How I Manage Time & Get Work Done (Even As A 9/M Pregnant SAHM With A Toddler)

Tactical Tips + A Free Chatbot To Streamline Your Workflow – Because Time Is Money

Time management is your success vehicle. 

Accountability is the vehicle’s fuel.

Without both, you'll struggle to meet your goals, no matter how hard you work or how many tools you try.

But this is great news – because accountability + time management puts you way ahead of the people who have it easier than you.

I’m a stay-at-home mom of a toddler, writing this blog nine months pregnant – I’m deeply invested in any time-saving and time management strategies I can get my hands on. And I’m eternally grateful to the people who have shared their insights to help me. I want to do the same for you.

You know what’s wild? Since I’ve had less time (becoming a mom), I’ve been able to close bigger deals. Build and launch my own product. Enjoy work more.

I’ve had less margin but more progress. 

Steal what I’ve learned. Make mo’ money.

In this blog, I’m sharing my recs on how to manage time as a copywriter, even when the odds are against you. It’s the only task-category breakdown I’ve found useful and how to protect it. 

And at the end, I’ll introduce you to my free Time Management Master chatbot, Macy.

She was one of the first AI resources that made a substantial positive difference in my business. She helps you take all those deadlines, projects, and work time availabilities swirling in your head and align them into a solid plan within minutes. 

Time to feel great about how we arrange work into our time. Let’s go!

1. The 2 Task Categories: Manager vs. Maker

I’ve heard this task difference called a few different things, but my favorite is Alex Hormozi’s Maker Time vs Manager time.

Not all tasks belong on the same shelf—some need your deep focus and creativity, others keep the boat afloat and can be handled in quick bursts.

Your Maker time is the stuff that needs the long stretches of your best attention. Your Manager is the stuff that needs to be done, but can be handled relatively quickly, one after the other.

• Maker Tasks: These are the creative, flow-driven activities. They tend to be high ROI. Client writing work, brainstorming and planning for the business, working on your own business copy, solving complex problems that come up. These are the tasks that get disrupted when you have a meeting, have to multitask, skip over to emails, or even do a related admin task.

• Manager Tasks. These are the administrative things that keep your business running. Sometimes it’s the client work that doesn’t require a state of flow. Think of tasks like responding to emails, scheduling social media posts, managing your finances, and attending meetings. Often they can be knocked out in a few minutes. They need your focus, but they’re open loops that are easier to close than Maker tasks.

Multitasking causes things to take up to 60% longer. That’s what happens if you let interruptions (even productive ones) into your Maker time. 

That’s why splitting these tasks into separate work blocks can save SO much time. It keeps a 5-hour client project from turning into an 8-hour one.

3 hours saved, just by doing what you were going to do anyway – but during consolidated times.

If possible, dedicate entire days to being a Maker or a Manager. Just by rearranging your schedule, you’re giving yourself free hours in the day. That’s insane.

2. What To Do During Each Category

Once you’ve identified your Manager and Maker tasks, the next step in managing time as a copywriter is to protect it. Set it up for success. 

Protect Your Maker Time

Maker tasks need deep focus and uninterrupted time, so I strongly recommend you carve out at least three hours of protected Maker time.

I know, 8 hours is more ideal, but some of us have immovable obligations, so 3 hours is as good as it gets. This means no distractions, no multitasking, and ideally, no interruptions. If you need to get out of the house so you’re not doing laundry, do it.

If you’re a parent like me, this might look like when someone else is watching the kids or when they’re asleep (if they’re sound sleepers). 

The best case scenario is where you’re 100% off the clock, not on standby. You’re not half-listening to a napping toddler or relying on Bluey to keep them occupied.

Full disclosure – while I don’t use traditional childcare, my toddler goes to nap and play with her grandparents for two afternoons a week. That gives me a combined 10 hours to do flow work. I love it. For me, it’s felt like the sweet spot between time away to work and time to focus on her. 

Try things out to find your sweet spot.

Maximize Manager TIme

Manager tasks are typically shorter and more routine. Ideally, we’d have no interruptions, but these tasks can tolerate some background noise or short pockets of time throughout your day. 

These often look like 1-10 minute tasks that you can knock out one after another. You’re handling biz admin stuff and doing meetings.

It’s the stuff you can do when the kids are playing (or watching Bluey). 

For those who, like me, have limited ability to delegate (whether due to parenting, chronic illness, or other responsibilities), consider breaking Manager tasks into another category of even smaller, easier, interruptible segments.

Things like tidying your inbox, organizing your Google Drive, engaging on LinkedIn. You don’t have to do much, but your consistency gives you momentum. This lets you make progress, even when your time is fragmented.

Another pro tip: don’t waste your valuable Maker time deciding what to work on. Use your Manager time to plan and prioritize your tasks, so that when you sit down to work in Maker Mode, you can get straight into the creative process without losing momentum.

Resist the urge to switch between Manager and Maker tasks, even if it feels like the tasks are related. Separating them reduces the cognitive load on your brain, making each block of time more productive and less draining.

3. Leverage Those Weird Time Slots

Looking at those screen time reports proves we actually have a lot of bonus time during the day – they’re just scattered as a few minutes here and there.

When you're figuring out how to manage time as a copywriter, these tiny time slots can give you astonishing leverage. Once you’ve clarified what’s not a Maker task, it’s easy to line up the Manager tasks. 

If you can keep those tasks easy to access (especially on your phone), you can potentially turn a ton of waiting time into completed or kick-started tasks.

Plus, the better you get at knocking out tiny tasks during those funky time slots, the less free time you have to sacrifice to work.

And they’re the perfect reps for building your self-accountability.

Here’s my favorite weird time slots that show up in my life:

• Waiting in line/for an appointment. Recently, during a kid’s clothes consignment event, I roughly outlined instructions on my phone for 4 chatbots because the line was so dang long. I was thrilled to sit down to my Maker time with a whole bunch of useful notes.

• In the car. Obviously, you can do stuff on your phone as a passenger princess. When I’m driving, I’ll sometimes mic myself and voice dictate notes into Google Docs. In a recent drive to a hair appointment, I knocked out 4 outlines for blogs.

• During a tedious chore. Again, I’ll mic myself and voice dictate outlines when I’m doing something like chopping vegetables.

• Walking. My mind gets great ideas when my legs are moving. 

There’s a theme with starting up documents. I’ve found it insanely helpful to start up documents for things I’ll need to do later during Maker Time. 

Adding my initial thoughts and rough outlines for blogs, GPTs, or client work give me a head start. Way more fun than facing a blank sheet of paper when I sit down to work.

4. Make Stuff Wildly Accessible

One study showed that an average employee spends around 90 minutes a day looking for misplaced stuff. Imagine giving yourself a FREE hour and a half just by keeping things easy to find.

When figuring out how to manage time as a copywriter, one of the most effective strategies is to make virtual documents, relevant links, and frequently-used tools right on hand. 

These are my favorite accessibility tricks:

• Make Your Work Email On Your Phone’s Dash. Put your work email on your phone, but manage your notifications to avoid constant distractions. Turn off badges and silence notifications if you need to. This way, you’re always ready to handle small tasks without getting overwhelmed by alerts.

• Bookmark All Your Frequently Used Websites On Your Browser. Then arrange them by what you use most frequently. Seriously, there’s no reason we can’t just pull up a browser and access what we need with one click.

• Organize Your Google Drive. Your Google Drive should be easy to open, add to, and search through. Make your titles full of the keywords you use to find them (I like making my obnoxiously long and detailed for findability). Don’t leave loads of “untitled documents.” Add the Google Drive and Google Docs app to your phone. It lets you create a new doc in one click for those weird-time micro tasks.

• Include Related Links in Documents. Wherever you need them, include related links directly in your documents. Links to other docs. Links to relevant websites. Links to Loom videos or how-to’s you might need to reference. If you’re working on a blog, for example, link to relevant emails, client notes, or past projects within the document. 

• Have a Link Library Doc. Put ALL the links you might need to copy/paste in this doc. Payment links. Links to your lead magnets. Links to your website, your Instagram, whatever. When you are answering emails on your phone, having this reference might figuratively save your life.

• Plan Ahead. Again, don’t begin your valuable Maker time by planning or prioritizing what you should be doing in that block. You make your creativity more accessible by having the planning taken care of ahead of time.

• Buy a mini microphone and phone stand. They’re super cheap on Amazon. If you’re into voice dictating stuff, it makes the setup easier.

Making things accessible, you keep your mind clear. You build trust in yourself. A little organization is a major investment in your time and mental peace.

You’ve Got 2 to 8 Free Work Hours In Your Day. 

They’re Living In Your Scrolling Time, Weird Time Slots, & the Time You Waste Multitasking + Looking for Stuff.

Knowing how to manage time as a copywriter isn’t about working harder or even smarter. Most of it is just being honest about where you’re spending your time – and being intentional about doing things differently.

There’s lots of great apps and techniques. Different things work for different people. But mastering keeping promises to yourself (accountability!) and managing your time intentionally works for everyone. There is no time management tool that can overcome poor accountability, and there’s no amount of hard work that’ll outpace bad planning.

Knowing the difference between Manager and Maker tasks, separating your work blocks, protecting your creative hours, and streamlining your workflow, can make every minute count.

One of the biggest turning points for me with mastering time management was using ChatGPT to help me plan my week. It took my word-vomit of stuff I had to do – and my available time slots – and instantly arranged it all. It even helped me see where I wasn’t staying accountable to myself. 

I’ve made a free tool to do just that for you. It’s Macy, the Time Management Master chatbot. She’s here to help you align all those deadlines, projects, and work time availability into a customized schedule within minutes. She’ll make any changes you want on demand. No more doing the mental labor of the admin work of planning.

She’s helped me kick off my work without feeling overwhelmed with where to start. And frankly, that overwhelm used to be my biggest source of procrastination. But not any more!

Drop your email and I’ll connect you two.

Client Acquisition for Copywriters — The Actual Secret Sauce + a Lead-Compiling Chatbot

It’s No One’s Favorite Part Of Business...

But Putting In The Client Outreach Reps Truly Does Get You Ahead.

There’s essentially two ways to land clients: either you go out and pitch them (outbound), or they find you through referrals, your website, or platforms like Upwork (inbound). 

But when you're new—or when you really need clients—you can’t afford to wait for them to come to you. Inbound marketing is a long game. You need to do outreach.

If there was a secret cold email template, corner of the internet full of leads, or a foolproof method, I’d share it with you. But there’s a lot of trial and error with reaching good clients. In my experience, I’ve only seen one secret sauce that works consistently: 

It’s a combo of an ultra-customized message and an astonishing volume of outreach. 

Give yourself direction (like a niche/industry), then give yourself efficiency (tools & practice), then give yourself time. In this blog, I’m sharing how to do that tactically.

We’ll cover targeting your ideal client, different ways to reach them, the top mistakes I’ve made/I’ve seen, and how to pitch yourself a thousand times over—because that’s the kind of effort it takes.

Getting clients by hand might be one of the most demanding parts of running a business, but it’s also where you can separate yourself from the pack. 

If it feels like a grind, that’s normal. It doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. 

It’s easy to procrastinate, blame imposter syndrome, or even pay someone else to do it. But if you can push through and keep at it, you’ll already be ahead. It’s where people tend to give up.

To make things even easier, I’ve got a free chatbot, Cleo, that’ll help you compile a lead list and get started on your outreach journey. You’ll be able to hit the ground running with a spreadsheet of potential clients and companies that align with your niche and offers.

1. Value + Volume → Clients

So, we know that getting clients through inbound strategies is passive. It’s putting together a website with SEO, putting up social media posts, creating a listing on Fiverr – basically, rigging up our virtual storefront and waiting for customers to stroll in.

It’s a long-term strategy that can build a ton of momentum. But it’s not fast. It takes a long time to gather actionable data. It’s not a good strategy for when you need clients yesterday.

That’s why outbound is a great place to start – it’s proactive outreach. You gather data basically as fast as you do outreach. I’m talking about coming up with a list of potential clients and literally sending them emails, DMs, a carrier pigeon, whatever. 

Plus, you don’t have to do it forever. A massive burst in the beginning will give you loads of momentum. If things slow down later on in your business, you can pick it back up to beef up your client load.

Yuck, but isn’t that like being a door-to-door salesman? Yeah, but you’re going to (internet) neighborhoods where people need your service. 

But I’m worried I’ll be wasting their time! That it’ll seem tacky. Then don’t be tacky or waste their time. Make your pitch short, sweet, valuable. If they’re not interested, they’ll not answer the (virtual) door. Or they’ll tell you no. It won’t kill you. It won’t kill them.

In the world of client acquisition for copywriters (and entrepreneurs in general), the efforts that make a difference are value + volume. 

To give value, you reach out to qualified people, not any old rando. You make your offer align with what fixes their problems, not just try to sell stuff they don’t need. Maybe you give them a useful freebie (lead magnet). You’re polite and prove you’ve done your research.

To create volume, you get efficient. You practice not procrastinating. You do the needle-moving tasks, like gathering leads and messaging them. You keep saying no to the urge to “work on my cold email template a little longer before I start.” You use tools that help you move faster.

A great stat to keep in mind: cold outreach responses are about 8.5% (Backlinko). Conversions (people hiring you) are often 1%.  Basically, you reach out to 100 people, you’ll get some responses and maybe one client.

It may not sound impressive. But if you take it as straight math – you can make a killing by just committing to outreach.

Reach out to 33 qualified people a day? That’s potentially a client in a week.

50-100 people a day for a few weeks? How are you going to avoid getting paid at that point?

If you can reach out to 1000 qualified people, it’s hard not to get a client.

Forget about waiting for the perfect method or the perfect words. Focus on giving yourself a direction—whether that’s picking a niche or targeting a specific industry—and then pitch yourself relentlessly. It’s not about crafting a masterpiece each time, but rather about getting your message in front of as many potential clients as possible. 

You might need to pitch yourself a thousand times or more before you start seeing results, and that’s okay.

The magic in this volume-based approach is that it allows you to gather data quickly. The more you reach out, the more you learn what makes people respond. This means you can do more of what works and less of what doesn’t, making your efforts exponentially effective. 

What subject lines did people tend to respond more to?

What leads are more responsive?

Do more people respond on LinkedIn?

I’ll talk more about how you can gather data in the next section.

Plus, every pitch you send is another step towards overcoming imposter syndrome. The more you put yourself out there, the more confident you’ll become. Reps are the cure.

There’s no shortcut to this process. Client acquisition is one of the most punishing parts of owning a business, and it humbles everyone. 

If it doesn’t feel good, that’s normal. It’s not because you’re doing it wrong or because you’re not cut out for it. It’s just part of the journey. 

Remember, this is where people give up. A lot of wantrepreneurs can’t take the tedium of constant outreach. If you can keep going, you’re already ahead of the game.

2. Volume = Data. Data Give You Better Direction to Better results

With client acquisition for copywriters (specifically new ones), volume is everything. Hundreds of pitches. Maybe 1000+. But it’s the only way to gather the data you need to refine your approach and start seeing real results.

The magic in volume is that it lets you quickly gather data on what makes people bite. 

You’ll start to notice patterns. You’ll send a 50 messages with one subject line, and 50 with a slightly different wording. One might get more opens, or a specific way of framing your offer might get more responses. 

This is original data, some of the most useful kind of info out there. This is the kind of information you can only gather through doing, and it’s insanely valuable. It lets you do more of what works and less of what doesn’t. 

The grind gets less grindy. The results get more resulty.

What kind of data can you collect?

• Timing each outreach effort per lead. Are you getting faster? What’s helping?

• Subject lines. What performed better?

• Lead types. Are there kinds of people you reach out to that seem more interested in your stuff?

• Bounce rates. Are you using spam-triggering language so your emails aren’t getting delivered? You can Google spam checkers for emails to see if your messages are likely to flag them.

• Types of outreach. Are you getting more traction on different platforms? (Email, LinkedIn DMs, Instagram DMs).

• Text vs. video. Does sending a personalized video make any difference?

If you only do one, time your outreach effort per lead. If you don’t know how quickly you’re working, it's hard to get faster.

And, of course, WRITE IT DOWN. Put it in a spreadsheet. You will never remember all these details. The lead name, the date you sent it, notes, and follow up details are just fine. 

If you feel overwhelmed at analyzing any patterns in your data, just feed the whole spreadsheet to ChatGPT and ask it to do that for you.

3. Point Your Effort in the Right Direction

Targeting the right clients is one of the most important aspects of client acquisition for copywriters—those who both need your services and can afford them. 

It’s frustrating for both you and the client when they aren’t in a position to hire you. You’ll inevitably do it unintentionally, but there are ways to reduce it happening.

I mention it because it was a major issue I had in the beginning – and I see it a bunch with new copywriters. I’d go after people who clearly needed my service, but keep running into “I can’t afford this” and mistrust.

A lot of businesses in the early stages may need you, but they’re still in the DIY phase. They’re not used to investing in services like yours or trusting another professional to handle their internal tasks. 

Here’s my experience in finding people who are past that stage – ready and willing to hire services like yours.

Sweet Spots & Green Flags

When targeting potential clients, look for businesses that are established enough to afford your services but still in need of what you offer. For example, if a tiny biz you found on Instagram doesn’t have a website, it might be hard to pitch them a full website of copy.

Having a website is a green flag in my book. So is having an email list (a place on their website where they can subscribe).

Having at least one employee or outsourced help, like a virtual assistant, is another great sign. This often means they have a budget for external services and understand the value of delegation. I like reaching out and hearing an assistant answer.

A company having very minimal, poor copy – and not having it at all – gives me pause. Businesses with decent existing copy are often ideal targets. These companies see the importance of good content but haven’t yet nailed it. 

You never know what’s going on behind the scenes, too, so seeing lots of copy produced can be a good sign. Maybe it’s taken care of just fine in-house. But you’d be surprised at the amount of businesses who are desperate to offload it. You may be their ticket to freeing up their time or their VA’s time.

One caveat: Businesses that are the first hits on Google in a broad niche might be the industry giants. They’re often over your head (for now!).

But their followers—those who are engaging with their content—could be perfect clients for you. I would check out the industry giants Linkedin posts, YouTube channel, podcasts, and Instagram, and see who's consistently commenting. Look into whether they align with your ideal client. A single industry leader could be a pond of tons of leads.

They Can’t Afford Me But I Feel Bad!

It’s okay if you wouldn’t be able to afford your own services. Ideally, you need to pitch people who can afford you, but if you run into those who can’t, there’s ways to help.

That’s what free resources are for. Bookmark your favorite related YouTube videos to send them. Same with how-to blogs you find helpful. And as you get more margin, you can create your own free resources.

4. Once I Find Them…Now What?

Message them! 

There’s no one-size-fits-all system for client acquisition for copywriters. In fact, there are loads of ways to message potential clients. Experiment with multiple channels and see what works best for you.

Email Outreach

Email is one of the most direct and effective ways to reach potential clients. 10/10 recommend. A bunch of times, you’ll find their email right on their website, often buried in the privacy policy. 

Sending a customized, concise message that addresses their specific needs can work wonders. Some that I’ve seen work well are:

• A template you created with a customized section (plus you can pre-load the template onto your Gmail so you don’t have to copy/paste it every time).

• A very concise, very personalized, 100% custom message.

• An email with a Loom video you made for them.

Direct Messages (DMs)

Social media platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram are goldmines for connecting with potential clients. Getting DMs is less common, so they can get a nice response rate.

LinkedIn, in particular, is great for professional networking and business outreach. You can send a direct message to decision-makers, bypassing the gatekeepers that sometimes block email outreach. And you can look up WHO the decision makers are on the company pages.

On Instagram, DMing business owners can also be an effective strategy. The informal nature of Instagram makes for a more personal touch, and a video or voice message can pique immediate interest. 

Don’t be afraid to experiment with different formats—text, video, or even audio messages—each has its own appeal depending on the platform.

Doing It All!

If you really want to get a potential client’s attention, reach out wherever you find them. You could email them, DM them on LinkedIn, AND send them a quick message on Instagram.

The more touch points you create, the more likely they are to notice you. People are busy! It’s unlikely they’re even going to get them all. Don’t be shy.

5. What Should You Say?

In client acquisition for copywriters, clarity and specificity will be superpowers. Tell them why you’re reaching out. Quickly establish your offer. Add some credibility. Thank them, and give them a clear, very easy next step (like a link to book a call).

They want a problem solver, not a suck up

"I can improve your email marketing!" doesn’t grab attention. People are bombarded with ads that say that.

“I subscribed to your emails and noticed your welcome sequence is promoting something you don’t offer any more. I can write you one that promotes what you’re offering now,” shows that you’ve taken the time to do research and have a concrete solution in mind.

“I’m a copywriter in your industry! Let me know if you need any help!” tells your recipient that you need a lot of managing (which is more work for your client).

“I noticed your bio says you have several other books you’d like to publish since this recent one – I ghostwrite memoirs for [your industry] and I want to write yours,” tells the recipient you can handle spotting problems and solving them yourself. Major value.

Customize, But Fast

While personalization works magic, it shouldn’t be time-consuming. 

I’ve enjoyed using a template with core elements—like your greeting, value proposition, and call-to-action—and tweaking a specific part to fit each prospect. 

For videos, I’ll do something similar as a script.

For example, mention a specific challenge they’re facing and how you can solve it: "I’ve enjoyed your LinkedIn posts on your new course that’s coming up. I do launch copy, and I know what a time crunch it can be. I’d like to support any copy you need to wrap up to make the launch as successful as possible.”

Less than five minutes of research goes a long way.

Look at their website and what they sell. Figure out what their goals may be (like a launch, or selling a service), and what you can do to support them.

Clarity Over Everything

Get straight to the point. Lower your writing’s reading level. Don’t let them be confused about what you’ll do for them. Make your message as short as you can. Like, to where it seems almost unprofessional.

The clearer your message, the easier it is for potential clients to see the value in what you offer. They care about your solutions, not your services (even if that’s the vehicle to the solutions).

You’re not applying for a job. You’re not schmoozing a professor. Especially on a call. Let’s talk about it.

You’re a Peer, Not a Candidate

You’ve gotta stop thinking of pitches and client calls as interviews where you need to prove yourself. It reeks of “I need to be managed and affirmed or I’ll fall apart.”

Approach them as discussions between equals. You’re there to solve a problem, not to impress them. Focus on their needs, not your qualifications.

Your results, past client proof, and qualifications are important — but they need to support your client’s needs, not be the star of the show.

Shift the conversation from “Here’s what I’ve done” to “Tell me about your goals.” That’s how you’ll organically transition to “Here’s how I’ll solve your current problem.” 

Frame your conversation around the specific results you’ll deliver – with the foundation being their goals. 

You have to do a little bit of estimating when you’re doing research to discover their goals. But even if you guess wrong, you’ve proven that you’re proactively solving problems.

In my experience, pitching an offer that doesn’t fit their current needs gets more work than pitching a generic menu of services. I’ve had lots of clients pivot the conversation with an “actually, we would really like your help with [different but related service].”

Win-win.

6. Top Client Acquisition Mistakes Copywriters Make

It’s time to call out those procrastination tasks that masquerade as productivity. When I’m in client-getting seasons, I have to make sure I’m not sliding back into these.

a. Not Doing Enough Volume
If you’re only reaching out to a handful of prospects, you’re not giving yourself enough chances to succeed. Low volume skews your data and can make you think your strategy isn’t working. Remember, if you reach out to 50 people and no one responds – a 1% conversion rate is gonna look like half a client. Of course you’re not going to see results.

b. Procrastinating with *Perfectionism*
Spending most of your time perfecting your cold email, website, or branding is procrastination. It’s reorganizing your pantry instead of doing your taxes. A good message sent today is better than a perfect one sent never.

c. Taking Too Much Time per Lead
One hour spent customizing a single cold email is too much, unless it’s for a hot lead. I strongly recommend getting your time-per lead efforts to 5 minutes or less. It’ll take practice to get there, but it’s about to be one of your highest-value investments for your business. Speed up your process by using templates or outlines, and cut out ANYTHING non-essential. Become a speed-researcher. The faster you can reach more prospects, the quicker you’ll start closing deals.

d. Switching Tactics Too Soon
Consistency is your friend. When you’re new to outreach, your gut telling you that things should be working faster is impatience, not intuition. It’s tempting to change your approach when that where-are-the-clients panic hits. But before you switch niches, rewrite your email, or change your outreach method, give it enough time and volume to gather meaningful data. Usually, 100 reps of a strategy will give you the insights you need to decide if it’s working or not. And if something is working well, it’ll probably show up a lot sooner than the 100th rep.

e. Neglecting Follow-Ups
People are busy. Your first email frequently gets lost in the shuffle. Following up is critical, especially as a reply to the original. It shows persistence and can often be the nudge a potential client needs to respond. Don’t be afraid to follow up a week later, two weeks later, or even more. I can’t tell you how many leads I’ve had thank me for circling back, since they were in a busy season.

f. Treating It Like an Interview
As mentioned earlier, you’re not applying for a job—you’re offering a service and solutions. Don’t approach client conversations as if you need to prove yourself. It’s desperate. Instead, focus on how you can solve their problems and deliver results.

Getting Clients – No One’s Favorite Task, But Very High ROI

Client acquisition for copywriters is what stops most of them from getting paid. But it’s less about skills than it is about numbers.

By focusing on picking a direction (niche/specialty), high volume, and targeted messaging, you can significantly improve your chances of success. 

There’s no secret formula—just the tried-and-true combination of persistence, customization, and data-driven adjustments. Play that numbers game until you win.

Do more follow ups and less procrastination.

Jot down those lead details in a spreadsheet to make data analysis – and tracking leads – easier.

When you need insights, review your sheet or throw it into ChatGPT and ask it to review patterns for you.

So now you need leads. I like splitting my tasks into a whole lotta lead gathering, then on a different day, a whole lotta outreach.

Finding leads can be tedious. And overwhelming. So I made a chatbot to give you a head start.

Meet Cleo, my free client acquisition assistant chatbot. You can talk to Cleo about your niche and offers, then she’ll start up a lead list. She’ll research and present the company, their email (if found), and more.

Imagine getting started with a ready-made spreadsheet of leads. Drop your email and I’ll get you two connected.

Pricing for Beginner Copywriters – Make It Rain While Charging Fairly

A 2024 Pricing Guide & Popular Offers You Can Steal

What should I charge for XYZ???

The #1 question I see in copywriting forums. It makes sense. As a beginner, it's easy to feel like you don’t just need a price – you need a solid justification for when the client tells you it’s too much.

Pricing for beginner copywriters tends to turn into a cycle of second-guessing your rates.

You constantly compare them to what others are charging.

You endlessly tweak your pricing sheet.

You freak out when you see some dude on Upwork will write that copy for $15. 

But here's the truth: agonizing over your rates is a super popular procrastination tactic. It just dresses itself up as “wanting to charge fairly” and “doing your research.”

While pricing is important, what truly drives your business forward is landing clients and delivering great work. 

The sooner you come up with a pricing structure—even if it’s not perfect—the sooner you can start focusing on what really matters: getting clients and building your experience. Pricing yourself low doesn’t give clients a better deal. Acting like your premium pricing and getting better with your copywriting gives them a better deal. 

I wrote this blog to time-machine it back to 2020 Sarah, who felt guilty with any pricing.

We’ll cover key factors that influence pricing, common mistakes to avoid, and practical examples you can adapt to your own services. Don’t worry – I’ve got a nice itemized pricing list with actual numbers if that’s what you’re into.

Plus, I’ll introduce you to a chatbot I trained that can help you refine offers and your pricing even further. It’s as easy as talking to her for a few minutes.

1. What You’ve Gotta Know About Pricing

When it comes to pricing for beginner copywriters – or expert ones – there’s no single “right” answer. People sell web copy for $50 to $50,000. And there are clients for every price range

It’s tempting to think there’s a magic formula clients are comparing you to, but the truth is, there’s usually a sweet spot you discover over time. And it evolves as you get more experience.

What matters most is picking a price and seeing how it lands in the market. The experience you get from testing your rates will be far more valuable than waiting to feel 100% comfortable with a number.

Remember. There are people writing much worse copy than you that are charging egregious rates. And they don’t plan on improving. And people still keep hiring them.

You’re probably not giving your effort or standards enough credit.

Here’s what I’d tell 2020 Sarah:

Don’t Lowball Yourself

Do not set “competitive” prices based on what you see on platforms like Upwork or Fiverr. It undervalues your work. It attracts clients that’ll make your life miserable.

Good copy is priced on the value it provides to the client. The closer your copy is to influencing a client’s revenue—like driving sales or generating leads—the more it’s worth. It has nothing to do with an hourly rate.

If you spent 30 minutes writing a sales email that cost your client $300…is that cheating? They’re going to feel they got the deal of the year if they make $3000 with it! 

Even if they don’t pull those sales – that’s not totally in your control. What if their funnel sucked? The performance of your copy still gives them valuable data that they can apply to their next launch to make it more successful. So no, making $600/hour is not cheating.

Increase Pricing When the Copy’s Specialized

The more specialized you are in a particular industry or topic, the higher your rates can be. Even if you’re new to copywriting, if you have non-writing experience in your niche, you’re WAY ahead of a generalist. 

For example, as a nurse, I knew how patients Google their symptoms. Even when my copywriting skills were weak, my target audience knowledge was strong – which inherently fills a huge amount of the gap. 

Plus, there are certain industries that demand higher expertise. Add some more to your price if you’re copywriting for high-risk industries like medical, financial, legal, or tech.

Increase the Price When You’re Adding SEO (search engine optimization)

SEO deserves higher pricing because it both requires more research and makes the copy go farther for the client. If you’re specialized (like when I was writing for medical clients as a nurse), you’re going to have a nose for SEO that’s more likely to work well.

Side note: since SEO applies to – you guessed it – search engines, it isn’t relevant for copy that’s not going to be searchable on the internet, like email copy or some landing pages.

Don’t. Work. For Free.

Working for free is a great strategy in some cases. But when your clientele is small clients and companies, it can be super unproductive. 

Over and over, I see this awful cycle of beginners offering their services for free (or super cheap) because the lead struggles to afford them.

If they can’t afford you now…how do you know they’ll afford you later?

Offering free work is great for situations where you’re pretty experienced and you want to pitch a premium client that’s drowning in options. These people are not desperate for you, but you know you can give them stellar results. Like, if I wanted to work with an industry expert who had copywriters pitching them every day, I’d want to stand out by delivering value up front. 

Free work’s also a good option when you’re refining a novel service or product. As you test something with really unforeseeable outcomes, it’s classy to make their buy-in easy. But I doubt you’re offering something that new if you’re doing common types of copy.

And…if you really want to…you can do free stuff to build your initial portfolio and testimonial base. 

Otherwise, set a fair price and stick to it. Your time and skills are worth something from day one.

Raise Your Rates As You Get Experience & Get Results

Pricing isn’t static. As you gain experience and build your portfolio, you can and should raise your rates. Add in inflation. 

Start somewhere, learn from client feedback, and adjust accordingly.

Remember, pricing is a learning process. Pitch your price, see how people react. See what people it attracts. See what people it repels. 

Raise your price when you get your clients results (you’ve proven the value of your service!). Raise those prices when you’ve been doing the same thing for a year. Raise your prices just for the heck of it to see what happens.

2. Pricing Copy When You Don’t Have Experience

Charge based on the value you deliver. But what about when you don’t know what that value is – and you have no client results yet?

First, I strongly recommend project-based pricing rather than hourly rates. Project-based pricing encourages you to work more efficiently because you’ll make more money the faster you work. Plus, you’re delivering very different value with different types of copy. A blog might not be worth $500/hour, but a landing page might.

Additionally, project-pricing gives clear, predictable costs for your clients, making it easier for them to plan their budgets. It's better for both of you.

Here’s some recommended starting rates for BEGINNER copywriting. This isn’t based on an industry standard. It’s what I’ve seen over the past 5 years in the industry and with my peers.

• Blog Posts: $200 per 1K to 1.3K-word blog with SEO. If you're writing for specialized industries such as medical, legal, financial, or tech, consider adding $100 to your base rate. Add another $100 for a 2k+ word count.

• Website Pages: $500 for a minimum of 500 words, including SEO. Add $100 for specialized industries like medical, legal, financial, tech, or high-ticket products. Charge at least $1000 for one-page websites.

• Emails:

• Nurture or Newsletter Emails: $75 each.

• Sales Emails: $200 per email in a campaign. Double it for high-ticket and high-risk products.

• Landing Pages: $700 minimum. Add $500 or more for specialized industries like medical, legal, financial, tech, or high-ticket products.

• Product Descriptions: $100 each. Add $200 for specialized industries or high-ticket products.

• White Papers: $2,000. For specialized industries, double it.

• Social Media Posts: $50 for a 100-300 word post. Although social media content tends to lean more toward general content than real copy, this is a popular rate.

• Facebook Ads: Varies enormously since different “creative” needs to be tested. At least $100 per ad (they’ll often need 3-5 at a time).

It’s important to start somewhere, even if these figures seem daunting at first. And remember: charging by the project > charging by the hour.

3. Raise the Value, Raise Your Pricing: Creating Offers

As you get more experience, one of the most effective ways to increase your income is by creating and pricing bundled offers. 

Bundling related services is a win for you AND your client. You take more off your client’s plate, and it opens the door for ongoing work and retainers. 

Here are some popular bundles I’ve seen in the industry:

• Monthly Blogs + Emails + Social Media Posts: This package handles all the organic marketing copy. You can offer a monthly package that includes a set number of blog posts, corresponding emails, and social media posts. And you know what’s cool? It’s really easy to come up with related emails and SM posts right after you’ve written the blog.

• Blogs + Website Uploads & Analytics Reporting: Many clients get stressed with the backend website stuff. They love a full-service package where you write the blogs AND handle the technical side of uploading them to their site and tracking the analytics. It lets you both see how your content performs and refine the strategy over time. This package is perfect for ongoing work and retainers.

• Complete Funnel: This bundle includes everything from the opt-in page and lead magnet to the landing page, checkout page, and welcome sequence of emails. It’s a comprehensive package that supports a client’s entire sales funnel. It’s super valuable for a single copywriter to handle it all – the branding ends up much more consistent. And if you offer to do the technical side of uploading it all? More $$$.

• Sales Sequence of Emails: For clients launching a product or service, they need an email sequence. It’s high value, direct response copy – and it tends to be very easy to write.

• Whole Website with Meta Descriptions: Writing (or re-writing) web copy is super time consuming. You offer a ton of value to do it all, especially the bonus SEO and meta descriptions. It’s a big project, but it’s one that clients often need when undergoing a rebrand or launching a new business.

• Newsletters + Backend Handling: In addition to writing the copy, you can offer to manage the technical aspect of uploading emails to the client’s email platform and keeping an eye on analytics (and letting that guide future email copy into more success). You can learn on the job by asking ChatGPT about how to do stuff on their particular platform. This adds a major layer of convenience for the client.

• Cluster of Product Descriptions: This package is great for e-commerce clients who need detailed, persuasive product descriptions for a launch of related products. Offering to write multiple descriptions at once helps them maintain consistency across their catalog while saving them time.

• Cluster of Facebook Ads: Facebook ads are a high-demand service, and companies tend to need 3-5 to run at a time. Offering a bundle of ad copy lets you provide several options for the creative they need so they can test what performs well.

• Funnel Audit & Copy Pitch: You can offer to audit their existing copy, identify weak spots, and pitch new copy to improve their conversion rates. If you’ve gotten similar clients great results, then your insight’s super high value.

All you have to do to create offers is see what bundles people really want. You can see what other people are offering. Ask your clients if they’d be interested in X, Y, and Z together. 

Then, you do a little math. Add up the pieces of copy. And if there’s something you’re not sure about, give yourself a “secret” hourly rate (like $100), estimate the time it’ll take, then add that to the offer price.

If Copy Delivers the Value…

There’s A Client Willing To Pay Premium

Pricing for beginner copywriters can be all over the place. The process is as much about learning and adapting as it is about setting decent rates from the start. 

Your prices don’t have to be set in stone. They can and should evolve as you gain experience, confidence, and a proof of conversions.

One crucial step that beginners often overlook (and I know I did) is following up with clients to see how your copy performed. 

Did your emails lead to higher open rates? How many people clicked bought after hitting the landing page? This feedback not only helps you refine your skills. It gives you concrete results to back up your pricing when pitching to new clients.

The most important thing is to get your pricing out there and start working with clients. 

The experience you gain will teach you far more than hours spent agonizing over picking the “right price.” 

If you’re ready for more guidance, you need to check out Opal, my offers and pricing chatbot, for personalized advice.

She can do the math for you and help you explore putting together offers. One conversation with Opal might be the clarity you need to move forward and start pitching.

Drop your email and I’ll connect you two.

When to Use a Human Copyeditor vs Copy Editing Tools

…And What It Actually Does For Your Ability To Charge More

If you're a copywriter and a perfectionist, editing probably feels like second nature. 

Why delegate it when you're so good at it? And when it can be so fun! 

I’m right there with you.

In the beginning, I couldn't understand why anyone would pay for something I enjoyed doing myself.

I had Grammarly and a detail-oriented eye. I was convinced that professional editing was an unnecessary luxury. For people who weren’t as perfectionistic a *me*.

My humble pie got Door Dashed to my step soon enough.

The first piece of copy I got professionally edited was back in 2020 – a guest blog submission to Sarah Turner’s (Write Your Way To Freedom) blog. The lovely Carley DenBoer handled my work. 

I didn’t know what to expect. Maybe I’d get an A+ and no recommendations. Or maybe she would tear it up.

Turns out, the feedback didn’t change things as much as it made the work fresher. And I didn’t ever feel judged. Better copy AND an esteem boost.

Now, I’m converted. You need a second set of eyes for your work. Preferably a human, but AI works too.

• Obviously, you need the proofreading stuff cleaned up.

• But you also need someone who’s got a 10,000 view of the funnel & CTA.

• And if you need ideas to fix flow/voice/whatever problems, what’s Grammarly gonna do? Not give you the suggestions you need.

In this blog, I’m covering stuff I wish I knew from the beginning – including when to hire a real copyeditor (and when not to).

I’m also sharing my recommended editing resources.

Plus, I made you a chatbot copyediting assistant. Her name is Calla, and her input is free, professional, and on-demand.

1. What I Didn’t Realize About Copyediting

When I first started, I assumed that all editors did the same thing—clean up grammar, fix spelling errors, and maybe make a few suggestions for improvement. Looks like that’s not the case.

For example, proofreaders focus on the general cleanup. They’re the last line of defense, catching typos, punctuation errors, and minor grammatical issues. They make sure that your work is technically error-free before it’s published.

On the other hand, copyeditors are specialized. They don’t just correct mistakes – they make sure your writing is coherent, on track, and tailored for its place in the funnel. 

They’ll cover the grade level of your writing and whether the copy aligns with the brand’s voice. Most importantly, they’re keeping the copy on track with the call-to-action assigned to it.

Crazy important, considering that’s why we copywriters get hired.

I also didn’t realize that different editors specialize in different types of writing. 

A copywriting editor isn’t going to take on someone’s fiction manuscript. They handle persuasive writing that sells stuff, which is going to have different editing needs.

That’s why something feels off when you use grammar/editor tools for copywriting. It’s a nuanced skill set that doesn’t always roll over to other kinds of writing. You tend to need a more relaxed writing and grammar style, which lots of tools flag as too casual.

But clearly, those tools are still helpful.

So when do you hire a copyeditor, and when do you use the tools?

2. When to Invest in Professional Copyediting

Can it be expensive? Yes. It’s a premium service. But can it be the bridge between getting better clients, boosting your skills, and getting paid more.  

Here’s when I’d recommend looking into copyediting services.

You’re Trying Out New Types of Copy

Imagine you’re writing a landing page for the first time. It’s a very lucrative kind of copywriting. But it’s a high-stakes project where wasting words is wasting attention.

A professional copyeditor’s handled plenty of them. They know what works. If anyone can help set up your landing page for success, it’s them.

That gives you the kind of confidence (and success!) to try out those higher-paying projects – even as a beginner. 

You’re Unsure About Your Work’s Quality

It can take a while to build your confidence when you’re flying solo as a freelancer. How do you know if your copy is hitting the mark? 

A copyeditor’s expertise can really stand in the gap. They don’t just make changes. They provide rationales for why something works or doesn’t. It’s helpful for learning (when it’s constructive criticism) and helpful for an esteem boost (when it’s affirmative).

They draw from their experience with what has worked for other copywriters, so you’re not left feeling like you need to test everything yourself. 

You Need Really Comprehensive Feedback 

Copyeditors help keep you on track with your ultimate goal—conversions. Copy is just a piece of a funnel, not a stand-alone essay. 

You don’t want your copy to be the part of the funnel where leads drop off, so having it’s super helpful to have both the up-close and 10,000 foot perspective. Especially with direct response copy, like landing pages and sales emails.

You Want To Save Time

If you’re tired of hopping between a million different tools, a copyeditor can streamline your process. You get to focus on what you do best—writing. Copyeditors save a bunch of time you’d otherwise be re-reading your work.

You Want the Max Amount of Awesomeness in Your Copy

What can I say? The professionals make it more professional. It lets you charge more. It potentially helps it perform better. Wins all around.

Now…full disclosure.

I’ve absolutely paid a copyeditor when, in hindsight, I should have skipped it.

Let’s talk about it.

3. When to Skip Professional (Human) Copyediting

Professional editing can be incredibly valuable, but here’s when I would skip it:

You Can’t Afford It

I had a season where I made this mistake. I felt too guilty giving it a break, but I let it pinch my budget until I had no margin at all. Which left me without a professional copyeditor even longer.

You’re Submitting AI-Generated Copy

By all means, use AI to help with your writing process. But if you’re just submitting a piece you coughed up with ChatGPT, you’re essentially asking them to re-write your copy. 

It’s lazy. And they can tell it’s AI. It’ll flag for so much plagiarism and struggle to fit in the overall funnel. Giving copyeditors AI copy creates WAY more cleanup work for both you and them.

You’re Submitting Lazy Copy

If you’re hoping a copyeditor will magically fix subpar, rushed writing, maybe hire a junior copywriter to clean up your work. Or get better.

Professional editors are there to refine and elevate your work, not to rescue poorly written copy. Deliver your best effort before expecting someone else to polish it.

You Struggle With Deadlines

I’ve also made this mistake in the beginning.

Copyediting requires planning. If you’re consistently running behind on deadlines, it’ll be tough to fit in time for an editor to review your work. 

You need to plan ahead to write your copy in time to get it to the copyeditors (and back) before it's due. Working on self-accountability in that case will be more helpful than hiring an editor.

Whether you’re at a place to hire a human copyeditor, or you need some free/cheap resources, I’ve got some recommendations after 5 years of writing.

4. My Recommended Copyediting Resources ($0 to $$$)

As a copywriter, having the right tools at your disposal can restore a bunch of confidence. Here are some of the resources I’ve found incredibly helpful:

• Google Docs' Spelling/Grammar Checker (⌘+alt+X): This tool is a great first line of defense. It pulls up each error with a suggested fix and allows you to click "Ignore" or "Accept," then moves on to the next one. You can blast through corrections in a minute. While it sometimes misses things, it’s fast and integrated right into your workflow.

• Grammarly: A fast and free tool that works both as a website and a plugin. Grammarly is great for catching basic errors and making sure your writing is clean. It tends to lean a bit on the formal side, so you may want to tweak its suggestions to match the voice your copy needs.

• Hemingway: This desktop app is excellent for toning down overly complex or flowery writing. And if you’re new to copywriting, I promise, it’s too fancy. It highlights sentences that are hard to read and gives you a readability score, which is particularly helpful for copywriting, where we need to convert, not impress. 

• Quetext: A subscription-based tool that checks for plagiarism and can detect an “AI” tone in your writing. It’s a user-friendly resource when you want your content to sound both original and authentically human.

• This Copyeditor Chatbot: My ChatGPT team member reviews my work and gives me a list of editing suggestions without altering the actual copy. It’s a super fast, free second pair of eyes. It’s especially helpful when I’m struggling to connect one section to another or need a quick review.

• The Editing Marketplace: These are real humans who specialize in copyediting. I’ve had great experiences with Carley’s team—they don’t just edit your work; they also provide copy coaching. It’s an investment, but you get a lot of value from the feedback and the learning experience that comes with it.

Copyediting Keeps Your Copy From Acting Like Content.

Beyond the technical improvements, one of the biggest benefits of working with a copyeditor is the confidence it gives you. 

That boost – knowing your work has been sharpened by a pro – can give you the courage to charge more, try new kinds of copy, and ultimately step up your skill.

That’s why I trained Calla to help you out, for free.

She’s my copyeditor chatbot. 

Calla is like having a second set of eyes on demand—she reviews your copy and gives you a list of editing suggestions without tampering with the actual piece (a common issue I’ve found with many AI tools). 

If you’d like to have Calla in your corner, I’ll send her right to your inbox.

Personal Branding for Copywriters: How To Nail It Down Before the End of Today

Get consistent so you're memorable.

We're covering your color palette, brand journey, and more.

Branding, at its core, is just about creating an association in the minds of your leads. A link between what they know (themes, values, products, outcomes) and what they don’t yet know (you and your product).

It’s that simple. And with solopreneurs, you make things muddy if you overcomplicate things.

The aesthetics of branding are super seductive—logos, colors, fonts— but these aren’t the elements that will make or break your business. Particularly in the early stages. 

I remember gathering up a bouquet of cute colors, picking out stock photos, finding a cool vector of a queen chess piece for a logo, then patting myself on the back for coming up with such classy “branding.”

Problem was, it didn’t actually support my brand.

The colors were pretty, but they were hard to read when I used one as the text color and one as the background.

And the “logo” gave me some consistency – but not where I needed it (ahem, my client experience).

Branding’s way more important for the basics that support your growth and client engagement. 

Plus, many of the branding elements you think you need will naturally emerge as you consistently work within your niche and engage with clients.

For example, I had a mentor who quickly scaled his business to five-figure months without any traditional branding—no logo, no color palette, no “brand message,” not even a website. 

His aesthetic (if he even had one) was a black tee shirt and a backwards baseball cap.

What he DID have was consistency and a clear, relaxed approach to his work. 

His offers were high-ticket, and his business decisions were driven by simplicity and premium service delivery.

For instance, he’d skip on building a website because he was finding clients fine without it. Yet he didn’t hesitate to drop money on transcription services that let him dictate his writing instead of typing it out.

His branding wasn’t built on visuals. It was based on strong associations with marketing, simplicity, and premium quality. 

Those themes made it super easy to add upgrades and premium touches as he scaled. 

Ironically, this twenty-something backwards baseball cap dude has a more potent brand than those who’d invested heavily in perfecting their visual identity. He’s built a strong association between what he does (marketing) and how he does it (simple & premium).

Was it because he “decided” those elements when he “built his brand message?” Yeah, no. He would never.

They showed up organically as he ruthlessly focused on making money as efficiently as possible. Those associations baked themselves into his messaging and client experience. And into my coachee experience.

Much of your brand’s identity will reveal itself through your consistency and the value you deliver. And I want this blog to give you a shortcut to starting off strong.

I spent a ton of time on branding in the beginning of my business, but not in a way that turned out to be useful. 

I want only the useful stuff for you. That’s why this blog covers:

• Your brand elevator pitch (which naturally packs in a bunch of core brand components, and is insanely practical for outreach & copy)

• Your brand experience (brand operations that give you consistency and your clients confidence in you)

• Your brand visuals (colors, fonts, the stuff that is great to have as a reference so your online presence isn’t a total mixed bag)

And to make this even easier, I’ll introduce you to Bree, a GPT chatbot I trained to help you build your brand basics kit. Have a conversation with Bree, and she’ll guide you through creating all those brand foundation. 

You can have a robust (and actually useful) brand kit by the end of the day.

1. More Than Simple – Keeping It Essential

Trying to curate the perfect branding early is one of the most fun ways to procrastinate what you actually need to do to move the biz forward.

Why do boring cold emails when you could be pouring over a Pinterest board?

At this stage, basic branding can be incredibly valuable, but only if it's making your client acquisition and client experience more efficient. 

Could you tell me what Chick-fil-A’s exact branding strategy looks like? Probably not.

But you could probably recognize it if you saw billboards of illiterate cows begging for their lives (client acquisition), and you received your food to a “my pleasure” greeting (client experience).

Think of basic branding like picking out a sensible signature outfit. It’s about having something you can rely on daily.

You know you’ll upgrade over time, but for now, this outfit saves you from decision fatigue and helps you stay focused on what matters most—growing your business.

Over-branding in the early stages is like spending money on getting your car detailed — when what you really need is gas. A lot of brand elements, like a brand voice guide and icons, aren’t useful until you’re delegating, and team members need a more in-depth reference. 

For a solopreneur, the focus should be on branding elements that support your immediate goals: clarity, consistency, and client engagement.

It lets you concentrate on delivering value and testing your offers. After 5 years in the biz of copywriting/marketing, that’s what I’ve found to truly be essential.

As you gain more experience and feedback, your branding will naturally evolve. Plus, the organic growth tends to make your brand feel more authentic and become more aligned with your business’s actual needs. 

2. Creating Consistency (Why We Care About Branding At All)

Branding is not a magic wand that attracts premium clients. Seducing clients with an aesthetic isn’t the most sustainable mode of client acquisition if you’re a freelance copywriter/marketer.

Your brand’s reputation is more influenced by your integrity and consistency than by any visual element or clever tagline. Especially in the beginning.

People driving in the American south (where I’m at) love stopping at Buccee’s gas stations. Is it because I love getting road snacks with a beaver logo (branding visuals), or I want a million slushy options (unique selling point)? Those are cool, but no.

People love those gas stations because their bathrooms are always clean. That’s integrity and consistency.

Buccee’s has absolutely wild billboards. Things like “Potty Like a Rockstar” and “You Can Hold It.” But my very favorite (and some of the cleverest marketing I’ve seen) is the one that says–

Top 2 reasons to stop at Buccee’s:

#1

#2 

So what does that kind of branding look like for us entrepreneurs? 

Clarity in your offers. Talking about your offers over and over. Delivering your offers in the same quality SOP, over and over.

We’ll cover how to tactically do that in the next section.

So what’s Buccee’s brand voice, brand message, brand values, brand fonts? Who cares? We’re here for the bathrooms.

That’s why trying to nail down your brand voice too early can be counterproductive. It’s like getting a custom pair of jeans made for your future self—you don’t know how you’ll change or what will suit you best as your business grows. You need something that works for right now.

Same with the branding. Pull together something that works well now (so you’re not totally directionless) then refine it over time based on real-world feedback.

3. Your Brand Elevator Pitch: a Whole Stack of Brand Elements

I know I started entrepreneur-ing to give myself the freedom to actually scale my income and time freedom (I was an RN through the Covid year. Enough said.)

But for as tough as it was being a corporate cog, it’s still really tough being a one man show. 

So how was I going to cut through the internet noise as some rando sitting on her couch with a laptop?

I remember the moment it clicked. I was at a mastermind where the session was on creating your brand’s elevator pitch. A surprisingly tough exercise, since there was no room for fluff. 

But that’s what made it so powerful – the brand elevator pitch was essentially a raw sandwich of your brand offer, unique selling point, target audience, and brand promise.

It’s a statement that answers three crucial questions:

• What do you offer?

• Who is it for?

• Why should they care? 

You can use it in your copy on your website. Social media banners. Discovery calls. When you’re out and about talking to people about what you do. It’s insanely versatile. 

And since it’s the first impression your leads will get of you, it does a lot of heavy lifting for your brand.

Here’s the formula:

“[Business name/You] offers/does [product and/or service]. 

We help [ideal customer] [avoid pain point] so they can [deep desire].”

That’s it. But it covers several brand essentials in one place:

• Brand Positioning. What the heck do you even do that’s so special? It’s elementary, but think about the buildings or websites you’ve come across that feel professional – but you have no idea what they sell.

  What would you think if you say the elevator pitch: “We’re committed to equipping female-owned small businesses so they can market themselves successfully.” Cool, so is it copywriting? An ad agency? A warehouse of blazers? 

  A solid elevator pitch is a great tool for taking out the corporate-ese and bringing it down to earth. Like, “I write email copy for personal fitness trainers so they can stop having launches flop and instead build a list that’s thrilled to pre-buy whenever a new product is dropped.”

• Target Audience. Your ideal client should know you’re talking to them. Not whatever generic client will hire you. Targeting specific people (and leaving others out) tells them that you target specific problems. You know, the ones so relevant to those ideal clients that they’d pay you to fix them.

• Brand Promise. You’re clarifying the Big Relief from the get-go. The pain point. People don’t buy stuff as much as they buy relief from frustrations and problems. You’re connecting the dots for them with the [deep desire] section. 

So once you’ve got your killer brand elevator pitch, you’ve basically clarified yourself. That puts you ahead of every business that’s getting lost curating the perfect brand kit!

4. Your Brand Journey – Clients Never Forget How You Made Them Feel

This is an unconventional branding take. But your client’s experience working with you is a MAJOR component of your brand.

After all, we can talk about brand values, brand messaging, brand purpose…but the client experience is where they all show up.

That mentor from earlier? I doubt he had a whiteboard that said “My brand values: simplicity and premium service.” But those certainly showed up in how he closed people on 50K services right on the call, no formal proposal (does it get simpler/more premium than that?).

So instead of gazing at our navels and crafting fancy statements for our brand – let’s just turn the client journey into a standard operating procedure (SOP) we can continue to improve over time.

From my experience, there’s 3 main parts of your client experience:

1. Onboarding

2. Communication during the project

3. Offboarding (delivering the product and communication afterwards)

We could add the client acquisition process, where the client is more of a lead at that point. I’ll talk about that in its own blog.

Onboarding

What’s the steps you and a client go through to get things set up pre-project? 

Right now, for me, I have a discovery call where I feel out whether they’re a good fit for my offer. Then I pitch’em. I tell them what they get, what the process looks like, and what it’ll do for them.

If they’re on board, I ask if there’s any reason they couldn’t sign a contract and pay the deposit today. If they’re ready to roll, I gather needed info for the contract and send the contract via a Honeybooks email, which also includes a payment link (Stripe) and a rehash of the call and what they can expect next.

I often have this all pre-drafted before the call so I’m not spending hours afterwards getting my poop in a group.

Project communication

Do you send updates? Do you need anything from THEM during the process? And when?

When my work was more with blogs and websites, I made the mistake of going radio silent until my work was delivered and I needed their edit requests. I figured that telling them I’d get back to them in a week was fine. I was being low maintenance, right?

In hindsight, I wish I sent a quick mid-week update to feel like a quick win for them (and to remind them I’d need their edit requests within a week after delivering the first draft). 

I believe this would have kept clients from feeling so antsy about having deadlines met. And helped them get their edits in on time.

Offboarding

How do you like to deliver your stuff? Do you follow up, and when?

You’ve got a ton of goodwill and momentum at this juncture. I love delivering stuff via a link in an email. I tell them whatever they need to know, and I include a Loom video where I walk through their actual deliverable. 

Right now, I’m also adding follow-up checkpoints to see how things are going. And to see if they need anything else! That’s bonus work.

Standardizing these client experiences does SO much to strengthen your brand. It lets you stop reinventing the wheel and give you something to reference when you forget what to do next.

It gives you expectations you can share with the client – and as you fulfill them, it builds their trust and satisfaction.

Plus, it doesn’t need to be complicated. Just write down what you do for each part in a Google Doc.

• List the relevant software you use.

• Include links to where you set up contracts, arrange payment, etc.

• Update it if certain tweaks make the process better for you and your client.

This is the kind of thing that’s amazingly helpful to have as a reference when you bring a VA on board.

What’s also great is that as you refine your SOPs, your brand values, purpose, and messaging organically come through. Instead of trying to come up with them at the beginning, they’ll float to the surface. 

That’s how I discovered mine. Another mentor listened to my process, and mentioned “It sounds like ease and integrity are really important to how you work.”

She was right. It clicked. Those were my brand values, and the services I offered were to give my clients ease and integrity in their organic marketing (brand purpose). 

5. Your Brand Identity – It’s Easy to Avoid Looking Like a Mess

This is the stuff that *feels* like real branding. Color palette, fonts, imagery, logos, etc. It’s more of the outfit you wear. It’s not the thing that sells people on your product, but it sure can help.

I come from a family that has very intense opinions on design. Kerning was a household term (it’s the spacing between letters).

It boils down to making your look clear, consistent, and not distraction.

• You don’t want text that’s hard to read (either by color issues or funky fonts)

• You don’t want stuff that’s not relevant or implies something different than what you want (like having too much going on visually, or having a logo that looks like you offer a different service)

Clear and representative. That’s all.

From my experience:

• Your color palette needs to have the margin for text to be readable. A cool stack of colors isn’t going to help if you can hardly read any combo of text/background. A primary, secondary, accent, light neutral, and dark neutral will have you well taken care of.

• Your fonts need to pair well and be readable. 2-4 is fine. A serif font for titles and sans serif font for the body text will put you way ahead of your peers. Make sure both are legible when you look at them on a phone.

• Your logo isn’t super important, but if you opt for one from Canva or something (it can be nice to stick on contracts, websites, whatever), make it clear enough to see as a teeny thumbnail. Don’t add loads of words or make the lines too thin. Simple is your friend. That’s why I’ve got a queen chess piece.

• Your images (photography, icons) aren’t going to launch you into a pile of premium clients if it's good – but if they suck, it can deter them. Don’t get complicated with this. You do not have to go on Canva and pick out a bunch of cool stuff that feels on brand. The best look with the lowest budget I’ve seen for streamlining your brand look is getting a single photography session from a BRAND photographer. The editing and elements are naturally cohesive. You’ll have options across the board. It’s also a bunch of fun.

But don’t forget. Using default colors, default text, and a great selfie also work great for your brand visuals. 

But what if you DO want these elements – but you’re overwhelmed? Hang tight, I made a chatbot that’ll handle it for you.

Brand = Reputation. 

Branding For a Solopreneur is Nailing Down Integrity.

Basic branding is like picking out a signature outfit—it’s practical, saves you time, and helps people recognize you. And you’ll naturally gravitate to most elements, you don’t have to build it all from the ground up.

You don’t need to overcomplicate it in the beginning. A strong elevator pitch, quality SOPs, and solid visuals, you can create branding that serves you well now and gives you room to grow.

Remember, your brand won’t land you the gig or guarantee success, but it will help maintain your impression when you’re not there. Your integrity, consistency, and the experience you deliver will have a louder, more positive impact on your brand’s reputation than any logo or color scheme.

As you continue to grow, many of the branding elements you think you need now will naturally come to the surface through your work and client interactions. Stay focused on what matters: delivering value and being consistent.

To help you get started, I’m introducing Bree, a GPT-powered chatbot that can assist you in building your brand basics kit. 

Those three essentials we talked about? She covers that with you in a conversation. Brand elevator pitch, brand journey, and brand identity basics.

Bree will guide you through crafting your elevator pitch, defining your brand’s core elements, and ensuring your branding is practical and effective. Whether you’re just starting out or refining your existing brand, Bree will help you stay on track without getting lost in the details.

Drop your email and I’ll get you connected.

You’re Not Bad with Technology: How I Fix All My Tech Issues Without Crying or Procrastinating

From One Freelancer to Another – Tactical Tips and a Free Tech-Support Chatbot

If you tell yourself, “I’m SO bad with technology,” this blog is for you. 

First off, stop saying that. Not a boss vibe.

As a freelancer, you can’t side-step tech challenges – and avoiding them can (and WILL) cannibalize your business.

The entrepreneurs you look up to most? They’ve had late nights on the laptop trying to set up their website. Troubleshoot automations. Figure out why their payroll didn’t go through. Arrange the landing page blocks in the right order. Send the invoice the right way.

It’s not sexy, but seriously – we’ve all been there.

So how do we “been there”…but faster? Tech troubles have a nasty way of eating your energy and motivation in huge chunks. Reducing the tech issues and the time it takes to resolve them has major ROI.

Over the years, I’ve had loads of tech troubles that had me in tears. There isn’t really a secret to making things easier other than:

• You need to commit to believing it’s figureoutable (trust me, it is).

• You’ve got to act like it by putting in the work.

But here’s the really, really great news – 99.9% of the time, someone else has figured it out. It’s just a matter of finding how they did it most efficiently.

I’ve got 8 tactical tips on what’s helped me go from hours to minutes when troubleshooting. 

But better than that – I built you a free on-demand chatbot that can give you customized tech support tailored for tech conundrums that come up as a freelancer.

Let’s go!

1. You’ve Got To Stop Avoiding Them (That’s What’ll Give You Power As An Entrepreneur)

As a freelancer, you don’t get the option of sidestepping technology. It’s a part of the deal.

Thankfully, you don’t have to make it complicated. You don’t have to master all the software or become a tech guru. 

But your unwillingness (or procrastination) with facing tech challenges will directly limit your ability to grow and make money.

I’m talking about things like:

• Building your own website

• Learning how to find and understand backend analytics

• Exploring automations to make your systems easier

• Using search engines efficiently (like Google)

• Using long language model AI (like ChatGPT)

• Even just figuring out how to adjust the font on your Google Docs

Early on, I loved telling myself that I wasn’t great with tech. I used this cop-out partly because my brother literally graduated at 18 with his Bachelor’s degree in computer science. How could I compare to that? 

Mostly, though, it felt like a justifiable Band-Aid when things got too frustrating. Why push through when I could ask someone more tech-savvy… or just give up?

Well, as a business owner, you’re the boss. It’s your job to figure things out. The person paying for your unwillingness or procrastination with tech issues is YOU. 

Thankfully, part of being a great boss to yourself is making things easier for yourself, even if you can’t avoid facing tech challenges. Let’s talk more about those. 

2. Dumber People Have Figured Out the Tech Issues You’re Avoiding

Perseverance will take you a lot farther than skill when it comes to tech. There are people way less savvy with technology who are doing the things you wish you knew how to do. 

It's not because they're "young" or "good with computers." It's because they stuck with solving the problem.

They were willing to:

• Find some low-quality video on YouTube where a nice professor explains how to work Excel

• Commit to an hour of the old "plug & play," trying out different things until something worked

• Reach out to a friend or acquaintance who does stuff like what they’re trying to accomplish

• Haunt some Reddit forums

• Berate Google/ChatGPT/etc. until it gave them something that worked.

Thankfully, now you can get AI to do a lot of that research for you and compile it into a nice step-by-step guide of what to do next. 

The “secret” is persistence. It’s the knife in procrastination’s gut. It’ll always trump skill in Freelancerville. Stick with it, and you'll be surprised at how many issues weren’t that hard to solve.

3. Start Simple and Upgrade Over Time

Online freelancers have to use some software to get the job done. And there’s a ton of software that would be happy to take your money to help support your business. 

I was totally overwhelmed in the beginning.

What’s the right website hosting platform?

Invoicing software?

Email marketing platform?

Course hosting platform?

Do I get them all separate, or try out the ones that integrate lots of different functions? 

The major issue was that I treated these decisions like they were irreversible.

You're not picking a life partner, your retirement investments, or a degree from a university. 

Software decisions are extremely reversible. There’s nothing stopping you from using one website hosting platform for a year and then switching to something different if you find a better fit. Great businesses do it all the time.

What I didn’t understand as a newbie was that savvy business owners have no problem switching up their systems or software when they see it’ll make things easier. 

You can do this with both the software you’re using and the business systems you have in place. 

Change how you onboard clients if you found something more efficient. Cancel your invoicing software subscription if you discover a better one. You’re not getting points docked from some Business Police.

A big reason I was stressed about picking the “right” technology was because I thought I needed something that could grow with me. 

While this CAN be useful, it’s a lot more useful to work with technology that will actually get you using it. You don’t have to learn on a stickshift every time you’ve got a new technology to navigate.

In the beginning, you won’t need all the bells and whistles. You might later on, but that doesn’t mean you need the fancier software from the start.

Most software technology can be divided into two rough categories: user-friendly with fewer features and more complex with a steeper learning curve. 

In my experience, if you’re starting out, there’s no shame in using something user-friendly. It boosts your confidence and strengthens your foundational skills faster. 

Your software doesn’t make you “more professional.” Your integrity does. People build 6-7-8 figure businesses on Gmail and Google Docs.

4. Don’t Reinvent Resources That Are Already Available

You’re not the only one who has tried to figure out the tech problems on your plate. People have created TONs of resources that’ll make things faster. 

I know, the emotional strain of figuring out your own tech troubles hurts a lot. That’s why business owners shell out thousands of dollars to get someone else to fix tech problems for them. 

I’ve seen countless beginner freelancers on forums looking for someone to help with their website. Not because they could afford it or were strapped for time – but because they were intimidated by trying to figure it out themselves.

Use the resources available to you:

• Call up customer support

• Go to the software website FAQ or blog

• Do a Google search

• Find a relevant blog post

• Watch tutorial videos on YouTube

• Ask questions on Reddit forums (or creep around to see what people already said)

• Reach out to a friend for some fresh eyes

• Ask ChatGPT for help (my ultimate favorite!)

There are good reasons to pay someone to handle your tech struggles, but in the beginning, being intimidated is a terrible reason to outsource tech. 

You likely don’t have the budget for it, and the perseverance muscles you build by tackling these challenges will flex in other areas of your freelancing.

5. Block an Hour to Tackle Tech Issues

For most of us, dealing with technology isn't stressful because it takes a lot of time. It's because we have trouble tolerating the emotional discomfort of figuring out the unknown for more than five minutes. 

Everything gets so much more frustrating because a tech problem usually stands directly in the way of a bigger task we need to complete. We'd much rather be dealing with the task on the other side, but now we have two tasks to worry about.

Another thing that escalates our emotions is this fear that we ultimately won't be able to figure out the problem. 

As a recovering perfectionist, this mindset was especially popular in my head. 

A mentor once gave me a great piece of advice: if you’ve got a problem in your business that’s totally overwhelming, schedule one hour just to work on it.

• It takes away some of the pressure of getting to the task on the other side.

• It gives you the margin to take your time figuring something out instead of pressuring yourself to squeeze it in between other tasks.

Block out an hour. You’ll make a ton of progress. And you’ll see how much a single issue was congesting your business.

6. Sometimes It’s Hard Because You’re Making It Harder For Yourself

You don’t get points by making things more “fancier” (e.g. more complicated). Simple is king.

And alot of the time, the simplicity you’re looking for with tech is living outside the box.

Let’s say you’re having trouble figuring out how to use the “send proposal” feature on your client management platform. You got Honeybooks or Dubsado or whatever, and you’re super excited to have a platform that’ll do it all!

You’ve got an interested lead because you just had a call. But you’re getting stuck on the proposal. You can’t get it to send a test to yourself to see if it works. It’s hard to write, you don’t know if you’re formatting it the way you’re supposed to, and you’re really stressing out because you don’t want to lose this potential sale.

Experienced business owners know there are loads of potential solutions to “unsolvable” problems.

• Call customer service

• Look up a video tutorial

• Check out the company’s FAQs

• Ask ChatGPT how to set it up on that specific platform

• Just send what you have as is and let the chips fall so you can course correct later

• Opt not to use that platform for the proposal and simply send it as an email

• Scrap the proposal entirely and treat the contract as the proposal that they’ll either accept or decline

• And that’s just a few options

If you’re feeling overwhelmed and out of ideas for the next step, I can’t recommend talking to a friend enough. And if one isn’t available for a brainstorming session, use AI.

7. Save & Create How-To’s for Recurring Tech Struggles

Tech troubles are inevitable. But the good news is you’re going to encounter many of the same ones repeatedly. 

Tech issues tend to be front-ended problems. Once you figure out how to solve an issue once, it doesn’t have to be a problem anymore. 

One of the biggest timesavers you can create in your business is a simple document that acts as a link library. These links could be to:

• A YouTube video that addresses a recurring problem (thank you, Squarespace and Flodesk tutorial people. You’re my hero.)

• Another document where you wrote down step-by-step instructions for a complicated process (I frequently reference my Google Doc shortcuts)

• A loom you created for yourself walking through something technical (I have lots of these, like the SOP for creating an email signup banner in Flodesk then plugging in the code to Squarespace)

Label these solutions with lots of keywords so that it’s easy to find them when you need them. 

You might only have five links that you constantly refer to, but that’s a substantial amount of time and mental energy saved.

8. Making Tech Easy for You Makes It Easy For Clients

User-friendliness gives you a ton of momentum as a beginner or when you're in an overwhelmed season. But another amazing benefit of making things simple is that it makes it easier for your clients.

 A process that’s easy for a client to navigate will always improve their customer experience. You’ll impress clients with how easy it is to work with you, not by how fancy you make things. 

If your email, a Google doc, or a spreadsheet can handle an area of your business, try it out first. There’s plenty of million-dollar businesses that keep their clients organized with these basics.

Plus, if you want to upgrade in the future as your business needs get more complex, you’ll want to be familiar with the basics of a system. For example, if you’re brand new to keeping your leads and your outreach efforts organized, a nifty customer relationship management (CRM) is not going to magically work better than a basic spreadsheet.

Are the fancy softwares helpful? Sure they are, that’s why they’re made. But they were built to solve complex problems, like overwhelming amounts of data and building automations. 

There’s a TikTok that lives in my head rent-free that perfectly illustrates this. 

An HR rep, on a Zoom call, was trying to figure out a manager's thought process on adding a QR code to an email. It had caused a lot of problems because employees tended to check their email on their phones – but they needed their phone to scan the QR code. 

At the end, the HR rep bluntly asked: “Is there a reason we didn’t just include a clickable link in the email instead of a QR code leading to a clickable link?”

You have no idea how many business owners complicate their systems by over-fancifying technology like this. Keep it simple, and you'll improve both your efficiency and your client's experience.

That Tech Snag That’s Stalling Your Business?

That’s The Exact Place Your Peers Are Giving Up.

Keep Going.

Dealing with tech is some of the least glamorous but most common business tasks out there.

 Remember, when things get hard with technology, it's the exact place where most people stop. Most of your competition won’t push through these tech struggles, which gives you a major head start if you choose to persevere.

All boiled down, here’s what I want you to know:

• Face tech troubles head-on. Avoiding them limits your growth.

• Dumber people have overcome the tech challenges you’re facing with persistence.

• Start simple with user-friendly software and upgrade as you grow.

• Use resources that are already out there, like customer support, YouTube, and AI.

• Schedule an hour to tackle that one tech issue.

• Simplify your approach to prevent self-imposed complications.

• Create a doc as a library of resources for recurring tech problems.

• Make tech processes easy – your clients will love it.

Lemme tip my hand. I really believe that using AI to get step-by-step help with your tech troubles is one of the best ways to save your sanity (and time!) as a freelancer.

It’s as easy as pulling up ChatGPT, telling it what’s going on, and trying out what it suggests.

That’s why I’ve trained Teal, your Tech Support chatbot specifically designed for freelancers and small business owners. Sign up below  and I’ll send you the the link so you can start talking to her right now.

For a little context, here’s stuff I’ve been able to resolve thanks to a quick convo with ChatGPT:

• How to create segments on my email platform

• How (and where) to inject code on my website so that email sign-up shows up

• Where to find the API (and what the heck that even means).

• Resolving popups that told me I couldn’t do X until I resolved Y.

• How to create a complex automation on my ClickUp.

• How to turn a Google doc into a PDF

• And so much more.

You’ve got this!

5 Years Copywriting – What I Wish I’d Known About Picking Software (I Would Have Saved SO Much $$$ & Time)

Look, You Need To Do Client Outreach.

Let’s Pick Some Software So You Can Make Money.

There are lots of reasons people don’t start an online side hustle. But being intimidated by tech is the one I hear the most. I know I was!

Do you need a website? 

Where do you host it? 

What does hosting a website even mean? 

How are you supposed to collect money the right way? 

Do you need a logo??

Software companies are thrilled to tell you what you need (and that it’s their service) — that’s why there are so many options. So a Google search tends to be *overwhelming* at the least.

Going from a newb to a seasoned copywriter, I’ve found the tools you need to make money with an online service-based business are minimal and stupid simple. 

Loads of people put off getting clients (and getting paid!) because they’re stuck waffling over which software to use. (Don’t be loads of people. I was loads of people. We’re gonna figure it out together.)

I’ve written this blog partly for my past self, who was stressing out over picking the “right” software. Since then, I’ve not only run my own copywriting business – I helped over several years with Sarah Turner’s copywriting course Write Your Way to Freedom. That’s 6K+ students. This stuff got talked about a bunch.

I want to help you make quick and confident decisions about what software and online tools to use. By the end of the day, I want you to know exactly what to move forward with. 

We’ll cover what I’ve found to be essential, what’s not, and how to find tools that meet your needs while staying within your budget.

Picking the software and tools your business uses is a very reversible decision. Spending tons of time stressing over it (and putting off client acquisition) is not the best use of your time.

At the end, I’m also going to give you 

• The absolute cheapest yet most efficient tech stack I’ve come up with

•  A free chatbot (Sierra, your Software Matchmaker) that can help you shop for exactly what you need based on your budget AND help you set it up.

Let’s do it! Because quickly picking your essential biz tools and moving to the next step is a HIGH ROI TASK!

1. The Core Software

When starting an online service business, you don’t need a complicated tech stack. The essentials are surprisingly few and straightforward. As a newbie, I felt like someone was pulling a joke.

But nope. If you’ve got the stuff to get paid, talk to clients, handle a contract, and get them their deliverables, you’re set.

• Payment Processing. An easy way to get paid and for clients to make that payment. Popular ones are Stripe, Wave, Paypal, and Venmo. Some fancier ones are Quickbooks, Freshbooks, Dubsado, and HoneyBooks.

• Contract Management. CYA from the start by having a tool that you can send/sign contracts. Many tools combine contract management with invoicing, so you can handle everything in one place. Even better – there’s tools that have a contract template you can use. You’ll see things like Docusign, Fiverr Workspace, and HoneyBooks.

• Client Communication. An email. Literally, just a regular old Gmail will do. Slap a custom business address on it if you wanna look spiffy.

• File Storage and Sharing. Gotta be able to store and share those deliverables. Cloud storage (like Google Drive or Dropbox) works great.

This will cover the basic functions of the biz. Plus, keeping things uncomplicated makes the learning curve easier and the overall systems more sustainable (which is CRITICAL if you’re operating as a one-man band).

And remember that you can upgrade/pick new software any time. Next month. Next year. You’re not tying yourself down.

Bonus: your business peers' tech stack is a great reference point. If they’re doing similar stuff in their businesses, see what software they’re using. It’s probably relevant to what you need.

2. Sorta Essential Tools That Can Make Life Easier

You got your essentials. But there’s a few additional tools that can seriously juice up your day-to-day operations and client acquisition efforts. 

• A Website. Think of your website as your online storefront you build. The “website hosting” is the land you’re renting. You can get both in one place. It establishes you as a professional and provides leads with the info (like your offers, your pricing, your portfolio).

• Calendar Scheduling: Amazing for consultations and meetings. Instead of back-and-forth email tag, you send a link, and clients pick a time that works for them. Many scheduling tools integrate with video conferencing.

• Video Conferencing: It feels more personal than a phone call, and you can share your screen to clients.

• AI Chatbot: When you’re troubleshooting tech issues or doing research, an AI chatbot can keep you from setting the laptop on fire. It’s often faster and easier than digging through Google hits.

• Basic Online Documents & Spreadsheets: They’re simple, effective, and usually free. You can track it all & document it all without getting complicated.

These tools aren’t necessary to start, but they can enhance your workflow and make managing your business a lot easier.

3. Tools You DON’T Need When Starting Out

Most software is overkill when you’re just starting out. Your goal is to have the basics that’ll get a client to pay you – not to appease some business professor with an A+ client funnel and branding.

Here are some tools I’ve found you can skip in the beginning (and often skip forever):

• Premium Website Builders & Web Design Services: When your business functions are basic, your website needs are basic too. And don’t hire someone just because you’re intimidated. I’ve got the AI chatbot that’ll walk you through the platform you choose at the end of this blog.

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software. CRMs are great for businesses handling a high volume of clients. But if you’re managing 1-10 at a time (especially if you don’t have other team members), a spreadsheet can do the job just fine. Hubspot and Monday do not need your money.

• Project Management Software. But Asana and ClickUp look so sexy! Like CRMs, project management tools are OP if you’re not juggling multiple complex projects. Especially if you’re handling the business alone. A to-do list or a basic planner is just fine.

• Social Media Platforms for Business. Social media marketing with content creation can be tricky and time-consuming. It demands a significant amount of content and course correcting, so it’s very hard to get a good ROI from it as a new online service business. Direct outreach and networking is easier and more effective in the early stages. I will say, though – using social media to explore potential clients and DM them can be a great way to do some of your outreach.

• Accounting Software. Unless you’re dealing with a significant amount of financial data, basic bookkeeping apps or even a spreadsheet is all you need to track income and expenses. Plus, many great invoicing software have accounting tools built in. 

• Team Communication Tools. Trust me. If you’re not working with a team, you don’t need Slack for clients. Email will cover your communication needs.

• Email Marketing Platforms. Marketing yourself via building an email list is a long-game strategy. You don’t need a dedicated platform until you’re ready to have a more in-depth funnel.

• Ads. Paid advertising can be effective, but it’s also a quick way to burn through cash if you’re not experienced. Focus on organic growth strategies first.

And while not tech, I’ve found you also don’t need a logo, branding, brand photography, business cards, trademarking your business, and terms & conditions to get started.

Keeping stuff simple lets you to focus on what really matters—serving your clients and growing your business. Right now, you’re building your savings, reputation, and client base. You can always switch gears with software as you learn more.

4. Tech Traps That Love to Eat Online Business Owners

There is no right answer when it comes to picking software for your business. But there are wrong ones.

• Overpaying for Features You Don’t Need. Fancy features and a slick interface are cool. But they don’t make you money. You need the stuff that directly supports you making money at this stage. And if it's free, but doesn’t move the needle forward with your goals, you’re still overpaying with your time.

• Underestimating the Learning Curve. A software might be cheap, or have amazing features, but if the learning curve is more intense than the return it gives you later…it’s bad math. And you gotta honor your time/energy budget if you want this biz thing to be sustainable. As long as a software does the thing you need it to, simple is always the winner.

• Not Giving Yourself A Budget. It’s tempting to think that if you just buy the best tools, premium clients and income will tag along. Then surely you’ll get clients next month to cover the credit card payment. But sticking to a budget—even if it’s zero dollars—forces you to prioritize what’s really essential. You can always upgrade later as your business grows.

• Assuming More Expensive Means Better. In the same way you can extend your time frame to fit a project's deadline, you can also extend your budget based on the software's cost. Just because a tool is pricier doesn’t mean it works better than cheaper alternatives. Don’t upgrade if it’s not going to give you a better return. That’s why 7 and 8 figure companies can keep running on spreadsheets. It works.

• Treating Software Decisions as Irreversible. If something doesn’t work out, you can switch tools. No biggie. Business owners do it all the time. You don’t get a prize for finding a software that serves you both as a newbie and as an expert. In fact, even with software that’s a total flop, you’ll get insights that’ll make your next decision better than if you’d never tried the flop-software.

• Thinking You Did Stuff Wrong/Picked Bad Software When Tech Gets Glitchy. All tech breaks. It can and will happen. Often for no good reason. Figuring out what’s wrong and working with it is just part of the business owner grind.

I saved the best for last because I’ve gotten my foot caught in this trap WAY too often as a recovering perfectionist:

Awesome software will not fix bad business habits. 

ClickUp will not make you more organized. Quickbooks will not make you better at bookkeeping. A gorgeous custom Squarespace website will not improve lazy copy.

You have to resolve bad habits and improve weak skills to make your software do what you wanted to do. Thankfully, that just requires good old fashioned reps. Practice, practice, practice.

And I can tell you from experience – once you put in the work of mastering prerequisite skills, relevant software becomes WAY more rewarding to use.

Why do you think I love AI so much?

5. The Cheapest, Highest Return, Easiest-to-Learn Tech Stack I Could Build

If there was ever a time you needed your resources, time, and energy to go the distance, it’s now: the initial business-building trenches.

If you’re on a SUPER tight budget – and you don’t have the time to work around crazy complicated or limited software – this is it.

Here’s the major qualifiers I had:

• It can’t have unreasonable limits just because it’s a budget version. It’s cool Docusign is free, but if you have more than 3 new clients in a month, you’re up a creek.

• It can’t be hard to learn. You’re busy. Maybe burning the midnight oil. You do not need to spend hours figuring out some free software when $5 would buy back that time.

• It’s got to be affordable (duh). We can get the sexy software later when we’re making it rain.

• It should be as consolidated as possible. It’s easier to have 3 platforms that do 15 essentials than 15 different platforms for 15 tasks.

Here’s the intersection I’ve found between super affordable, super effective, and super easy to learn:

HoneyBook Starter Plan + Google Account =

everything covered — $16 to $25/month

HoneyBooks Starter plan ($16/month annually or $19/month monthly) 

Unlimited invoicing? Covered. Unlimited contract sending (with contract templates you can use)? Covered. All while looking super professional and being user-friendly. That alone is well worth $16-$19 a month.

I’ve explored a ton of contract/template/invoicing/payment processing tools. It’s easy to get free contract sending – with absurd limits and no templates or invoicing. Or contracts, templates, and invoicing all together – at $30+ a month.

This lets you handle all the payments and contracts you need without cobbling together your own contract, a platform to send it, and a payment platform. That’s learning the ropes of 3 different platforms and potentially working around their free limits. I’ve done it, it’s a huge pain in the butt when onboarding a client. 

For the price of a Taco Bell meal, you can quit stressing about smoothly onboarding your client (e.g. paid and ready to start them deliverables).

It’s got a bunch more really useful features – so when you’re ready, feel free to look into the automations, client portal, and more that are also included in the Starter plan.

Google Account (free)

It’s a beast. Here’s just the essentials you’ll get:

• Gmail (which has a bunch more cool features than you’d guess)

• Google Calendar & Meeting Scheduling that connects to Google Meet video conferencing (the client meetings dream duo!)

• Google Drive file storage/sharing – Documents. Spreadsheets. Forms. Slides. Calendar.

• Google Sites. I was shaken to my core when I discovered it. You can create a free website. And the stuff integrates with all the Google features. It’s pretty basic, but 100% perfect for a simple starter website that features the basics of what you do, who it’s for, services/pricing, about, and contact/booking info. It’s a building block style, and they have templates. You can get exactly what you need pulled together in a day.

If you opt for the $6/month Google Workspace Business Starter upgrade, you get:

• A custom business email address (so it’s sarah@checkcopywriting.com instead of sarahcheckcopywriting@gmail.com)

• A custom website domain for Google Sites (so it’s checkcopywriting.com instead of genericdomain53845749.com)

• 24/7 customer support

• Recordings for Google Meets

• 30 gigabytes of storage (instead of 15 on the free plan)

No excuses for moving forward now. And don’t stress about not knowing how to set it up — I’ve got you covered.

Pick Your Tools. Move On To Getting Clients. Make Money.

Starting an online service business doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. Focusing on the essential functions in your biz (like getting paid) helps you only get essential software. 

Remember, simplicity is where the magic’s at. You can always add/upgrade more tools as your business grows and your needs evolve. 

Plus, future you has a much better idea of what needs upgrading than current you.

You need to save money right now, but you also need to save your time and energy – since you’re probably operating as a one-man band at the start. Use whatever tech hand-holding you need whenever you can at this stage. 

And, if you need it, I highly recommend letting an AI chatbot give you custom directions while setting up these systems. It really cuts down the feelings of overwhelm and analysis paralysis. Instead of clicking around for hours “figuring it out” or endless Google searches, a chatbot can do that for you. 

You tell it what you want to accomplish, and it gives you the steps. Literally, it tells you what buttons/dropdowns to click on. If it doesn’t work, you tell it so, and it does some research to give you a better next step.

To help you make confident, budget-friendly decisions, I’ve created a Software Matchmaker chatbot. Her name is Sierra – talk to her about your budget and tech needs, and she’ll do the heavy lifting of the research. You get pros, cons, and your specific questions answered. 

And if you need help setting each software up, she'll guide you step-by-step. It’s like DM’ing your tech savvy friend on demand.

Making decisions quickly in your business lets you GROW quickly – and picking your core software is a major step to moving forward to getting clients and getting paid. Very high ROI. Very much worth your next block of free time.

Tell me where to send the link to Software Matchmaker GPT, and I'll ship it right to your inbox. Let’s get your core software figured out so you can move closer to the money – finding clients!

ChatGPT Uses for Moms | The AI Assistant You've Always Wanted

---

Life as a mom is a balancing act, juggling multiple responsibilities and tasks daily. In the digital age, technology offers a helping hand, and one such innovative tool is ChatGPT. This AI assistant is transforming how mothers manage their everyday lives, from organizing schedules to planning meals and outings.

In this article, you will learn:

• Practical steps for using ChatGPT in scheduling and organization.

• How to leverage ChatGPT for efficient meal planning and grocery lists.

• Utilizing ChatGPT for planning family outings, including research and logistics.

Let's dive into how ChatGPT can be your digital ally, simplifying your tasks and giving you back valuable time.

Understanding ChatGPT

Imagine having a virtual assistant at your fingertips, ready to simplify the myriad tasks of motherhood. ChatGPT is precisely that—a powerful AI tool adept at understanding and responding to your needs in a conversational manner. For moms juggling busy schedules, it's a game-changer.

Why should moms care? ChatGPT can be your go-to for organizing hectic schedules, planning nutritious meals, finding activities for your kids, and even carving out time for self-care. Its versatility lies in handling a wide range of queries, from the mundane to the complex, all in real-time.

Ease of use is another hallmark of ChatGPT. Accessible via any smartphone or computer, it doesn’t require technical expertise. This makes ChatGPT not just a sophisticated tool, but a user-friendly one, perfect for the fast-paced life of a mom.

ChatGPT for Scheduling and Organization

As a mom, your calendar is likely a complex mosaic of family, work, and personal commitments. This is where ChatGPT can be a lifesaver. By utilizing ChatGPT, you can streamline your scheduling process and keep your life organized with minimal effort.

1. Creating and Managing Schedules: ChatGPT can assist you in setting up weekly schedules. Simply tell it your family's recurring activities, appointments, and commitments, and ChatGPT can suggest an organized weekly plan.

2. Task Management: Juggling various tasks can be overwhelming. ChatGPT can help you break down large tasks into manageable steps and prioritize them.

3. List Making: Whether it’s grocery lists, to-do lists, or packing lists for a vacation, ChatGPT can help you compile and organize these lists efficiently.

4. Streamlining Communication: Planning a family event or coordinating with other parents? ChatGPT can help draft messages or emails, saving you time and effort in your communication tasks.

Meal Planning Made Easy with ChatGPT

Meal planning is a crucial, yet often time-consuming task for any mom. ChatGPT can transform this chore into an efficient and even enjoyable process. Here’s how:

1. Weekly Meal Planning: Tell ChatGPT your family’s dietary preferences, any allergies, and the week's schedule. It can then generate a weekly meal plan that suits your needs, ensuring variety and nutrition.

2. Recipe Suggestions and Meal Prep Order: On days when I've been unsure about what to cook, ChatGPT has not only provided recipe ideas but also guided me on the order of meal prep.

3. Grocery List Creation: Based on the meal plan, ChatGPT can help you create a detailed grocery list.

4. Nutritional Guidance: If you have specific nutritional goals for your family, such as reducing sugar intake or increasing protein, ChatGPT can tailor meal plans and recipes to meet these goals.

5. Time-Saving Tips: ChatGPT can offer tips on meal prepping and cooking shortcuts, helping you save time in the kitchen.

Planning Outings with ChatGPT

Planning a family outing can be as demanding as it is exciting. With ChatGPT, you can streamline the process, ensuring enjoyable and stress-free experiences. Here's how ChatGPT can help:

1. Researching Destinations: ChatGPT can suggest outing destinations based on your family's interests, age groups, and location.

2. Operational Details: ChatGPT can assist in finding the operational hours, ticket prices, and special events of various attractions.

3. Preparing for the Trip: From what to pack to the route to take, ChatGPT can help prepare for every aspect of your outing.

4. Dining and Accommodation Recommendations: Looking for a family-friendly restaurant or a place to stay overnight? ChatGPT can recommend options that fit your needs and budget.

5. Parking and Accessibility Information: ChatGPT can provide details on parking availability and accessibility features at your destination.

Real-life Examples and Testimonials

The transformative effect of ChatGPT on the lives of moms becomes vividly clear through their personal stories. Here’s how it has been a valuable asset for Sarah in managing her growing family:

Sarah's Story - Navigating Motherhood and Pregnancy

Sarah, a mother of a toddler and pregnant with her second child, found ChatGPT to be a lifesaver in organizing her increasingly complex life. She shares, "With ChatGPT, I brain-dump my whole week's responsibilities into a prompt, then ask it to help me prioritize and come up with a schedule. I even give it the time slots I can't work in and personal preferences. It's like having a second brain."

Tips and Best Practices

To get the most out of ChatGPT as a mother, it’s important to use it effectively and responsibly. Here are some key tips and best practices:

1. Be Specific with Your Requests: ChatGPT is most effective when provided with clear, detailed information.

2. Use It as a Learning and Resource Tool: ChatGPT can be a valuable resource for new parenting strategies, recipes, and educational content for your children.

3. Provide Regular Updates and Feedback: Keep ChatGPT informed about changes in your routine or preferences.

4. Prioritize Privacy and Safety: Exercise caution in sharing sensitive personal information with ChatGPT.

5. Integration with Apps and Platforms: There are apps that integrate ChatGPT into specific platforms, enhancing its functionality and ease of use.

6. Embrace Experimentation: As ChatGPT and its applications are constantly evolving, remain open to experimenting with different ways it can assist you.

Conclusion

Throughout this article, we've explored the diverse and practical ways in which ChatGPT can make life easier for mothers. From managing schedules and prioritizing weekly tasks to simplifying meal planning and organizing family outings, ChatGPT has proven to be more than just a technological innovation; it's a real asset in the day-to-day challenges of motherhood.

To recap, we've learned:

• Practical steps for using ChatGPT in scheduling and organization, making daily and weekly planning more manageable.

• How to leverage ChatGPT for meal planning and grocery list creation, ensuring efficient and nutritious meals for the family.

• Utilizing ChatGPT for planning family outings, including researching destinations, operational details, and preparation tips.

As we've seen through real-life examples like Sarah's, incorporating ChatGPT into your routine can be like having a second brain, one that helps you manage the complexities of family life with ease and efficiency.

If you've found these insights helpful and are curious about further integrating AI into your daily life, a natural next step would be to explore other AI tools and resources. From AI-driven health and wellness apps to educational tools for your children, the possibilities are endless. Embracing these technologies can not only simplify your tasks but also open up new avenues for personal and family growth.

Remember, the journey into the world of AI doesn't have to be overwhelming. Start small, experiment, and find what works best for you and your family. With AI like ChatGPT by your side, navigating the adventures of motherhood can be a more organized, efficient, and enjoyable experience.

[This blog was written with Jacob McMillan’s Longform Blog Cyborg GPT. No edits have been applied. At the end, I’ve included the same blog written by an untrained ChatGPT thread for comparison.]

---

I attempted writing the same blog with a plain, untrained ChatGPT thread (version 4), using as many of the same prompts as possible. Check out the drop in quality:

ChatGPT for Moms: A Lifesaver in the Chaos of Parenting

The role of a mother is incredibly diverse and demanding. In today's fast-paced world, technology, particularly AI like ChatGPT, has become an indispensable ally. For moms juggling family, work, and personal commitments, ChatGPT can be a game-changer. This longform blog will delve into the myriad of ChatGPT uses for moms, illustrating how this tool can simplify, enhance, and bring efficiency to the daily life of a mother.

1. Transforming Daily Scheduling

One of the most valuable ChatGPT uses for moms is in transforming daily scheduling.

• Mastering Family Calendars: ChatGPT can be instrumental in managing a complex family calendar, integrating school events, medical appointments, and personal commitments into a cohesive schedule.

• Setting Smart Reminders: It also excels in setting up smart reminders for crucial events and deadlines, ensuring that nothing important is overlooked.

Practical Tip: Regularly update your plans and ask ChatGPT to devise a schedule that works for everyone, making sure to include downtime for the family.

2. Revolutionizing Meal Planning and Dietary Management

Meal planning and dietary management are areas where ChatGPT shines.

• Customized Meal Planning: Based on your family's dietary preferences and restrictions, ChatGPT can suggest weekly meal plans that are nutritious and varied.

• Interactive Cooking Assistance: ChatGPT can guide you through recipes step-by-step, making cooking a less daunting task.

Practical Tip: Tell ChatGPT about any specific dietary needs or favorite cuisines and ask for a tailored meal plan.

3. Making Family Outings Seamless

Planning family outings can be simplified using ChatGPT.

• Finding the Best Family Destinations: ChatGPT can help identify family-friendly destinations, providing options tailored to the ages and interests of your children.

• Planning Outing Details: From the best times to visit to details about parking and facilities, ChatGPT can help plan every aspect of your outing.

Practical Tip: For a smooth outing, ask ChatGPT for a checklist of things to carry and tips on managing outings with kids.

4. Providing Educational Support

ChatGPT is a valuable resource for educational support.

• Homework and Study Assistance: It can offer explanations and resources to help your children with their studies and homework.

• Encouraging Learning and Curiosity: ChatGPT can suggest educational games and activities that align with your child's interests and age group.

Practical Tip: Use ChatGPT to find age-appropriate educational resources and ask it to explain difficult concepts in simple terms.

5. Personal Wellness and Self-Care

Self-care is crucial, and ChatGPT can play a significant role here.

• Wellness and Fitness Tips: ChatGPT can provide quick and effective wellness tips and workout routines, helping you stay healthy and energized.

• Relaxation and Entertainment Recommendations: For those rare moments of downtime, ChatGPT can suggest books, music, or movies based on your interests.

Practical Tip: Ask ChatGPT for quick self-care routines or recommendations for relaxing activities.

6. Creating Connections and Building Community

Another of the many ChatGPT uses for moms is in creating connections and building community.

• Finding Parenting Groups: ChatGPT can assist in finding local or online parenting groups, forums, and communities, helping you connect with other moms.

• Planning Social Events: It can offer ideas for organizing social gatherings, playdates, and community events, making the planning process much smoother.

Practical Tip: Ask ChatGPT for ideas to engage and connect with other parents in your community.

7. Enhancing Household Management

Managing a household is an area where ChatGPT's uses for moms are particularly beneficial.

• Organizational Strategies: From decluttering tips to efficient home organization strategies, ChatGPT can offer a wealth of advice.

• Budgeting and Financial Management: It can also help in creating a practical household budget, offering tips on saving and managing finances.

Practical Tip: Consult ChatGPT for innovative storage solutions or advice on managing household expenses.

8. Fostering Personal Growth and Skill Development

Personal growth and continuous learning are essential, and ChatGPT can be a valuable resource in this regard.

• Learning New Skills: Whether it's picking up a new hobby or learning a new language, ChatGPT can provide resources, tips, and encouragement.

• Professional Development: For moms looking to balance work and family life, ChatGPT can offer career advice, productivity tips, and support in professional growth.

Practical Tip: Share your personal or professional growth goals with ChatGPT and ask for specific resources or strategies to achieve them.

Conclusion

The range of ChatGPT uses for moms is extensive and impactful. From streamlining daily tasks to aiding in meal planning, educational support, personal wellness, and even household management, ChatGPT has proven to be an invaluable tool in the arsenal of modern motherhood. As we continue to harness the power of AI, it's clear that ChatGPT isn't just a convenience; it's a companion that enhances our capacity to enjoy and excel in the multifaceted role of being a mom.

Everything I Use ChatGPT For In My Biz (and more)

Here’s Everything I Use

ChatGPT For In My Biz

I can’t shut up about ChatGPT. I’m trying to get better, promise, but it’s just so USEFUL. 

It’s user-friendly. It’s fast. It’s $20 bucks a month.

I use it every single day. Multiple times a day. Sometimes for hours, both in personal and professional life. Honestly, I feel like I get $20 worth of value every single day.

When I tell people how much I use it as a writer, I keep meeting the assumption that I’m using it to generate the copy. 

But with everything I use it for — generating copy isn’t one. There’s a lot of hype on social media with creating blogs, web copy, social media posts, whatever, entirely with ChatGPT. 

Honestly, I haven’t really ever seen ChatGPT generate quality copy. But what I have found it useful for are tasks that need lots of busywork, distilling, interpretation, or feedback.

I’m a copywriter and a stay-at-home mom of a one-year-old. Two afternoons a week, my daughter goes to play with my mom and I hit my business work. I’ve got no time to waste with these precious time slots. I need all the focus and acceleration I can get.

ChatGPT gave me exactly that. I feel like I can text Jarvis from Iron Man. 

Let me tell you what it does for me.

How I Use ChatGPT Professionally

Knowledge gap procrastination

What’s a pillar page? Do I need to have special credentials if I want to write a CEU for a client? How can I help my client do a bank transfer to pay my Bank of America account from their Chase account? 

I’ve put off so many little things in my life because of a looming question that feels like it’ll take a lot of work to answer. But not anymore.

I really enjoy using ChatGPT for complex questions I have that require some background. Or when I don’t know what I don’t know. 

ChatGPT picks up on the context of what you’re trying to ask – basically, you don’t have to know how to ask the right question to get a really helpful answer.

Plus, it’s a dream using ChatGPT in real time on calls. There are so many unfamiliar acronyms and concepts a speaker has used that I’ve made my AI pal to explain on a secret tab.

Bulk data organization

I could cry tears of joy with how much time it saved me from cleaning up and organizing messy notes. 

I’m talking things like turning a voice-dictated list that’s separated by commas into a bulleted list that’s capitalized appropriately. 

Here’s an example. Imagine you’re voice dictating a bunch of subheading topics for a client's blog. It’s just a fragment sentences, separated by a comma each. But you want it turned into a bulleted list, where title case is applied and the subheading topics are organized from the most simple concept to the most complex concept.

ChatGPT will do that in an instant. 

Editing & proofreading

Y’all. If you’re not using ChatGPT for instant proofreading and editing feedback, you’re really missing out. 

I’m able to clean up my work and beautifully round out the copy at an absolute breakneck speed. I rarely run into writer's block anymore because of how fast ChatGPT helps me overcome snags. Like, How can I word this better? Is this matching the tone I’m going for? Am I missing anything? Now I can find out in an instant. 

From the proofreading side, getting voice-dictated stuff cleaned up is an absolute breeze. I’m talking spelling, punctuation, syntax, grammar, capitalization, and formatting. 

You can literally inject 2000 words into it and it’ll spit it back out – all corrected – within a few seconds. 

And from an editing side? The instant feedback you can get is super useful and balanced. It’s like an on-demand second set of eyes. 

I use it to make sure I’m:

• Sticking with the client's brand and voice

• Making sure I am appropriately supporting the CTA

• Ensuring the flow of the whole piece makes sense

• Making sure I’m not missing any topics or details based on the audience I’m writing to.

My most-used feature (when editing and proofreading) is simply re-wording sentences so they don’t sound like a mess. I feel so much less pressure to write things well the first time when I know I can instantly generate a simpler version.

Prioritization & time management

Remember those time slots I was telling you about? 

Well, one of the worst things I'd let eat away my time was trying to figure out what to do first (or worse, task hopping). I'd waste so much work time just figuring out what I need to do next. Ideally, I would have sat down and hit the ground running. 

I’ve been training ChatGPT to act as my scheduler, and it’s been such a mental sigh of relief. I didn’t realize how much of the stress I felt was because of prioritization decision fatigue. Getting to delegate prioritization has massively restored my energy. And – understandably – it’s really improved my focus. 

Sometimes I use it for simply helping me prioritize my day or a project. I really enjoy prompting it to ask ME questions. That way I only have to deal with the mental load of responding, not remembering everything. 

It’s also been helpful for breaking down tasks into actionable steps. I have a bad habit of giving myself a single “task” that is actually a massive cluster of little tasks. Then, of course, I get totally overwhelmed.

Sometimes I’ll have it make a simple schedule for me. Like distributing a certain number of tasks over a certain amount of days. For example, if I had a list of leads I wanted to reach out to, and goal or deadline, I’d just give ChatGPT the names and have it divide it between weekdays.

When I really need a lot of focus, I have it make an in-depth hourly schedule for my whole week. I have it analyze all the things I have to do and ask me about my priorities and time slots, then organize my schedule based on that.

Another great thing about using it for schedules and timelines? You can update it instantly. Just tell it what you need changed and it shifts everything around automatically.

Client Acquisition

You guys. Where has this been all my life? 

I can explore leads and their hangouts so fast you wouldn’t believe. I never have to sit at my desk and wander around the internet trying to find clients anymore.

I get ChatGPT to do things like:

• Generate lists of potential clients and industry leaders

• Discover leads way faster on social media

• Find the publications, podcasts, and channels my clients are hanging around

• Create outreach schedules that increase my focus and reduce my overwhelm

• Prepare for client interactions (like closing deals on the phone without proposals!)

I used to stick with not-so-great clients and lower pay because I was intimidated by the effort I thought it would take to find better ones.

But since I started using ChatGPT in March, I’ve closed multiple 5K projects no sweat. 

What I would have given to have these tricks when I was new to a niche. Again, it’s fantastic for picking up what you need when you don’t know what you don’t know.

For example, now that I’m in the course creator niche, I’ve used ChatGPT to discover all kinds of different platforms that host courses. Now that I know about them, I can simply browse the courses on them to explore potential clients.

This hack has let me shift my thinking from How do I get clients coming in?? to How do I prioritize all these opportunities?

It makes me feel like I can turn on a client acquisition machine whenever I need it.

Branding

This has been so helpful as someone not quite ready to invest in paid branding help. 

With branding, I’m talking about streamlining the style of your brand, like:

• Fonts that go together

• Brand colors that work together

• Values and themes that I want to show up in the brand’s copy

• Target audience

• Images

Having ChatGPT suggest all those little details has made me feel so much more at ease.

What’s great too is that you can get it to act as an expert and give you suggestions to help you branding work better.

For example, I had some brand colors I’d been using and really liked – but I kept running into colors not showing up well when used on top of each other. ChatGPT suggested alternative and additional shades for my palette to make things work better together.

I also use it to give me feedback on whether the colors and font choices would reflect my brand voice well. And, of course, if something needed to be improved, I just got it to make some suggestions.

Coming up with image ideas

Here and there, I have opportunities to add an image – the header of a blog, little icons on my website. That kind of thing. 

When I am coming up blank with what to photograph, what to look up for royalty-free images, and what to create on Canva, I just tell ChatGPT the context of what I need. It’s fantastic for suggesting options based on what I’m looking for and the medium I’m using.

If you’re ever struggling to think of poses for your photos – or stock images that would go with some text you wrote – ChatGPT’s got your back.

Comparing different software

This one is so helpful for software you’re really not familiar with. As freelancers, we’ve all run into wishing someone would just tell us what email platform, invoicing software, website hosting, whatever, you should use. 

Now you can.

You can weed through blogs and listicles on Google… or you can get ChatGPT to both suggest and compare different options in one go.

For example, when I was struggling to figure out what email platform to use, my AI pal helped me narrow down options. It presented different options, but even beyond that, it explained the differences between them, and what might be a better fit based on what I was looking for.

Creating clauses for my contract

OK, I’m not a lawyer. ChatGPT is not a lawyer. But this nifty hack makes me sleep at night a whole lot better. 

I do not speak legalese, and I know the dictionary used for legal stuff isn’t the same as what we commoners use. So when I have a concept I’d really like distilled into a contract clause, I make ChatGPT do it. 

For example, I wanted to add a clause explaining that my client knows they need to be the one to get patient consent before providing me information from a patient or a testimonial. ChatGPT whipped up beautiful paragraph I could paste right into my contract.

Tech-support

This is like a sub-niche of knowledge gap procrastination. Tech problems stress me out to no end, mostly because I don’t have the greatest tech intuition. But now ChatGPT has become my tech intuition. 

I’ll feed it the exact problem I’m having with the exact software, and all the things I’ve tried. It’ll give me a step-by-step of what I can try next. And if I need more clarification on a certain step, I just ask.

What I would’ve given to have had ChatGPT when I was setting up my Squarespace website for the first time. Or navigating Google Analytics the first time.

Brainstorming

I’m telling you, this hack is the ChatGPT gateway drug for writers. 

You can’t think of headline ideas? Blog topics? Subtopics within the blog? You could fix that in less than a minute with our AI pal. 

Here’s my favorite ways I get it to help with brainstorming:

• Email topics/summaries

• Blog topics/summaries

• “What am I missing?” ideas

• Things to talk about within a blog/website/copy

• Where to go next with an opportunity

• How I can streamline a process

That’s what I use ChatGPT for with business. But its helpfulness inevitably spill over into my personal life. Let me show you what that looks like!

How I Use ChatGPT In Personal Life

Recipes

I don’t usually get recipes from ChatGPT – but I get it to cut a recipe in half or thirds. You can get it to make substitutes for ingredients and suggest dinners based on what’s in your fridge. I’ll also have it explain techniques I don’t really understand and dishes I’m not familiar with.

For example, I recently checked out a dessert cookbook from the library. It had a cool recipe where you make cheesecake in an Instapot, but there were some tools and techniques that didn’t make any sense. 

I took a picture of the page with that step, selected the text from the image, copied it, then fed it to ChatGPT. I told it to explain it to me like I was 10. Boom – I finally had clear directions.

Picking from a menu

I like to take a picture of the menu and use Apple's text-grabbing feature to copy-paste the whole thing into ChatGPT. 

I’ve used it for when the menu is full of stuff I simply have no idea what it is (hello, pretentious LA food). 

Or when I am overwhelmed with decisions and want someone to make a decision for me. In that case, I’ll just tell it what I’m in the mood for and ask for three suggestions.

Crafts

I use ChatGPT a ton for crafts – especially for techniques I’m not really familiar with. 

It’s great for troubleshooting problems and explaining what steps to do first. If you have an end result in mind, it’s the perfect tool.

For example, I used it to predict the color a sweater would turn based on the dye color I used and the garment's original color. I even got it to give me a hex number to look up the shade online.

I also used it to help guide me through using charcoal to draw a picture of my daughter. I didn’t know what all the little numbers and letters on my pencils meant, but ChatGPT explained what they do and which steps to use them in.

Complex math

It’s great for the simple stuff (like cutting a recipe in half) but it’s also great for those giant word problems. 

I’ll use it when I’m trying to calculate a purchase total when you add sales tax and discounts. I also use here and there for volume ratios, like when I’m making laundry soap or cookies in bulk.

Recently, I used it to determine the probability of certain goals for my next product launch. 

Understanding terms & conditions

Now I just copy-paste the entire thing into ChatGPT and ask it to boil it down into non-legalese for me.

Plus, if you’re combing through a law you want to understand – ChatGPT can pick it right out.

I really like feeding it text from a terms & conditions document and asking about what the document says on a certain topic. For example, I like getting ChatGPT to explain what the text says in regards to privacy.

Basic explanations

I was a Google girl. If I had a question, I was going to Google it. 

But if someone hasn’t created a concise blog that ranks well, finding my answer would get tough. 

I use ChatGPT for comparisons or breakdowns of basic stuff that comes up in my life. Like when I’m at the store comparing meat and want to know the difference between carne piccata and carne asada.

My other favorite is using it to explain game rules. 

I thought I was going to pass away listening to the rules of Clue during family game night. But, of course, ChatGPT told me (under the table) what to do as if I were five – and I finally learned how to play.

What are you waiting for?

You need to use ChatGPT more!

I’ve never been so excited to be in this tech age. 

I feel like new inventions get two different moments of progress. The first is when the technology originally came out. Like Orville and Wilbur and their little plane they were flying at the dunes. 

But the second revival is really where it’s at. It’s where stuff becomes usable to the average person even if they don’t understand the technology of how it works. Think flying commercially. 

Before, humans could fly. Now, anyone can fly.

I feel like that’s what ChatGPT is doing for us.

You don’t have to be an expert, even if there’s a little bit of a learning curve. It's like not needing to know how an airplane works – you should still know how to buy a ticket and navigate the airport if you want to fly.

But it’s super easy to pick up. I think a lot of people are getting caught up in what technology CAN do. It's like trying to understand flying to your parents' house but hearing everyone talk about rockets going to the moon.

This AI technology becomes especially useful when people focus on small tasks it can help with, rather than its full potential. What little boring things could it do to take stuff off your plate?

Getting ChatGPT to clean up capitalization and punctuation isn’t the most sexy use of a supercomputer. But it makes a world of difference when you think about the time it takes to manually do it yourself.

What little things do you wish you could text a supercomputer for help with? 

What little hang-ups in your day could you solve more quickly with a bit of insight, a quick calculation, or an automated function?

That’s exactly what ChatGPT is for. 😉