The Content Byte

This week on the podcast, hosts Rachel Smith and Lynne Testoni chat with Ed Gandia, a business-building coach and successful podcaster. Ed is also one of the two keynote speakers at our conference, The Content Byte Summit, being held in Sydney in September this year, flying in from the US just for us. We talk to Ed about building a resilient business, dealing with the threat of AI, why strategy helps to set you apart and command a higher rate and, of course, what he's looking forward to doing on his trip to Sydney. It's a great discussion with many 'aha' moments, and we think you will enjoy this taste of what Ed will deliver to conference attendees. Connect with Ed at https://b2blauncher.com/ and listen to his podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/high-income-business-writing-podcast/id640055894  Find out more about The Content Byte Summit (and sign up for updates) here: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/    Find us:  Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/ Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/    Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/   Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded, an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. See https://rounded.com.au/ 

This week, Rachel and Lynne are chatting with burnout coach Dex Randall. We know that when you work for yourself, the to-do list can be long and the pressure can be immense, which is why we felt this topic was really important. In our chat with Dex, we cover topics such as:  what burnout is who gets it and why how you know you are in burnout and not just dealing with workplace stress where freelancers are particularly vulnerable how you fix burnout if burnout is the same for men and women  Connect with Dex at https://dexrandall.com/  His podcast is called Burnout to Leadership: https://www.burnouttoleadership.com/  Find out more about The Content Byte Summit (and sign up for updates) here: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/    Find us:  Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/     Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/  Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/  Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded, an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. See https://rounded.com.au/ 

This week, it's just Rachel and Lynne as we discuss our big event for the year - The Content Byte Summit! We are keen to share our excitement about the event, which is coming to Sydney in September - from the 14 to 16th, in fact. We chat about:  Why we decided to do the summit What writers and content creators will get out of attending  How keen we are to meet our keynote speakers - Ed Gandia and Jennifer Goforth Gregory How we feel about challenging ourselves to take the podcast to the next level What organising such a big event means Why we love the National Maritime Museum as a venue What we are most looking forward to during the summit Why the topic of AI? Find out more about The Content Byte Summit (and sign up for updates) here: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/   Find us:  Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/    Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/ Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/ Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded, an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. See https://rounded.com.au/ 

This week on the podcast, hosts Rachel and Lynne chat with freelance writer and author Stephannie Wood. Stephanie shares her journey moving from being a staff writer to freelancing, the challenge of creating a viable career in long-form journalism as well as her journey to publishing her first book, Fake: A Startling True Story of Love in a World of Liars, Cheats, Narcissits, Fantastists and Phonies.  During our chat, we discuss: How to get a pitch over the line with editors The challenges of managing an over-flowing inbox What's involved in creating a popular newsletter Sign up to Stephanie's newsletter here: http://stephaniewood.com.au/newsletter/ Connect with her here: https://www.instagram.com/stephaniewoodsydney/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniewoodwriter/ https://www.facebook.com/StephanieWoodSydney/ We are also thrilled to launch our newest venture - The Content Byte Summit - a conference for writers, by writers. Find out more about The Content Byte Summit (and sign up for updates) here: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/  Find us:   Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/   Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/  Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/ Thanks to our sponsors Rounded, an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. See why thousands have made the switch from spreadsheets and complicated software: https://rounded.com.au/   Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co   

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains some distressing content, including discussion about child sexual abuse. This week on the podcast, Rachel and Lynne chat with journalist and author Shannon Molloy. He talks about his two books, including his latest, You Made Me This Way, a powerful, yet harrowing tale that talks to male survivors of child sexual abuse. He talks about interviewing the men who are the core of the book, sharing his own story, and how he managed to cope with such challenging material.  He shares how his journalism background helped him to write the book and how he juggled creating the book while still working in a day job as a reporter. Shannon also talked about his path to publishing his first book, Fourteen, and the process of it being adapted into a stage play.  Shannon's books are available at all major and independent bookshops. Connect with Shannon here: https://www.shannonmolloy.com.au/  You can also buy You Made Me This Way, here: https://www.booktopia.com.au/you-made-me-this-way-shannon-molloy/book/9781460761861.html Shannon's first book, Fourteen, is available here: https://www.booktopia.com.au/fourteen-shannon-molloy/book/9781760851088.html   We are also thrilled to launch our newest venture - The Content Byte Summit - a conference for writers, by writers. Find out more about The Content Byte Summit (and sign up for updates) here: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/  Find us:   Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/  Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/ Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/        Thanks to our sponsors Rounded, an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. See why thousands have made the switch from spreadsheets and complicated software: https://rounded.com.au/  Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co   

This week, Rachel and Lynne chat to copywriter and agency owner Sarah Spence. She shares her journey from freelancing to setting up her own agency, managing rapid growth and what she looks for when she's hiring freelancers. She also talks about what it's like being neurodiverse and how it helps her create a supportive and inclusive culture at her agency, Content Copywriting. Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-spence-7413b930/ Learn more about her agency here: https://contentcopywriting.com.au/  We are also thrilled to launch our newest venture - The Content Byte Summit - a conference for writers, by writers. Find out more about The Content Byte Summit (and sign up for updates) here: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/    Find us:  Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/           Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/           Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/       As always, thanks to Rounded https://rounded.com.au/  for sponsoring The Content Byte! Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week, Rachel and Lynne chat with artist and arts writer Emma Finneran. She shares how her writing career started, how she works with artists to translate their visions into words and what it's like dealing with the egos of the art world. Another fascinating writing niche - another fascinating freelancer! Emma shares her philosophy about making art accessible through words and sharing the vision of artists through statements and galleries. We loved this peek into another world! Connect with Emma here: https://artistprofile.com.au/emma-finneran/  We are so thrilled to launch our newest venture - The Content Byte Summit - a conference for writers, by writers. Find out more about The Content Byte Summit (and sign up for updates) here: https://preview.mailerlite.io/preview/327980/sites/84584796838167692/thecontentbytesummit  Find us:  Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/          Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/          Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/      As always, thanks to Rounded https://rounded.com.au/  for sponsoring The Content Byte! Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co   

This week on the podcast, Rachel and Lynne are joined by Vivienne Pearson, who specialises in Opinion Writing. Vivienne talks about: What makes opinion writing different from regular journalism How and when to pitch to editors The topics that work for opinion writing Whether you can make a living from this style of writing Find out more about Vivienne at https://viviennepearson.com/  Information about her course with the Australian Writers Centre is here: https://www.writerscentre.com.au/store/courses/opinion-writing/  Don't forget... If you're an Aussie freelancer, please take our new pay rates survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6CSXSNV  Find us:  Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/         Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/         Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/      As always, thanks to Rounded https://rounded.com.au/  for sponsoring The Content Byte! Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week, Rachel and Lynne chat with PR consultant and writer Erin Huckle of Chuckle Communications. Erin specialises in award writing and shares her knowledge. She talks about: Where she finds her clients What she likes about award writing How winning awards can help small business What makes this type of writing different from content writing The secret to being a successful freelancer Connect with Erin at: https://chucklecommunications.com/ (where you will find her amazing awards calendar) Don't forget... If you're an Aussie freelancer, please take our new pay rates survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6CSXSNV Find us:  Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/        Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/        Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/     As always, thanks to Rounded https://rounded.com.au/  for sponsoring The Content Byte! Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co  

This week we chat with Martin Sully of Snapper Studio. Martin talks about moving to Australia from the UK and how he set up his own networking group in his new hometown of Newcastle NSW.  We talk about the power of connections and word of mouth when it comes to securing new work; how to set up a networking group and balancing a freelance life with family responsibilities. Connect with Martin via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinsullydesign/ or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/snapper.studio/  Connect with Chatterbox: https://www.instagram.com/chatterbox.au/  Don't forget... If you're an Aussie freelancer, please take our new pay rates survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6CSXSNV   Find us: Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/       Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/       Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/     As always, thanks to Rounded https://rounded.com.au/  for sponsoring The Content Byte!