Life has a funny way of coming full circle sometimes. But if you’d told ex-teacher Rebecca that, just ONE YEAR after signing up to the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy, she would be copywriting for the Filthy Rich Writer team…well, it’s safe to say she would have laughed in disbelief.
In this episode, we find out the secret ingredient that set her pitch apart from the rest—and helped her land a client she *never* thought was possible. Listen in to hear more about how the CCA paved her escape route out of teaching, allowing her to enjoy more freedom and flexibility as a new mom.
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A Sneak Peek at the Episode
[1:39] Nicki and Kate are joined by CCA student and member of the Filthy Rich Writer team, Rebecca, who was working as a languages teacher when she first learnt about copywriting as a career. She signed up to the CCA in July 2022 while on maternity leave.
[5:22] A career in copywriting appealed to Rebecca as it combined her passion for writing alongside her lifelong desire to start and run her own business.
[6:28] As soon as Rebecca joined the CCA, she prioritized taking action. She began finding designers to work with, started to build up her portfolio, and applied to a position someone had posted in the CCA group, which, to her surprise, she landed!
[10:03] Our hosts remind us that as long as you’re pitching in a way that provides value, there’s never a downside to it.
[12:45] The work Rebecca did for her first client inspired her next plan of action, which focused on contacting podcasters to offer support with writing copy and creating content for each episode.
[14:17] Initially, Rebecca saw copywriting as a side gig alongside teaching. But within six months of joining the CCA, she matched her teaching salary—with more freedom and less stress! When her maternity leave ended, she decided to go all in on her copywriting career.
[16:10] The flexibility of a career in copywriting has had a hugely positive impact on Rebecca, as she is able to raise a young family with much more energy than she would have had as a teacher.
[17:23] Rebecca pitched the Filthy Rich Writer team to offer support with podcast show notes. She couldn’t believe it when she got a positive response and urges everyone to send those pitches they’ve been hesitating about—you never know what might come of it!
[19:21] Sometimes, pitching is really just a matter of getting your foot in the door and showing people that you’re out there and that you can help them. Now, Rebecca is not just working on show notes, but all kinds of other projects for The Filthy Rich Writer Team.
[22:00] Podcasts are a great resource to help you come up with potential clients to pitch to. Plus, regularly listening to a client’s podcast can support your research and help to nail down their tone of voice.
[24:43] Rebecca’s goals for this year center around delivering more value to the clients she has while building experience writing copy for more diverse types of media.
[26:01] For anyone considering a career in copywriting, Rebecca encourages you to take action, even if you don’t *feel* ready. Whether it’s writing copy or pitching clients, the more you practice, the easier it gets.
[27:49] People often assume that if they have a natural talent for something like writing, it can’t possibly be valuable because everybody else must find it easy, too—but that’s not the case at all!
[30:55] Don’t feel intimidated if you’re thinking about pitching to someone with a background in writing. Their feedback could be super valuable and improve your copywriting skills.
[32:47] Prioritizing value in your pitches is what sets you apart and demonstrates to a client that you have potential to be a team member. It shows them that you’ve really gone the extra mile.
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:
“My top piece of advice for anyone out there, if you’re kind of umming and ahing about pitching someone because you think, ‘well, they probably don’t need my help’, just go for it because it could literally change your life, like you guys have changed mine. You might get to work with your absolute dream client, you might get to have one-to-ones with Kate Sitarz every month and all the amazing things that come with it. So yeah, if you’re thinking about it, just do it because that was the case for me, and it ended up being ‘right place, right time’ with that one.” – Rebecca
“First of all, you don’t need to know everything before going into this. I had a little bit of marketing experience which I suppose gave me a some confidence going into it but you don’t need that. Everything is within the course that you need. So if you think you’re someone that has a passion for writing and this is something that you could get on board with, then just start taking action. That’s the biggest thing I could tell you. Practice makes perfect, just get in there with pitching and don’t be afraid.” – Rebecca
“My initial thinking was that this would be a side hustle, but it turned out not to be a side hustle and I did go straight into it. I did not go back to teaching after my maternity leave. But after landing my first client and getting that confidence, and then I think I got another couple additional clients on top of that, I basically matched what I would be earning as a part-time teacher for a lot less stress and fewer working hours. So it just didn’t make sense to me to go back.” – Rebecca
Mentioned on this Episode
Related Links
- Transitioning Out of Teaching to Copywriting – George’s Story
- Her Goal Was to Replace Her Teaching Income in 5 Months: She Did It in 6 Weeks
- Great Summer Job for Teachers: Copywriting
- Too Afraid to Pitch? Business Owners WANT Your Copywriting Pitches
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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 June 10, 2024
