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⛰️ National parks.
🇲🇽 Mexico.
📍And currently Arizona.
As someone who values her freedom and flexibility, Sarah has been RVing since 2019 and living her dream working wherever she wants, whenever she wants.
By the time this airs who knows where Sarah will be! (How cool is that?!)
On today’s episode of the Build Your Copywriting Business podcast, Kate and I are bringing you a long overdue conversation with Sarah (we get to see her regularly in the CCA Next Level mastermind…but realized we haven’t shared her story with YOU!).
Yes, she’s sharing tips on working while traveling, the tech tools she swears by, and how she stays safe.
But she’s sharing SO much more than that, including how she improves her copywriting skills and the point she hit in her business that spurred her to join CCA Next Level.
(Our favorite tip: “Don’t be afraid to stand out in whatever way you naturally stand out.”)
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Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!
A Sneak Peek at the Episode
[02:45] I live full-time in a fifth wheel. I am towing a big fifth wheel with a big old truck, though. I’ve been doing this for six years now, which is really crazy to think about. I am dodging the winter weather. I’m from Denver, so it is very cold in my home state, in my hometown. And I’m enjoying 80 degrees and sun here in Tucson.
[05:54] I did always wanna be a writer. I am the world’s worst visual artist, but I could write, so I latched onto that real early. But I fell into the belief that you can’t make a living in writing unless you’re an incredible novelist.
[07:35] I worked for a travel company for a long time, and I went to China and I went to Costa Rica and I went all over Europe and I had lived abroad in school. Somehow just traveling didn’t actually improve my writing skills. It turns out that if you wanna be a better writer, you have to actually practice writing.
[08:18] I realized there was this huge disconnect between what customers were saying about a product and how they were using it and how they were interacting with it versus how the product team was making it. So that’s when I started dipping into copywriting at a corporate level.
[10:50] In the RV community, I met some people who needed writers. I met a couple who had a pretty big following on YouTube, and they wanted somebody to help with their blog content. Then I met somebody else who owned an agency and she wanted a writer to help take on some work that she was doing for her clients.
[11:57] My dad was an entrepreneur. He was a small business owner, and all I ever saw from him was stress and anxiety. And I thought, working for yourself must be stressful. So I never wanted to do that. But then when I got laid off, I realized that the myth of job stability is only a myth.
[12:44] It helped me realize, I actually think it’s so much safer to work for myself because now I am in control. So if things go wrong, I’m in charge of that.
[13:05] After Covid hit, I really had to decide what I wanted to try to do. And at that point, I figured it’s now or never, I’ve always wanted to be a writer. So I started looking around for how to actually learn how to be a copywriter for real. That’s when a friend sent me a link to CCA. So it was perfect timing.
[16:04] It’s a dramatic change from where I was five years ago. I get to decide if I’m taking client calls that day. I get to decide if I’m gonna go on a hike that morning and totally skip work. I get to control that faucet and I get to turn things up or down rather than somebody telling me what to do.
[19:20] Don’t limit yourself too early. Say yes to everything early on because you just need to try things to know what you like and what you don’t like.
[21:59] Most of my clients are actually great writers, but it’s just that when you sit down to write about your thing and you try to write your own marketing copy, it is really difficult to do.
[33:42] I was at a point in my business where honestly I missed having colleagues. I didn’t really miss working for corporate, but I missed being able to talk to other people. I also sort of hit a ceiling in my business where I felt like I’d grown it as big as I could by myself. And so I really just wanted to talk to other people and get some ideas.
[34:28] I joined Next Level and it has been such a fantastic experience. I can’t even tell you the mental health difference it’s made to be able to hop on a call every couple of weeks with other writers.
[38:20] If you are somebody who loves writing in general and loves to read and just loves messing around with creativity. Copywriting is 100% a creative career. Keep reading as much as you can. Read fun stuff that you love that gets you excited about what you do because it will only help your writing that you’re getting paid for.
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 working on a full-time job and you are just relying on that paycheck, you’re really relying on someone else. You have zero control over what happens.” – Sarah
“I really believe that there’s no better environment than freelancing. If you wanna be able to fully control what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. It’s perfect.” – Sarah
“Don’t niche down right away when you’re starting any freelance business of any kind. Because even if you think you know who you wanna work with, you really don’t. You have to work with different kinds of people to see.” – Sarah
“You never know what a client’s gonna be like until you start working with that. Unless you’re getting some major red flags in which case run away.” – Nicki
“You see, remember the great stuff. But everybody has had stuff that has tanked. That’s part of the game.” – Nicki
“I truly believe great copywriting is great listening. Just listen to what people say. Write that.” – Sarah
Mentioned in the Episode
- Sarah’s Portfolio – flourishwriting.com
- 7 Tips to Living the Digital Nomad Lifestyle as a Copywrite
- BONUS – Laser Coaching: A Copywriter’s Guide to Creative Thinking
- Ep. 5: Why Choosing a Copywriting Niche is Terrible Advice
Related Links
- 6 Must-Pack Items to Write Copy Overseas
- Episode 140: Traveling Europe While Running a Copywriting Agency—Chris’s Story
- Ep. 100: Take Advantage of the Digital Nomad Lifestyle
- BONUS – Laser Coaching: How Can I Work Remotely from Anywhere in the World?
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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.
