TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[2:45] One of the biggest things to consider when you are doing anything as a side hustle, copywriting or otherwise, is to treat it like a business.

[4:59] Clients will still work with you outside daytime hours. There shouldn’t be too many client calls and you can schedule them during evenings or weekends. Avoid telling your client this is a side hustle as you don’t want to send the message that this work is not a priority.

[8:59] As you start to pitch and get excited about landing clients, it’s tempting to want to say “yes” to every client. But when your hours are limited, you need to be very intentional with how you choose projects and set the timeline for those projects.

[10:10] Nicki and Kate discuss the importance of determining your business boundaries with clients and sticking to them.

[13:00] It’s easy to treat a side hustle as “bonus” money coming in, but don’t forget you still need to pay taxes on that income. You should also track any money that you’re spending for your business.

[14:45] Be realistic about the time you have and the time you want to take off. It can help to visually block time out on the calendar for different activities so you know what is sustainable.

[17:36] When it comes to timing, you also need to factor in the times of the year you might want to work more or less. For example, teachers might want to ramp up their side hustle work over summer.

[19:30] Nicki and Kate recommend starting with copywriting as a side hustle before transitioning to full-time copywriting. Jumping in with both feet can work well for some people, but not others.

[21:17] Knowing your numbers is important to help you understand what you need to make ends meet. You’ll have a better idea of how many clients you need and how much you need to pitch.

[24:43] To make the transition from side hustle to full time a little easier, you’re going to have to dial up your side hustle hours before leaving your full-time job. 

[26:20] Remembering your big “why” can be really motivating in those moments where you’re dialing up your freelance hours and working extra hard. And don’t forget to make it fun, too!

Must-Hear Takeaways

“One of the biggest things to consider when you are doing anything as a side hustle, copywriting or otherwise, is to treat it like a business. Because if you are treating a side hustle like a hobby or like a ‘nice to have’, then you’re not going to see the results that you want to see. If you treat it like a hobby, it will be a hobby. It might be fun, but it might not bring you the income, the revenue that you want to receive. So you have to go into it knowing that it is a business. It’s your business.” – Kate

“You have to take every element of your business just as seriously as if you were doing it full time. And that includes your finances as well. But that also includes tracking any money that you’re spending for your business. If you are buying supplies for your business, track those as well. Treat it just the same as you would if you were doing it full time.” – Nicki

“I think one of the things to note too with client communication is that your client shouldn’t know that this is a side hustle per se. They don’t need to know that this is something that you’re doing extra or on top of a full-time job. They don’t need to know the details of what’s going on in your life beyond that because I think there can be a connotation with some clients of this is just a side hustle, this is just something they’re doing extra on top of a full-time job. You don’t want to send the message that this is secondary. You want to always present yourself as this client is the most, and this project is the most important thing on my plate.” – Kate

“Jumping in with both feet is probably not a great plan for you if you can possibly help it. If you have a full-time job and you’re fine with your full-time job or it’s not making you too miserable, can you build up your side hustle income and build up your client base so that you have an easier transition into full-time freelancing?” “One of the biggest things is knowing your numbers. What do you comfortably need to live month to month to pay the bills?” – Nicki & Kate

Mentioned on this Episode

• Build a Copywriting Business While Working 9 to 5 (with Grace Nelson)
• Copywriting as a Side Hustle – Alicia’s Story
• How to Be a Part-Time Copywriter with a Full-Time Job
• Balancing a Copywriting Career with an Acting Career
• Building a Copywriting Side Hustle With a Full-Time Job – Claire’s Story
• Bridging the Gap from Quitting a Job to Full-Time Freelance

Related Links

• Can Copywriting Be a Side Hustle?
• How to Be a Part-Time Copywriter from Home
• The Secret to Sustaining Freelance Copywriting Success

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

Ep. 188: Pivoting to Copywriting Later in Your Career – Kelly’s Story

The post Episode 189: Before Starting a Copywriting Side Hustle … Listen to This appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[1:44] Our hosts welcome business and operations strategist Jessica Lackey. After climbing the corporate ladder at Nike, Jessica began to feel the impact of putting profit over people. Now, she combines her expertise in business strategy with a human-centered perspective to help entrepreneurs grow and scale sustainable businesses.

[5:15] One of the biggest mistakes freelancers make when scaling their business is jumping too far beyond the stage of business that they’re in.

[9:52] If you want to move out of the early stages of business, Jessica encourages us to focus on gaining a breadth of experience with client work so you can start to see patterns in who you like to serve. You also need to dedicate time to start building your portfolio.

[14:00] As humans, we want to be where we see the future is and we want to be there right now. Jessica advises focusing on one big system in your business every season and one concrete project every month.  

[18:57] What we think is the problem is not always the problem. For example, if a copywriter is thinking, “I’m just I’m not sending out pitches and it’s so hard”, the *real* problem might be that they’re trying to do it at a time of day when they have low energy.

[22:00] Jessica explains how the “five whys” concept can help you go below what seems to be the solution and help you identify the true problem.

[24:07] It’s important to separate your emotions from the objective truth if you want to make effective changes in your business. Grounding exercises can help to make sure you’re in a regulated enough space to notice a truth you may have been ignoring. 

[27:56] Instead of dwelling on missed goals, take a look at whether you executed the plan fully. If not, try to pinpoint the gap—safety, skill, or desire—and address it.

[32:05] As James Clear says, “We don’t rise to the level of our goals, we fall to the level of our systems.” So how can you spend some time every month putting the infrastructure in place to make working on your business easier?

[34:26] Systems are not about restrictions, they’re about holistic organization—people, processes, and tools. They provide freedom by preventing chaos and uncertainty. With systems, you are in control, knowing what’s ahead and where everything stands.

Must-Hear Takeaways

“I think one of the problems is we tend to see people take on methods that are meant for businesses scaling that actually take you away from the core methods that you need to tend to seeds and sprouts. And so we’re doing a lot of work, but it’s actually work meant for a business that’s not ours or a business that’s more senior than ours or more experienced than ours, because that’s what we see our teachers doing. So it’s how can we level set and be like, okay, I am where I am in my business and what do I need to focus on at this stage of business?” – Jessica

“Yes, revenue and numbers are important and yes, we want to make money, but I would rather at the seed and sprout stage see you get more reps in and doing client work and getting those patterns versus being as focused on the pricing per project. Again, we never want to be unprofitable, but I think too many times I see people worrying about the right pricing and the right structure for the offer and I’m like, just go do the work, get, you know, 10 to 20 reps and see what types of patterns are emerging in the type of work you’re doing. And then set aside time to do the heavy lifting in our own businesses that we never want to do again. Update that copy, put that portfolio together, make dedicated time to start building that infrastructure. That’s really important.” – Jessica

“Who doesn’t want to go overnight from a seed to a tree with fruits, like a mature tree, even though we know nature says that you grow a ring every single year and it takes some time to build. But I think we’re human. We want to be where we see the future is and we want to be there right now. That’s, I think, why it’s so hard.” – Jessica

Mentioned on this Episode

• Visit Jessica’s Website
• Follow Jessica on LinkedIn
• Follow Jessica on Instagram

Related Links

• The Fastest Way to Grow Your Copywriting Business
• Career Resolutions to Make Right Now
• Your Copywriting Business Plan for a Successful Year
• Preventing Burnout as a Copywriter
• 5 Ways to Instantly Improve Your Copywriting Portfolio Site

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

Ep. 176: How This Ex-Teacher Joined the Filthy Rich Writer Team—As a Copywriter – Rebecca’s Story

The post Episode 177: Reframing Your Copywriting Goals to Align with Your Values – with Jessica Lackey appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[1:50] When you’re starting out as a copywriter, it can be tempting to learn all of the skills related to copywriting, like SEO, graphic design, and website development. But if your goal is to establish yourself as a copywriter, then copywriting should be your main focus.

[4:39] Working on more than one project at the same time slows down progress on all of them. It can also lead to overwhelm and ultimately discourage you from working toward your main goal.

[8:15] People often think by offering more services they will be able to charge their clients more. But clients are usually happy to hire a number of experts because each one will know the ins and outs of their craft. Whatever your income goal is, you can create that by being a copywriter.

[9:34] When you get to the point of wondering what the next stage is for your copywriting career, take a step back to figure out what your actual goal is. You don’t have to do things like start an agency just because you see someone else doing it.

[11:40] While it’s perfectly fine to dig into something like design more, Nicki warns that it can often end up becoming a distraction and a form of resistance which stops you from stepping out of your comfort zone.

[15:00] When you’re scheduling tasks in your calendar, make sure you question whether they are actually moving you a step closer to your goal. Break down scarier tasks into smaller chunks and lower the pressure to make them more enjoyable.

[17:16] Sometimes we try to pursue other things to bring back that feeling of newness and excitement by learning something new. Try to focus on what you know is going to work to land clients (pitching!) and then do the rest in your free time.

[21:15] You can still pursue things that interest you but your copywriting business needs to be seeing consistent success before you start adding anything else. Take time to get clear on your goal and make sure that the majority of your time and effort is focused on where you want to go. 

[26:40] Nicki shares a story about how both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs thought the number one key to success was focus.

Must-Hear Takeaways

“What is your goal? Is it to earn more income? Is it to have more time? Is it to maintain that same level of income but be able to take 10 weeks of vacation? What is your actual desire and what are the possible ways to get there because I think we stop thinking about what we actually want and the different ways to get there and there isn’t necessarily one way to do it.” – Kate

“You need to keep a very careful eye on your time, your energy and your attention to make sure this ‘oh pursuing something new’ is not actually just resistance coming up and going ah look at this shiny object that’s going to distract you and keep you from getting out of your comfort zone and actually making progress on your copywriting career.” – Nicki

“You cannot give 100% of yourself to everything, so decide what goal is going to get what goal is going to get 95% of your professional self and then figure out what additional interest or whatever is going to get that 5%.” – Nicki

“Clients are totally fine hiring an expert in copywriting, an expert in design, and an expert in development. Often clients who are savvy know that it’s almost impossible to find someone who fits all of these roles and does them equally well.” – Kate

Mentioned on this Episode

• Copywriting & Design: Insights from a Global Design Leader – Ch’ien Chan

Related Links

• What Does a Copywriter NOT Do?
• Should I Combine Copywriting and Graphic Design Services?
• What Do Copywriters Actually Do?
• Fake Job Alert: What You Need to Know About Being an “SEO Copywriter”

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

Ep. 161: 1 Copywriting Tactic You Should Avoid at All Costs

The post Episode 162: #1 Secret for Copywriting Success appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[1:44] The 2023 Summer Freelance Summit was a three day event (free for CCA students!) with expert speakers talking about different ways to optimize your freelance business. This episode brings you a sprinkling of some of the key highlights from the presenters!

[4:00] It’s important to calculate prices based on your own numbers, rather than looking at competitors. Cost is made up of three factors: material costs, labor costs, and your time. It’s wise to track your time on every project for the first six months and see how your cost compares.

[8:36] Getting help by outsourcing admin tasks and things that aren’t in your “zone of genius” means you can conserve your energy and focus on money maker tasks like discovery calls, client work, and client meetings. 

[10:55] Using quizzes can help to increase your leads in a more automated way, while still building a really positive, genuine connection with potential clients.

[14:05] To combat procrastination, try breaking down daunting tasks into smaller, manageable chunks and scheduling them on your calendar.

[20:42] If you’re not already capturing your visitors’ emails, consider adding an opt-in incentive to your website. This means you can follow up with them, continue connecting with them, and nurture them into becoming paying customers.

[22:22] When you create your pricing for a particular offer for a specific client, make sure you are accounting for the time and energy you spend on client work outside of the actual project itself (e.g. email/Slack communication, creating proposals and invoices, client calls etc.).

[28:39] Having awareness of money blocks is crucial, as it enables you to recognize and overcome your resistance to financial success.

[34:06] Holistic health practitioner Tara Bianca walks us through a breathing exercise which we can apply during our workday to help calm the nervous system and calm the mind.

Must-Hear Takeaways

“When we understand why we’re charging what we are, it’s so much easier to say that’s what the price is. If we need to lower the budget, let’s take some stuff away. It’s so hard to figure out how to price yourself and as a service-based provider, where your time is mostly what your service is made up of, it’s even harder. The worst advice out there right now is ‘charge what you’re worth’.” – Shanna Skidmore

“You need to be hiring when you start dropping balls, when things aren’t getting done. When you can feel that shame, like when you’re late on a deadline, and when you know that you’re kind of running out of time here, when you’re doing tasks that just are in your drudgery zone, you start dragging your feet on it. When they keep getting put at the bottom of the pile and you’re not ever getting to it, those are good tasks to start outsourcing, to make sure that they get done.” – Emily Reagan

“The first tool is learning how to take those scary or daunting tasks and actually break them down into much smaller, meaningful, less scary bite-sized chunks to get done.” – Megan Sumrell

“Capturing email addresses from your website visitors also means you can follow up with them, continue connecting with them and nurturing them into becoming paying customers. Because stats show that 97% of website visitors aren’t ready to buy, and 33% will leave a website to research competitors. So if you’re not already capturing your visitors’ emails, then now’s the time to start adding an opt-in into your website. It doesn’t have to be crazy hard either. All you’ll need is a CRM or email marketing platform like ConvertKit or Drip.” – Emma Kate Barker

Related Links

• Master Your Money Mindset – With Brie Sodano
• How to Calm Your Nerves for Meetings with Copywriting Clients
• How to Set Your Copywriting Rates
• Business Builder or Time Waster?

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

Ep. 158: Set Your Future Self Up for Success Right Now

The post Episode 159: 8 Tips You Can Use Right Now to Step Up Your Freelance Copywriting Game appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[1:44] Today’s episode is all about how to set your future self up for success by taking certain actions and is a concept that works really well for the Filthy Rich Writer team.

[3:05] Try to give yourself a bit of a buffer when it comes to setting internal deadlines. If a project is due on Friday, you might want to aim to do it by Wednesday so that you have some wiggle room in case something unexpected comes up.

[5:01] As you take on more work, your schedule will become full and sneaking projects (even small ones!) in is difficult. It’s much better to under promise and over deliver.

[6:34] Kate set a boundary for herself to not start working on projects until at least two weeks after the initial call. Having these kinds of rules in place give you some extra breathing room in case other things crop up.

[8:29] It can be very tempting to fill up your schedule as you have more clients and work coming in. But remember to give yourself some unscheduled time as you plan out your day so that you have space to concept or take a breather from a project if needed. This also allows you to say yes to the fun stuff or deal with any emergencies.

[12:31] Look at the weather in advance to help you plan your unscheduled time so that you can take advantage of it when you want to and block off vacations early (even at the start of January!) so you can plan around this.

[16:16] Whatever you think you’re going to remember, know that you probably won’t! Try to process handwritten notes immediately and add things to your calendar so that you don’t have to try and hold so much information in your head.

[17:32] You never know when an idea is going to strike you, whether it’s for a client project or a new way to market yourself, so make sure you always have a pen and notecards on you! Let’s encourage those ideas by giving them a place to go instead of trying to hold onto them in our heads.

[19:45] As you look at your process of working with a client, check to see if there are speed bumps anywhere, like sending invoices. Build steps in which will set yourself up to make this important part of the process faster and easier for future you.

[21:03] Set in time to add work to your portfolio once the piece is live and published. Nicki and Kate can both confirm that future you will thank you for not having to update your entire portfolio all at once!

[24:40] Even if you don’t want to put a project in your portfolio, still try to regularly gather your pieces and take screen grabs because it may be useful for a specific client or job role one day.

[28:19] If you work from home and have certain hang-ups like making sure the laundry is done or the kitchen is clean, make sure things are in line before you know you’re going to start working. That way, you won’t end up procrastinating and letting resistance take over!

[29:39] If you have a big client call coming up or a day that you know that you really have to dig into a project that is especially challenging, make sure that you have adequate sleep planned in the night before.

Must-Hear Takeaways

“I feel like we unnecessarily put lots of stress and pressure on ourselves because we say we want to deliver, we want to be the best partner to our clients, and by being the best partner, I can get to them faster. But being the best partner is going to be delivering the best copy possible. And if that means giving yourself lots of time to lower the pressure, and lower the stress level on the whole project, then do that. There’s truly no reason to add that extra layer of pressure for yourself.” – Kate

“So, so many of us, once we’re done with the project, we’re like, ‘Yay, done! Oh, now I have to send the invoice…’ And we procrastinate on sending the invoice, which when you think about it, is just absurd. But that’s what we do (or some of us do). So build in time, build in a step in the process to send your invoice, and build in a step to send an email asking for testimonials and or referrals.” – Nicki

“If there are any places in your life where you think to yourself, ‘why did I do this to myself?!’ that is a prime opportunity to set yourself up for future success.” – Nicki

“It is so much easier to update your portfolio if you’re doing it regularly versus getting to the end of a year versus getting to the end of two years and going, ‘Oh, I need to do this, I have so much work that’s not even on here. I look like a totally different copywriter.’ And then having to track down work, and sometimes having to reach out to previous clients or previous contacts.” – Nicki

Related Links

• 5 Ways Super-Productive Copywriters Start Their Days
• Daily Habits of the Most Successful Writers & Creatives
• What Are Your Copywriting Business Rules?
• 3 Steps to Taking a Vacation as a Freelance Copywriter
• The Right Way to Invoice Your Copywriting Clients

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

Ep. 157: Are You Living in the Gap or the Gain?

The post Episode 158: Set Your Future Self Up for Success Right Now appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[1:44] Nicki and Kate welcome Kaitlyn, the operations manager of Nicki K Media! Her creativity lies in problem solving and executing big projects smoothly.

[5:16] If something is on your to-do list for more than two days, it’s too big of a project. To make it less overwhelming, break the task down into small, manageable bite-sized chunks.

[9:35] Set due dates for every task to stay accountable and recognize when you might be pushing tasks off.

[10:35] Try to balance out the available time you have with the amount of tasks that you assign yourself on that day to avoid overloading your to-do list.

[15:07] Kaitlyn advises trying to figure out when you have the most energy throughout the day so that you know when is the best time to tackle more challenging tasks. It may be better to schedule meetings when you have less energy–for Kaitlyn, this is often in the afternoon!

[18:41] To help your productivity and see what works for you, be willing to try things that seem a bit silly or weird and get you outside of your comfort zone. It might be going to a coffee shop or changing your outfit, but once you can get the train moving, you have momentum.

[22:50] As a freelance copywriter, you have built a career where you have flexibility, so take advantage of it! Try different locations and working times to find what works best for you.

[24:49] The more you carry your to-do list in your head, the less room you have for creativity. Using a digital project management software like Asana is effective for managing projects and setting regular reminders for tasks that help to grow your business.

[32:29] If you’re using a system like Asana, then you can look at your calendar, see how much work you have, and where you have gaps to start work on other projects in advance. You will always thank yourself for getting ahead!

[35:01]  It’s easy to get excited about ideas in the moment but ask yourself how urgent it is and if it will drive revenue. If it won’t make a difference right now, consider parking it in what Kaitlyn calls the “parking lot of ideas”. You can revisit these if it becomes more important in the future and you have more time.

Must-Hear Takeaways

“As a freelancer or just even copywriter in general, if you have too much on your plate, then at some point in the day you will get to the point where you realize that you will not accomplish it, and you will likely shut down and just stop. So then you definitely don’t accomplish it. So break the tasks down into small chunks and pick a number in your head that makes sense. So for me, 15 to 25 minutes per task is kind of my goal. That means that when I look at my list, I have an idea of how many tasks I can actually accomplish in a day.” – Kaitlyn

“I think batching is really helpful because you can take all of the similar tasks and do them together. That helps with the task switching and you’re not losing quite so much time when you’re moving between tasks as your brain is kind of in the same space.” – Kaitlyn

 “It’s normal to have these moments or these days when you just can’t get the train going, can’t get that momentum going, and whether you’re freelancing or you work full-time in an office, that’s normal. So just trying to figure out what works for you to get that momentum back I think is really helpful.” – Kaitlyn

“I am really passionate about not carrying your to-do list in your brain because your brain is not designed to be a storage filing cabinet system. It’s designed to do creative stuff.” – Kaitlyn

Related Links

• Amp Up Your Copywriting Productivity with Ultra Scheduling
• 5 Ways Super-Productive Copywriters Start Their Days
• 4 Tools to Stay On Top of Your To Do List
• Staying Productive When I’m Unmotivated: Pomodoro Technique
• How to Set Up Your Schedule When Working from Home

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

Ep. 153: How to Write Powerful Copy (Even When the Product or Service Isn’t Interesting)

The post Episode 154: How Freelancers Can Masterfully Juggle Multiple Projects – with Kaitlyn Spinney appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[3:07] CCA student Indigo is working as an actor while also doing copywriting. She is finding it difficult to switch her mindset between these two careers and often finds herself putting all of her energy into just one of them at a time.

[4:17] Nicki advises using the techniques she already knows when switching between roles as an actress, and applying the same tactics when switching from acting to copywriting. 

[5:58] To ensure higher focus and productivity, Nicki suggests setting aside dedicated hours for copywriting work based on the time that is available to her.

[8:14] Taking small steps consistently can help reduce overwhelm and make sure that you’re still progressing, even when time is limited. If Indigo has an acting job, Kate recommends setting aside just 15 minutes a day to work on pitching for example, rather than trying to achieve something much more unrealistic.

[10:53] Copywriting is an awesome career but it’s still normal to face some resistance. Schedule time to do it when you are at your freshest and most creative, and commit to the time you have set.

[13:32] It is wise to keep two different careers separate in terms of branding and websites, but it is still fine to use the same name for both. If you are going to use your non-legal name for one of them, bear in mind that you may need to speak to a bookkeeper to ensure you can process payments in that name.

Must-Hear Takeaways

“Let’s say you’re filming a TV series during the day and you’re also on stage at night. You would have to switch, right? So what techniques would you use for yourself as an actor as you already know you have to switch from this role to the other role? And I would use those same techniques to switch from your role as an actor to your role as a copywriter.” – Nicki

“If a task has been on your list for multiple days, then it’s too big. And so I think in your case, this might be a similar thing of instead of writing one pitch, break it down into all the teeny tiny steps that you need to do so that you can just chip away at it and not feel like you have to do this whole big thing. What are the micro steps you can take?” – Kate

“Copywriting is an awesome career. It’s awesome, but it’s still work, which means that there are plenty of days that you are not going to feel like doing it.” – Nicki

“If you know that the morning time is your most creative time, then don’t leave your copywriting until after you’ve done all of the other stuff because you’re going to come home, you’re going to be exhausted and your energy is not going to be there. You’re already exhausted from work and you’re just naturally going to try to fight yourself.” – Nicki

Related Links

• Copywriting as a Creative Outlet for an Actor – James’s Story
• Can Copywriting Be a Side Hustle?
• Ep. 55: Building a Copywriting Side Hustle With a Full-Time Job – Claire’s Story
• Ep. 75: How to Be a Part-Time Copywriter with a Full-Time Job – Catching Up with Alicia

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

The post BONUS: Laser Coaching – Balancing a Copywriting Career with an Acting Career appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[3:05]  A copywriter’s day will look completely different from one person to another due to all of the variables, but there will still be some commonalities.

[3:33] The beginning of the day can be a good time to do admin tasks if you prefer to ease into your day, like Kate, and not have to worry about checking emails all day. For Nicki, she is more fresh and creative at this time of the day, so it’s a valuable time for her to work on trickier copywriting projects.

[5:26] Scheduling breaks throughout the day and identifying when you are at your most creative and most focused is crucial for producing quality work.

[8:22] During the times when you know you are less creative, it’s a good idea to schedule client calls or do admin tasks like checking emails or research for pitching. 

[10:04] Kate also likes to use the time when she is less creative to outline her copy doc and add some “low pressure writing” as she calls it. This is a good tactic because it means you have some momentum when you sit down the next day and are not starting from scratch.

[12:33] Nicki advises against sending through copy during wine time. As Hemmingway said, “write drunk, edit sober”!

[14:08] If you’re working on-staff, it can be more of a challenge to choose when you can do your most creative time. Try to block out your creative time and schedule meetings around this if possible–if you’re working for a creative director or a marketing director, they’ll likely understand.

[16:17] It’s important to communicate with all the people on your team, such as designers, to establish when your creative hours are. That way you can book in a suitable time to collaborate on your projects.

[21:20] For freelancers, it can be very easy to forget that you can create opportunities to collaborate as you need or want. Technology makes it so much easier to hop on a quick call with people and still build really fantastic collaborations.

[23:51]  If you’re working freelance and with clients across different time zones, remember to set the boundaries that make sense for you. You don’t have to take calls at 11 o’clock at night! 

[26:34] Nicki and Kate encourage you to do a little experimentation when it comes to when and where you do your creative work, so that you can find out what works best for you.

[29:02] Don’t forget that you can do different things on different days to keep it exciting and interesting. We didn’t get into this job to be bored!

Must-Hear Takeaways

“One of the many great things about this career is that you can kind of figure out what works for you and we would encourage you to do a little experimentation. If you know you always do your creative work in the morning, try doing it in the evening, or in the afternoon. You could discover that you’ve been trying to force yourself into the morning hours, when it turns out you are one of the people who’s just really good in the afternoon or middle of the day. But experiment to figure out what works best for you, as long as you are delivering the best quality copy that you can to your clients and are responding to them in a timely manner.” – Nicki

“I would say one of the things I wish I learned sooner was still having that idea of when my key peak hours were to then be able to better push back against meetings that are scheduled.” – Kate

“Communication, communication, communication. Ask for what you need.” – Kate

“If you’re traveling while you’re working too, then you’re going to have to shift potentially what your ‘day in the life’ looks like. Maybe you want to be out exploring all day and then work at night. And that’s perfectly doable, which is the beauty of this career: the flexibility of it and the flexibility to change what your day looks like, especially as a freelancer. – Kate

 “You can do different things on different days, just to keep it exciting and interesting, and not boring. We didn’t get into this to be bored.” Kate

Related Links

• What Does a Typical Copywriter Schedule Look Like?
• 5 Ways Super-Productive Copywriters Start Their Days

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

Ep. 149: The Worst Advice for New Freelancers (And What to Do Instead)

The post Episode 150: A Day in the Life of a Copywriter appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

Read More: How to Manage That First Copywriting Client Panic

When you start getting work, your first reaction will be elation. But then the panic may set in. Learn how to overcome that feeling and push through the panic with our blog post here >>

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[1:44] Challenges are likely to come up when building your own business but panicking about them will only hinder your progress.

[5:31] Whatever the problem is, start by viewing it objectively and ask yourself what you know for sure about the situation and what the absolute facts are. Your feelings are valid, but they’re not objective.

[10:48] The next question to ask yourself is what problem you are looking to solve, e.g. are you working too many hours? Then you can go through all of the elements that may have contributed to that.

[13:55] Nicki and Kate discuss some possible scenarios for working a certain number of hours and not making enough money. Are you factoring meetings into your price? Are you making an assumption about the number of hours you’re working?  

[21:59] As you go through and see what all of the contributing problems are, it will be clear exactly what is causing the main problem. The last step is figuring out what to do now instead.

[23:26] Having too much work can be a sign of not setting or enforcing effective boundaries with your clients. Make the shift toward wanting your clients to respect you, rather than like you.

[26:35] Using this process is useful for hitting your financial goals, but can also be used if you have too much work. 

[27:58] Once you have the facts about business activities like pitching and social media, you can figure out what you need to objectively do to move forward. You can’t make those decisions in a state of panic.

[33:33] Tracking the metrics in your business is key for determining if the activities that you’re doing are generating revenue.

[35:44] Aim for slightly higher goals, as achieving them can happen a lot faster than you think. It’s all perfectly possible but not if you spend all of your time in panic!

Must-Hear Takeaways

“Whatever the facts end up being, once you have the facts you can figure out what you need to objectively do to move forward. Not just sit there and say “ahh I don’t know what to do!!!” Yes, absolutely take a moment to feel your feelings, but when you know the objective facts, you can come up with the steps to move forward.” – Nicki

“If we’re not enforcing our boundaries, if we’re working well beyond the hours that we told our clients that we would work, or if we’re doing extra work for our clients just to be nice, that’s going to compound and that’s going to end up with us working way too much for way too little.” – Nicki

“We’re looking for what objectively happened because as you start to list out these problems and list out the symptoms, the factors that contribute to those problems, you’re going to start being able to come up with what I would then call hypotheses or possible scenarios to fix it.” – Nicki

“It is a spiral that’s hard to get out of because you just keep saying yes to work and keep taking on work. And then you still have all of these problems and you’re wondering what’s going on. And sometimes the cash is nice enough to make up for that, but you’re somehow burned out and miserable in some ways like ‘I thought I was going to have more time as a copywriter’. You can, you just need to go through this framework to make sure you’re setting up your business in the right way.” – Kate

“The truth is, there’s no problem in your business that can’t be fixed and I hope that makes everyone feel really good. Wherever you are, whatever you’re facing, there’s nothing that can’t be fixed and whatever your goal is, it is absolutely possible to get there.” – Nicki

Related Links

• Frustrated, Disillusioned, and/or Procrastinating? It’s Time to Fight Resistance
• Copywriting Rush Fees: When and How to Charge Them
• Ep. 17: How to Set Your Copywriting Rates
• What Are Your Copywriting Business Rules?
• Ep. 134: Keep Copywriting Fun: 3 Must-Implement Business Boundaries

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

Ep. 146: Face Your Freelance Finances Fears – with Crystalynn Shelton (CPA)

The post Episode 147: How to Avoid Freak-Outs & Solve Any Challenge appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[1:51] Regularly asking yourself if something is a business builder or time waster helps you to make the best of the time that you’re spending on your business.

[3:00] Posting on social media can often become a time waster if it is not targeted at your audience and the content is not serving its intended purpose.

[7:42] It’s not just about evaluating the task, it’s also evaluating how much time you spend on the task, and how much effort it takes you to spend on the task.

[9:24] There comes a point when trying to choose the perfect URL, logo, and email domain becomes a time waster instead of a business builder.

[14:09] Our hosts discuss when posting and networking in Facebook groups goes from business building to time wasting.

[20:10] It is very easy to fill your schedule with consuming content from books, podcasts etc. but you need to actually use the information that you’re consuming for it to be a business builder.

[24:42] There are some tasks that are almost always business builders, like pitching, following up, updating your portfolio, and listing potential clients to pitch.

[33:14] Take time to evaluate your tasks by putting your CEO hat on and seeing what’s getting results.

Read More: Using Social Media

Posting on social media can often become a time waster if it is not targeted at your audience, the content is not serving its intended purpose, and you’re not following industry influencers. Read more about who you need to be following on social media here >>

Must-Hear Takeaways

As with every episode, we highly encourage you to listen to the entire conversation! But here are a few of the highlights:

“If you’re spending five hours posting on social media and you’re not getting anything out of it, you could be spending at least four of those sending pitches and then absolutely getting something out of it. So it’s not just evaluating the task, it’s also evaluating how much time you spend on the task, and how much effort it takes you to spend on the task.” – Nicki

“If you are truly evaluating one of your “business builder” techniques or tasks and it’s not actually building your business, then you have to to scale it back because you don’t have time to waste.” – Nicki

“Resistance is so insidious. All it’s doing is keeping you from taking action by telling you that the only way to be successful is to have the perfect URL.” – Nicki

“The more pitches you have out in the world, the more potential opportunities you have coming back to you.” – Kate

“You don’t have time to waste. We all have limited time in our day. And on top of that, any time that you’re not spending building your business, is time that you are not making money. You are not landing new clients, you are not doing things to move yourself toward your goals. You’re keeping yourself stuck in the same place.” – Nicki

Related Links

• 5 Easy Tips for Maximizing Your Time
• Amp Up Your Copywriting Productivity with Ultra Scheduling

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

Ep. 142: On-Staff vs. Freelance Copywriting: Which is Better?

The post Episode 143: Business Builder or Time Waster? appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.