The Content Byte

Building a personal brand may sound a bit 'ick' to some writers, but it is a vital marketing tool for your freelance business. Branding expert Emma Lovell takes the awkwardness out of branding with her fun and practical approach. She is Rachel and Lynne's guest on the podcast this week, showing why creating your personal brand is important and how it can bring you more business - and the right clients. Find out more about Emma through her website: https://lovellycommunications.com/ Rachel's List is here: https://www.rachelslist.com.au/ Rachel's own website is: https://rachelsmith.com.au/ Lynne's website is: https://www.lynnetestoni.com/

We're long-time fans of Madeleine Dore, a writer and interviewer who's spent five years asking creative thinkers how they navigate their days on her popular blog Extraordinary Routines (and podcast Routines & Ruts). And in this episode, we chat to Madeleine about what she's learned from the project and the book it inspired: I Didn't Do The Thing Today. This lively episode delves into a completely different way to think about productivity, and freeing yourself from productivity guilt in general. Psst! Don't forget to head to the blog at Rachel's List to win one of 3 x copies of Madeleine's book (winners announced Friday, June 24!) More about Madeleine Extraordinary Routines https://extraordinaryroutines.com/ Madeleine's website https://www.madeleinedore.com/about Win the book! https://www.rachelslist.com.au/blog/holding-things-lightly-an-extract-from-i-didnt-do-the-thing-today-a-giveaway/ Buy the book https://www.booktopia.com.au/i-didn-t-do-the-thing-today-madeleine-dore/book/9781922351500.html?

After a successful career in high-profile magazines, including as editor of the Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine, writer Kayte Nunn turned her hand to commercial fiction. Now with seven books published, she shares her journey with hosts Lynne and Rachel talking about making a living doing what she loves and why writing novels is all about the long game. Connect with Kayte via her website: https://kaytenunn.com/ and pre-order her new book, The Only Child, due out in September.

Marketing expert Therese Tarlinton is all about partnerships - so much so that she wrote a book about it! Her book, SWAP - Marketing without Money, helps small businesses, including freelancers, develop partnerships and relationships that allow everyone to grow. In this episode, she talks with Rachel and Lynne about: What marketing managers need from freelancers How freelancers can add value and gain more work How to develop your freelance offering to be even more appealing to large corporates and companies Get in touch with Therese via her website: https://www.theresetarlinton.com/ or connect via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therese-tarlinton/

After a request from listener Jules, Lynne and Rachel talk about how to secure your first copywriting clients. We share our top six tips on how to start and build your own writing business. We talk about building a network, optimising digital marketing, branding and developing your website, why you shouldn't be fussy, being prepared and professional, and the importance of community. Some of the tips we mention are: Calendly, https://calendly.com/ The episode with Katie Hull on Google my Business is https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/why-content-writers-and-other-freelancers-need-a/id1478510876?i=1000519719074 The episode with Emma McMillan on great website content is https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/creating-great-website-content-with-emma-mcmillan/id1478510876?i=1000554021064 Rachel's List: https://www.rachelslist.com.au/ Kate Toon's membership list is here: https://www.clevercopywritingschool.com/membership/

This week, Rachel and Lynne return to their occasional series of interviewing successful freelancers, with their chat with Lucy E. Cousins, who specialises in health and wellness and has her own successful content agency, Remedy Content. Lucy shares her journey in magazines and journalism, as well why she focuses on evidence-based science in her health articles and why she always adds the 'E' in her name. Find out more about Lucy here: https://www.remedycontent.com.au/ or on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lucyecousins/

Procrastination is an age-old problem - particularly when you work for yourself. This week, Rachel & Lynne share their tips on how to get work done. Links to apps and ideas mentioned in this episode: Brene Brown talking with James Clear on her podcast https://open.spotify.com/episode/1FCDXnrrXo9d7VTTX7bi4E Atomic Habits https://www.booktopia.com.au/atomic-habits-james-clear/book/9781847941831.html Forest App https://www.forestapp.cc/ Focus tool on Macs https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/mac-help/mchl613dc43f/mac# TeauxDeux https://teuxdeux.com/

Imagine spending your days coming up with recipes, baking and taste-testing and photographing your creations for your blog. Sound good? How about making a living out of doing that? Well, that's just what Jess Holmes from SweetestMenu.com does with her days - after a career as a copywriter and content designer for brands such as Flight Centre, Intuit and News Corp. In this episode, Jess talks to us about: + her journey from in-house writer to recipe tester and food blogger + how the pandemic helped her blog grow + balancing the need for SEO and also doing posts she wants to do + how she makes a living from food blogging + how advertising works on blogs and the numbers you need to get started + the social platforms that have been the most helpful in growing her blog and traffic + what she outsources, and much more. More about Jess Find recipes on her website Check out Jess's Pinterest Follow her on Instagram

Are you a print journalist considering making the leap into government communications? In this episode, we chat to Lisa Thomas, who worked on a number of glossy mags (including Vogue Living) before jumping ship to work in a number of leadership roles in the private and public sector. Lisa is currently the Director of Communications, Engagement and Education at the NSW Department of Parliamentary Services, and talks to us about her journey into government comms, the transferrable skills journalists have, how to get work in government departments, her advice for journalists considering a career in a senior government role and much more.

Do you get a horrid feeling in the pit of your stomach when your clients aren't happy - or when they come back with multiple changes? This week Rachel and Lynne talk about dealing with negative feedback and criticism. It is something that happens to all of us! We talk about learning from mistakes, repairing relationships and how to not take everything personally.