Copy Kit

Ever since the podcast started, Nicole and Sarah have raised the question of AI in copywriting, probably in most episodes. But in today’s episode, instead of mentioning AI and then pausing the recording for a lie down, they’re going there. Yes. In this episode of Copy Kit, copywriters Sarah and Nicole stare down the barrel of AI and share their thoughts, fears and anxieties about what it means for...

What’s the overlap between writing fiction and writing copy? There isn’t much, as some would say, but they do both involve you sitting down at your damn desk, staring at a screen (or page) and cranking the words out. And if you’ve ever suffered from writer’s block, you’ll know how difficult that can be to overcome. Over to you, Stephen King. In this episode of Copy Kit, hosts Nicole and Sarah regr...

“Take writing whatever way you want, but don’t take it lightly”. That’s more or less what Stephen King, one of the most prolific and successful authors of the twentieth century, says about how you should write. And clearly, it’s worked for him. In this episode of the Copy Kit Podcast, two copywriters examine Stephen King’s memoir On Writing . They explore Stephen King’s writing toolbox, unpack his...

Imagine being able to create the perfect headline, tagline or naming copy, every single time. That’s the promise of Pop! by Sam Horn: a systematic process to generate endless ideas that will make your copy POP! But does that big promise really deliver? Two copywriters take the Pop! techniques and apply them to their own businesses and to their copywriting podcast. Tune in to find out if their copy...

You came up with a genius business idea. It’s a sure-fire winner. Now you just need to get those investors on board so you can get the cash you need and get your idea off the ground. And you’ll get those investors by… showing them some graphs? Describing your 6- and 12-month business plans? No. This will not work. What you need to do is to craft a pitch that will POP! Pop! is a guide to getting yo...

Ask any big copywriter to name a book that inspired them, and it’s pretty much guaranteed that their top 10 list will include Robert B. Cialdini’s Influence . It’s the daddy of marketing. But are you ready to read it? And if you do, will you ever be the same afterwards? In this follow-up episode, copywriters Nicole and Sarah and special guest case study specialist Rob Beadle share how they got on...

THEY’RE BACCCCCCKK!! Season 3 of the podcast starts off with a bang as Nicole and Sarah share updates on their lives and copywriting businesses. The biggest update is one you’ll have already noticed as the podcast is changing names! Tune in to hear the logic behind the new name and to see if there’s an opportunity for the feline in your life to take centre stage on the pod. The first full episode...

How many decisions do you make in a day? From the moment we wake up (and decide whether or not to hit the snooze button), our brains are overwhelmed with decisions, big and small. So it’s no wonder that sometimes, we take our minds offline and let someone else do the deciding for us through the form of influence. And that’s the book that Sarah and Nicole are reading today. The Copy Kit Podcast is...

Welcome to the last episode in season two of the Tried It podcast, also known as the crunchiest episode of the season! Today, Sarah and Nicole step back and reflect on everything that’s happened since they started recording the season, approximately 10,000 years ago.  You’ll hear how season two’s books have impacted Nicole and Sarah’s businesses and how Sarah’s adapted her Homework For Life p...

Every copywriter dreams of a business that markets itself. Where you, as the writer, spend your days elbow-deep in VOC research, wireframes or email sequences, with your ideal clients forming an orderly queue to be the next to benefit from your words and insights. But if you want to get to that point, you need to build your referral system first.  In this special implementation episode of the...

Picture this: a freelance copywriting business with an endless stream of good-fit clients queueing up to work with you. No obligation to be active on social media or to attend networking events. Just you and your profitable copywriting projects.  That’s the dream that John Jantsch sells in his book, The Referral Engine. Whilst most business owners welcome client referrals as an unexpected bon...

Copywriters, if the rise of AI makes you want to improve your writing (or puke into your shoes), the Tried It team has the answer: be Storyworthy.  In this week’s episode, Sarah and Nicole swap stories on their implementation points from Matthew Dicks’ book Storyworthy. The copywriters share their experience of how everything changed once they started Homework for Life, including their new ou...

Humans are storytellers and life is a story-generating machine. But some of us tell better stories than others, that some is Matthew Dicks, to be very specific. He’s the best at storytelling and he has the medals, trophies and book reviews to prove it. Listen as the Tried It Podcast hosts analyse Matthew Dick’s storytelling techniques from a copywriting lens.  On this episode of Tried It Podc...

Are you ready to live a life that’s more meaningful, more kind and connects you more deeply with the people you love? No, this podcast isn’t your first step to joining a cult, it’s the Implementation episode of the Tried It Podcast’s analysis of Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman.  If you tuned into last week’s episode, Sarah and Nicole have a time-bending surprise for you: that was actua...

One day, you will die.  But the statistics say that before that, you’ll spend about four thousand weeks on earth. This is the average human lifespan, and we fill it with emails, meetings, paperwork, queuing in airports, fighting with strangers over the Internet and sometimes, with doing things that are deeply meaningful to us and those we love. Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals...

What makes copy good? What does ‘good copy’ even mean? If these are the questions keeping your freelance copywriter brain up at night, the Tried It Podcast has a book for you: Copy Logic.  In this second part of their analysis of Copy Logic, hosts Sarah and Nicole and special guest Rob Marsh catch up to find out how it went when they applied the techniques of Copy Logic to their own work. Exp...

Welcome back to the Tried It Podcast! You were kind and patient enough to wait around whilst the Tried It team took a break and then started prepping hard for this second season of the pod. Thank you! Here are the results of their work. Season two of the Tried It Podcast: Your Proven Pathway to a Better Copywriting Business starts with a bang as it’s the *first ever* episode featuring a guest. And...

The Tried It Podcast is back, baby! Season two of the podcast is about to launch, bringing you more analysis of books about copywriting, along with Sarah and Nicole’s lessons from implementing new copywriting techniques in their own work. Listen out for a special announcement, plus ways that you can support the podcast. Keep your ears open for the first official episode of season two, hitting your...

Hey Tried It listeners! We’ve come to the end of the first season of the Tried It podcast but that doesn’t mean that the fun stops here.  Catch our end-of-season wrap up party episode below and you if can’t wait to hear more from Sarah and Nicole, hop on over to the Tried It Podcast Membership for weekly emails and so much more.   Thanks for listening and see you next year! Timestam...

One number gets bandied around copywriting circles more than another other: six. Specifically, six figures. A six-figure income. A freelance copywriter with a six-figure income. But in the age of AI and with post-COVID market volatility, is that still even possible? Or realistic? Joanna Wiebe thinks so, and she wrote a book about it.  In this episode of the Tried It Podcast, hosts Sarah and N...

If you’ve been writing copy for more than a hot minute, you’ll know the pressure of setting and meeting your income goals. Particularly if you’re trying to reach a big income goal like a six-figure one. On this episode of the Tried It podcast, copywriters Sarah and Nicole break down the pathways to running a six-figure copywriting business.  Sarah and Nicole discuss Joanna Wiebe’s 2023 book ‘...

Introducing the new character on Nicole and Sarah’s Tried It podcast: Dylan’s mum. She has big main character energy.  In this episode of the Tried It podcast, Sarah and Nicole pick up from where they left off in the last episode to discuss what they learnt when they implemented the Smart Brevity writing formula. Find out what it’s like to write in Smart Brevity and where Smart Brevity works…...

Two copywriters weigh in on Smart Brevity. What it is: A podcast episode about Smart Brevity, hosted by two professional copywriters Why it matters: Because it’ll help you decide whether or not Smart Brevity is for you.  Sarah and Nicole continue their Tried It adventure by analysing Smart Brevity, a book with a formula promising to streamline your communication for maximum efficiency and eff...

Sarah and Nicole gave some pretty honest feedback about Donald Miller’s Building a StoryBrand book in their previous episode, but that won’t stop them from implementing what they learnt from it. In this episode of the Tried It Podcast, they share their results and announce the next book they’ll analyse for the podcast.  Sarah begins by sharing her revelation that freelance copywriters aren’t...

Having established some of the foundational techniques of good writing with the help of Ann Handley’s Everybody Writes, today Sarah and Nicole look at what it takes to develop a coherent brand story for a business.  In this episode, the two copywriters dissect Donald Miller’s marketing Bible, Building a StoryBrand (or BrandStory, if you’re like Sarah and Nicole and can never remember exactly...