The Content Byte (Lynne Testoni and Rachel Smith)

Whether you're quoting on a project, thinking about raising your rates with clients or negotiating for a higher word rate with an editor, talking about money with ease is a critical skill for freelancers. In this episode we talk about researching market rates, figuring out YOUR rate and how to become more confident discussing dollars and cents.

This week Rachel and Lynne are chatting with the founder and head of product at Rounded - our sponsor. A former freelancer, Grant tells the story of how the company was founded and what it's like dealing with sole traders as customers. His inside tips are valuable!

During our conversation, he talks about:

• How businesses often ignore the potential of freelancers as customers
• How he created a product he needed - and then took it to the next level
• Common mistakes freelancers make
• Why multi-disciplinary freelancing is the future
• The freelancer skills we will need in 2024 and beyond

Grant's company Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), is our sponsor and is an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

Connect with Grant on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantmccall/ 

And, don't forget that we have just announced the dates for the 2024 The Content Byte Summit. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up the early bird tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/ 
Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au 
Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com      
Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au   

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week, Rachel and Lynne chat to copywriter and agency owner Sarah Spence. She shares her journey from freelancing to setting up her own agency, managing rapid growth and what she looks for when she's hiring freelancers. She also talks about what it's like being neurodiverse and how it helps her create a supportive and inclusive culture at her agency, Content Copywriting.

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-spence-7413b930/

Learn more about her agency here: https://contentcopywriting.com.au/ 

We are also thrilled to launch our newest venture - The Content Byte Summit - a conference for writers, by writers. Find out more about The Content Byte Summit (and sign up for updates) here: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/ 

 
Find us:  Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/          
Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/          
Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/      
As always, thanks to Rounded https://rounded.com.au/  for sponsoring The Content Byte!

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

Successful freelance writer Campbell Mattinson talks about how he secured the perfect gig - wine writing. In his chat with host Lynne Testoni, he also shared:

• How he copes with the delivery of 30 bottles of wine a day
• The changes in wine writing over the years
• How he finally published the novel that had been in his bottom drawer for 30 years
• How photography has made him a better writer

Get in touch with Campbell via his website: https://www.campbellmattinson.com/

By design, freelancers do have more freedom to live and work in other locations - even if you worry you might lose clients or become 'out of sight, out of mind'. That wasn't the case for editor and journalist Sara Mulcahy, who decided to move her family and freelance business to Far North Queensland just after Covid hit. And as it happened, she enjoyed her best financial year yet.

In this episode, Sara talks about:

• The journey crossing the borders just before they closed
• How her work has changed since moving up north, and the niches she's thrived in due to her location
• Dealing with different budgets in different locations
• How she's managed to keep existing clients and find new ones
• Her tips for other freelancers, and more!

Find Sara on LinkedIn

This week, Rachel and Lynne chat with agency content director, Vanessa Keys. Vanessa shares her career journey from work experience in glossy magazines, to securing feature writing roles before travelling to London and working in large agencies. Now the head of content and strategy at Slice, her Adelaide-based content agency established with colleague and friend Liz, Vanessa now boasts some big-name clients and a healthy business.

We chat about:

• The difference between freelancing and agency life
• What it's like to come back to your home town
• How large agencies work
• What agencies are looking for from freelancers
• How she pitches for new business
• Where she finds clients
• What being 'content first' means in practice
• The skills freelancers need right now

Here are the tech recommendations Vanessa mentioned:

• ColorZilla is a Chrome extension that includes a colour picker, eye dropper, gradient generator and many additional advanced colour tools.
• Pocket is a Chrome extension that lets you collect articles, videos, and links from across the web and save them in a central place
• SEO META in 1 CLICK is a Chrome extension that allows you to check metadata and display main SEO information for any site across the web
• CMS Detect is a Chrome extension that tells you what CMS a website was built on

Connect with Vanessa at Slice, https://www.slice.agency/ or via Instagram @slice.agency  

Don't forget about The Content Byte Summit (which will include a session on Growing Beyond Solo), from September 12-14, 2024 in Sydney. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au 

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au      

Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com

Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au 

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au  for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

Continuing on with our successful freelancer series, we're chatting to journalist and editor Grant Jones, a former TV producer and newspaper section editor who now runs his own content agency and communications company. He’s also cowritten the recent book, A Caring Life: What fifty years in nursing has taught me about humanity, compassion and community, by Keith Cox with Grant Jones. Find out how Grant had to reinvent himself during Covid, the skills he's picked up since starting out as a journalist so many years ago, and his tips for freelancers starting out.

Connect with Grant

• On LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/grant-jones-content-media-marketing/
• On Instagram - www.instagram.com/grant_jones_sydney/ 

Connect with us

• Rachel's List for job-seekers: rachelslist.com.au/jobseekers
• Lynne Testoni's website: www.lynnetestoni.com
• Rachel Smith's website: rachelsmith.com.au 

This week on the podcast, Rachel and Lynne talk to freelance writer, podcaster and multi-tasker Lee Tran Lam about food, podcasting and trying to carve out a career as a freelancer, while still doing what you love.

We talk about:

• The need to support young journalists
• Why podcasting is the future - and how you can make it pay
• Creating a podcast with the Powerhouse museum
• Her favourite meals and why writing about it helps to capture those moments forever
• How her early days as a subeditor informed and helped her writing

Patreon podcast and newsletter: https://www.patreon.com/leetranlam 

This week Rachel and Lynne are talking about your biggest marketing tool – your website!

We are constantly surprised how many writers don’t have a website, or have one that misses crucial pieces of information. This week, website developer Jude Love from Love Communications talks all things websites and what creatives need to include.

Her 7 tips on what to include are:

1. A sales mindset – make every page a sales page. This means a clear definition of your audience/clientele, the problems you solve, social proof and clear call to action.
2. Your Unique Value Proposition above the fold.
3. Make sure your About page talks about the problems you solve for your clients, not just about you.
4. Social proof: testimonials from your clients and editors. Make it easy for them to leave a testimonial for you on your Google My Business.
5. Clear call to action and a very clear way to contact you.
6. Good sign-up reward to build a mailing list.
7. Good technology, small image file sizes, no sliders, search engine integration.

 Find Jude Love:

Journosgetonline:

https://www.journosgetonline.com.au/

Site coaching:

https://www.journosgetonline.com.au/site-coaching/

Personal brand package: 

https://lovecommunications.com.au/personal-branding/

Contact Rachel Smith rachel@rachelsmith.com.au; Lynne Testoni lynne@lynnetestoni.com 

Collaborating with other freelancers or small businesses can be a rocket-launcher to growth you couldn't achieve otherwise. Trouble is, it's tricky to get it right, and to know how to approach other brands you might like to team up with. In this episode, we chat to Jess Ruhfus from Collabosaurus, a match-making, marketing platform that connects brands keen to collaborate. Tune in to hear about:
+ How Jess started Collabosaurus

+ Why she feels collaboration is the future

+ How to get started collaborating with another freelancer or brand

+ How to communicate your value

+ Collaboration success stories

+ Jess's favourite tech tools

Find out more

This week on the podcast, Rachel and Lynne chat with copywriter and coach Krystle Church, who is living her best life in tropical Mauritius doing work she loves. We chat about all things copywriting, including:

• Writing great copy
• The best courses to learn about copywriting
• Creating great landing pages
• Email marketing
• Being a digital nomad
• Mistakes she made in her early days of running the agency

Connect with Krystle on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krystle.church/ 

or through her website: https://krystlechurch.com/ 

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au        
Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com              
Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au 

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

RE-RELEASE. Continuing with our summer series of re-running our favourite and most popular podcast episodes, we are sharing an episode from August 2022, with agency copywriter Damien Whelan.

If you're as Mad Men-obsessed as we are, you're probably keen to know how copywriting on the agency side differs from other types of writing that copywriters do. 

In our chat, we talk about:

• How did he get into agencies? 
• How does he come up with clever one-liners?
• What's it like working on an ad campaign for a billboard?
• How do pitch meetings pan out?
• Do they often pull all-nighters?
• How can freelancers get into agencies and become indispensible?
• And is there really is a decanter of whisky on everyone's desk?

Connect with Damien via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damien-whelan-14700b51/ 

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au 
Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com 
Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au 

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

We typically tend to think of CVs as something you use in order to get your next permanent role - but what about freelancers? Do they need a CV too? Many say no, and want to move away from the CV to simply showing clients an online portfolio instead. But there are cases you'll be asked for a CV (especially if you do agency work) and it's a good idea to have one ready to send. In this short episode, we chat about:

+ What freelancer CVs are
+ How they differ from traditional CVs
+ Creating a freelancer CV for yourself
+ Design, sections, tone of voice
+ What else you need to know

Resources

Check out some really creative, beautiful CVs here.

If you want to look at Rachel's freelancer CV, you'll find it available to download on her website. 

Canva also has a tutorial on creating CVs via its platform.

This week Rachel and Lynne welcome investigative journalist Louise Milligan to the podcast hot seat. Louise talks about her work on Four Corners and her previous non-fiction books, Cardinal, The Rise and Fall of George Pell and Witness, An Investigation into the Brutal Cost of Seeking Justice, as well as Pheasants Nest, her newly released novel.

The discussion covers:

• The creative process of Louise's first novel and how it differs from journalism and non-fiction
• How the book expands on the usual way we consume a crime story 
• Covering confronting issues in both fiction and journalism
• Gendered violence and how that played into the plot of her novel
• How she juggles writing novels with her journalism work
• Some of the stories she has covered and why she will never forget them

Trigger warning: Our chat with Louise Milligan covers some confronting topics, including sexual assault, gendered violence and suicide. If these topics are a trigger for you, you might like to skip this episode or come back another time.

Pheasants Nest is available at all good bookshops.

Connect with Louise on Instagram @milliganreports  and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012038172584 

This is your last week to secure Early Bird tickets to The Content Byte Summit, from September 12-14, 2024. The Early Bird discount ends on May 31. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au   

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au    

Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com  

Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au 

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week, Rachel and Lynne return to their occasional series of interviewing successful freelancers, with their chat with Lucy E. Cousins, who specialises in health and wellness and has her own successful content agency, Remedy Content. Lucy shares her journey in magazines and journalism, as well why she focuses on evidence-based science in her health articles and why she always adds the 'E' in her name. 

Find out more about Lucy here: https://www.remedycontent.com.au/

or on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/lucyecousins/

This week on the podcast, Rachel and Lynne chat with Kim Kerton of Unemployed and Afraid, talking about the growing opportunities in podcast production. We chat about all thing podcasts, including:

• Owning a business from a young age
• Creating branded podcasts
• How do you serve an audience
• Realism in storytelling for brands
• Being prepared for change as your business grows

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au         

Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com               

Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

If you’re a writer thinking about edging into UX, you’ll find this episode with UX copywriter Susan Reoch both fascinating AND super helpful. We chat to Susan about:

+ What UX actually means and how this emerging area is a great one to consider if you’re a writer looking to upskill 

+ Where microcopy fits in to the UX bigger picture

+ How Susan got started in UX and the resources and groups that have been most helpful in growing her business

+ The kind of work out there for UX copywriters, and why business owners need UX writers more than ever

+ Why journalists can make great UX copywriters

+  How to cost UX jobs with lots of moving parts

+ What you need to know about working in UX teams

+ Susan’s favourite tools

Find out more about Susan here:

https://susanreochcopywriter.com/ 

https://www.instagram.com/susanreoch_copywriter/ 

Other resources

Susan’s UX Writer’s Guide https://susanreochcopywriter.com/the-ux-writers-guide/ 

The Content Rookie podcast https://contentrookiepod.com/ 

A blog post on UX writing by Laura Luck https://www.rachelslist.com.au/blog/so-you-think-you-can-be-a-ux-writer/  

Freelance writer Lindy Alexander didn’t start out as a writer, but she has carved out a $100K+ freelance writing business that’s made her the envy of freelancers everywhere. We chat to her about how she started, some of her systems and processes, and her tips for success. Listen in to find out:

• How Lindy moved from being a social worker and AUSLAN interpreter to becoming a hugely successful freelancer
• What prompted Lindy to share her earnings, successes and strategies (and what made people start taking notice)
• Her tips on finding high-paying clients 
• How being a generalist can save you in tough times (like a pandemic)
• Her tips to taking on a lot of work each month and getting it done
• The momentum happening in the ‘edupreneur’ space and how Lindy’s coaching evolved into courses
• The mistakes you can make when putting a course together
• Mixing writing work with running courses
• How to pitch and make more money
• Her tips for journalists moving into freelancing
• Mistakes she sees freelancers make over and over
• And much more!

Resources + where to find Lindy

The Freelancer’s Year Lindy’s blog and free training on how to double your income through freelance writing (go to the courses tab) https://thefreelancersyear.com/ 

Hello Audio To create a private podcast stream for course participants https://www.helloaudio.fm/ 

Source Tracker Keep all your experts and sources in one place with this Rachel’s List tool (one of Lindy’s favourites) https://www.rachelslist.com.au/toolkit/product/expert-tracker/ 

VIDEO Masterclass: Pitching! Secrets from editors in print, digital and custom media, plus a special presentation from Lindy Alexander on how to pitch your services to corporate clients https://www.rachelslist.com.au/toolkit/product/video-masterclass-pitching-secrets-from-editors-in-print-digital-and-custom-media-plus-how-to-pitch-your-services-to-corporate-clients/ 

Freelancer Q&A: Meet Lindy Alexander https://www.rachelslist.com.au/blog/freelancer-qa-meet-lindy-alexander/ 

Writing a good piece of content can be quite different to penning a feature for a magazine. In this episode, we look at how to choose a topic, perform basic keyword research and write a decent headline. Also covered: writing metadata and the call-to-action (CTA) - plus the resources to help you do all of the above!

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.

Earning a decent living as a freelancer is within your reach - but how? In this jam-packed episode of tips, info and strategies, we talk to Melbourne-based freelancer Carrie Hutchinson about how she has carved out a thriving freelance career across print magazines, copywriting clients and corporate gigs, with a particular focus on travel and lifestyle. We cover:

- The pros and cons of working with overseas clients (including payment issues or onboarding)

- How Carrie picks up clients, gets ongoing work and why working with friends can actually be a good thing

- Why marketing isn't a huge part of finding work for Carrie, but her tips on getting work quickly if she needs it

- The importance of always being professional because often clients can circle back years later and offer you work

- Why you shouldn't be nervous about editors moving on to other publications (and how it can actually double your workload)

- What Carrie charges per hour, how she works it into her project fee and the clients she might charge slightly less for. Also, the formula she's used for figuring out her hourly rate

- Carrie's freelance routine, why she doesn't sit at her desk for 8 hours a day, and why it's important to set boundaries with clients

- What she's learned from freelancing in regards to confidence, valuing what you do, knowing your worth and not letting clients put you down or undermine you (remember that you're the boss)

- How she mixes up her work with big projects and small ones

- Buying property as a freelancer - how Carrie's done it

- The freelance resources, courses, communities Carrie feels are worth paying for to help her in her work

- Her top tips for freelancers who are starting out

More resources

• Calculate your hourly rate
• Carrie's editing fundamentals masterclass

Where to find Carrie

• LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/carrie-hutchinson-b91b9220/
• Email: carrie @ copygirl.com.au
• Twitter: @ozcopygirl

We just love to meet freelancers who have managed to combine different types of writing into a successful career. This week, Rachel and Lynne chat with Caroline Riches, a news journalist for 25 years who works in the SBS newsroom part time and then does freelance writing work for the rest of the week. We talk about:

• Balancing the two roles
• Why she loves the flexibility of casual work
• What newsrooms are looking for from casual journalists and how to get a foot in the door
• The stress of covering big news stories
• How great it is to be part of a newsroom and being surrounded by the big news stories of the day
• Where and how she secures agency work

Connect with Caroline at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-riches-978656113/ 

Caroline's website is: https://www.carolineriches.com/ 

This is your last week to secure Early Bird tickets to The Content Byte Summit, from September 12-14, 2024. The Early Bird discount ends on May 31. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au 
Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au    
Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com 
Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au ), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week Rachel and Lynne chat with launch copywriter and psychotherapist Kirsty Fanton about 'social proof' - what it is, why it's an important (and powerful) part of your marketing efforts and how to get it. An inspiring and informative discussion.

Find Kirsty at https://www.kirstyfanton.com/

Connect with us
Rachel's List for job-seekers: www.rachelslist.com.au/jobseekers  

Lynne Testoni's website: www.lynnetestoni.com

Rachel Smith's website: www.rachelsmith.com.au

Thanks, as always, to our sponsors www.rounded.com.au. Easy accounting and invoicing software, made just for Australian freelancers and sole traders. Don't forget, if you're a Rachel's List Gold member, you'll enjoy 20 percent off an annual subscription plan!

This week on the podcast Rachel and Lynne's guest is accountant Heather Smith. As well as consulting with small business, Heather has created a side hustle as a writer, creating content and writing some successful 'For Dummies' books. She is also a columnist for Acuity magazine. She talks about creating a career that uses her professional knowledge and how she's honed her writing skills, often using AI to help her in terms of ideas and a framework.

We talk about:

• The tough editorial demands of the 'For Dummies' brand
• How she splits her work between accountancy and writing
• What she loves about the two careers
• Where and how she finds her work

Contact Heather via her website: https://heathersmithsmallbusiness.com/contact-me/ 

Where to find us:

Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/ 

Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/ 

Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/ 

As always, thanks to Rounded https://rounded.com.au/  for sponsoring The Content Byte!

This week on the podcast, Rachel and Lynne are chatting with Paul Merrill, a former editor in chief of weekly magazines, who established his own freelance content business five years ago. Paul talks about his early career in the golden era of magazines, the pressure of being a publisher in Australia and then how he set up his own business. Our chat covers:

• Finding work when you are starting out
• How his background in journalism helps him create interesting content
• His newly established niche of award writing and how it has brought in a new income stream
• Working with corporate clients
• Offering a wide range of content services
• Enjoying work/life balance
• Managing the ups and downs of freelancing
• Where he finds his clients

Connect with Paul and find out more about his work at his website: https://www.paulmerrill.com.au/ 

Don't forget it's the last couple of weeks to buy tickets for The Content Byte Summit, where you can learn about future-proofing your freelance business, from September 12-14, 2024 in Sydney. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au  

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au    
Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com 
Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au 

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

Newsletters are big bikkies right now - so how do you create one that people want to open week after week? In this episode, that’s a question we put to  Sophie Hansen, creator of the Monday morning missive 5 Things To Be Cheerful About. Sophie shares the story of starting the newsletter, why she chose the format she did, and how she grew her audience. Plus, if you’re considering starting your own newsletter, you’ll get Sophie’s great tips and advice on how to do it and get that all-important momentum.

About Sophie

Sophie Hansen was born and raised in Sydney, and now lives with her family (husband Tim, daughter Alice 13, son Tom 11) on their deer farm just outside of Orange in country New South Wales. She trained in print journalism (at the University of Canberra) and has over 20 years experience as a features writer and content creator.

She is currently writing her fourth book, her third In Good Company is to be published by Murdoch Books in April 2021.

Her second cookbook, A Basket by the Door, is in its fourth reprint and widely distributed around the world.

She spent three years working with Slow Food Editore in Northern Italy in her twenties and for the past ten years has been sharing recipes and social media tips on her two blogs Local is Lovely and My Open Kitchen.

She also teaches social media and content marketing to producers and small businesses across Australia. In 2016 she was awarded Australian Rural Woman of the Year (via the Federal Government’s Agrifutures initiative) in recognition of her commitment to rural communities.

This week we chat to Sophie about:

• Why she decided to start 5 Things To Be Cheerful About
• How she went about bringing the newsletter together, designing a template and choosing the whole look’n’feel
• What her process is for collating the items and writing it
• How she’s built up her subscriber base and grown her newsletter community
• What a typical day looks like for her
• How the newsletter is an important piece of the marketing puzzle
• What it’s like being a freelancer in rural Australia
• Her advice for anyone thinking of starting a newsletter.

Where to find Sophie

Local is Lovely website local-lovely.com

5 Things To Be Cheerful About Subscribe here

LocalLovely Instagram www.instagram.com/locallovely

A Basket By the Door Buy here

5 Things to be Cheerful About Podcast

Finding the right experts and case studies for stories - or the right PRs who can get the ball rolling - can be tricky. In this episode, Lynne and Rachel share the websites and resources they turn to when expert quotes or a great case study is required. Our show notes PDF lists all the resources, so don't forget to download it at the end!

Do you have a client offering you a regular amount of work? It might be worth negotiating a retainer arrangement. In this episode, we talk about how to structure these arrangements and what you need to be aware of (and there's an exclusive discount code for podcast listeners for the Rachel's List retainer template).

This week on the podcast, Rachel and Lynne chat with award-winning creative business consultant Monica Davidson on building a successful creative business. Monica works with creatives of all types to help them build their businesses and gain confidence. We chat about:

• Practical business advice for creatives 
• Common mistakes freelancers make
• Working with government departments and agencies
• Helping people convert a hobby into a professional business
• Working with and training mentors
• Managing staff and growing a business.
  

About Monica + Creative Plus Business

Find out more about Monica here: creativeplusbusiness.com 
Connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicadavidson/

ALSO! Creative Plus Business is kindly offering TCB listeners 30 percent off the course Creative Start-Up, with the code Content-Byte-comp-2023 (expires Nov 30).

About us + The Content Byte Summit

Only a few tickets still available for our conference in September, The Content Byte Summit www.thecontentbytesummit.com.au 

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au  
Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com      
Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au 

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

If there's something freelancers know all about, it's the humble side hustle - which could be a passion project separate to your work, or something connected to your work that enables you to use your skills to make money in a new way. In this episode, we talk about:

• what a side hustle is
• small side hustles vs scalable ones
• when a side hustle becomes a business
• the different kinds of side hustles specific to writers and other creatives
• freelancers and small business owners who've successfully turned side hustles into their main focus
• And lots more!

Who we mention in this episode

• John Burfitt - writer + university lecturer
• Kirsty Fanton - launch copywriter and Brain Camp extraordinaire
• Lindy Alexander - writer + course legend
• Emma McMillan - copywriter + small business copy coach
• Jay Crisp - copywriter, coach + creator of resources
• Belinda Weaver - Copywrite Matters - copywriter + copy mentor + resources
• Kate Toon - courses on SEO, digital marketing and a copywriting community and jobs board
• Sarah Townsend - copywriter and author of Survival Skills for Freelancers
• Anna Featherstone - writer and author of Look! It's Your Book

True crime podcasts are hugely popular - but who's behind the scenes creating the episodes we can't help but go back for again and again? Meet Gemma Harris, a podcast scriptwriter who specialises in true crime. In this fascinating episode, we talk to Gemma about:
+ her criminology degree and psychology and how helpful it is to her in her work
+ how she finds work as a true crime podcast scriptwriter
+ the polarising question of whether true crime podcasts are exploitative
+ her podcast script-writing process
+ the cases she's researched and written about that she'll never forget
+ her advice to others thinking about a similar niche.

More about Gemma

Her website: https://gemmaharrisfreelance.com/

Q&A with Rachel's List: https://www.rachelslist.com.au/blog/meet-gemma-i-write-scripts-for-true-crime-podcasts/ 

Links to mentions in this episode

Renae Marsden - https://obscuracrimepodcast.com/podcast/2020/11/28/renae-marsden-with-friends-like-these-part-01-amp-02 

Are you a freelancer with a sneaky suspicion that you could be managing your social media better, or more effectively? Join the club: there are a lot of us out there. And in this episode, we ask Sam McFarlane from social media management consultancy, Sam Says for her tips on what we SHOULD be doing. She talks about:

+ Choosing platforms to focus on
+ Common mistakes freelancers make on social media
+ Creating a social media content calendar and why it's important
+ Best practice - including times to post and how often
+ The ratio of 'salesy' posts to other types of content
+ Ideas for posts audiences are interested in, which freelancers can work into a content calendar to get engagement and build their businesses
+ Social media tools she uses
And much more!

Where to find Sam

Website: www.samsays.com.au

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sammcfarlane/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/samsayssocial/ 

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. 

Links to apps and ideas mentioned in this episode:

Brene Brown talking with James Clear on her podcast https://open.spotify.com/episode/1FCDXnrrXo9d7VTTX7bi4E

Atomic Habits https://www.booktopia.com.au/atomic-habits-james-clear/book/9781847941831.html

Forest App https://www.forestapp.cc/

Focus tool on Macs https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/mac-help/mchl613dc43f/mac#

TeauxDeux https://teuxdeux.com/

We've all downloaded a lead magnet or two (those irresistible freebies offered on a website in exchange for your email address). But what makes a good lead magnet? How much should you charge to a client to write an ebook or white paper? In this episode, we talk about:

• Lead magnet basics - what are they and why are they important to an overall content strategy
• Why a great lead magnet will always aim to solve a problem
• A range of different lead magnet ideas
• How to quote for one (and what we've been paid)
• And much more!

With the last year bringing so much uncertainty to the media industry, many journalists are choosing to parlay their skills into content roles in the public sector - and what's not to love? Job security, a regular paycheck and super make this an attractive proposition. But what do you need to know before you take the leap? Journo Nigel Bartlett, who's currently working as a content designer in a government role, joins us to share his tips on:

- Updating your LinkedIn so you're attractive to government agencies and have a desirable skillset
- How to find the right jobs - either via LinkedIn or agencies recruiters or HR departments
- At what stage you should negotiate flexibility (eg working off-site, even part of the time)
- How to assess whether a government role is right for you
- Skills that are important and those you'll pick up (Nigel's picked up some great UX skills which are in high demand)
- And much more.

This week on the podcast, hosts Rachel and Lynne chat with freelance writer and author Stephannie Wood. Stephanie shares her journey moving from being a staff writer to freelancing, the challenge of creating a viable career in long-form journalism as well as her journey to publishing her first book, Fake: A Startling True Story of Love in a World of Liars, Cheats, Narcissits, Fantastists and Phonies. 

During our chat, we discuss:

• How to get a pitch over the line with editors
• The challenges of managing an over-flowing inbox
• What's involved in creating a popular newsletter

Sign up to Stephanie's newsletter here: http://stephaniewood.com.au/newsletter/

We are also thrilled to launch our newest venture - The Content Byte Summit - a conference for writers, by writers. Find out more about The Content Byte Summit (and sign up for updates) here: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/ 

Find us:  
Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/  
Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/ 
Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/

Thanks to our sponsors Rounded, an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. See why thousands have made the switch from spreadsheets and complicated software: https://rounded.com.au/  

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week Rachel and Lynne chat with successful freelancer Martina Donkers, who is a specialist grant writer. In an inspiring talk, Martina shares her story about finding her niche, how grant writing works and why she loves being a digital nomad - all from a hammock in regional Western Australia!

You can connect with Martina via her website: http://www.martinadonkers.com/

Lynne's website https://www.lynnetestoni.com/

Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/

Rachel's List https://www.rachelslist.com.au/

Many thanks to Rounded for sponsoring this episode! Rounded offers user-friendly accounting and invoicing software, made just for Australian freelancers and sole traders. Visit https://rounded.com.au/

This week, we're chatting to Steve Colquhoun - a journo, editor and copywriter based in Geelong, Victoria. He started in media at the age of 17 after leaving school, cutting his teeth on mastheads such as The Age, Herald Sun and Cairns Post. He's also worked extensively as a motoring journalist - and since going freelance in 2016 has met the content needs of a variety of clients including Mercedes-Benz, Deakin University and NAB.

We chat to Steve about...

+ what it's really like writing about the world of fast cars
+ the challenges that come with having motoring as a niche
+ how he finds clients and what a typical week looks like
+ setting boundaries when mixing journalism work with content
+ how to write effective pitches that are more likely to get the green light
+ his top tips on carving out a successful freelance career.

Find out more about Steve:
His website: stevecolquhoun.com 
Connect with him on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevecolquhoun 
Read his ultimate guide to retainers on Rachel's List: www.rachelslist.com.au/blog/your-ultimate-guide-to-freelance-retainers 

Freelance writer Susan Horsburgh has an enviable CV and portfolio, writing for some of the country's most prestigious titles, including the Australian Women's Weekly, The Good Weekend (in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age) and Qantas magazines. She has written more than 30 Two of Us columns for The Good Weekend, which we know is a highly read and sought-after commission for freelancers. In her chat with Rachel and Lynne this week, she talks about:

• Her career to date (lots of great stories!)
• What she loves about writing profiles
• How to interview subjects to get the best story
• How to pitch to editors
• How to survive financially as a freelance writer

Susan's Authory profile is here: https://authory.com/SusanHorsburgh

Connect with her on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-horsburgh-freelance-content-writer/ 

But wait, that's not all! Find out more about our upcoming conference, The Content Byte Summit www.thecontentbytesummit.com.au

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au  

Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com   

Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au 

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

What makes you absolutely indispensable as a freelancer? This week's episode is all about our strategies for adding value, solving your clients' problems and using your knowledge for suggesting other ways to improve their content or their business (and score yourself more work at the same time).

When you freelance, the lines between home and work can easily blur - and burnout can be just around the corner. So if you feel like you need to tweak how you run your business, tune in to our chat with executive coach Elana Robertson from foundher, who shares strategies for refining your work rituals and building a more sustainable freelance business. Learn how to:

+ Adopt new morning rituals (rather than going straight to social)
+ How 90-day planning can help you meet your goals
+ Setting boundaries and sharing your instruction manual
+ How to 'habit-stack' the rituals that work for you
+ Elana's favourite apps and tools
+ And much more!

Resources

Find Elana here: https://www.foundher.co/

This week Rachel & Lynne are chatting with Anfernee Chansamooth, a marketer and social media guru, talking about how you can use social media to build your business and get more leads. We chat about:

• His favourite social platforms for freelancers
• Mistakes that freelancers make
• Why targeting a broad market doesn't work
• How consistency pays off on social media
• How much you should share on your social channels

Anfernee's website is here: https://www.anferneec.com/ 

He has compiled a bonus page of resources for listeners of The Content Byte here: https://theauthenticmarketer.com/thecontentbyte/ 

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au    
Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com          
Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  
Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

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'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. 

It's all too easy to undersell yourself when you're freelance. You want the project, and think quoting a little lower is going to do the trick. But sometimes, under-charging can backfire - and actually lose you work. In this episode, we explain how and why you need to price yourself accordingly.

A successful Facebook group can be a powerful thing - whether you're using it to create a community of like-minded people, to teach others, to gather feedback or to sell stuff. But how can you build a successful group, keep people talking - and stop it taking over your life in the process? In this episode, we chat with Freelance Jungle founder Rebekah Lambert, who knows a heck of a lot about FB groups and community management. Tune in to listen to us cover:

• Why you might want to start a FB group
• What Rebekah wishes she'd known before starting hers
• Her tips and strategies for creating a thriving group that doesn't take hours of her actual day
• Dealing with different personalities and member requests
• Management tips for coping with groups that become bigger than Ben Hur
• Getting help running your group with moderators
• Monetising a FB group
• And lots more!

More about Rebekah

Her website, Unashamedly Creative: https://unashamedlycreative.com.au/

Freelance Jungle website + directory
https://freelancejungle.com.au/ 

Sign up to the Freelance Jungle
https://www.facebook.com/groups/freelancejungle 

Freelancers are essentially small businesses - even if we don't typically think of ourselves that way. And this episode with journalist and community manager Lucy Kippist, sheds so much light on being a small business AND working with other small businesses. We chat to Lucy about:

• Tips she learned from successful business owners
• Mistakes we commonly make along the freelance journey
• The differences between men and women business owners
• Getting customers / clients, and building a community
• How writers can add value to small business owners
• The productivity tips and systems that work for her

And much more!

Find out more about Lucy

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucykippist 

Mums'n'Co: https://www.mumsandco.com.au/ 

This week, Rachel and Lynne chat with writer Siobhan O'Brien, who has just released her first novel to much acclaim - All the Golden Light - details here: https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781460762004/all-the-golden-light/. Siobhan talks about the writing process and how writing fiction was so different from her previous non-fiction projects. 

She talks about the realities of being a first time author, including:

• Learning to market your book
• Meeting your readers
• How much you really make as a writer in Australia
• Doing the research for a historical novel
• Editing your book and learning how to 'kill your darlings'
• And why she's now working on a second book

Connect with Siobhan on Instagram @siobhan.obrien.author 

Don't forget about The Content Byte Summit from September 12-14, 2024 in Sydney. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au 

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au 
Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com 
Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week on the website, Rachel and Lynne are chatting with Lisa Almond, a copywriter and paramedic. We thought it was such an intriguing combination that we just had to get her on the podcast! 

We chat about:

• Her background in writing and journalism
• What appealed to her about being a paramedic
• Training in a new career while balancing existing work and family
• How she juggles both roles
• How she plans to include her paramedic knowledge into her writing
• Some of her stories from the frontlines of emergency first aid

Connect with Lisa via her website: https://www.copyandcomms.com.au/ 

And, don't forget that we have announced the dates for the 2024 The Content Byte Summit. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up the early bird tickets) at our website:
https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/   

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au 
Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com 
Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au 

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au ), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au  for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week on the podcast, Lynne and Rachel are speaking with Cathy Anderson, a senior editor at LinkedIn Australia. Cathy shares her inside knowledge on how LinkedIn works, and how to make the most of the platform. It's a valuable and revealing conversation.

We talk about:

• The special courses available for journalists through the platform
• How to increase your reach on LinkedIn
• How the LinkedIn news team works and what they are looking for
• How the LinkedIn Premium accounts work

As Cathy explained, they are always looking for great posts to be featured by the news team as part of the Idea of the Day (here’s an example from a journalist) as well as creator spotlights, which is where they send a notification directly to the person’s post. These topics are really broad, such as cloning your voice via AI, corporate manners and work vs family.

Connect with Cathy at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathy-anderson-bb2648b4/ and Cathy is happy for people to InMail her their posts to pitch.

The next ‘LinkedIn for Journalists workshop’ is on Monday July 1 at 10.30am -11.30am (AEST). Experts will cover the latest product updates and guidance about how journalists can use LinkedIn as a tool for research, contacting sources, networking, building your voice on LinkedIn and more. If you are a journalist and interested in accessing these benefits, please fill in the attached form by 24th June.  

Don't forget about The Content Byte Summit from September 12-14, 2024 in Sydney. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au

Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com

Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au 

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week, Rachel and Lynne are chatting with writer Eagranie Yuh, who’s had an interesting career journey (but isn’t that all of us, really?). Eagranie chats about about how her background brought her to working on her own, writing white papers and doing branded podcasts for clients.

She shares lots of fabulous ideas and tips, including:

• How a career coach helped her turn her passion for writing into a career
• What it's like to work for big international brands
• What white papers are and how to make them useful
• How she moved from Canada to Tasmania - and continued her successful freelance career 
• Her side hustle of chocolate making 
• What it's like juggling time zones and school pickup
• Why she loves conferences and making in-person connections.

Connect with Eagranie via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/eagranieyuh/ or visit her website: https://eagranie.com/ 

Find out more about our upcoming conference, The Content Byte Summit www.thecontentbytesummit.com.au      
Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au  
Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com      
Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au 

 
Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

Imagine spending your days coming up with recipes, baking and taste-testing and photographing your creations for your blog. Sound good? How about making a living out of doing that? Well, that's just what Jess Holmes from SweetestMenu.com does with her days - after a career as a copywriter and content designer for brands such as Flight Centre, Intuit and News Corp. In this episode, Jess talks to us about:
+ her journey from in-house writer to recipe tester and food blogger
+ how the pandemic helped her blog grow
+ balancing the need for SEO and also doing posts she wants to do
+ how she makes a living from food blogging
+ how advertising works on blogs and the numbers you need to get started
+ the social platforms that have been the most helpful in growing her blog and traffic
+ what she outsources, and much more.

More about Jess
Find recipes on her website 
Check out Jess's Pinterest
Follow her on Instagram

The longer you freelance, the more likely you are to come across a tricky or challenging client. Clients who try to bargain you down. Who are so disorganised they throw out timelines on other projects. Or clients who just want to micro-manage everything down to the last detail. This week, we talk about our approaches to five typical 'tricky' clients and what works for us.

• The Negotiator 
• The Novice 
• The Control Freak
• The Boundary Pusher
• The Ghoster

SPECIAL this week: For cut'n'paste scripts you can use on a variety of challenging freelance situations, grab 30% off 25 Scripts for Freelance Success ebook with the code BYTE30. It's in the Toolkit at Rachel's List: https://www.rachelslist.com.au/toolkit/product/25-scripts-for-freelance-success-ebook/

SEO is becoming more of a must-have than a nice-to-have skill for journalists, copywriters and content writers. And if you're considering learning SEO or boosting your existing knowledge, this episode is a fascinating one. We chat to US-born Liam Carnahan, an SEO coach and copywriter and content strategist, about his career journey and process of going into business for himself. Liam worked for many years in Sydney as a writer at digital marketing agencies before settling back in the US, where he launched his business Inkwell Content, and began offering SEO services to businesses in both Australia and the US, and training and coaching to a range of writers. (Liam's very first client was our wonderful sponsor Rounded and they’re still going strong.) In this episode, Liam talks to us about:

• His career journey and how his skills and business have evolved
• Getting on the radar of star copywriter Jacob McMillan
• Being a digital nomad and working with clients across different time zones
• The importance of learning SEO as a writer (and why)
• His course, SEO Bridge Builders for freelancers who want to turn their SEO skills into high-ticket services
• And much more!

Where to find Liam
His website: https://inkwellcontent.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/liamcarnahan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liamcarnahan/ 

Thanks as always to Rounded for sponsoring The Content Byte.

This week on the podcast Lynne and Rachel talk to Sue Bell, who is organising a festival for freelancers in her home town - Launceston, Tasmania. Rachel is a keynote speaker at the event and it's got some great speakers and events as part of the 3-day event in June 2022.

Sue talks about why she thinks having a community is important for freelancers, how to put together an engaging conference program and how to do her day job at the same time. She also shares her amazing career journey (and a few laughs).

Find out about the Launceston Freelance Festival here: https://launcestonfreelancefestival.com.au/

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. 

This week's guest on the podcast is the talented Claire Isaac. Currently working as Editorial Director of TV WEEK and WHO on a maternity contract, Claire divides her time by filling in senior roles for long-term stints and writing for a variety of magazines and content agencies including Medium Rare, New Idea, the Big Issue and more. She talks about her start in teen pop mags and why she loves the excitement and pace of weekly magazines as well as how she created a successful podcast with friend Lisa Sinclair - Playing Devils' Avocado.

Connect with Claire on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-isaac/

Playing Devil's Avocado is here: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/playing-devils-avocado/id1459329449

Are you a print journalist considering making the leap into government communications? In this episode, we chat to Lisa Thomas, who worked on a number of glossy mags (including Vogue Living) before jumping ship to work in a number of leadership roles in the private and public sector. Lisa is currently the Director of Communications, Engagement
and Education at the NSW Department of Parliamentary Services, and talks to us about her journey into government comms, the transferrable skills journalists have, how to get work in government departments, her advice for journalists considering a career in a senior government role and much more.

This week Rachel & Lynne are talking about something that has intrigued me for a while – Pinterest, the social media that you might not be aware of and how powerful it is with guest, Simone Pavils, a Pinterest specialist.

About Simone

Simone Pavils provides Pinterest and SEO services and strategy for business, to help them lighten the load and live more intentionally. She shows you how to create perfect, SEO-optimised Pinterest profiles and pins, and improve your Pinterest strategy so that you can have organic traffic flow to your website without barely lifting a finger.

During the episode we talk about what Pinterest is and how it works, how you can use it to drive traffic to your website, mistakes people make with Pinterest and the fact that pins have a long lifespan - more than Instagram, LinkedIn or Facebook.

Find Simone here:

Website: www.simonepavils.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/simonepavils

Facebook: www.facebook.com/simonepavilsbusiness

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com.au/simonepavils

This week hosts Rachel and Lynne chat with columnist and author Kerri Sackville about her writing career. We talk about how being an early adopter on both Twitter and as a blogger helped to launch her career, how she chooses what to share about her life and how she secured both a weekly magazine column and all her five book deals. 

You can pre-order Kerri's new book, The Secret Life of You (How a bit of alone time can change your life, relationships, and maybe the world), here: https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-secret-life-of-you-kerri-sackville/book/9780645412949.html

or connect with her here: https://www.kerrisackville.com.au/

About us

If you're an Aussie writer, please take our new pay rates survey
Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/    
Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/    
Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/   

As always, thanks to Rounded https://rounded.com.au/  for sponsoring The Content Byte!

This week Rachel and Lynne talk with Belinda Weaver, cohost of the Hot Copy podcast and copywriter extraordinaire about how she created a successful freelance copywriting career, created a supportive community for copywriters and developed courses for those wishing to learn the trade or upskill.

We chat about things such as: how copywriters can command higher rates, how to write faster and her advice to anyone wishing to have a career in copywriting. So much great information!

About Belinda Weaver
Belinda Weaver helps people write copy that makes them money. Whether it's teaching copywriters how to run successful businesses or business owners how to write more effective copy Belinda has courses, coaching and mentoring that builds skills and confidence.

Belinda is an Aussie living in California with her pug, two daughters and husband (listed in order of neediness). She is obsessed with Doctor Who, English murder mysteries and making the perfect lemon curd.

Find Belinda at https://copywritematters.com/; or follow her on Instagram @copywritematters

You asked, we delivered... this week Rachel and Lynne have a LinkedIn Ninja on the podcast. Expert Jillian Bullock talks about LinkedIn's new newsletter feature, whether a premium subscription is worth it as well as great lead generation strategies using the platform.

Find Jillian Bullock at https://linkedinninja.com.au/

Read her blog about LinkedIn tips and strategies at Rachels List: https://www.rachelslist.com.au/blog/your-guide-to-using-linkedin-as-a-freelancer/

After a successful career in high-profile magazines, including as editor of the Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine, writer Kayte Nunn turned her hand to commercial fiction. Now with seven books published, she shares her journey with hosts Lynne and Rachel talking about making a living doing what she loves and why writing novels is all about the long game. 

Connect with Kayte via her website: https://kaytenunn.com/ and pre-order her new book, The Only Child, due out in September.

This week on the podcast Rachel and Lynne are talking about how to grow your businesses with Jenn Donovan. Jenn is passionate about small businesses (which is what a freelance career essentially is) and she talks about how you can use community to find clients and get support from your peers.

In our discussion we cover:

• Her interesting career story, from lawyer to retailer to marketer
• Why she loves working in rural and regional communities
• How the power of community keeps small businesses alive
• How AI can save you hours of time, so you can focus on doing what you love
• How podcasts can be a powerful marketing tool
• The tech tools she uses every day

Find Jenn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-donovan/

Her Small Business Made Simple podcast is here: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/small-business-made-simple-podcast/id1448007188 

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au

Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com

Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au  for the details. 

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

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!

And we are back! After a short post-Summit haitus, Lynne and Rachel are back with a new season and a great guest. And it's all about personality-driven email newsletters. Emails are having their moment in the sun right now - they don't rely on algorithyms that could change quickly or at the whim of a social media mogul and, when done well, can create a powerful conversation between companies and their clients. This week, journalist and content creator Steven Lewis talks all about creating email newsletters for yourself or clients. He talks about:

• Moving from editorial work to copywriting
• Bringing your own voice to your emails
• How to add personality to emails and why it matters
• How to get those first 10 words on the page
• Effective business processes, including onboarding and contracts
• Why he loves creating courses for writers and copywriters
• How to use AI to save time and be more efficient

Connect with Steven at taleist.agency and find the special download for our listeners on how to grow your mailing list at taleist.agency/byte

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au 
Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com 
Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au  for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

Overwhelmed with the amount of time you spend on screens? Jocelyn Brewer talks to Rachel and Lynne about digital nutrition and how freelancers can find a way to live with technology without it taking over our lives.

First up, we just want to say that this episode has a few technical difficulties at the beginning with the sound - but hang in there. Lots of great info about why freelancers should network, how you can network, and the happy knock-on effect: more work coming your way.

We're long-time fans of Madeleine Dore, a writer and interviewer who's spent five years asking creative thinkers how they navigate their days on her popular blog Extraordinary Routines (and podcast Routines & Ruts). And in this episode, we chat to Madeleine about what she's learned from the project and the book it inspired: I Didn't Do The Thing Today. This lively episode delves into a completely different way to think about productivity, and freeing yourself from productivity guilt in general.

Psst! Don't forget to head to the blog at Rachel's List to win one of 3 x copies of Madeleine's book (winners announced Friday, June 24!)

More about Madeleine

• Extraordinary Routines https://extraordinaryroutines.com/
• Madeleine's website https://www.madeleinedore.com/about
• Win the book! https://www.rachelslist.com.au/blog/holding-things-lightly-an-extract-from-i-didnt-do-the-thing-today-a-giveaway/
• Buy the book https://www.booktopia.com.au/i-didn-t-do-the-thing-today-madeleine-dore/book/9781922351500.html? 

As the year draws to a close, hosts Rachel and Lynne chat about our favourite episodes of the year - and some of the things we have learned from our marvellous guests.

We chat about:

• What we learned from organising our first Summit
• Our favourite guests from the year
• Keynote speaker Ed Gandia's concept about 'moving up the value chain' in our content offering
• What we love about podcasting
• The powerful lessons we learned from Emma Grey's novel about grief
• Charlotte Wood's chat about her novel and how an award helped her to create a viable career in fiction writing

Melanie Padgett Powers' podcast with her Summit takeaways is here: https://meledits.com/166-smart-advice-from-the-content-byte-summit/ 

Sign up for updates for the 2024 Content Byte Summit at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/ 

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au          
Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com                
Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au 

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au ), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week, Rachel and Lynne chat with PR consultant and writer Erin Huckle of Chuckle Communications. Erin specialises in award writing and shares her knowledge. She talks about:

• Where she finds her clients
• What she likes about award writing
• How winning awards can help small business
• What makes this type of writing different from content writing
• The secret to being a successful freelancer

Connect with Erin at: https://chucklecommunications.com/ (where you will find her amazing awards calendar)

Don't forget... If you're an Aussie freelancer, please take our new pay rates survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6CSXSNV

Find us: 

Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/       

Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/       

Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/    

As always, thanks to Rounded https://rounded.com.au/  for sponsoring The Content Byte!

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

This week Rachel & Lynne are super excited to have Eman Ismail on the podcast. Eman is a specialist in email marketing, which is such a growth industry and she shares her tips, tricks and the story about how she ended up working in this niche.

During our conversation, Eman talks about:

• What it takes to create a great email campaign
• Mistakes that business owners and copywriters often make when creating email campaigns
• How to not sound sales-y in your emails
• Using storytelling in emails to create more powerful and memorable campaigns
• Where she finds her clients

Listen to Eman's amazing podcast and connect with her by visiting her website: https://emancopyco.com/ 

And, don't forget that we have just announced the dates for the 2024 The Content Byte Summit. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up the early bird tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/ 
Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au 
Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com      
Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au 

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

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.

The goal for any freelancer is to have a full pipeline, working on projects that interest and excite you. Melbourne-based writer Shane Cubis is doing just that - and in our continuing series of successful freelancers, he chats to us about his very interesting career trajectory - which has included editing the notorious P mags, writing for The Chaser and in recent years, working for clients that range from start-ups to universities. In this episode we talk about...

• What editing 'the P mags' taught him
• Who he's written for, and how he gets clients
• How he's carved out a writing niche for his humour / specific tone of voice
• Digital tools he uses a lot, and why freelancers shouldn't balk at learning new programs
• His tips for writers starting out (including why you shouldn't fear slow patches)
• What to do if you want to flex your funny bone as a writer
• And much more!

Where to find/follow Shane (and yes, you should)

Website www.kneejerkbohemia.com
Twitter @cubisia and Instagram @cubisia

This week on the podcast, Rachel and Lynne are chatting with freelance writer, journalist, consultant and media trainer Sue White. As a highly successful freelancer, Sue is all about knowing your own worth and charging accordingly. She shares her career journey, why it's important to grow and adapt as time goes on and why you should never accept underpaid jobs.

She talks about:

• Where and how she finds her clients
• Why journalists need to do copywriting and content to make a good living
• How she secured a long-running column in prestigious newspapers
• Whether securing retainers works for freelancers
• How she set up a media training business with fellow journalist Ginger Gorman
• The systems and processes that work for her

Connect with Sue (and all the many freelance hats she wears) via her website: https://www.suewhite.com.au/

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au 
Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com 
Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au 

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. 

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week, Lynne and Rachel are chatting with TV journalist turned media trainer, Theresa Miller. Theresa has a great story of creating a new career in media training and coaching, working with corporates and training senior executives in how to deal with the media. 

Her story is fascinating and inspiring and covers:

• How to use journalism skills as a media trainer
• Working with companies and individuals to put a journalism lens on issues
• How she finds clients
• How she packages and prices her services
• How introverts can thrive in the media

... and why women need to be in front of cameras more often

Connect with Theresa through her website: https://www.theresamiller.com.au/ or via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresa-miller-tm-media/ 

And, don't forget that we have announced the dates for the 2024 The Content Byte Summit. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up the early bird tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/    

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au   

Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com   

Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au ), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au  for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

Finding the tools, services, websites and apps that save you time and help you work more efficiently is essential when you're a freelancer. Here are a few we've found over the years and use consistently to get the job done.

As freelancers, we all want more lovely leads coming to us - right? Enquiries popping into our inbox. Potential clients approaching us on social media. Ringing us straight from Google. And if things have been at bit barren in your business lately, we've got a heap of great things to try to get things moving again.

Do you struggle to get paid as a freelancer? Need some strategies to ensure clients don’t ignore your invoices? You’re in luck: in this episode, we’re talking to Collectmore’s Paul Metcalf, a nationally renowned debt collection expert. In this episode, Paul shares:

• Some of his most memorable debt collection stories
• Red flags about clients who may be problem payers
• How to set boundaries with clients from the get-go
• Strategies for protecting yourself as a freelancer
• Paul's #1 way to get paid (that most of us don’t do)
• Steps for freelancers chasing late payments
• Letters of demand, and how to use the templates in the Collectmore app (before hiring a debt collector)
• And much more!

Where to find Paul

Website: www.collectmore.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/collectmore 
Download: Collectmore app 

And we are back for 2024 - and with such a useful episode! This week Rachel & Lynne chat with LinkedIn expert Adam Franklin on how to use this super-helpful and useful social media tool to get more work and improve your visibility. 

He shares his top 6 tips on starting the year by optimising your LinkedIn profile and ways that you can make the medium work for you (and it's much easier than you might think!).

Connect with Adam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamfranklin/ 

Bluewire Media can be found at: https://www.bluewiremedia.com.au/

Sign up for updates for the 2024 Content Byte Summit at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/ 

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au

Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com

Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week on the podcast, Rachel and Lynne have a special guest - voice actor Sarah Aubrey. A long-time actor, voice actor and freelancer, Sarah shares her career journey and how she found her niche in voice acting and voiceovers.

She talks about:

• Training at NIDA and working as an actor
• Discovering her talent for voice work
• Managing the ups and downs of freelance life
• Coping with erratic cash flow
• How her agent makes her life easier - and does the hustling for her
• Setting up her own soundproof studio and how it brought her work
• Her fascinating new side hustle as an 'influencer' (and how she hates that word)

Connect with Sarah and her voice work at her website: https://www.sarahaubrey.com/

See her work in the electification/sustainability space through Electrify This: https://www.electrifythis.com.au/ 

Don't forget it's the last couple of weeks to buy tickets for The Content Byte Summit, where ou can learn about future-proofing your freelance business, from September 12-14, 2024 in Sydney. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au 

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au   

Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com

Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au 

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

This week Rachel and Lynne are chatting with Lizzie Mulherin, a freelance writer, brand strategist, and travel author. Lizzie shares her career journey and chats about:

• Having a business mindset when it comes to freelancing
• How to mix content work and journalism
• How to boost your confidence as a freelancer
• Whether you need to build a personal brand to make good money
• Common mistakes she sees writers making
• How to get the most out of AI
• Whether it is possible to make a good living through Substack

Connect with Lizzie via her website: https://www.lizzie-mulherin.com/ 

or through Substack on https://createyourliving.substack.com/ 

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au   

Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com   

Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. 

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

What happens when you're freelance... and you keep getting distracted by cool permanent jobs passing you by? When you're a bit over the hustle, and want to go back to the 9-5 - even for just a year or two? It happens, as we talked to Joh Leggatt about in this recent episode. So, for a bit of a follow-up from that, we're talking to career and interview coach Leah Lambart about what happens next:
+ how to get into the 9-5 mindset when you're used to being your own boss
+ how to show employers you're serious about a perm role and why you'd be an asset
+ tweaking your CV and cover letter to better your chances of making the short list
+ how recruiters and career coaches can maximise your chances of success
+ when to talk salary and what else you can leverage

Resources

Find Leah at her website: https://www.relaunchme.com.au/

Or follow her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahlambartcareercoach/ 

Track your job applications with our free job tracker: https://www.rachelslist.com.au/toolkit/product/job-tracker/ 

Connect with us:

Lynne Testoni's website: www.lynnetestoni.com

Rachel Smith's website: www.rachelsmith.com.au

Thanks, as always, to our sponsors www.rounded.com.au. Easy accounting and invoicing software, made just for Australian freelancers and sole traders. Don't forget, if you're a Rachel's List Gold member, you'll enjoy 20 percent off an annual subscription plan!

This week, Rachel and Lynne chat with Rachel's List gold member, colleague and long-time freelancer Monique Butterworth, who shares behind-the-scenes tales of celebrity interviews, the huge budgets of magazines in days gone by and why being professional and meeting deadlines still matters. 

We chat about:

• Monique's start in journalism and moving from a country town to Sydney
• Why developing relationships is the key to securing continual work
• Why a financial safety net is essential when you start freelancing
• Her favourite tools of the trade
• Why you should treat everyone with respect
• And why you should always deliver what has been commissioned

Find Monique at moniquebutterworth.com, on LinkedIn or on Instagram @moniquebutterworthwriter 

This week Lynne and Rachel chat with Justine McLean, who is on a mission to help small business owners and freelancers understand their finances. Her new book, Business Money Magnet, is all about how to master your money, boost profitability, and be the boss of your financial destiny. 

Justine talks about:

• How to be less anxious about money
• How to manage your tax
• How important financial goals are for freelancers
• What success looks like for many of us 
• Creating a business mindset

So much inspiring and practical information!

Connect with Justine and her community via her website: https://www.justinemclean.com/ 

Don't forget about The Content Byte Summit (which will tackle lots of issues about creating a financially sustainable business), from September 12-14, 2024 in Sydney. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au      

Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com    

Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

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.

This week on the podcast, Rachel and Lynne are chatting with Austin L Church. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, Austin is a writer, marketer, and coach - and is one of the keynote speakers at The Content Byte Summit later this year. Austin chats about his background and his amazing $300k flywheel concept, which is all about how to earn good money, without burning yourself out. He talks about:

• Earning six figures the wrong way
• ... and the right way
• How to outsource well
• The true art of delegation
• Changing our beliefs and identity about money and finance
• Clever tools that make his business more efficient

Austin is the keynote speaker at Day 1 of The Content Byte Summit, from September 12-14, 2024 in Sydney. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au 

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au

Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com  

Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

Moving from an in-house role to a freelance one is a MASSIVE change. Suddenly, time is money - and productivity is all important in order to make the income you need to get by. In this episode, Lynne and Rachel share their time-saving tips and tricks and talk about the productivity resources available in the Rachel's List Toolkit (bonus discount code for podcast listeners!) 

How good are you at following up on story pitches or with new clients? If you could do better, you're in good company: apparently, 48 percent of us never make a single follow-up attempt. Another 44 percent follow up, but give up after one follow-up call. And yet, 80 percent of sales require FIVE follow-ups! In this episode, we talk about:
+ why we struggle with following up
+ what we do when following up
+ best practice in reaching out
+ when to leave it

Resources
~ RL's famous lead generation tracker - to track letters of introduction and follow-ups https://www.rachelslist.com.au/toolkit/product/lead-generation-tracker/

~ RL's pitch tracker - for tracking and monitoring story pitches and follow-ups
https://www.rachelslist.com.au/toolkit/product/pitch-tracker/ 

There’s always so much to learn from successful freelancers, and our interview with freelance writer and editor Michelle Bateman is a case in point. Michelle specialises in beauty, fashion and culture – but she’s quick to point out that there’s a lot of joy in generalising too, simply because you can cover so many topics that interest you. In this bumper chat, we talk to Michelle about the following:

• How she fell into writing about beauty
• What having a niche and expertise can enable you to do more for clients
• How the pandemic has impacted beauty writers and the industry
• Adapting to different styles of writing, from editorial to content to copy
• Michelle’s tips on switching between different types of writing
• Why you should always learn best practice and upskill regularly
• How Michelle manages big projects and smaller clients
• What kind of work she batches, and how batching helps her be more efficient
• Why Michelle loves a mix of in-house and working from home, and the value there is to be had in meeting regularly with clients or working with a team
• Her advice for freelancers and the benefits of working with agencies
• Michelle’s favourite tools and apps

Resources

Michelle’s website: http://www.michellebateman.com/

RL masterclass: Beyond Journalism (Michelle talks content marketing and copywriting)

RL Blog: So you think you can … be a beauty writer?

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.

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 peaks and troughs of freelancing can be overwhelming - so how do you handle them? What should you do during a slow patch? And are economic downturns something to fear? Not necessarily, as we talk about in this week's episode.

This week, Rachel and Lynne are chatting to a different style of guest - Bec Derrington from Sourcebottle. Sourcebottle is a fabulous resource for journalists, writers and content creators and one we both use regularly. 

Bec shares the story behind Sourcebottle - why she started it and how it works. During our wide-ranging chat we talk about:

• Her background in PR and how she saw the gap in the market
• The challenges in running a small business
• The changing media landscape
• How she connects journalists with sources and industry experts 
• Some of the weird and wonderful callout requests she's had
• How to craft a callout that will give you the experts you need for your story
• How she deals with the 'pick your brains' conversations
• The challenges of maintaining a huge mailout list

Connect with Bec here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becderrington/ 

Checkout Sourcebottle here: https://www.sourcebottle.com/ 

But wait, that's not all! Find out more about our upcoming conference, The Content Byte Summit www.thecontentbytesummit.com.au  

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au  
Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com  
Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

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.

The life of a freelance travel writer sounds like a dream gig (and one we have always wondered about) - so this week Rachel and Lynne are chatting with freelancer and columnist Dilvin Yasa. Dilvin talks about the reality of working as a travel writer. In our chat, Dilvin talks about:

• The challenge of getting your foot in the door if you live in the 'wrong postcode'
• How men's magazines taught her how to write well
• The reality of spending weeks on the road
• How she juggles the demands of a weekly column with family life 
• How and why she published her books
• The secret to getting a pitch across the line with editors
• Her tips for aspiring feature writers

Connect with Dilvin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dilvinyasa/ 

Just a couple more days to secure the Early Bird prices for The Content Byte Summit so visit here (and sign up for updates): https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/

Find us:  Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/

Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/      

Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded, an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. See https://rounded.com.au 

With the last year bringing so much uncertainty to the media industry, both Rachel and I have known a few former colleagues who have moved to onto other roles – and even whole new careers. However, it can be a tricky switch, so in this episode we're chatting to careers coach Jane Jackson about making that step.

A bit about Jane:

Jane is a Career Management Coach, LinkedIn Top Voice 2020, Founder of The Careers Academy membership portal, host of Your Career Podcast and author of Amazon best-seller Navigating Career Crossroads.

Over the past 20 years Jane has coached thousands of career changers, empowering them to make a successful career transition and create their dream career.

Jane’s MISSION: To make career guidance accessible and affordable to all who need it globally.

In this episode, we talk about:

- LinkedIn, marketing yourself and visibility
- Job-seeking trends Jane's seen during the pandemic
- Sideways careers and options for journalists
- Retraining and transferrable skills
- Keeping your spirits up when the job hunt goes on (and on)
- Important skills for a future AI-dominated world of work
- Future-proofing your career going forward
- Jane's advice for all job-seekers looking for work

Further reading

From the Rachel's List blog: Just been retrenched? Careers coach Jane Jackson shares her tips

Where to find Jane

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janejackson/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaneCareerCoach 
Website: https://janejacksoncoach.com/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janecareercoach 
The Careers Academy: https://www.thecareersacademy.online/

This week on the podcast, Rachel & Lynne chat with a freelancer who keeps adding more skills to her arsenal - stylist, writer and now photographer Jessica Bellef. Specialising in lifestyle and interiors, Jess has carved out an enviable career that includes working with beautiful things and creating amazing work, including a beautiful coffee table book.

Jess talks about:

• How beginning as a visual merchandiser influences her work
• Discovering writing later in her career
• How relationships help to build a pipeline of steady clients/editors
• Why she wanted to branch into photography
• How her book came about and its long journey to publication

Connect with Jessica at https://www.jessicabellef.com/ 

And, don't forget that we have just announced the dates for the 2024 The Content Byte Summit. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up the early bird tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au

Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com     

Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au  for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

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.