Why Copywriting And Content Marketing Is An Indispensable Signature Service

The online business industry is booming, and its growth has created a myriad of opportunities for freelancers, virtual assistants, and online business managers. Having a signature service as a freelancer can help you differentiate yourself in the growing freelancer space, increase your income, and give you more control over a business model that is indispensable in high and low economic times.

Copywriting and content marketing services are at the heart of what online entrepreneurs need. From writing content and website copy to email marketing and advertising, knowing how to write copy and create sales through content is a skill in high demand.

In Today’s episode you will learn:

• The benefits of copywriting and content marketing skills
• How and where you can apply these skills
• Examples of industries copywriters and content marketers can work in
• How to know if copywriting and content marketing is for you
• The future outlook for freelancers who have these skills
• A peek into the lifestyle these signature services can create for your VA, OBM, DOO and other freelance business structures
• How to know if copywriting and content marketing is for you as a signature service
• Why you need a signature service as a freelancer

Resources From Today's Show:

Stef Gass Course: Podcast Pro University

https://4846--stefaniegass.thrivecart.com/podcastprouniversity/

Stef Gass Course: Clarify Your Calling

https://4846--stefaniegass.thrivecart.com/coursecraftermasterclass/

Topic, My Favorite Research & Writing Tool! Sign up here for 50% off: https://www.usetopic.com?fpr=amber49

Try Kajabi free for 14 days https://app.kajabi.com/r/sF7FazZp/t/hpcdqyng

Join my Facebook Community for more marketing, messaging, and copywriting strategies to grow your business, or up-level as a Freelancer, VA, OBM, or DOO with weekly training on adding these skills to your services https://www.facebook.com/groups/theschoolofcopyandmessagingcommunity

Full Audio Transcription of this Podcast Episode:

(00:04):

Hey there, freelancer, did you start your freelancing business, wanting more time and money? Freedom only to find yourself feeling stuck, doing everybody else's busy work. And now you feel like you need something to Uplevel and differentiate your online business while you're in the right place. This is the school copy and messaging podcast. And today is freelancer Friday where we help you as a freelancer add copywriting and content marketing skills to your book of business, to up-level your freelancer services, to earn more money, and gain more freedom in your schedule. My name is Amber and I've been freelancing for almost 20 years as a marketing media relations and PR professional. Let's dive in.

(00:52):

Welcome back freelancers before we dive into today's juicy topic, which I am so glad that you're joining me for today, uh, because I love to talk about it. I love to talk about how copywriting and content marketing can be a signature service in your business. I am very passionate about it. Um, and sometimes when I talk about it, I probably get like, I probably overwhelm people just a little bit. Um, but I'm excited that you all are a captive audience today because you're here because you want to listen to that topic. So I'm really excited to dive into it. But before we do, let's highlight today's sponsor. Today's sponsor is podcast pro university. It was Stefanie Gass. Yay. If you've thought about starting your own podcast, I highly recommend PPU for short podcast pro university, with Stefanie, her courses, everything you need to set up, launch, and scale your very own podcast.

(01:48):

And she has an amazing support community for her students. I should know because am one - Stefanie's course is how I learned how to start my own podcast. And I've been in her community ever since you can sign up for her course at linktr.ee/AmberGlus. And of course, the link to the course is in your show notes Stef's course that makes it easy for you to start your own show so that you, so you should go check it out. If you've been thinking about it in the back of your mind and wondering how in the world do you do this? Um, another great thing I want to tell you guys about Stefanie's course. She has a gift for helping you figure out what to name your course, what your tagline should be, the description of your course, figuring out your brand pillars.

(02:36):

So if you're somebody out there who's kind of been like thinking about a podcast, but you have a little bit of a barrier to get through because you haven't figured out what to call it yet or what your brand might be or what your topic is. Um, Stefanie is a real genius at that. Um, she helped me do that and I know she can help you too. So I want to give you guys, um, the name of her other course, too, that you can, in addition to coaching or her podcast course, she has another one called the clarify, your calling. If you're somebody who is like all of this sounds really good, but I don't even know what I want to do. Um, that course might help you as well. So I'm going to link both of those on my link tree linktr.ee/AmberGlus.

(03:16):

And I will put both of those in the show notes. Again, her two courses are podcast pro university and clarify your calling. Um, Stefanie is also going to be on the podcast, uh, coming up here in the next month. So you guys will get to meet her in person. Um, and I'm really excited for you to do so. You will love her. All right, friends, let's dive into today's episode. And first, let's talk about some of the benefits of having copywriting and content marketing skills. I just want to start here so that we kind of lay the groundwork for what's possible. If you're somebody who's been thinking about adding copywriting, um, or maybe you already are, and you're just looking for a little bit of a refresh on how you can use those skills to level up your business. So let's start with the basics.

(04:00):

What are some of the benefits of having copywriting and content marketing skills? These are only some of the ones. Um, there are so many, but I kind of put in, I think the most prominent and ones that I appreciate the most. So number one, you can work in any industry using the same skill set, giving you an unended opportunity list. So let me kind of explain this a little bit. Um, what I love about copywriting skills is that you can truly go dive into any industry using the same skills. So you don't have to go change your skills. Once you understand how to be a copywriter, you can dive into the fitness industry. You can go into the medical industry, you can go into nutrition. Um, tech is a big one. You can write for CPAs, for the accounting industry and finance, um, any industry that you can think of needs copywriters and content marketing experts.

(04:55):

And so you can take one skill set being copywriting and content marketing, and apply it to a ton of different industries using that same skillset. And the reason I love this so much is it gives you so many opportunities to not only diversify your own portfolio and never get bored of the clients that you're working with, but it also helps you test out different industries and get paid. So this is actually my number two on the list is explore different industries and get paid to do that. Like you guys, how cool is that? Um, if you're somebody who's like, yeah, I think I might be a copywriter or I might enjoy it, but I don't know an industry I want to be in. Uh, this is for you. Uh, one of the cool things about copywriting is you can do it for so many different industries and decide what industry you love the most.

(05:47):

There might be one that you decide to specialize in. There might be multiple industries that you decide you like, but the cool thing is you get to learn about that industry as you do client work. And so this is a really cool way to start to figure out what other industries are intriguing to you and which ones you don't like the process of elimination as well as just as important. Um, I will be the first to tell you, like I do not enjoy at all writing for anything in the medical field. It's just not my gig. Um, it bores me. I don't understand it. I can't write it as well. Um, not my gig, but, um, if you are somebody who really is intrigued by the medical community, you can jump in and do copywriting and content marketing in that industry and enjoy it. Um, and that's the thing is you can try different industries and get to know which ones you like the best and get paid while you're figuring it out.

(06:44):

So those are two really great aspects of copywriting skills. Um, the next thing is you can create a flexible schedule. One of my favorite things about copy and content is that it's so easy to batch ahead of time. Um, I am the type of person that I like to make my own schedule. And oftentimes that schedule involves getting up really early, to do all of my work so that I have the rest of the day to go enjoy the things that I want to do. Um, I am not, and I'm not, I, you guys, I'm not exaggerating when I say this, I am not an idol. K like staying up past 9:00 PM is super late for me, but you might be, you might be a late-night person and maybe you want to do your client work at nine or 10 o'clock at night. Um, maybe you're a mom who has kids at home and you want to do it during nap time or while your kids are at school, but you want to be done to pick them up from the bus stop, or maybe you're a freelancer who also has a full-time job.

(07:41):

And you want to be able to do your work on your lunch break or at night or in the mornings. Um, maybe you're somebody who travels for another job and you want to be able to write on the airplane, like the beauty of copywriting and content marketing is that it is an industry where you can decide when you're going to do that work. As long as you're meeting the deadlines that your client gives you, you can decide when you're going to do it. And I really love that about making the schedule that you want to make on your own terms. So it can offer a lot of flexibility in that regard. And, um, it's one of the things that I really love about batching my work. So an example of this might be, if you have some clients you're working for and you take a full week and maybe you work some long hours and maybe you work some weekends one week and you get all of your client work done, but then you're off for the next two weeks because you're going on a vacation.

(08:33):

Um, I really like having that kind of flexibility because one of the reasons why I became an entrepreneur was wanting to take stints of long time off and away from my business. Um, my husband and I had a goal of traveling and that's something that we are finally now able to do. And so if you're somebody who likes to have long periods of time, for whatever reason, travel or time with your family or other things you have going on, batching content is a really great way to do that. And copywriting and content marketing, being a signature service allows you to do that in your business, which I really, really love. Um, so that leads us into the next one, which is you can do it from anywhere. That was one of the things on my list that was really important to me for doing my own business, was wanting to be able to do it from anywhere, truly anywhere.

(09:24):

Um, that's one of my favorite things also about copywriting. The next thing on my list is if you like learning if you're a lifelong learner and you're somebody like me, who's kind of a course junkie. I'm a book junkie. Like I searched, they read like four or five books at a time because they just can't decide which one I want to read next. Um, if that resonates with you and describes you, copywriting and content marketing, um, would definitely benefit you and you probably would love the aspect of how much you get to learn. Um, as you're researching for clients, you get to learn a ton of stuff and dive into a whole lot of different aspects of an industry that you normally wouldn't do without having to. And so copywriting gives you the ability through a lot of research to really be able to learn a ton of stuff.

(10:14):

Um, I'm going to give you guys my favorite secret here. Um, this is, this is my favorite secret about the copywriting industry when it comes to learning, if you're somebody who wants to write copy for course, creators, or if you're somebody who wants to be a ghostwriter for an author or an editor if you want to have editing as one of your signature services, um, a really cool thing to do with all of that is to go to authors or course creators and offer your services for their courses or editing their books. Um, sometimes I'll, I'll even suggest that you offer at a discounted rate. If it's somebody you really want to work with, um, you may offer it at a discounted rate or even to do it for free and get to see the course or the book first, um, and get to just do it for free without having to pay, to take the course.

(11:04):

Um, it's kind of a really good way to just swap services. If one of your goals is just like, Hey, this is a quarter I really want to take, and I don't really have the money to spend on it. Right now you can offer editing or copywriting services to a course creator and get to see their course. Basically, you get to take their course in exchange for offering them your copywriting and editing services. So that's one of my favorite secrets. Now, now the cat's out of the bag and everybody's going to go do that, but that's okay. There's plenty for everyone. Um, but that's one of my favorite things to do because I am a course junkie. Um, and I love to be able to do that. And same with books. Um, the more books I read, I just wish there was enough time for all of them in there.

(11:43):

They're just never is. Um, the next thing on my list is these skills for copywriting and content marketing, um, really lend themselves into a job if that's what you're looking for. Not everybody is, but I know a lot of freelancers who are freelancing until they find a full-time job. And I know other freelancers who want to just stay as a freelancer, but a lot of times this kind of industry, once you start writing for someone or something, some kind of company, a lot of times we'll lead into a full-time job once a company or an entrepreneur gets familiar with how you write and they're comfortable that they know you can write well on their behalf. A lot of times that will turn into some kind of an exclusive freelancer position or full-time job opportunity. So that's another really cool thing about copywriting and content marketing.

(12:36):

Another kind of another piece of this is it also can lead into other services. So if you're a freelancer who's offering copywriting, and then you also want to add, um, advertising to your, your book of business, you can reach out to an entrepreneur and propose, copy and copywriting skills and services that can also then lead into running Facebook ads or social media management. A lot of times it's the funnel that will lead into other things in your business or vice versa. If you're somebody who already does social media management, and you want to add copywriting going to your current social media management clients and asking about adding copywriting as well, really greatly to add those skills to your book of business. So it can work both ways, but it's a really great way to lead into other services you might want to have as an offering.

(13:29):

So those are six things that I just gave you that are just general benefits yeah. Of having copywriting and content marketing as a signature service. We're going to talk next about how then can you apply copy and content skills. So really it's just about everywhere. And I know that probably sounds a little bit too general, but really everyone uses copy and more and more entrepreneurs are starting to realize that content marketing is the funnel that's generating more leads today in the online space. So let's talk about some examples of where you could apply those copywriting or content marketing skills. Um, blog posts, blogs are so huge day in the online space, um, magazines and newspapers, both digital and hard copy. And yes, there are some hard copy ones out there. Um, if you know how to write it for both hard copy, as well as the online space, um, that's a really, really great skill set to have because you can pitch yourself to magazines.

(14:31):

And one of the unique things about copywriters that they look for is, do you have the ability to write for both sides of their business, for those that do still have hard print as well as digital copies. So keep that in mind, if that's someone that you're pitching is that that can be a unique aspect to your business, that you can offer them if you, how to write for both the online space, as well as the print space. So blog posts, magazines, and newspapers, social media posts, um, podcasters, YouTubers, uh, yes, they still use copy. Um, they use copy in their notes in their outlines, um, in their scripts that are found in a lot of YouTubers, um, still putting scripts on their videos, which they should, it helps with their SEO. Um, so audio and video producers still use copywriters for a lot of those things.

(15:23):

Uh, website copy is huge today, especially still in the online space, um, writing emails and newsletters, writing proposals for every kind of business, um, media relations in general, writing press releases or media articles on behalf of businesses or entrepreneurs, um, books being a guest, uh, excuse me, a ghostwriter or editor for book authors, um, both traditional and online advertising. Uh, if you know how to write compelling copy that sells and being somebody who can apply your copywriting skills in the traditional print and online advertising space is a really great specialty to have as well. Um, think about parallel industries too, as we talk about how you can apply these skills. Um, so a parallel industry would be like podcasters, um, who have the need still for a copywriter as it as outlining their podcast episodes or writing their show notes. Um, web designers are a parallel industry.

(16:23):

A lot of web designers need copywriters because they design websites, but they don't know how to write the copy. So think about things, um, industries that would need copy, but they don't necessarily know how to do it themselves. That's a really great group of people to put yourself in front of, to be able to apply your skills, um, business, any business right now who sells or markets a product or service needs, copywriters and needs content to drive lead generation and authority in their industry. Uh, research and SEO, ho research and SEO is a big one today. Um, SEO for anybody who doesn't know is search engine optimization. So if you, as a copywriter, understand how to write topics that get ranked on Google, that's going to be a really great selling service for you. And if you are somebody who enjoys research, that's also something really great to add to your, to your portfolio because those two things together can make you a very powerful copywriter who can stand out in this industry.

(17:30):

Now you guys have heard me talk before about, uh, the company called Topic. Um, they're my favorite research and writing tool. I will link to them in the show notes. I am an affiliate for them, but if you use my affiliate link, it gets you 50% off of your membership. So it's a really huge savings. I'll put that in the show notes for you. Um, Topic is both a research and writing tool that helps you understand what sub topics to include in your writing so that your writing gets ranked higher in SEO. So if you're writing about an article, if you're writing an article about a topic, Topic is going to tell you what other things you need to include so that you get ranked higher in SEO. And if you know how to do that, and you know how to research those kinds of things, that is a great way to stand out in this industry.

(18:22):

Being able to understand search engine optimization is almost a necessity today for copywriters. Um, so check out Topic, if you haven't already, that is a really great resource. Uh, the last thing that I'll mention as far as where can you apply these skills, um, technical institutions, uh, really any industry, but technical institutions right now, things like manuals, medical journals, they need copywriters as well. And if you are somebody who can specialize in that, and you're, you have a really analytical mind, uh, that's a great way to apply your copywriting skills into a specific industry. And those are highly needed right now. Other examples of just industries, like I said, you guys, every industry uses copywriters and content marketing strategists. Some of my other favorites to write for, um, fitness industry, real estate, online business, the medical industry, military uses a lot of copywriters as well that you can contract for.

(19:21):

Um, the benefit of choosing an industry is that you get incredibly familiar with that industry and you start to know their lingo. And this becomes really, really important because once, once a accompany or an entrepreneur knows that you not only know them and how they, they like to have things written, but you know, their industry lingo, then you're going to be able to write excellent copy on their behalf. And they're going to keep coming back to you and using your services many times, copywriting can be a great second career. So for example, if you're a nurse and you're becoming a copywriter for a hospital or for a pharmaceutical company, um, you understand more of the lingo already in an industry that another copywriter just coming into it, wouldn't be able to understand. And so copywriting can be a really great second career for a lot of people who maybe are burned out on the industry they've been in and they still kind of want to stay, you know, a little bit married to it, but do something else with that industry that they've got so much knowledge in and copywriting is an excellent way to do that because you already know all of the insider lingo and you know, so much about the industry and that's going to be unmatched experience as a copywriter.

(20:39):

Um, so how, how do you know if copywriting or content marketing is for you? We've outlined some of the benefits we've talked about where and how you can apply those skills. So how do you know if it's for you? Well, let's go through some of the things that you would be doing on a daily basis that might help, you know, if copywriting and content strategy is for you. The first is you like research, cause you are going to be doing a lot of research. If you're somebody who really loves to go down the rabbit hole in a topic and you research something and find yourself going into a ton of other links and researching a lot of other topics, then you probably would love this aspect of being a copywriter. Um, I love to get lost in research and it's so intriguing to me. And I love when one thing leads me to another and that it all kind of comes full circle.

(21:27):

I love that. Um, and so if that is describing you, then you may be a really great candidate to be a copywriter or content marketing strategist. Um, you enjoy writing, of course, you do have to enjoy writing. Um, now there is, there is a little bit of an exception to that today with technology that if you're somebody who likes to just speak and ad-lib that you can do that and then have it transcribed and then clean it up into writing into a blog post or into show notes or into an article, um, that is possible today with transcription technology. So I still believe that because of the nature of copywriting, you still really need to like writing. Um, but because the technology is there, if you're somebody who just is a really good speaker and you don't necessarily enjoy writing, you can certainly do it with transcription and speaking.

(22:22):

Um, the next trait of a copywriter that is, is probably something you may have if you're interested in this business, is that you're organized. Um, you're going to find that even people who say that they aren't organized, but they're in this business, know how to organize their thoughts and know how to organize a story. And if you're somebody who's really good at putting that together. So that information makes sense when it's laid out and you're organized in that way, then this may be a really good industry for you to be in. Uh, another thing is you're a strategic and analytical thinker, and that comes back to really being able to put together an article of some kind or a blog post, um, and really being able to strategically think through how is this better structured and what are the questions that somebody is going to ask and really analyzing all different sides of an issue or an argument.

(23:18):

And so if you're somebody who can do that, um, then that's a really good attribute to have if you're interested in being a copywriter. Um, if you have the ability to write on behalf of someone or something else without including your own thoughts and opinions, um, this is a big one. If you're gonna write on behalf of others, you really have to have the ability to make sure that your opinions and thoughts are not entering into the stuff that you're writing. Um, sometimes you'll have the ability to add your own opinions, but most of the time you will not when you're writing on behalf of someone or something else. So you really have to know how to do that without including your own opinions, um, because of that, you also have to be okay with criticism. Uh, when you're writing on behalf of somebody or another, um, organization, you really have to be able to take constructive criticism and not take it personally because by nature, when you're writing on behalf of somebody else, they're going to edit your work.

(24:19):

And even if they give you something that is not what you think is correct, or it may not even be grammatically correct. Um, it's, it's theirs, you're writing it for them. And so you really have to be able to take their input and apply it, even if you sometimes disagree with it and not let that criticism, um, hurt you personally. And that's another really good aspect. If you have the ability to do that, you can, can be a better copywriter. Um, you enjoy learning new things. If you enjoy the research, you're probably somebody who enjoys learning new things, and that's a great trait to have in this industry. Um, another thing is you can be okay with not being in the spotlight. A lot of people are copywriters because they want to be in the background. Uh, but a lot of times as a copywriter and content marketer, you are going to do work on behalf of somebody else that they will get the credit for, depending on how you have it set up, you may or may not get a byline, which means you may or may not get your work attributed to you.

(25:23):

And so, depending on how you have your business set up, um, you can make it to where all of your work requires your byline, uh, or you may work with entrepreneurs who you are doing the work and getting paid for it. And they own the copy from that point forward. And they basically get to take credit for it. Um, an example would be if you're writing a blog post for an entrepreneur, um, or a podcast outline, and then that entrepreneur is presenting it as their own copy on their website, um, it's listed under their blog and they do a podcast episode on it. Um, there, you can work into your contracts that you have to be given credit for that. Um, but a lot of copywriters just don't worry about it and they get paid for it. They do the job. Um, they like being in the background.

(26:09):

So if you're somebody who doesn't mind that, um, then this may be a great industry for you. There are some different ways you can structure that, but for the most part, you need to be okay with not being in the spotlight and not always getting credit directly for your work. Um, if you enjoy project management and you have an appreciation for organizing lots of moving parts that come together to create the final product, um, that's another really great aspect of copywriting and content marketing. I love the project management part of this business, um, because I love planning and organizing, and project management, um, is something that I enjoy. And so every time that you have a job that you're doing for a company or for an individual, um, you basically are managing a project each time. And so there's a lot of moving parts with the research and the writing and the type of content that you have to do based on where it's going to go.

(27:06):

There's a lot of, um, back and forth, usually with the individual that you're writing on behalf of sometimes you're meeting with different departments. Um, so if you enjoy kind of the management of all of those moving parts, that's probably a good indicator that you're going to like this industry. Uh, another thing is that you don't have a problem with deadlines. So of course, copywriters need to adhere to deadlines. Those deadlines, uh, sometimes can be set by you and other times they cannot be is that by you. And they're only going to be set by the person or organization hiring you. So if you're somebody who hates having a deadline and you just want to do things as they come, uh, this business is probably not for you because you do have to adhere to a lot of deadlines. Um, and then the last thing again, is being able to take constructive criticism without getting offended or taking it personally, because you will have a lot of eyes on your work and oftentimes, um, a lot of changes to be made when you're writing on behalf of someone else.

(28:06):

Um, so those are just a list of things that will help you determine if this business is right for you. There's a lot of them, but I think that's a good list to start with. Um, so let's talk about also, how does the future look for copywriters and content marketers? And I think this is, um, this is a good topic to cover in the online space today. There's a lot of buzz about everything being video, everything being digital. So what does that mean for copywriters and content marketers? Well, in my opinion, the future for this industry is incredibly bright. Every business, like I mentioned earlier with a lot of examples, every business, every type of entrepreneur in every industry relies on copy and content, and they're more and more, they're realizing that content is what establishes their authority and generates leads in their business. And so, in my opinion, what's going on in the online space is incredibly good for copywriters and content marketers, because it's only going to elevate the need for people who have these skills.

(29:09):

And as far as video and audio being on the rise, I still think that it elevates the need for copywriters because all of this still needs people who have these skills who know how to do research and outlines and blog posts and show notes and writing for the digital space, as well as the print space, um, how to write for social media, how to write scripts. Um, all of these are things that copywriters and content marketers have this skill set for. And I think it's only going to continue to, as entrepreneurship grows now, while most industries are becoming more digital, a lot of them still have copy as the backbone of what they're doing, and it's still as prevalent today as it was 20 years ago, it just looks a little bit different. So I don't see it going anywhere anytime soon. And I believe that the more you stay on top of changes in, in the industry, the more relevant you can be.

(30:05):

So just as the example I gave, if you know how to write for both print and the online space, if you know how to write for show notes, um, if you know how to write transcription for YouTube or how to correct transcription, those are all skills that, um, a lot of copywriters didn't need to have 25 or 30 years ago. And today we do, um, 20 years ago, we didn't have to know how to write headlines for, you know, Facebook ads. And today we do. Um, and so it's not necessarily that the skillset has changed it's that the format and, um, the medium has changed. And so the more you stay on top of those changes and just knowing how to apply your skills to the changes happening in the industry, the more relevant and on top of your game as a copywriter, you can stay.

(30:51):

So let's talk next about lifestyle. What does it look like to be a copywriter and content marketing professional? What does this lifestyle look like if you decide to have this as a signature service in your business? Um, well, this lifestyle is interesting and it's one of my favorite things because it's flexible and you can make it your own. Like I talked about earlier, you can batch your content and if you want to write at 5:00 AM, you can write at 5:00 AM. If you want to research at midnight, you can research at midnight. And that is one of my favorite things about this industry. Um, you do have to stick to some timelines when you're on deadline or when you're conducting interviews of some kind, but for the most part, it's your work. And you get to decide when and where to do it. Uh, I love that you can block all of your, your writing, and then you can determine when you want to be on work or off work.

(31:46):

Um, I love the learning. And so that's part of the lifestyle of a copywriter is always learning and researching. There are some, you know, admin kind of hours to like doing invoicing and bookkeeping. Um, like there would be for any business, but most of it is really research and writing and a lot of learning. Um, I love that you can work from anywhere. So that's a part of the lifestyle that I mentioned. Um, as you guys know, um, my husband and I recently moved out of Colorado, and until we kind of find the place that we're going to settle next, we're living in our camper and traveling and, um, being an entrepreneur and a copywriter. This is what is allowing me to still work while I do that and still get to explore new industries and, um, I can do it from anywhere. And so that's been a really great lifestyle for me.

(32:35):

And I think a lot of people are attracted to copywriting and content marketing for that reason. Um, you can work in your slippers and drink lots of coffee from home if you want, or you can go be in an office if you want to do that. Um, it really is up to you what you want that lifestyle to look like. And copywriting and content marketing is an industry where you really can choose and you can set it up the way that you want. So, um, I will be honest, there are some drawbacks. And so I mentioned, um, the criticism, sometimes it can be hard to get criticism and correction on your work. Uh, writer's block can happen, can happen a lot. Um, and so you always want to make sure you're, you're prepared with extra time that to write something in case you do find yourself in writer's block.

(33:20):

Uh, sometimes you may find yourself writing or researching topics that you really don't find interesting, uh, in some ways, the only way to sometimes the only way to do that is to do it. And then you find out that you don't like it baker and industry, uh, and you may choose to just not get clients anymore from that industry. Uh, but sometimes if you go into it and you're not sure you might find yourself writing about something that you kind of find boring, um, writing on behalf of someone or something else you don't agree with, you can find yourself in that situation as well. Um, a lot of times writers will be very specific, especially when it comes to, uh, social issues or politics. Um, they're pretty specific about who they choose to work for because they want to work with someone they do agree with cause it's easier to write for them.

(34:07):

Um, but I also know copywriters who are really great about writing on behalf of anybody because they like showing all different sides of an argument. And so, um, that's really a personal choice, but sometimes you might find yourself writing about something or, um, for someone or something that you disagree with that can be a drawback of the industry. Um, deadlines, if you don't like deadlines, you may not be happy in this industry and that can be a big drawback. Um, so sometimes it's just not a good fit, um, copywriting isn't for everyone, but hopefully, this episode will give you some ideas of whether or not it might be for you. Um, copywriting is easy to supplement with other work. So if you're thinking about a side hustle, uh, copywriting is a great side hustle because you can do it in kind of off-hours. If you've got another job or a family you're taking care of, it can work in nicely with something else that you have going full time.

(35:02):

So you can decide, um, how and what you charge for your own services, which is something else that I really like about copywriting. Um, I'm going to do an episode here coming up about how to structure your services and payment options for copywriters. So I'm not going to get into that too much today. Um, but that is another aspect of the industry that I like is that you have some options for how you set up, uh, what you get paid. And a lot of times you can work in packages, um, and make it more lucrative for yourself. So that's a nice thing. Um, so how do you know if it's for you? My best advice is just to try it. Uh, I don't think you're going to know if it's for you until you dive in and start trying it. Um, and then do you do your own, write some of your own articles, um, do some of your own research and pretend you're doing it for an entrepreneur who's hired you and write a blog post, write an article for entrepreneur.com and, um, do it as if you were getting hired to do it and see if you like it.

(36:03):

Um, you can also use work like that, that you've just done yourself to build a portfolio. If you decide that it's an industry that you're interested in pursuing, um, if you're a current freelancer, ask your existing clients, if you can write some copy, start with something small. If you want to start with, you know, Hey, can I write the email? That's going to go out this week, or can I write your blog post for this week? Um, and just start trying it just because you offer to do it once doesn't mean you're committed to the industry. You can do it once and just say, Hey, thanks for the opportunity. I decided this isn't really what I love. I'm going to keep doing, you know, the other stuff I've been doing for you, or if you decide you like it, it's a really good stepping stone to getting the entrepreneurs you're already working for, uh, to give you some of their copywriting work.

(36:50):

So keep that in mind as well, go back through the list of the things I gave you as examples of ways to know if this is a great industry for you or not go back through that list and rank those things from a scale of one to 10. And if you find that most of those things are five or over then, that's a good indication that this might be an industry that you may want to try. Um, so why do you need a signature service at all? If you're a freelancer and why should you consider copywriting, like gave you all of the reasons to consider copywriting? Um, but the really great thing about having a signature service in your business is that it differentiates you in your industry. The online space has grown so much, which is great, but it is also brought in an influx of freelancers.

(37:36):

And if you have a signature service, whether that's you choosing copywriting and content marketing or another service, if you have a signature service, it helps differentiate your business in the industry itself. It also gives you the opportunity to specialize and promote yourself as a specialist, to specific people in the industry. You can imagine once you become a specialist, again, going back to the medical field, if you're a nurse who retired from nursing and decided to go into copywriting and you know, all of, you know, how to research medical journals and you know, all the lingo and you know how to describe medical, you know, things and you know how to write properly. Um, that's a really powerful tool and that's going to set you apart when you say I'm a specialist. And I write specifically in the medical industry, um, and I was a nurse.

(38:28):

Like you can, you can see how that would be so powerful. So when you specialize in an industry, it helps separate you and it helps really differentiate your business and you can promote yourself as such. So, um, it's a way that you can also elevate your income because you're a specialist. And because you kind of know more about the industry and you can show portfolios and testimonials from others in an industry when you're pitching someone that can help with charging more for your services as well. Um, and it gives you direction. It's, um, a lot easier as a copywriter when you know what your specialty is. It's a lot easier to give yourself permission to say, I'm going in this direction and I'm becoming a specialist and it helps you really open up the doors of what do I specifically want to be good at.

(39:17):

And that really gives you a lot more direction in your own business. Now, here's the thing is your signature service can also change. So don't let anybody tell you that it can't just because you've picked one doesn't mean it can't change later. You may decide to do copywriting and content marketing today and tomorrow you may decide to do social media management and that's totally fine. Um, don't box yourself in, um, if you decide to try copywriting and you change it later, fine. Um, I just don't think it's, it's helpful to your own business to box yourself in. So if you decide to change specialties, don't ever let that stop you. Um, so what are some ways that you can specialize while you can, by industry, like we talked about, uh, you can become a copywriter specifically for an industry like the medical industry or online entrepreneurs, uh, maybe the fitness industry or CPAs, the financial industry, or you can specify, specify by the type of copy you like to provide.

(40:18):

So you may write copy for everybody, but you may only focus on blogging, or you may focus on instruction manuals, or you may focus on only social media or maybe only websites, whatever you really found was something you enjoy doing, you may offer only that service, but offer it to a lot of industries. So this is a really good way to still specialize. Even if you haven't found the industry you want to specialize in, you may know the type of copy you want to specialize in. There are copywriters who specialize in only website copy there's others who specialize in only advertising, and you can specialize in anything that fits you best. Um, do you have to specialize? You don't really have to, but it will set you apart in the industry if you do. Um, I specifically have found that I really like working with online entrepreneurs and I love writing website copy.

(41:13):

 I love emails. I love lead generators, but, um, I'm really not somebody who's going to write an instruction manual, and I'm not somebody who's really going to enjoy something in the medical field. Um, I do like the fitness world because I have a background in fitness. Um, so that's one that I like, but so you just kind of find after some time of doing them, which industries and specific types of copy you like, and those are the ones that you want to specialize in so that you can learn the most about them and differentiate your business. So to recap, in today's episode, we talked about the benefits of copywriting and content marketing skills, how and where you can apply those skills, examples of industries, copywriters, and content marketers can work in how to know if copywriting and content marketing is for you. The future outlook of freelancers who have these skills.

(42:07):

Uh, we looked at a peek into the lifestyle of having these signature services in your business. We talked about how to know if copywriting and content marketing is for you to offer as a signature service. And we talked about why you need to have a signature service as a freelancer. So lots of juicy stuff today in today's episode. And I hope that gives you some food for thought, as you think about whether or not copywriting and content marketing might be for you or not. So next week, just a reminder, I'm doing a Facebook live training in the Facebook group. We're going to be going over some I help statements and some further training on how you can have a powerful, I help statement for your business or write that statement on behalf of someone else and how you do that. So if you're not in the Facebook group that is linked in the show notes, jump into that group, cause that's the only place that training is happening.

(42:57):

Uh, so I will see you there and looking forward to talking to you guys, and if you have a one-liner, um, or an I help statement that you want to have featured, you can email that to me at [email protected]. I'm looking for some to feature in that training. So if you want to submit yours, [email protected] to be included in that training. Oh man, that was a big episode. So hope you guys had a pen and paper, took some great notes and I hope you found it really useful. So, um, this was freelancer Friday. Every Friday is an episode specifically for my freelancers who are either adding copywriting and content marketing services to their business, or who already have that in their business and just want some comradery over how do I make my business bigger and better? So I hope you guys found that helpful. I'm looking forward to talking to you again

(43:47):

Next week. Thanks for listening today, friends, and spending a piece of your day with me to get more information on my copywriting and content marketing and messaging services, go to amberglus.com. You can also learn more on Instagram with me @AmberGlus. Until next time, go share your unique message with the world.