going through to build a thriving freelance business. Here’s what we covered: •  how curiosity and a suggestion from her family led her from social work to copywriting •  where she found her very first client and the kind of work resonated with her •  how her background in social work makes her a better writer •  the kind of work she does as an in-house copywriter at a University •  how she learned to talk to customers and thicken her skin with a job in retail •  the unique steps she took to start her own copywriting business •  why Julia thinks every copywriter needs a great website •  what she’s done to take her business to the next level •  her thoughts about connecting with other writers in the Copywriter Think Tank •  what she’s done to pitch her employer on hiring her as a copywriter •  the advice she has for copywriters just starting out •  her thoughts about working with other writers •  what she’s doing with her business in the future •  her favorite dive spots in Roatán To get this episode in your earbuds, visit iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcast app. Or simply click the play button below. And if you don’t like listening, you can scroll down for a full transcript (there’s even an option to download it and read it later).   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Yeti MooseJaw REI Jax Asana The Copywriter Accelerator The Copywriter Think Tank Mary’s Crack The Blue Cave Julia on Twitter MomentumCopy.com 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 95, as we chat with in-house and freelance copywriter, Julia Reinish, about her move from social work to copywriting, what she did to pitch herself to a big client, the struggles of a full time writing job and the place adventure plays in her life. Welcome Julia. Julia:  Hey, Rob, Kira, thank you so much for having me. Kira:   Yeah, great to have you here as one of the members of our think tank, which I'm sure we'll talk about a little bit more. But, Julia, can you just start with your story? How did you end up as a copywriter? Julia:  Yeah. Personally, I've always been a really creative person. Growing up I guess, I was the child that probably kept my parents super entertained all the time because I was always finding something new to explore and something to really learn a lot about. I know at one point I got really interested in everything about Atlantis and Lost City type things and codes at one point. I thought that I was totally going to grow up and be a spy. So just all kinds of creative things like that. But one thing that's remained constant, I guess, is that I've always been really interested in writing. I won my first writing contest at nine years old I think. From there, did a lot of writing in school and everything as everyone else does, but I was always getting recognized for it. So you would think that when I'd get to college and everything, I'd want to actually pursue that as a career, but I didn't. I guess a part of me just really wanted to reach more of the sensitive part of myself. I would say I'm a very sensitive person and I'm always really keepin...

Email expert and sometime copywriter, Val Geisler, is our guest for the 94th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. In this episode, we go deep on the ins and outs of emails—especially on-boarding sequences which can make a huge difference to your client acquisition processes (and the one you create for your clients). We cover: •  how Val went from stage manager to copywriter and email marketing genius •  what she did to learn business skills then start her own business •  how managing stage productions has made her a better writer •  Val’s processes for designing and mapping email sequences •  why she added strategy to the services she provides (in addition to copy) •  Val’s secret for getting clients (that we’ve mentioned on the podcast before) •  the backdoor Val uses to get results from her clients •  the writing and testing tools Val uses as an email copywriter •  how she presents then delivers final copy to her clients •  how she sets up projects and charges for them •  her advice on welcome sequences to onboard new customers •  the mistakes everyone makes with their email marketing •  her favorite tips for working with VAs •  the new book she is writing about her experience as a woman in the tech industry •  how marketing is like a dinner party •  how to get her regular email tear-downs Val also shared how you can get her regular email tear-downs if you want to keep learning about email marketing. To get this excellent episode in your earbuds, click the play button below, or scroll down for a full transcript. It’s also available on iTunes, Stitcher and your favorite podcast app.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Lululemon LucidChart Litmus Intercom ActiveCampaign Drip Drift Airstory ValGeisler.com @lovevalgeisler 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 94 as we chat with copywriter and email strategist Val Geisler about email copywriting strategy and what it takes to convert casual visitors into happy customers, writing a book, and how thinking about your marketing is a lot like hosting a dinner party. Kira:   Welcome, Val. Rob:   Hey, Val. Val:    Hey, guys. Thanks for having me. Episode 94, that’s so huge. Kira:   It’s exciting. I realized before you jumped on here that you are the only guest we’ve had on this podcast that I have also interviewed on my previous podcast from a previous lifetime, the Bridal Rebellion Podcast in 2015. I was lucky enough to interview you about your wedding, and planning, and systems, so I feel like this is just coming full circle. Val:    Wow. Yeah. That’s like a blast from the past. It just kind of proves my theory that the journey you go on in your career is one that’s pretty unpredictable, and that if you would have told me in 2015 that I would be sitting here talking to you about copywriting and email marketing, I probably would have laughed at you, but here we are. I didn’t have this plan, but this is where the life has taken me as I’ve let plans unfold. Kira:   All right, so let’s start with your story. You didn’t expect to end up as a copywriter, so how did you end up as a copywriter? Val:    Sure. Well, I have a degree in theater, so I went to school for theater production. I was a stage manager and worked in theater for several years. Stage managers are the people behind the scenes who make everything happen. They tell everybody where to be and what they should be wearing, and props to be carrying, and when the lights go on, and all those things.