The Content Byte

This week on the podcast, Rachel and Lynne chat with freelance writer and author Rachelle Unreich. Rachelle talks about the journey to publication of her compelling memoir, A Brilliant Life, about her mother's story of surviving the Holocaust. She talks about how she used writing to help her through the grieving process, and what it was like to have a bidding war for this, her first book. Our discussion covered: Talking to her mother about her story while she was dying How she approached writing the book and finding a publisher The extensive research involved in the book Why you need a connection to the story you are writing Being true to your own voice and writing style Leaning into your own interests when freelancing  A Brilliant Life (published by Hachette) is available at all bookstores. Connect with Rachelle via her website: https://www.rachelleunreich.com/  Don't forget about The Content Byte Summit (which will include a session on Interviewing and the Art of Storytelling), from September 12-14, 2024 in Sydney. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au  Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au        Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com  Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week, Rachel and Lynne chat with agency content director, Vanessa Keys. Vanessa shares her career journey from work experience in glossy magazines, to securing feature writing roles before travelling to London and working in large agencies. Now the head of content and strategy at Slice, her Adelaide-based content agency established with colleague and friend Liz, Vanessa now boasts some big-name clients and a healthy business. We chat about: The difference between freelancing and agency life What it's like to come back to your home town How large agencies work What agencies are looking for from freelancers How she pitches for new business Where she finds clients What being 'content first' means in practice The skills freelancers need right now Here are the tech recommendations Vanessa mentioned: ColorZilla is a Chrome extension that includes a colour picker, eye dropper, gradient generator and many additional advanced colour tools. Pocket is a Chrome extension that lets you collect articles, videos, and links from across the web and save them in a central place SEO META in 1 CLICK is a Chrome extension that allows you to check metadata and display main SEO information for any site across the web CMS Detect is a Chrome extension that tells you what CMS a website was built on Connect with Vanessa at Slice, https://www.slice.agency/ or via Instagram @slice.agency   Don't forget about The Content Byte Summit (which will include a session on Growing Beyond Solo), from September 12-14, 2024 in Sydney. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au  Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au       Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au  for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week Lynne and Rachel chat with Justine McLean, who is on a mission to help small business owners and freelancers understand their finances. Her new book, Business Money Magnet, is all about how to master your money, boost profitability, and be the boss of your financial destiny.  Justine talks about: How to be less anxious about money How to manage your tax How important financial goals are for freelancers What success looks like for many of us  Creating a business mindset So much inspiring and practical information! Connect with Justine and her community via her website: https://www.justinemclean.com/  Don't forget about The Content Byte Summit (which will tackle lots of issues about creating a financially sustainable business), from September 12-14, 2024 in Sydney. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au       Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com     Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week, Rachel and Lynne chat with writer Siobhan O'Brien, who has just released her first novel to much acclaim - All the Golden Light - details here: https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781460762004/all-the-golden-light/. Siobhan talks about the writing process and how writing fiction was so different from her previous non-fiction projects.  She talks about the realities of being a first time author, including: Learning to market your book Meeting your readers How much you really make as a writer in Australia Doing the research for a historical novel Editing your book and learning how to 'kill your darlings' And why she's now working on a second book Connect with Siobhan on Instagram @siobhan.obrien.author  Don't forget about The Content Byte Summit from September 12-14, 2024 in Sydney. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au  Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au  Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com  Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week on the podcast, Lynne and Rachel are speaking with Cathy Anderson, a senior editor at LinkedIn Australia. Cathy shares her inside knowledge on how LinkedIn works, and how to make the most of the platform. It's a valuable and revealing conversation. We talk about: The special courses available for journalists through the platform How to increase your reach on LinkedIn How the LinkedIn news team works and what they are looking for How the LinkedIn Premium accounts work As Cathy explained, they are always looking for great posts to be featured by the news team as part of the Idea of the Day (here’s an example from a journalist) as well as creator spotlights, which is where they send a notification directly to the person’s post. These topics are really broad, such as cloning your voice via AI, corporate manners and work vs family. Connect with Cathy at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathy-anderson-bb2648b4/ and Cathy is happy for people to InMail her their posts to pitch. The next ‘LinkedIn for Journalists workshop’ is on Monday July 1 at 10.30am -11.30am (AEST). Experts will cover the latest product updates and guidance about how journalists can use LinkedIn as a tool for research, contacting sources, networking, building your voice on LinkedIn and more. If you are a journalist and interested in accessing these benefits, please fill in the attached form by 24th June.   Don't forget about The Content Byte Summit from September 12-14, 2024 in Sydney. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week, Rachel and Lynne chat with the Pricing Queen, Jasmine Parasram, and talk all things pricing, an issue that we know freelancers, both new and experienced, struggle with. Jasmine talks about: How to price your work Hourly pricing vs value and project-based pricing When (and if) to discount Charging with confidence How to attract high-paying clients It's a great episode with lots of a-ha moment that will help you rethink the way you value your work and the clients you work with. Locate the resources that Jasmine mentions here: https://creativebusinesskitchen.com/calculate/rachel-kurzyp/ Or connect with Jasmine via her website: https://jasminedesigns.com.au/  Don't forget about The Content Byte Summit (which will tackle lots of issues about pricing and creating a financially sustainable business), from September 12-14, 2024 in Sydney. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au    Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au      Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com    Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week Rachel and Lynne welcome investigative journalist Louise Milligan to the podcast hot seat. Louise talks about her work on Four Corners and her previous non-fiction books, Cardinal, The Rise and Fall of George Pell and Witness, An Investigation into the Brutal Cost of Seeking Justice, as well as Pheasants Nest, her newly released novel. The discussion covers: The creative process of Louise's first novel and how it differs from journalism and non-fiction How the book expands on the usual way we consume a crime story  Covering confronting issues in both fiction and journalism Gendered violence and how that played into the plot of her novel How she juggles writing novels with her journalism work Some of the stories she has covered and why she will never forget them Trigger warning: Our chat with Louise Milligan covers some confronting topics, including sexual assault, gendered violence and suicide. If these topics are a trigger for you, you might like to skip this episode or come back another time. Pheasants Nest is available at all good bookshops. Connect with Louise on Instagram @milliganreports  and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012038172584  This is your last week to secure Early Bird tickets to The Content Byte Summit, from September 12-14, 2024. The Early Bird discount ends on May 31. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au    Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au     Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com   Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

We just love to meet freelancers who have managed to combine different types of writing into a successful career. This week, Rachel and Lynne chat with Caroline Riches, a news journalist for 25 years who works in the SBS newsroom part time and then does freelance writing work for the rest of the week. We talk about: Balancing the two roles Why she loves the flexibility of casual work What newsrooms are looking for from casual journalists and how to get a foot in the door The stress of covering big news stories How great it is to be part of a newsroom and being surrounded by the big news stories of the day Where and how she secures agency work Connect with Caroline at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-riches-978656113/  Caroline's website is: https://www.carolineriches.com/  This is your last week to secure Early Bird tickets to The Content Byte Summit, from September 12-14, 2024. The Early Bird discount ends on May 31. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au  Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au     Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com  Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au ), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week, Rachel and Lynne are doing something different! They have turned the microphone over to some of their listeners. In this great compilation episode, listeners and former guests share some of their stories about difficult times as freelancers and how they recovered. It's all about real-life experiences and resilience - and learning from our mistakes. Thanks to the following people for contributing (and those who aren't listed here as they preferred to stay anonymous): Anf Chansamooth https://www.anferneec.com/ Rebekah Lambert https://unashamedlycreative.com.au/ Belinda Weaver https://www.copywritematters.com/ Susan Reoch https://theuxcopywriter.com/  Brook McCarthy https://brookmccarthy.com/ Caitlin Wright https://caitlinwright.com.au/ Claire Chow https://connect4social.com.au/ Ed Gandia https://b2blauncher.com/ Emma Lovell, https://www.emmalovell.au/ John Burfitt, https://jbmedia.com.au/ Monica Davidson, https://creativeplusbusiness.com/ Theresa Miller - media trainer - TM Media https://www.theresamiller.com.au/training And, don't forget about The Content Byte Summit, from September 12-14, 2024. Time is running out to secure the Early Bird discount, which ends on May 31. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au    Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au ), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week Rachel and Lynne have a return guest - Jessica Mudditt. A journalist and author, Jessica has embraced risk and adventure to start her own publishing business, Hembury Books, which provides coaching and ghostwriting services to non-fiction authors.  Jess talks about what helped her decide to make this career shift, how and why self-publishing is a great option for many authors and some of the challenges of working in today's publishing industry. We cover: What it's like to have your own book in your hand Writing her own memoirs The publicity machine How the ghostwriting process works Coaching authors and mentoring them through the publishing process Jess's first appearance on The Content Byte is here: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-content-byte/id1478510876?i=1000526237952  Connect with Jessica at Hembury Books: https://hemburybooks.com.au/ where you can also find her podcast.  Are you coming to The Content Byte Summit, from September 12-14, 2024? Time is running out to secure the Early Bird discount, which ends on May 31. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au       Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com       Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au  for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co