The Content Byte

Rachel and Lynne's guest this week – our first for 2023 – is Charlotte Dallison. Charlotte's mantra is Blonde not Beige and she has built a successful career as a writer, podcaster and vintage fashion aficionado. We chat about: How she built her vintage fashion business and used that following to leverage her writing career Using Substack for her newsletter and how the platform has grown The story behind securing her book deal, which is coming out late in 2023 Being a digital nomad Working on her book thanks to a creative residency in Sardinia Connect with Charlotte here: https://www.charlottedallison.com/;  or on Instagram @charlottedallison  Her substack is https://blondenotbeige.substack.com/ Her podcast is Chez Charlotte Vintage: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/chez-charlotte-vintage/id1628495225 The Creative Residency can be found here: https://www.nocefresca.it/ Connect with us: Rachel's List for job-seekers: www.rachelslist.com.au/jobseekers   Lynne Testoni's website: www.lynnetestoni.com Rachel Smith's website: www.rachelsmith.com.au Thanks, as always, to our sponsors www.rounded.com.au Easy accounting and invoicing software, made just for Australian freelancers and sole traders. Don't forget, if you're a Rachel's List Gold member, you'll enjoy 20 percent off an annual subscription plan!

So often, we're talking to journalists who've jumped into other related industries, or added other skills to their bow to carve out a portfolio career. But our guest on this episode music and pop culture journalist and author Barry Divola - is refreshingly old-school. Barry chats to us about how he's carved out an enviable career writing for outlets like Rolling Stone, the SMH, Qantas Mag and Entertainment Weekly, as well as belonging to three bands. We also talk about: + Pitching, how long he works on the average pitch (and how many get commissioned) + The long-form features he loves writing and some of his favourites from recent years + What it's like meeting your musical heroes, including THAT Lou Reed story + How he combines writing books with his journalism work + Commercial writing and his experiences with copywriting + And much more! Where to find Barry On Authory: https://authory.com/BarryDivola On the Sydney Morning Herald: https://www.smh.com.au/search?text=Barry+Divola Barry's latest book, Driving Stevie Fracasso https://www.booktopia.com.au/driving-stevie-fracasso-barry-divola/book/9781460759479.html Spotify playlist for Driving Stevie Fracasso: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4q9yBFpOmUtCXcSndKYtGy?si=c098614c9c814acc  Where to 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 for sponsoring The Content Byte!

This week, Rachel and Lynne are preparing for the holiday break - and we share our best-ever tips on how to manage cash flow, clients and set yourself up for a great 2023.  We talk about: Taking on lots of work in November and December to build up a financial buffer Creating an Out-of-Office message for clients Working inhouse to take the pressure off the hustle Pre-scheduling social media Writing SEO-optimised blog posts ahead of time Thanks as always to Rounded for sponsoring The Content Byte. Connect with us: Rachel's List for job-seekers: www.rachelslist.com.au/jobseekers   Lynne Testoni's website: www.lynnetestoni.com Rachel Smith's website: www.rachelsmith.com.au

SEO is becoming more of a must-have than a nice-to-have skill for journalists, copywriters and content writers. And if you're considering learning SEO or boosting your existing knowledge, this episode is a fascinating one. We chat to US-born Liam Carnahan, an SEO coach and copywriter and content strategist, about his career journey and process of going into business for himself. Liam worked for many years in Sydney as a writer at digital marketing agencies before settling back in the US, where he launched his business Inkwell Content, and began offering SEO services to businesses in both Australia and the US, and training and coaching to a range of writers. (Liam's very first client was our wonderful sponsor Rounded and they’re still going strong.) In this episode, Liam talks to us about: His career journey and how his skills and business have evolved Getting on the radar of star copywriter Jacob McMillan Being a digital nomad and working with clients across different time zones The importance of learning SEO as a writer (and why) His course, SEO Bridge Builders for freelancers who want to turn their SEO skills into high-ticket services And much more! Where to find Liam His website: https://inkwellcontent.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/liamcarnahan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liamcarnahan/  Thanks as always to Rounded for sponsoring The Content Byte.

Fans of TV show Offspring will be no stranger to the name of its creator, Debra Oswald - who is a celebrated and highly prolific stage, television and fiction writer. In this episode, we chat to Debra about the start of her career (her first play was broadcast on the ABC when she was just 17) and the varied type of work she does. How does she switch between writing a crime novel to a TV script, to a one-woman stage show? She also shares the behind-the-scenes Offspring story - and reveals what it's really like inside those secretive TV writers' rooms. Find out: Debra's writing process and the 'mud hut' she escapes to for a change of scenery How she juggles multiple projects How TV and stage writers find clients (and how things have changed) Her recommendations for aspiring writers And much more! Find out more about Debra Her latest novel, The Family Doctor Her stage show, Is there something wrong with that lady? Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debraoswaldoz/  Twitter https://twitter.com/debraoswald1 

Imagine if you could ask your client to record 7 minutes of audio for you on a specific topic - which you could then transcribe and turn into all kinds of written content for them? That's the system copywriter Rananda Rich from The Ink Rat devised, and it's a genius way to save time and get the information you need for client projects, be that a blog post, email funnel, series of social posts or another form of content they're after. In this episode, we chat to Rananda about: How her 'Sparticles' service started - and how it's evolved What clients think of it and how it helps her own workflow The kinds of content she creates with client-supplied audio Repurposing audio from podcasts, webinars, Zoom meetings Creating a system for storing / managing the audio Other services you can offer like SEO and metadata Rananda's favourite tools and services Resources Rananda's website and more info about Sparticles: https://www.theinkrat.com/sparticles/ Find Rananda on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranandarich/ Read our blog post on repurposing audio content https://www.rachelslist.com.au/blog/3-smart-ways-to-repurpose-audio-content/  Check out Lynne's website: https://www.lynnetestoni.com/ Check out Rachel's website: https://rachelsmith.com.au/ Visit Rachel's List: https://rachelslist.com.au/ Visit our sponsors, Rounded, for easy invoicing and accounting software (and if you're an RL Gold member, talk to us about how to get 20% off an annual subscription): https://rounded.com.au/ 

What happens when you're freelance... and you keep getting distracted by cool permanent jobs passing you by? When you're a bit over the hustle, and want to go back to the 9-5 - even for just a year or two? It happens, as we talked to Joh Leggatt about in this recent episode. So, for a bit of a follow-up from that, we're talking to career and interview coach Leah Lambart about what happens next: + how to get into the 9-5 mindset when you're used to being your own boss + how to show employers you're serious about a perm role and why you'd be an asset + tweaking your CV and cover letter to better your chances of making the short list + how recruiters and career coaches can maximise your chances of success + when to talk salary and what else you can leverage Resources Find Leah at her website: https://www.relaunchme.com.au/ Or follow her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahlambartcareercoach/  Track your job applications with our free job tracker: https://www.rachelslist.com.au/toolkit/product/job-tracker/  Connect with us: Lynne Testoni's website: www.lynnetestoni.com Rachel Smith's website: www.rachelsmith.com.au Thanks, as always, to our sponsors www.rounded.com.au. Easy accounting and invoicing software, made just for Australian freelancers and sole traders. Don't forget, if you're a Rachel's List Gold member, you'll enjoy 20 percent off an annual subscription plan!

This week Rachel and Lynne chat with copywriter and ghost writer Annie Reid about her career writing copy for the architectural, design and property industries. She shares how she finds clients, how she started in her niche and what she loves about writing the words in beautiful coffee table books. Find Annie at https://atrium.media/ Connect with us: Rachel's List for job-seekers: www.rachelslist.com.au/jobseekers   Lynne Testoni's website: www.lynnetestoni.com Rachel Smith's website: www.rachelsmith.com.au Thanks, as always, to our sponsors www.rounded.com.au. Easy accounting and invoicing software, made just for Australian freelancers and sole traders. Don't forget, if you're a Rachel's List Gold member, you'll enjoy 20 percent off an annual subscription plan!

This week Rachel and Lynne chat with launch copywriter and psychotherapist Kirsty Fanton about 'social proof' - what it is, why it's an important (and powerful) part of your marketing efforts and how to get it. An inspiring and informative discussion. Find Kirsty at https://www.kirstyfanton.com/ Connect with us Rachel's List for job-seekers: www.rachelslist.com.au/jobseekers   Lynne Testoni's website: www.lynnetestoni.com Rachel Smith's website: www.rachelsmith.com.au Thanks, as always, to our sponsors www.rounded.com.au. Easy accounting and invoicing software, made just for Australian freelancers and sole traders. Don't forget, if you're a Rachel's List Gold member, you'll enjoy 20 percent off an annual subscription plan!

True crime podcasts are hugely popular - but who's behind the scenes creating the episodes we can't help but go back for again and again? Meet Gemma Harris, a podcast scriptwriter who specialises in true crime. In this fascinating episode, we talk to Gemma about: + her criminology degree and psychology and how helpful it is to her in her work + how she finds work as a true crime podcast scriptwriter + the polarising question of whether true crime podcasts are exploitative + her podcast script-writing process + the cases she's researched and written about that she'll never forget + her advice to others thinking about a similar niche. More about Gemma Her website: https://gemmaharrisfreelance.com/ Q&A with Rachel's List: https://www.rachelslist.com.au/blog/meet-gemma-i-write-scripts-for-true-crime-podcasts/  Links to mentions in this episode Renae Marsden - https://obscuracrimepodcast.com/podcast/2020/11/28/renae-marsden-with-friends-like-these-part-01-amp-02  Bogle/Chandler case - https://www.tapesfromthedarkside.com/category/season-4/   Petition: https://www.change.org/p/dominic-perrottet-driven-to-suicide-but-renae-s-abuser-in-the-clear-criminalising-catfishing    Bourke Street Massacre -  https://obscuracrimepodcast.com/podcast/2021/9/1/s3e1-the-bourke-street-massacre-part-01  https://obscuracrimepodcast.com/podcast/2021/9/22/s3e2-the-bourke-street-massacre-part-02  https://obscuracrimepodcast.com/podcast/2022/2/8/s3e3-the-bourke-street-massacre-part-03     Rachel Barber - https://casefilepodcast.com/case-112-rachel-barber/    Leigh Leigh (the case I used as the basis for my masters thesis) - https://obscuracrimepodcast.com/podcast/2020/3/11/s2e18-leigh-leigh-property-of-the-clan