The Copywriter Club

I listened to a podcast episode the other day that discussed the Top 6 things your business needs to succeed. I'll share the Top 3. And you absolutely cannot have a business without the third one. 1. Strategy. - Do you have a strategy for your business? What is it? - Have you done your research in comparison to your competition and your USP? - Have you researched your ideal clients to see what they need and how your USP can solve their problem? I met with a client recently who didn't have a strategy for their business. And they've been in business for three years. We found out that their business would really benefit from testimonials and referrals. Plus referral-incentive-based programs. They never had these before. The right strategy makes all the difference. 2. Marketing. - How do you plan to get clients? - Where are you going to market it? - Referrals? - Social media? - In-person networking? - What's your message? - What's your story? One of my clients was an "embodiment coach." When I asked her what that meant, she had a long explanation. But what it really comes down to is she's a "relationship coach who helps couples communicate with each other." Nail your messaging and make it simple so anyone can understand. 3. AND THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT. (Yes, I'm yelling because I don't want you to miss it). 😉 Mindset. In my experience, you cannot have a business without the right mindset. Because as you know, being a solo /entrepreneur is super hard. And your mind is often going to tell you that you can't do it. One of my clients had a contract with a big-name coffee franchise. But she didn't think she was good enough to work with them. So she didn't use them as a referral to get business from other franchises that were in the palm of her hand. Address your mindset and you'll be halfway there. What do you think? Is anything missing from the list? P.S. Credit to Rob Marsh and Kira Hug ᗧ···ᗣ···ᗣ···ᗣ for the podcast episode.

Yesterday morning at 3:44 a.m. I was shaken out of a deep sleep by a massive explosion. My heart was pounding. I was wide awake. What was that? I immediately got up to see if I could figure out what happened. Nothing. No sirens. No neighbors turning on their lights. No smoke or smoldering ruins. No cries for help. Just silence. Everyone else in the neighborhood slept through whatever happened—including my wife in bed next to me. So as my adrenaline levels slowly returned to normal, I went back to bed, hoping to get a little more sleep before getting up to run. 25 minutes later there was another loud explosion. What is going on? At this point I’m not going back to sleep, so I get up and hop on Twitter (X) to see if anyone else knew what was happening. Yes they did. Turns out a woman (who lives about 3 miles away from me) was cleaning out her basement and found a big pile of “ancient dynamite”. Not knowing what to do with it, she called the fire department for help. There was no way to move it safely, so they blew it up (including the house). Some problems are just too serious to ignore. You can’t wait until the time is right. You just deal with them. And sometimes that means blowing it all up at 3:44 a.m. You can draw your own lessons from the story. #1 is probably don’t store dynamite in the basement. Duh. But also, don’t let problems sit and fester. They won’t fix themselves—they just get worse. Deal with them now before the only solution is blowing up the whole house. Pretty good advice for your business and your personal life. *BOOM* •••••••••••••••••• I’m Rob Marsh and I post about copywriting, persuasion, and freelancing. 💥 I write sales pages and other direct response copy for select clients. 💥 I lead The Copywriter Underground community (among other things). 💥 I host The Copywriter Club Podcast.  ✏️ Need help with sales copy? Let's talk.

Last week I read Michael Easter’s book, Scarcity Brain. It’s an interesting read and got me thinking about… well... scarcity and how it shows up in different ways in the work we do. As a copywriter/marketer, I’m well aware of how to use scarcity to help sell a product or service. Humans are genetically programmed to seek out and hoard scarce resources—even when having more of that resource doesn’t actually improve your chances of survival. See for example: toilet paper during the pandemic. Love them or hate them, tactics like limited quantities, count-down timers and expiring bonuses are common place in the marketing world. They work. But I got to thinking about other ways scarcity shows up in my business (and the businesses of the copywriters I mentor). Scarcity of clients is the obvious one. Not having a steady flow of clients can make us do things we might not otherwise do… like sending ice cold pitches to prospects who have no clue who you are or how you can help them. Which leads to rejection and more perceived scarcity. (If this is you, this might help: bit.ly/494FB3m ). But scarcity also shows up in processes like research, where we spend more time than we really need to in order to find that missing (scarce) bit of information that will make all the difference. Of course, you need to do enough research… but is scarcity brain pushing you to do more than you really need? Social content is another area where scarcity pushes us to do more… hence why so many of us post content daily… or Monday/Wednesday/Thursday/Saturday… or whatever other cadence is recommended by the experts. Scacrity brain pushes us to acquire more, have more, do more, write more, post more. And of course, you are here on LinkedIn, reading content, possibly unaware that scarcity brain is making you afraid of missing out on that scarce bit of information, or the scarce insight or idea you might not get if you're not here regularly. Here I am posting. And you're here reading. And scarcity wins again. •••••••••••••••••• I’m Rob Marsh and I post about copywriting, persuasion, and freelancing. 💥 I write sales pages and other direct response copy for select clients. 💥 I lead The Copywriter Underground community (among other things). 💥 I host The Copywriter Club Podcast. ✏️ Need help with sales copy? Let's talk.

Beyoncé + country music + why I hate hearing "stay in your lane" 🤠 🤠 💎 Ever had someone tell you to "stay in your lane" when you tried to explore a new direction in your business (...or career)? Or worse, has that little voice been coming from inside your own head? Missed opportunities, stifled growth, the nagging "what if"... sound familiar or just me? Those "lanes" aren't just limiting, they're dangerous. They breed stagnation, stifling innovation and connection—whether in music, business, society, or life itself. (That's also how we end up so damn polarized in the U.S. of A.) That's why Beyoncé's re-emergence into country music with her upcoming album "Cowboy Carter" is a major deal. She's reminding us that our creativity, our potential, knows no boundaries. While naysayers may question her foray into the genre... Beyoncé's success with "Texas Hold 'Em"—the first song by a Black woman to top the Hot Country Songs chart—proves her ability to defy expectations and connect with an even broader audience. Not to mention she's single-handedly pulling non-Country fans (hiii   that's me) into the genre for the first time. This move also embodies Beyoncé's relentless drive to evolve, both as an artist and a businesswoman. She refuses to be confined by expectations, and her success inspires us to question our own limitations. Now, if you've ever let the "stay in your lane" mentality hold you back, here are a few questions for you: 🤠 Are there exciting niches or industries you haven't explored due to a fear of venturing outside your comfort zone? 🤠 Is there a service you've secretly wanted to offer, but have held back on because it seems off-brand or too "out there"? 🤠 Maybe your current business model leaves you feeling uninspired or limited in your income potential—could you make a strategic shift? 🤠 Could you consider using your skills in a completely different industry or role? Growth often thrives outside artificial boundaries. Bold pivots, unexpected expansions, and fearless leaps into new territory can unlock tremendous potential. Beyoncé gets this. What if you and I follow her lead? You game? *Alright, I'm pretending you just shouted at the screen, HECK YEAH!* Ready to ditch the 'stay in your lane' advice? If you've got love for Bey or fantastical pivots, give a shout below. Or don't, that's cool too. -Kira P.S. Oh, and hi, if you want to work together, here's one way we could get started... Want to know what makes you WEIRD (cuz you're super weird, friend)? Let me figure out your brand positioning & messaging so you don’t have to ask, “Mom, what makes me special?”      

Sales is a critical part of any freelancer's business. And having a system that attracts clients is often the difference between success and failure. Do you have a sales system? If so, what does it look like? If not, how do you attract clients (beyond hoping they find the witty content you are posting on LinkedIn)?

Freelancers… One of the few places you can differentiate your business in ways that are difficult for competitors to copy is your client experience. And yet, few of us think about it beyond gathering the information we need to start a project and sharing our work (usually via a Google Doc). If we do think about it, we focus on what we need, not on what our clients are thinking, feeling, and doing. Yeah, that describes me way too often. Our friend Jason Friedman from CXFormula joined Kira Hug and me on The Copywriter Club Podcast to talk about how to improve the experiences we create for our clients and their customers. The experiences and framework he shared has the power to change your business for good. Be sure to check out his interview on the podcast (available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your favorite podcast app). Our conversation got me wondering about what other content writers and copywriters are doing to create unique experiences for their clients. So I’m asking you, what does your client experience look like? Do you do anything unique or different? What would you like to do differently? Drop a comment and let us all know. •••••••••••••••••• I’m Rob Marsh and I post about copywriting, persuasion, and freelancing. 💥 I write sales pages and other direct response copy for select clients. 💥 I lead The Copywriter Undergound community (among other things). 💥 I host The Copywriter Club Podcast.

Calling all business owners with a social conscience! There's a new episode of The Soap Box podcast waiting in your podcast player! This week I 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. 📣 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.)    📣The impact that the iPhone has had on our ability to consume information, how connected we feel, and the way that we communicate with other people. 📣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 us creatives can use our considerable 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. 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. Listen in here: https://lnkd.in/eWbpViZX