The Content Byte

This week, we're chatting to Steve Colquhoun - a journo, editor and copywriter based in Geelong, Victoria. He started in media at the age of 17 after leaving school, cutting his teeth on mastheads such as The Age, Herald Sun and Cairns Post. He's also worked extensively as a motoring journalist - and since going freelance in 2016 has met the content needs of a variety of clients including Mercedes-Benz, Deakin University and NAB. We chat to Steve about... + what it's really like writing about the world of fast cars + the challenges that come with having motoring as a niche + how he finds clients and what a typical week looks like + setting boundaries when mixing journalism work with content + how to write effective pitches that are more likely to get the green light + his top tips on carving out a successful freelance career. Find out more about Steve: His website: stevecolquhoun.com Connect with him on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevecolquhoun Read his ultimate guide to retainers on Rachel's List: www.rachelslist.com.au/blog/your-ultimate-guide-to-freelance-retainers But wait, that's not all! Find out more about our upcoming conference, The Content Byte Summit thecontentbytesummit.com.au and sign up for updates >> subscribepage.io/IIvLBD Find Rachel rachelsmith.com.au Find Lynne lynnetestoni.com Rachel's List rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded, an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Visit them here >> rounded.com.au Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

This week, hosts Rachel and Lynne are responding to a question we had on Instagram from an entry-level writer asking how to get her first clients. So we are sharing our 12 tips (6 from each of us) on how to land your first freelance writing client when you have no experience. We talk about: Finding your niche Using that niche to target clients in that area Partnering with freelancers who are a little bit ahead of you and might be able to sub-contract to you, so you start to get some clippings How short-term contract work will help you build up contacts and clippings Why you should set up a website and optimise it for SEO How to write blogs that showcase your writing How to lean on your existing network. Internships that enable you to write and promises you clips at the end of it How to get onto the jobs boards and create alerts for the types of jobs you're looking for. Join free jobs emails like Rachel's List's entry level list How to optimise your LinkedIn page - and connect with thought-leaders in your niche(s). How to make your email address a professional one - no gmail or hotmails How to pitch to online publications that regularly use first-person pieces to help boost your portfolio Read Sophia Auld's blog post on moving from physiotherapy to health writing: https://www.rachelslist.com.au/blog/from-burnt-out-physio-to-booked-out-health-writer-how-i-did-it-and-how-you-can-too/ Read our blog post on building an online portfolio and the different platforms to choose https://www.rachelslist.com.au/blog/9-easy-ways-for-journalists-to-build-an-online-portfolio/ Read this post on what internships should look like: https://www.rachelslist.com.au/blog/what-i-think-internships-should-look-like/ Sign up to RL's FREE entry level list: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/327980/82606867567609082/share Young Australian Writers Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/youngauswriters Find out more about The Content Byte Summit here (and sign up for updates): 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 Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

The life of a freelance travel writer sounds like a dream gig (and one we have always wondered about) - so this week Rachel and Lynne are chatting with freelancer and columnist Dilvin Yasa. Dilvin talks about the reality of working as a travel writer. In our chat, Dilvin talks about: The challenge of getting your foot in the door if you live in the 'wrong postcode' How men's magazines taught her how to write well The reality of spending weeks on the road How she juggles the demands of a weekly column with family life How and why she published her books The secret to getting a pitch across the line with editors Her tips for aspiring feature writers Connect with Dilvin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dilvinyasa/ Just a couple more days to secure the Early Bird prices for The Content Byte Summit so visit here (and sign up for updates): 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 welcome Jodie Spiteri-James from the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) to the podcast. Jodie is the Professional Development and Events Manager at the ASA and responsible for one of the society's most successful programs - Literary Speed Dating. With more than 20 years experience in publishing, Jodie talks about: The rise of e-books and audio books How the industry works How to get published How the speed dating events work Mistakes prospective authors make Learn more about the ASA here: https://www.asauthors.org/ Connect with Jodie here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodiespiterijames/ 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

Magazine editor and writer Melanie Hansch joins Rachel and Lynne on the podcast this week talking about her work as deputy editor of the prestigious Food and Wine magazine in the US. Melanie shares her career journey, starting as a food writer and critic in Australia and being mentored by publishing legend Donna Hay before moving to the States. She shares her observations on the differences between magazines in each country, why print is not dead and what it was like proving herself all over again when she moved to the US. It's an inspiring story and one that proves the value of hard work and talent. Connect with Melanie on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/melhansche/?hl=en 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

Despite the move to digital, there is still some allure about glossy magazines. This week Rachel and Lynne chat with Hannah James, the deputy editor of Country Style magazine about what print magazines look for from freelancers, how to pitch ideas and, importantly, what they pay. She also takes us through the workload of magazine staff, how it has changed over the years - and why many editors aren't great at answering their emails. It's an episode packed full of ideas on how to get your byline in a glossy! Connect with Hannah via LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahjames2/ 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 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