Whether you're renovating and creating a dedicated home office for yourself, or just carving out a corner for a workspace - this episode is all about bringing the elements together and creating a space you want to work in.
This week we're excited to chat to journalist and founder of Interiors Addict Jen Bishop, whose one-time passion project has become an incredibly successful interiors website. She spills the beans on her milestone moments, why she doesn't pay much attention to SEO, lessons she's learned and why she thinks journos should be taking advantage of the huge content marketing industry. Plus a whole heap more!
Whether you're writing a print story or a piece for digital, the headline is all-important. In this episode, we explain the differences between each, share our tips for writing great headlines including those requiring keywords and list our favourite online headline tools to speed up the headline writing process.
Hosts Rachel Smith from Rachel’s List and journalist and content creator Lynne Testoni talk to Sara Tasker of MeandOrla and Hashtag Authentic about Instagram and how to make it work for you as a freelancer. About Sara Sara is an Instagram Expert and Creative Business Coach, best-selling author and host of the successful podcast Hashtag Authentic where she shares Instagram strategies and support. She runs courses and retreats on Instagram and has more than 200,000 followers on the platform – last...
If you do a lot of interviews for editors or clients, you need cost-effective, time-saving systems that work for you. In this episode, we talk about the tools, apps and services we've used and the ones we go back to again and again.
It's been a crappy year and many of us have lost work, faced extended lockdowns and isolation, and suffered poor mental health to boot. If that's you, what steps can you take to feel better? In this episode, we talk about what works for us to boost mood, motivation and a sense of positivity.
JobKeeper payments are changing in the coming weeks, and many freelancers know what a minefield it can be! If you're relying on it to prop up your income right now, accountant Holly Shoebridge shares all the information you need to know in this week's episode.
Today's writers often need to provide more than just words - they need to be multi-skilled. This week hosts Rachel and Lynne talk all about sourcing the best images to accompany your text, offering advice and tips on where to find great free and paid stock photos, as well as how to commission photographers.
Can being very specific about the niches you operate in help bring you higher-paying clients? Especially when it comes to content marketing? Many experts in this space say yes, and today we're talking about how to isolate your niches and market yourself more effectively.
We know, on-boarding doesn't sound like the sexiest topic - but if you're putting new clients on your schedule, having seamless systems in place will save you time, money and a world of pain down the track. We talk about how we devised our own on-boarding systems, the mistakes we made and why it's essential to keep tweaking and making your systems better.
It's been nearly a decade since journalist Nigel Bowen left magazines to carve out a new path in content marketing. In this episode, we chat to him about how he started his business, Content Sherpa and why he loves being 'captain of his own ship'. Nigel also shares some tips on finding clients and dealing with the never-ending hustle, and his advice for freelancers starting out.
Are you starting off in your career and looking at an internship? This week Rachel and Lynne talk about unpaid internships - and share tips on how to find the good ones and how to make them work for you.
Do print journos have transferrable skills for broadcast? In this episode, we put that question to Wendy Moore, the head of Foxtel's Lifestyle Channels, a former House Rules on-camera judge - and a highly experienced editor and publisher with over 20 years in print herself. (She's also the sister of one of us!) Find out why print journos are 'doers', the skills you need to work in TV and much more.
If you're at the start of your career, having a trusted mentor to advice and guide you can be invaluable. But mentors aren't just for when you're starting out; even experienced freelancers may benefit from different mentors at various stages of their career. In this episode, we talk about the ins and outs of mentoring, what mentoring is and what it isn't, and where to find a good one.
How DO you price projects as a freelancer? Should it be by the word, by the hour, by the day? What's value-based pricing? And when do you opt for a retainer agreement? In this episode, we run through some common pricing structures freelancers use (and what we use) to help you out.
Want to know how to harness the power of the LinkedIn platform in order to get noticed / find more clients? In this episode, self-confessed LinkedIn nerd and technical copywriter John Espirian shares a heap of valuable tips and tricks. Listen in for essential profile tweaks, the kind of content to write (and why the algorithm favours comments), the dangers of automating posts, whether premium accounts are worth it, tapping into the silent jobs market, finding clients to reach out to and much mor...
Ever since we read about Bill Gates' penchant for think weeks - a 7-day solo stay to read, think and come up with ideas without distractions - we've loved the idea. In this episode, we talk about how to plan your own 'think week' for your business, what to take and whether you should invite a co-thinker along with you.
This week on the podcast, Lynne has been unwell so we thought it would be a great idea to re-release one of our favourite episodes from a few years ago. This episode, from June 2020 (so we chat about the pandemic a few times) is with content marketing queen Jennifer Goforth Gregory about moving from journalism to content marketing, why it's so important to have niches, positioning yourself to clients and agencies as a subject matter expert and her three-pronged approach to marketing yourself. Sh...
New to interviewing people for stories or content pieces? Or perhaps you've been interviewing people for a while but want to get better at it? In this episode, we talk about why it's such an important skill (and one in danger of being lost) and our tips for doing a great interview.
In today's episode, we talk to Claire Bradley, Head of Content at content agency Suddenly (an off-shoot of News Corp). She talks to us about what content marketing clients want, what she looks for in good freelancers, transferrable skills journos have that they can bring to content marketing and much more.
Whether you've been forced into freelancing from a redundancy or recently made the decision to start working for yourself, it can be a learning curve. In this episode, we share the 6 things we think you need to do to get set up, establish your systems and start earning money.
Found yourself with less work and more time on your hands? During coronavirus, many online courses are free or heavily discounted, making now a great time to plug the gaps in your skillset. We share our experiences and let you know about a master list of courses to get you started.
The longer you're in business, the more clients you'll come across - and the more awkward conversations you may need to have. In this episode we look at some common freelance issues that can crop up as part of your client management and suggest ways to handle each scenario.
Want to be able to write content faster so you can take on more work and make more money? In this episode we share a heap of time-saving strategies that we use ourselves - and explain why they help to ramp up your output.
Whether it's spruiking yourself on your socials, building a Reddit profile, finding new outlets to pitch to or teaming up with other creatives, here are eight ways to pick up work you might not have tried.
We're stoked to bring our first ever guest, SEO queen Kate Toon, to this podcast episode. We chat to Kate about what journos, copywriters and content producers need to know about SEO, why it's essential to have an understanding of it if you're writing for content clients and how you can get started and build on your knowledge as you go. A must-listen if you've put SEO into the 'too hard' basket!
If you're looking for an income stream beyond journalism, content marketing could be just the ticket - it's a form of marketing writing that's designed to generate interest in a brand or its products or services. And it's an easy transition for anyone used to writing features for a living. In this episode, we talk about what content marketing is, how to find this type of work and what it pays.
In today's episode, we talk pitching - why it's important to do it, researching markets before you pitch and the many (many!) different types of content or services you could pitch right now. We also look at how often you need to follow up on your pitches, and the importance of having a system for monitoring your pitching efforts.
Work or no work, there are a number of things you can start doing now to future-proof your freelance business. In this episode, we talk about how to navigate the new landscape by expanding your network, reaching out to clients, upskilling and much more.
It's easy to get bogged down in despair while in lockdown and feeling like your business is in free fall. But taking steps now to sort out your finances and start thinking about getting your business hat on is what freelancers across the board need to do. We talk about how our week has been and how we're adjusting to the new state of play.
