When Kate and I first talked to Charlotte, she shared how she replaced her teaching income with copywriting within 6 months of joining the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy (you can catch that original interview right here!).
It’s been more than two years (!) since that conversation (Kate is still hung up on the fact that it’s been that long …).
So, we figured we were long overdue for a catchup.
And a LOT has happened: Charlotte is now leading a team of copywriters!
In this conversation, she shares why she transitioned from freelance to a full-time job, what she’s learned, and what advice she has to copywriters earlier on in their journeys.
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Prefer to watch the episode? Hit play below (plus, hit “cc” to toggle on closed captioning)!
A Sneak Peek at the Episode
[02:00] I had about a 10 year, teaching degree. I did some teaching overseas, teaching English and things, and then I was teaching preschool for a couple of years. I got to the point where I was wondering what’s next, looking for a new challenge and stumbled into copywriting.
[02:27] April 2022, went through the program, started freelancing, and I did about a year of freelancing before getting hired as a copywriter for an agency. So I’ve been at this agency since August.
[04:18] Clients wanted help with not just actually producing the copy, but the strategy behind it. All that other stuff that you need to be able to produce good copies of that. I wanted to be able to offer them more.
[05:55] I felt like I wanted more growth and to be around other people too. I found freelancing isolating, working from home, just being on my own and being a team of one. I wanted to be able to bounce ideas off of other people.
[06:30] But I was not sold on the idea of going to work. For someone else, it was very much a, let’s just, see what’s out there. What’s the worst that could happen. I got invited for an interview at this marketing agency.
[07:17] I kept on some of my freelance clients for the first couple of months as a safety net, because I was like, I may hate it in the first two months, and then at least I know I can always go back to freelancing.
[11:00] I want to learn as much as possible. In the back of my mind is whatever skills I’m building now, I take with me wherever I go. So I can always do freelancing later. Maybe when my kids are a bit older and I have more flexibility, more time.
[14:12] Because I’ve gotten more experience in the last year and a half, I feel so much more confident than I did before. If I were to go back to freelancing because those I have so much more experience under my belt now.
[15:30] I saw teaching as a very linear type career. There were limited opportunities to do something else. Whereas now where I am copywriting such a good stepping stone to do other related roles in the industry. My eyes are open to all the different possibilities. And even within freelancing, you see a lot of people start with copywriting and then they branch out and do more.
[16:27] There’s so many different ways. If you just start thinking about opportunities in that way, what you can do. It’s actually expanding your network, expanding your skillset, potentially opening up different types of opportunities in the future too.
[19:54] We help people build their business by organic content. We do short form video, LinkedIn, ghostwriting, podcast production. So, I’m the head of copy team. I also oversee all of the script writing for the short form videos.
[20:11] My main project that I work on is our marketing daily email newsletter. So we started that February last year, and we’ve been building it as it’ll eventually be a standalone business that will create revenue through ad, ad placement in the newsletter.
[23:34] Hiring people over the last year to join the team, it’s been a really good experience to be able to ask, how do I want this department to look?. So that’s leadership has been another big skill that I’ve been working on.
[25:00] Let’s start moving in directions that feel good. You took it because you were interested in it. You moved in a direction that felt the right direction. Especially when you knew what you wanted to get out of it.
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:
“Why do we care what anybody else thinks about what we do about our career? Why do we always make the assumption that it’s going to be a negative judgment?” – Nicki
“Even if they do, who cares? It’s your time. It’s your money. It’s your energy.” -Kate
“Everything that I do, I want to learn as much as possible. Whatever skills I’m building now, I take with me wherever I go.” – Charlotte
“You have the real stability because you have a full time job, but you also have the skills to go out and find freelance clients.” – Nicki
“There’s just so many things that you can do once you have started with copywriting. You can take it a lot of different directions..” – Charlotte
“Think about, if you start now with whatever it is you want to do, you don’t even know where you’ll end up a year or two years down the line.” – Kate
Mentioned in the Episode
- Subscribe to Your Attn Please: https://www.yourattnp.lease/subscribe
- Connect with Charlotte on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-ellis-copywriter/
- Ep. 115: This Teacher Wanted More Work/Life Balance…and Found It with Copywriting – Charlotte’s Story
Related Links
- Ep. 98: Why Freelance Copywriters Should Still Apply to Full-Time Jobs
- Ep. 148: Copywriting Replaced This Teacher’s Income and She Works Less Hours—Jess’s Story
- Ep. 160: How This Teacher Doubled Her Salary and Decreased Stress—Amanda’s Story
- Ep. 206: From Monk to Teacher to Copywriter – John’s Story
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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.
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Last Updated on April 23, 2025
