Hot Copy

Have you ever felt cooped up in a corporate office, staring outside at the trees, wishing you could leave the hustle and bustle of city life behind?

Waking up mid-morning, taking a coffee onto the veranda, and staring out at wide-open pastures with birds chirping?

While it’s a nice daydream to have, many of us stick it out and stay put.

Others, like our guest today, put in the tough hours to make it a reality.

It’s not all lazy sleep-ins and fresh country air, but it IS freedom from the constraints of the city, and as far as copywriting goes - it’s a whole new demographic.

We’re excited to find out the difference location can make to your writing strategies from The Rural Copywriter herself!

Tune in to learn:

• How Sarah Walkerden became The Rural Copywriter
• Common misconceptions about country-living
• City VS Country copy
• The secrets of writing in a “down to earth style”
• The challenges of working with rural businesses
• How Sarah’s workday changed.

If you like what you’re hearing on Hot Copy, the best way to support the show is to take just a few seconds to leave a rating and/or comment over on iTunes, Spotify, or Stitcher. Thanks!

Oh and big hugs to Kate Crocker for her lovely testimonial.

“I love the Hot Copy Podcast. It's engaging, funny, and informative. It covers a huge range of copywriting topics, always with practical tips.

Belinda and Kate also interview some legends of the biz and obviously enjoy themselves.

This podcast is a must for any copywriter.”

The Rural Copywriter helps rural and regionally based businesses (including the agricultural and equestrian industries, boost their Google rankings and win over scores of adoring customers, through effective digital marketing messaging and strategy.

Specialising in writing SEO-friendly website copy and sales funnel copywriting, Sarah also helps businesses to develop effective content marketing strategies for blogs and social media.

Fun fact: Sarah also loves the smell of leather and horse sweat!

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook
• The Rural Copywriter

Did you know that our brain responds differently to different messages? If you don’t want to write copy that puts readers on high alert, conversational copywriting is for you.

In this episode, Belinda talks to Nick Usborne (copywriter with 40 years experience) about the shifts in copywriting and why conversational copywriting is actually right for everyone.

Tune in to learn:

• What conversational copywriting is
• The super easy way to know if you've written it or missed the mark
• How our brain responds to different sales messages
• Uncovering the language of our readers
• How to persuade clients that it's the right tone for their brand

If you like what you’re hearing on Hot Copy, the best way to support the show is to take just a few seconds to leave a rating and / or comment over on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks!

Oh and big hugs to Greg from Portland for a 5-star review.

Who is Nick Usborne?

Nick Usborne is an expert in copywriting and web writing. He has written copy for some of the world’s biggest brands, including Citibank, Apple, Chrysler, MSN.com, New York Times, WebEx, the U.S. Navy, and others. He attributes his success to “conversational copywriting,”.

Seth Godin says, “In a world of instant pundits and stuffed shirts, Nick Usborne stands out as an astute, insightful and original mind. He’s able to find substance when others see just fluff, and can cut right to the core of the issue.”

• Conversational Copywriting website
• Nick on LinkedIn
• Nick on Twitter
• The Coffee Detective

• Conversational copywriting resources for listeners
• Conversational Intelligence - Judith E. Glaser

Now we’re all copywriters here, right?

So we should be able to write, right? But the truth is, even after years of slaving at the typewriter, we all could still learn a thing or two. If you’re feeling lost with your writing... Or your ransom notes are going unanswered... Or people are ignoring your emails... In this episode, you’re going to get some tips on how to write better. How to write real words for real people. Let’s get stuck in.

Tune in to learn:

• How to get to know your audience
• Understand the purpose of what you’re writing
• Stop using big words to try and look smart
• How to stop hating on jargon
• Why should you stop hesitating
• How to think about where your words are read
• Why you shouldn’t overthink punctuation
• How to manage your time so editing and proofing are part of your process
• Why it’s important to be part of the world
• Why you should just write some crap

What’s your number one write better tip?

Share your story on Twitter (@hotcopypodcast) or our Facebook page!

If you like what you’re hearing on Hot Copy, the best way to support the show is to take just a few seconds to leave a rating and / or comment over on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks!

Thanks to middleagedmamainoz from Australia for a fantastic review of the show.

Amanda Van Elderen is a copywriter and author of Write Better: How To Cut The Crap And Say What You Mean. She bellyflopped into freelancing in 2016 when she chucked in a cushy job and founded WorkWords. She now writes for some of Australia’s biggest brands (and loads of the smallest). She’s on a mission to help everyday people write better, and to help big brands cut the crap and say what they mean.

• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Writebetter

Are you struggling to run your copywriting business around your family? Do you worry about too much screen time... or (gasp) future therapy bills because you’re meeting deadlines rather than taking your kids to the park? It’s easy to trowel guilt on ourselves when we see copywriters running 6 or 7 figure businesses. Or landing 5 figure projects. What are we doing with our lives? Are we ruining our children trying to grow our copywriting businesses? Are we just THE WORST? We’re going to stop you right there. We are copywriters. We are parents. We are business owners. This episode shares our thoughts on making it all work. Stay tuned to feel a lot more awesome about your life as a copywriter. Shout out to Alicia Littel for inspiring this episode!

Tune in to learn:

● How we lived and worked before children ● A rundown of our work days ● Where we beat ourselves up when it comes to parenting and business-ing ● Belinda’s experience with 5am starts ● Kate’s super tip on how you view the time you have with your kids ● Belinda’s controversial take on having it all ● Our tips on kicking guilt to the curb

Share the pod love

If you like what you’re hearing on Hot Copy, support the show by leaving us a rating and review on iTunes or Stitcher. We’ll read your name and review out on the show and send you lots of virtual love. Huge props to Andrew Bracey for listening and leaving a super review.

Question for you

What’s your big AHA moment from this pod? Do you feel the feels we talked about? Let us know on our Facebook page or on Twitter.

Useful links

● Hot Copy: Time-saving tips with Kate Christie ● The third space theory ● Hot Copy: Subcontracting guide ● Seth Godin: Business/busyness

We went to a copywriting conference in New York City in March 2019. It was Brooklyn but let’s not facts spoil the glamour.

It was TCC IRL (The Copywriter Club In Real Life) and while we had a BLAST hanging out together – you would be surprised how many years it’s been since we hung out in real life – we also took the chance to pick the brains of the speakers.

We asked as many speakers as we could grab in the breaks, “What is ONE THING you wish you’d know when you started your copywriting career.”

We didn’t tell anyone what the other tips were and every single person delivered something unique. And they are some stellar tips too.

This is your chance to grab a shortcut to the mindset and process tips these copywriters have gleaned over years and years of working the job.

Cool, huh?

Tune in to hear from:

• Kevin James (Copy Chief)
• Kira Hug (The Copywriter Club)
• Joanna Weibe (Copy Hackers)
• Justin Blackman (Pretty Fly Copy)
• Michal Eisikowitz (Michal Eisikowitz Copywriting)
• Bond Halbert (Bond Halbert Publishing)
• Chantelle Zak (Chanti Zak)
• Liana Patch (Punchline Conversion Copywriting)
• Parris Lampropoulos
• Prerna Malik (Content Bistro)
• Abbey Woodcock (On Life and Writing)
• Tarzan Kay Kalryzian (Tarzan Kay)

Thank you to all our guests for coming up with BRILLIANT answers on the spot.

What is your favourite tip from this episode?

Let us know on our Facebook page or on Twitter.

If you like what you’re hearing on Hot Copy, support the show by leaving us a rating and review on iTunes or Stitcher. We’ll read your name and review out on the show and send you lots of virtual love.

Huge props to Pixelhappystudio for her super review.

• Kevin James: Copy Chief
• Kira Hug: The Copywriter Club
• Joanna Weibe: Copy Hackers
• Justin Blackman: Pretty Fly Copy
• Michal Eisikowitz: Michal Eisikowitz Copywriting
• Bond Halbert: Bond Halbert Publishing
• Chantelle Zak: Chanti Zak
• Liana Patch: Punchline Conversion Copywriting
• Prerna Malik: Content Bistro
• Abbey Woodcock: On Life and Writing
• Tarzan Kay Kalryzian: Tarzan Kay