The Soap Box Podcast

In all my soapbox content, I really tried to get the message across that politics isn't all votes, caucuses, ideologies, and arguments. It's not all climate change, economics, and big business. Politics is in the everyday structures, systems, and barriers that we face. It's what gets funded. It's childcare. It's how we access healthcare. It's mental health support and how this helps us work. It's caring responsibilities and the rules and guidelines on the internet. It's food safety and who looks after playgrounds. It's families and who's protected. It's everything. And that's why today I'm talking to Clio Wood. Clio is a women's health and sex positivity advocate, a journalist, and the author of “Get your mojo back: sex pleasure and intimacy after birth”.  As well as the founder of &breathe: an award-winning well-being retreat company for motherhood and menopause.  Because politics is also - sex.  We talk about the marginalization of women's health.We talk about how normal medical words are considered swear words or inappropriate across social media and in our own conversations. So that we feel uncomfortable talking about our own bodies. Which then has implications for how we can advocate for our own health and safety, and communicate in our relationships.  The way that society treats mothers, and women at all stages of their lives is political.  And we do use words in this week's episode, like vagina and vulva. We use words like sex, childbirth, periods, we talk about episiotomies, internal scarring and ultrasounds.If you're at all uncomfortable about those kinds of things, then there are plenty of other episodes that you can dive into.  But I really hope you won’t.  Because these are not issues that should be unspoken taboos.  These are the everyday experiences of over 50% of the world's population.  We owe it to ourselves. We owe it to those around us. We owe it to our children to be comfortable talking about them. And to be comfortable dealing with the way that society is marginalizing the lived experience of half the planet.  Things we mention in the episode:Clio on InstagramClio's book: "Get your mojo back"Clio's website for retreat and 1-1 information"Invisible Women" by Caroline Criado PerezSex Positive Families on InstagramContribute to the #censHERship survey Looking for more?Follow Peta on InstagramFind Peta on LinkedInHire Peta to work on your copywriting and brand messaging

This week on the soap box, I get to talk to. Kira Hug. A personality-driven copywriter and co-founder of The Copywriter Club: the home of everything you need to be a successful, growing, supported, and curious copywriter. And also someone who I'm proud to call a friend.  Kira is a thoughtful, curious, empathetic, and fascinating human being, and we covered so much in our conversation.  We talked about how you find a balance between caring about the things that are going on in the world and just, you know, doing your job on a daily basis. And how we make the transition between the two.   We talk about the impact that the iPhone has had on our ability to consume information, on how connected we feel, and the way that we communicate with other people. And we talk about how Kira deals with the elephant in the room: this unrelenting tide of hardships and crises going on around the world.  And how it often feels like we're not meant to talk about them in our businesses or in our lives. So, if you're interested in trying to work out how people who do care can use their problem-solving skills to positively impact these elephant-in-the-room issues. Or Kira’s journey from iPhone to flip phone and how it's affected her life and relationships. Why I turned off my breaking news notifications, and why I'm rediscovering a weekend newspaper habit. Then listen up. Wherever you are in your life or business right now.  Whatever issues you're grappling with. Whatever point you are at in trying to weave your business and your social conscience.  There's something in this episode for you. You can find Kira on LinkedIn hereIf you're interested in working with her on your copywriting, her website is here. Find out more about The Copywriter Club hereOr check out TCC's newest helpful guide for Copywriters looking for more clients: The Pocket-sized Client-finding Guide for CopywritersTop client-finding tips curated from ~400 The Copywriter Club podcast episodes...all in your proverbial back pocket.Get your copy here Looking for more?Follow Peta on InstagramFind Peta on LinkedInHire Peta to work on your copywriting and brand messaging

"We need people who are able to navigate their own emotions.  To be compassionate to the emotion of others. So that they can get up day in and day out and keep fighting the good fight. Because it's hard, and  they need to know that they can fight and help their cause without having to sacrifice their mental and emotional well-being." If you're a business owner with a social conscience (or even simply a human being with a social conscience), it can often feel like an uphill struggle. And with that struggle, and your passion, comes the guilt, the assumption that you have to sacrifice everything in service of the cause. And, before you know it, you've ended up in martyr territory. In the first episode of The Soap Box Podcast series 2, I talk to Tracy Johnson, a facilitator and emotional intelligence coach. She brings her unique perspective on how we can change the world, without sacrificing ourselves. We talk about how blame and shame are rubbish motivators for long term change. We look at the parallels between parenting and engaging with adults. And we discuss actionable ways you can change your language to encourage agency and make a positive impact. Find Tracy on LinkedInCheck out Tracy's programme - Marytr to WarriorContact Tracy via email Looking for more?Follow Peta on InstagramFind Peta on LinkedInHire Peta to work on your copywriting and brand messaging

So, you've sat through CopySchool. Binged Breakthrough Advertising (after taking out a mortgage to afford a copy). Watched a few too many webinars for someone who has an actual job. Listened to all the social media gurus.  And you have a whole quiver of sales tactics at the ready.Urgency, scarcity, all the Cialdini tricks, agitation of pain points.But, when you come to write for your clients (or your own business), it's starting to feel a bit icky.Do you really need that countdown timer on your upsell page?Should you really be diving into how awful your customer's life will be if they don't buy from you?Have you become one of those bro marketers, lounging over your Lamborghini in your ray bans?Sales is icky and manipulative, right?Well, not always. And that's what I'm talking about with Abi Pendergast in this week's pod episode.Abi is a conversion copywriter and funnel strategist for course creators. She uses her evergreen frameworks so that passionate and talented people reach those they can help. How can you use effective sales and marketing frameworks, without feeling like a used car salesperson?Abi spills all, including:Why evergreen is the way forward for your launchWhat breaks her heart about course creatorsHow bro marketers and their lambos have ruined conversion triggers for everyoneThe role of softer urgency in your launch (and the results she’s seen to back it up)What agitation REALLY is, and why it’s not making people feel bad.If you're searching for ways to sell your stuff, without selling your soul, then this is the episode for you. Sit back, and enjoy Abi getting on her soap box. Head to Abi's website to find out about her evergreen webinar (it's brilliant!)Find Abi on LinkedInSay hi on Instagram Looking for more?Follow Peta on InstagramFind Peta on LinkedInHire Peta to work on your copywriting and brand messaging

As I record this, the UK Advertising Standards Agency is cracking down on how businesses use terms like biodegradable recyclable, and compostable.  So they don't mislead consumers.We're also in the middle of Cop 28, where a bunch of countries have got together to try and solve the climate crisis. But where more oil industry executives ever are roaming the halls and lobbying.The environment is a big part of the cultural conversation that we're having, when it comes to how we spend our money. When it comes to the laws that we make, the cars that we drive, and the future that we imagine for our children or the next generation.  But few people talk about it as being so integral to the way that we build our businesses. Few people are like Liana Fricker - who is my guest today.  Liana wants people to know that we have so much more power than we realize, and that the system is designed to make us believe that we do not. And part of her work it's to remind people of their power so that they can do what they want or they need to with it. Liana helps people go beyond what they think is possible. Liana is a founder and the head of new ventures, at inspiration space. A high performance training center for fledgling founders and career change entrepreneurs.  She came into entrepreneurship via two babies on a burnout. And she's passionate about demystifying business and shares the lessons from her mistakes so that you can replicate her wins. I talked to Liana about the importance of collaboration. About how she went from environmental apathy to supporting other founders in building businesses that hold sustainability as their core from the beginning.  We talk about how preparing people for a new climate reality is like preparing people for the internet age. It is going to be more life-changing than we can possibly imagine. But it doesn't have to be a sacrifice. So. If you want a more positive outlook and perspective on how climate and sustainability can be a part of your business. If you want to be inspired as to how you can build a business, or have a career that doesn't even exist yet.  Then you need to listen to Liana gt on her soap box with me.  I hope you enjoy. Find out about Inspiration SpaceGet in on BrainGym - an 8 week mental fitness training programme for Founders. Learn lifelong skills that will change how you physically respons to stress, rejection, and overwhelm. Stalk Liana on LinkedInHire Peta to work on your copywriting and brand messaging Looking for more?Follow Peta on InstagramFind Peta on LinkedInHire Peta to work on your copywriting and brand messaging

Should we be terrified or hopeful about the future? My guest today believes we face huge challenges with climate, technology, and inequality, but he also sees routes to tackle them. I can’t wait to introduce you to Brandon Burton. Brandon’s a Brand voice Strategist who helps businesses scale their communication in a way that means they still sound like themselves. He’s also a futurist - with a long-term perspective that puts me to shame. Something that we sorely need in a world obsessed with the next news cycle. In today’s episode we cover a LOT of ground, from Communication being at the route of all the world’s problems, toThe importance of equal and easy access to decent information, toThe pressure we put on our children when we assume they’ll come up with the solutions to all the world’s problems, Whether we’re using the opportunities we have to communicate with our audiences in ways that drive them to positive action, And whether AI actually holds the key to solving some of these huge, seemingly intractable problems. If you’re looking at your newsfeed right now with a mix of confusion, hopelessness, and an inability to take Elon Musk seriously, then you need to listen in. Keep a notepad handy - you’re gonna need it! Let’s welcome Brandon to The Soap Box.Find Brandon on InstagramMake friends on LinkedInStalk his websiteCheck out his podcast (especially episode 2 for his prescient thoughts on AI!) Looking for more?Follow Peta on InstagramFind Peta on LinkedInHire Peta to work on your copywriting and brand messaging

What's your focus when you are crafting the messaging for your brand.  Is it clarity?  Conversion.  Consistency.  Comedy? Today, I'm talking to Ellen Bryant, a copywriter and messaging strategist based in Tasmania, Australia.  Ellen's background, working in communications for large companies taught her about  the most important thing when you're doing anything successfully in communications:  Building trust. And when she made the move to freelance marketing, she developed this concept of trust-forward copywriting.  If you're talking about social ethical, environmental, or racial issues in your messaging.  Then building trust is incredibly important.  It forms the basis for that constructive dialogue that you need to have with your audiences.  It builds up goodwill for when you inevitably make mistakes or missteps.   And it helps you make that authentic connection with the people that you're talking to. We cover: - Why copywriters are so interesting to spend time with! - The first thing you need to do when you start working with a new business, or client - Why social proof isn't pulling as much weight as you think it is in your copy - What can happen when you make building trust your focus - And the 3 pillars of building trust successfully in any situation.I'm really excited for you to hear it. So put your feet up and let's listen to Ellen get on her soapbox!Follow Ellen on LinkedInCheck out her websiteFind her on Instagram Looking for more?Follow Peta on InstagramFind Peta on LinkedInHire Peta to work on your copywriting and brand messaging

I didn't get into this to piss people off. I didn't get into this to build barriers or to make divisions. In fact, the very opposite. I got into this world of politics, marketing -  I developed my membership and I developed this podcast to help people have better conversations, even if they disagreed with each other. I got into this to build connections, to break down barriers. And also to highlight the fact that, while we're separated, it is a hundred times more difficult to make any progress to move towards a time when the world is a safer place for everybody.  Until we can have these conversations, rather than running for our block buttons, the sooner we can get to that safer world.  And so I wanted to bring Amena Chaudhry onto the podcast again. Amena has been really vocal on LinkedIn, about her views on the Israel-Gaza crisis.  And she has faced pushback for it.  I've heard her voice her frustration about how others are handling it and about the atmosphere that is building up, and I wanted to talk about that with her. But I also wanted to explore how we can make things better.  How we can build the muscles that we need to build in order to become more connected , and not more separated. And we spend some of our conversation talking about that. We also talk about why the moment that emergency strikes is not the time to build your tough conversation muscles.The need for a long, medium, and short-term response with the long-term conversation being tied up with intentionally building those muscles. When you should be blocking people, and when you should be trying to keep your chamber less echoey.And we discuss how insulating ourselves from other people's fear and grief is separating ourselves from this common experience. And we've been socialized to cut relationships right away instead of engaging with the difference, and trying to preserve those relationships while we do that.  We touched on how crises like Israel and Gaza are symptoms showing us that there is a deeper problem - Our disconnection.  And we talk about the importance of understanding the systems that we live within and how that impacts our response to crisis like this. Things we mentioned:Amena on LinkedInAIR Training: https://facilitatoronfire.net/Assessment Package: https://linktr.ee/zarafaconsulting (the first link)Dr. Ahmed Afzaal's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Twilight-Meaning-Education-Collapse/dp/166673599X/ref=pd_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0His website: https://ahmedafzaal.com/The Wake Up by Michelle M Kim. Looking for more?Follow Peta on InstagramFind Peta on LinkedInHire Peta to work on your copywriting and brand messaging

Want to eavesdrop on a room full of genius marketers (and me!) as they thrash out their thoughts on politics and messaging?Sure you do!While I was at The Copywriter Club's mastermind retreat in London this week, I invited (strongarmed) a whole bunch of the attendees to join me in a round table for The Soap Box podcast. You'll get to hear from:​Jon Bejakovik​​Rebecca Rosenberg​​Mike Garner​​Alyssa Burkus​​Kira Hug​​Meg Kendall​​Leanne de Araujo​​Rob Marsh​​Ange Friesen​And me!Do all brands need to make advocacy a part of their messaging?How can smaller brands take advantage of this space to build their audience?What do you think about when you eat chicken?Listen in and find out! Looking for more?Follow Peta on InstagramFind Peta on LinkedInHire Peta to work on your copywriting and brand messaging

I’m recording this in the week that Hamas terrorists launched a horrendous attack on Israeli civilians. And then the Israeli government retaliated against civilians in Gaza. But, as the horrendous situation unfolds on the ground, a familiar story is playing out online. Statements, condemnations, calls to support, arguments, confusion, hate, prejudice. I am not a geo-political expert. I have a rudimentary understanding of the history and context of the Israeli-Palestinian situation. I have many half-formed thoughts on oppression, terrorism, and global powers. But I also have a deep empathy for the humans stuck in the middle of all this. Whichever side of the border they sit. We still don’t know how to address issues that blend political ideologies with human suffering. And, as business owners, that’s a problem. Because we’re all expected to have something to say. So, either we copy and paste something that someone else has said because we feel it aligns with our values (hey, no shade if that’s what you want to do). Or we completely ignore the issue because we’re scared of getting cancelled or of getting something wrong and hurting someone. So, because this is really why The Soap Box exists, today I’m going to talk about what not to do as a business owner when a sensitive political issue, a tragedy, or a conflict flashes up on your phone screen… and what to try instead. My wish today is that you take something from me that helps you make more human connections in the midst of confusion. Naomi Kleins new book, DoppelgangerMolly Mcpherson on TikTokMolly's Forbes article on the perfect online apologyAnti-Racism Daily on the Israeli-Hamas conflictBBC News on the Israeli-Hamas conflict Looking for more?Follow Peta on InstagramFind Peta on LinkedInHire Peta to work on your copywriting and brand messaging