How to write effective copy

Most Valuable Lesson or Insight

The most valuable lesson from this conversation is that clarity in messaging and understanding your audience are the foundations of effective marketing and copywriting. Britt emphasizes the importance of knowing your customer deeply, crafting a story around how you solve their problems, and using frameworks like StoryBrand to guide your messaging. Additionally, her journey highlights the importance of stepping out of your comfort zone, networking, and building a community to overcome the challenges of running an online business.

2. Top 5 Between-the-Lines Lessons

1. Success is Personal and Evolving: Success isn’t a fixed destination but a journey of growth, learning, and achieving personal goals like a full client load and stellar recommendations.

2. Networking is Essential for Growth: Building relationships, both online and offline, is crucial for overcoming isolation, gaining referrals, and staying motivated as a solopreneur.

3. Outsourcing and Collaboration are Key: Just as Britt collaborates with a web designer for her website, recognizing when to outsource tasks outside your expertise can save time and improve results.

4. Mental Health Matters in Entrepreneurship: Running a business alone can be mentally taxing, and creating support systems (like networking groups or communities) is vital for maintaining mental well-being.

5. Consistency and Simplicity Win: Whether it’s writing blogs or crafting social media captions, simplicity and consistency in messaging resonate more with audiences than overly complex or sporadic content.

5 Actionable Steps

1. Define Your Audience Clearly: Spend time brainstorming and documenting your ideal customer’s habits, preferences, and pain points. Use this to tailor your messaging.

2. Use a Messaging Framework: Apply frameworks like StoryBrand to structure your website copy, social media, and blogs. Position your customer as the hero and your business as the guide.

3. Start Networking: Attend networking events (online or in-person) to build relationships, gain referrals, and find support from other business owners.

4. Automate and Simplify Content Creation: Use tools or frameworks to streamline blog writing and social media content. For example, create an A-to-Z guide for recurring tasks like blogging.

5. Invest in Professional Help: If writing or marketing feels overwhelming, book a discovery call with a copywriter or marketer to refine your messaging and strategy.

Transcript:

Welcome to Business Chats and today we're going to be talking with an amazing copywriter. Her name is Britt and I'm sending her an invitation to join right now. I'm so sorry, I'm always like stuck.

I can't really... Has managed to achieve success in her online business and how the hell can we do the same? Her um, her account on Instagram is called Lisa Organic Marketing and honestly her work is kind of amazing and I would just love her if she told you about it herself.

But I don't know if she received my invitation. Let's see, Britt. Just texting her.

By the way, she speaks both English and Spanish which is amazing and we might just have to make this live in Spanish as well. Let's see if she says that she didn't get it. Let's see if we can invite her again.

That's weird. Okay, he says that you cannot join. Hi Britt, I know you can see me.

So, thank you. Amazing. I think I just accepted it.

I stopped this phone. I don't know what's happening half the time. Yeah.

Hello. There you are. Hi.

Oh my god. How are you today?

[Speaker 1]

How are you?

[Speaker 2]

I'm great. I'm so excited about this. So let's just start from the beginning.

Tell us who you are and what it is that you do.

[Speaker 1]

I'm Britt Miller. I'm an organic marketer and copywriter. I focus on working with bilingual business owners who want to create their content in English and in Spanish.

I know it can be a huge mental load. Like a lot of people pick one or the other. They're like, I'm either going to do this in English or I'm either going to do this in Spanish.

I really want to help them do both and not feel like it's a burden.

[Speaker 2]

I'm struggling with that right now. I'm like, should I do it? Should I add the Spanish subtitles because a lot of people are asking me for it.

I'm like, okay, it's a lot of work to do the whole website in both languages. So I'm so happy that you actually know the struggles. I do.

I do. Where are you from, by the way?

[Speaker 1]

I'm from Wisconsin in the United States. I live a couple hours north of Chicago. That's how most people internationally orient where I live.

[Speaker 2]

So you're super freezing right now?

[Speaker 1]

Yes. Although today it's not so bad. It's like eight centigrade, which is pretty warm for us.

[Speaker 2]

That's very warm for you guys.

[Speaker 1]

Almost summer.

[Speaker 2]

That's amazing. And how did you learn Spanish? Yeah.

[Speaker 1]

So my primary school, it was required. So I started learning when I was in kindergarten. And then the high school program was also really good.

And I continued. I got my undergraduate degree in Spanish and then eventually got my master's degree in translation, working Spanish to English and realized that I did not want to be a translator.

[Speaker 2]

Yeah, I know. I know what you mean. It's a totally different vibe.

[Speaker 1]

It is. And yeah, I just realized there's a lot of things that I pick up intuitively when I'm conversing in a second language that I really struggled to make sound good in English.

[Speaker 2]

Yeah, it's very strange how the brain just shifts the whole meaning of everything.

[Speaker 1]

Yes, yes. And I yeah, because I started so young and I just find that when I'm speaking Spanish, I'm like speaking Spanish. And I don't move back and forth between the two easily.

And I think you need to have that flexibility if you want to be successful as either a translator or an interpreter. You need to be able to jump. Yeah, it's not easy.

[Speaker 2]

I don't know how they do it. My brain just freezes. And I'm like, no, I'm in this language right now.

Just don't make me switch.

[Speaker 1]

Yes. There is nothing more terrifying to me than thinking of being an interpreter for the UN.

[Speaker 2]

That's another type of Olympics. That's crazy. Totally.

And how did you get to be a copywriter? How did you find out that this was actually a career that you could have and you could actually do it online?

[Speaker 1]

Yeah, sure. So I've always really liked creative writing. That's always been a passion of mine.

And when I finished college, I can't hear you.

[Speaker 2]

I think something disconnected. I can't hear you.

[Speaker 1]

Can you hear me now? Okay, now? Yeah, sorry about that.

It's okay. Yeah, I finished college. I realized that the only thing anybody wanted to hire me for was to be their bilingual receptionist.

And I was like, no. Oh, no, what I want to do. And so I went back to school, I got my degree in translation, and I got a business degree at the same time.

And I started focusing on marketing. And yeah, I became the lead marketer for a small company. And I just, I was doing all the things.

You know, when you work for a small firm, you're doing everything, you're managing the website, you're doing the blog, you're doing the social, and it was, it was too much. The company didn't have the money to hire me any more people. And I just decided, No, I want to go out on my own.

And the part that I most love is helping people do their messaging, figuring out who they're talking to, and really nailing their, their website homepage. And that kind of grew into I really like, I like seeing the long game with people and their brands. And so I started adding on more and more organic marketing work.

Because I wanted to help people hit their goals, you know, build up search authority, build up an email. And so I kind of combine those two things, I focus on web copy, and I focus on organic marketing. And my favorite clients are, you know, when we come together to do their website, and then I say on to, to build the rest of that.

[Speaker 2]

That's amazing. And for anyone that is listening to this, and maybe don't really know, copywriters basically rule the internet. Like there is no real conversion on a website, unless a great copywriter has worked on it.

I don't care about like, you can do it with chat GPT. And it's just going to be fine and readable. And you're going to have the information right there.

But the twist that you guys can give to the messaging and the information to me is amazing. And it's really important for us web designers to work hand in hand with copywriters to make sure that the design is informed by that copy. And that copy actually makes sense for the whole customer journey.

And to me, the process is just mind blowing how you guys can just make this. I don't know how you do it.

[Speaker 1]

I couldn't like, I just freeze when I have to write my own design work, though, you know, words, words are art to me, and they come very naturally. But if you ask me to design a website, it's gonna be like, I'm gonna be like, over on Envato Elements being like, what template can I use and stick in my brand colors? And this is what we got.

[Speaker 2]

Like, copy pasting things here and there. Yeah, I know. Well, I'm the same.

Like, well, it is what it is, right? I feel like it comes so natural to me that I almost feel guilty about charging for it. Because I'm like, this is so easy.

And this is so like, there's, there's no science to this. Why am I doing this as a job? They should be able to do it themselves.

And then I realized no way. Yeah, there's a lot on the back end that works in my head. I don't know how, but sometimes it just, it's out there.

[Speaker 1]

Yes, it's amazing. I feel like there's so much information on the internet about how to market successfully, how to build your website, that sometimes it does feel like, how does everybody not know how to do this and do it well? But they don't.

And they really appreciate somebody stepping in and being the designer or being the writer. You know, it's amazing to me, how stressful it is to write a blog for most people. And I just sit down and there it is.

[Speaker 2]

Me included. Yeah, for sure. It's not an easy task.

It sounds super easy. Yeah. And it's, it's, oh my god, there's so many things inside of it.

Like, it's like when I have a lot of clients that usually had their websites made by themselves, they just DIY it. And then they come to me after one year or two, and they're like, okay, now I need professional help. But I, like, I want to work with someone that really knows, because I have no idea when I did it, how difficult it was going to be.

Like, I thought it was just going to be just click, click, click, and it's going to be amazing. And then I realized it was the design, it was the brand guidelines, it was the copy. It's so difficult to actually tweak to the right messaging and everything.

I don't know how you guys do. Do you have a specific process that you follow with your clients?

[Speaker 1]

I do usually. There's a framework called StoryBrand that I'm a really big fan of. And like their whole, their whole tenet is that you want to write a story around how you help your client, you want to help them be centered.

You, you position yourself as the guide, and them as the hero, basically. And you're, you're guiding, your copy should guide your customer, you know, from their need, to how you solve it, to how to work together. And that framework is always a really good getting started point for me.

You know, we get to something really basic that doesn't necessarily sound good to start, but we have all the pieces. And then I kind of go to work making it be like, oh, this is in your brand voice. And you like a little humor, so we're going to add that in here.

All those fun things.

[Speaker 2]

Well, that actually makes a lot of sense to me. I usually do something similar with design. Just instead of having a white page, just start adding things, random things that may not work in the beginning.

But that sparks a little bit of ideas. And then you start to tweak here and there, to make sure that everything works. Yeah, that makes absolute sense.

Do you do the same for the messaging on social media? Like, do you use sort of the same framework in the same messaging?

[Speaker 1]

Or do you tweak it a little different? I like to expand on that framework, if I'm going to help somebody with social or blogging, because I think you need to, yeah, there's just more that you're going to cover in social media than you are going to on a homepage. I think simplicity really matters on a homepage, where social media is so great for getting to the more complex ideas and the really detailed work of like, oh, we keep hearing this specific question all of the time.

Social media is a great place to answer that. Whereas you're not going to take all that time on your homepage, right, to answer everybody's most frequently asked questions.

[Speaker 2]

Yeah, that makes absolute sense. Do you have any specific tips on people can tackle their own messaging on social media, for example?

[Speaker 1]

Yeah, start with knowing who your customer is. Get really, really clear, like, brain dump a half page onto a Google Doc. Like, and tell me stupid things, like, or things that seem stupid to you.

Like, I want to know where this person shops. I want to know what their fashion show is, like, you know, all these kind of things that seem maybe kind of silly, but like, yeah, I can just like, yeah, that in, and then ask yourself, like, what do they want to know? What do you know?

That seems obvious, but put yourself in their shoes then.

[Speaker 2]

Yeah. Yeah, because sometimes we think like, this is so obvious, they are going to know this, I don't want to sound repetitive. I don't want to be annoying and just saying something that is so stupid that they are not going to be interested in it.

But honestly, most of my the best posts that I have are things that I thought no one would be interested in it because I thought they were so obvious. And then I was like, No, but they don't know.

[Speaker 1]

Yeah. It makes sense. One of the things that I'm like, working on right now, and hoping to have ready in January is like an A to Z guide on how to write a blog.

[Speaker 2]

Oh, my God, I need that.

[Speaker 1]

Because to me, it does, it seems like, Oh, this is really obvious. But I have been brought in on so many clients who thought that their blog should be 300 words of their personal thoughts. And then that's it.

That's all they've got. And then they're performing on Google. And I'm like, of course, it's not.

[Speaker 2]

Yeah, makes sense.

[Speaker 1]

Social media caption and you call it a blog.

[Speaker 2]

Oh, my God, that guide is gonna be so helpful.

[Speaker 1]

I hope so.

[Speaker 2]

I mean, I'm gonna let you know when I think he will, like, we need that in the market right now. I don't think you should wait until January just get to work on it. At this moment.

Yeah. Oh, my God, that's amazing. That's absolutely great.

So I, as you know, this business shots are to sort of figure out what it is that other online business owners are doing to be successful. And I just wanted to ask you, first of all, do you think you're successful?

[Speaker 1]

Wow, that's a really hard question to answer. I think I'm getting I know. I think I am.

Okay, that's good. I like that making every week. I'm getting my business to where I want it to be.

[Speaker 2]

Um, it isn't like, because the follow up question to that is, what is success to you? Because I feel like for I've talked to a few people about it. And when I asked them, do you consider yourself successful?

And they say, sort of the same answer that you just gave? Well, I'm getting there. And then I went back to be like, Okay, but what is success?

And they all have so many different definitions of it. And so it's so different. I see you as successful.

But what it is, what is it for yourself?

[Speaker 1]

I think for me, it's a full client load, where I'm not like constantly chasing down new work. And it's a lot of like stellar recommendations from clients being like, Oh, I have this friend who needs your service. I want to introduce you.

[Speaker 2]

That definitely feels so good.

[Speaker 1]

Yeah, I want that to be. And it certainly has happened. You know, I know what that feels like.

I bought that.

[Speaker 2]

Yeah.

[Speaker 1]

I think that would be my, my definition of success.

[Speaker 2]

That's amazing. What do you think have been the biggest struggles that you've had to be able to get to where you are right now with your online business?

[Speaker 1]

There's just so much to learn about being your own.

[Speaker 2]

Yes, I know.

[Speaker 1]

I, I started my, I started freelancing just using Upwork. And realized pretty quickly, like this is not where I want to build my business. I have gotten some great clients out there.

I don't want to knock that like I have met some really great people. I also met some really not great people. And it just gets, it happens.

It's increasingly more expensive to do business on their platform. And so learning the ropes of how to how to build my business away from Upwork has been challenging. It's been, I really had to learn to put myself out there a lot more than I like to.

Okay, that's interesting. You know, I love taking other people's work and making it shine. And to show up to something like this, to show up to networking events, and to say, hey, I have something to offer has been something I've really learned.

[Speaker 2]

And it's not easy. I've been doing a lot of networking this year, just, I don't know, just to meet people. Also, I moved.

So it's a new city, I need to get to know people here. And it's so difficult. I'm always like, I shouldn't go.

But then I end up going and I meet amazing people. And then sometimes it becomes like a referral or business. And sometimes it doesn't, and they just become friends.

[Speaker 1]

Yeah.

[Speaker 2]

But it is, it is a big thing about being alone, and being online, you have to connect with people either online or in person, or both, ideally, to be able to, I don't know, to get ideas, or I don't know, to put yourself out there.

[Speaker 1]

You can get kind of stagnant, if you're just in your own little world. And all your fears become more real when you're not around other people.

[Speaker 2]

Yeah, tell me about it.

[Speaker 1]

Around other people who run their own business and are in the same, you just realize that so many of the struggles are the same. And I think it's always comforting to realize that people who show up on social media, or online in a way that you really admire, and you're like, they're successful, express the same things. You know, I'm so intimidated to do it.

I still worry that it's good enough. You know, and you're over here being like, wow, but you're so good.

[Speaker 2]

But you are. But I know the feeling, totally. I've had people tell me the same thing.

And I'm like, no, I don't know what I'm doing with social media. I don't know what I'm doing with this. I'm always struggling to feel if I'm doing the right thing or not.

But I feel like, yeah, feeling that support. We should create like a support group for business owners online. It's okay.

[Speaker 1]

I'm waiting for it to go live. But somebody that I met through a networking event was requesting guest blogs. And so I did one.

And it ended up being really long. I ended up giving it to her in two parts. But it's all about managing your mental health when you're a freelancer or solopreneur, or a small business owner with no employees, where it's like just you all the time.

And yeah, I feel really passionate about that. Because it can be hard.

[Speaker 2]

It is. It is super hard. You can get wrapped up in your own thoughts of what it is that you are doing.

Like, why are you doing this? Are you you're messing up? You're just embarrassing yourself?

Like the little voice? No, you need to connect with other people that are in the same situation. So they tell you if this is normal, or if it's not.

And honestly, we've all been there. And we are all going through it every single day. Yeah, it's absolutely normal.

I love that you are so passionate about this. And I cannot wait for this guy to come up in January. I understand also that you have like a discovery call that you offer to people.

I do. Yes.

[Speaker 1]

My website is currently being redone by a beautiful friend. But the homepage, there's a temporary homepage, you can find a link to book a free discovery call. And while I usually use them to determine if we're like a good fit for business, I am also totally open to using them if you're somebody who's getting started.

And you're just like, I need 15 minutes to ask you a couple questions. But I'm gonna be like, yeah, let's talk about them. What are your concerns?

[Speaker 2]

That's amazing. I love that. Oh my god, I will definitely add that to the to the video description.

So anyone can can hopefully sign up for that discovery call because it's really helpful to have a second set of eyes on your on the content that you're thinking of pushing out or the blog posts that you think that is very important for your business. It doesn't hurt to have a professional look at it and be like, maybe let's tweak this, let's tweak there and just just switch it up a little bit and it will be perfect. For sure.

This has been so much fun, Britt. Thank you so much for joining me. I am so, so serious about starting a support group for business owners online.

I know you think I'm kidding, but we should definitely do it. Maybe on a Facebook group or something or let's do like a Zoom meeting once a month. And let's just all cry at the same time.

And give us a little bit of support because it's not easy.

[Speaker 1]

It's not.

[Speaker 2]

It's not easy. For sure. Let's do it.

Definitely. Let's talk about it. Let's do it.

Maybe by sometime next year, we should be able to set it up. Yeah.

[Speaker 1]

Yeah.

[Speaker 2]

Awesome. Thank you so much, Britt. Have a great rest of your day.

I hope it's warmer these days that come. Yay. That's amazing.

I'm so happy for you. We'll talk to you soon. Have a great day.

[Speaker 1]

Bye.