The Content Byte

Life's too short to work for clients who pay you peanuts, make you miserable, refuse to respect your boundaries - or give you work that's just not a good fit for you. If you're getting that 'pit of dread' in your stomach when you see the client's email pop up in your inbox (or their name come in on your phone), it's time to assess whether you should take them off your roster - and open the door to...

Successful freelance writer Campbell Mattinson talks about how he secured the perfect gig - wine writing. In his chat with host Lynne Testoni, he also shared: How he copes with the delivery of 30 bottles of wine a day The changes in wine writing over the years How he finally published the novel that had been in his bottom drawer for 30 years How photography has made him a better writer Get in touc...

This week, Rachel & Lynne chat with successful freelancer Emma McMillan about creating quality website content that brings results. We chat about: What is different about writing for websites Whether it's a good niche to be in What key elements that people forget to include in their websites How to price website content Emma's website is https://www.emmamcmillancopy.com/ Emma's podcast is Not Just...

Does everyone have a book in them? It's just one of the questions we put to editor and publisher Rebecca Kaiser from Allen and Unwin, who joins us on the podcast to talk about ... so much! Including: + How book publishing has changed in 30 years + Her biggest publishing successes, what 'success' in book publishing actually means + The books that have gone gangbusters and what it's like when you th...

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

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

If you're a writer thinking about edging into UX, you'll find this episode with UX copywriter Susan Reoch both fascinating AND super helpful. We chat to Susan about: + What UX actually means and how this emerging area is a great one to consider if you're a writer looking to upskill   + Where microcopy fits in to the UX bigger picture + How Susan got started in UX and the resources and groups that...

How do you go from freelancing to running your own content agency? Great question - and in this episode it's one we put to Crucible Content's Jac Taylor, who talks us through why she decided to scale her business, how she did it, the challenges she faced and the digital tools she swears by.

This week's guest is Laura Simpson, the digital director of mass food at News Corp AU, working across taste.com.au and Australia's Best Recipes, where she oversees digital content commissioning, social media and content strategy. She chats with Rachel and Lynne about creating content using data and analytics and what it takes to stay number one in a category. Great insights about insights!

Many writers are scared of sales - and the hustle. In this week's episode, the first of 2022, high-level salesman Richard Gray takes hosts Rachel and Lynne through the sales process, shares his tips about selling, plus talks about cold calls and how to close a sale without sounding desperate or sleezy.  If you want to connect with Richard reach out via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-...

You asked, we delivered... this week Rachel and Lynne have a LinkedIn Ninja on the podcast. Expert Jillian Bullock talks about LinkedIn's new newsletter feature, whether a premium subscription is worth it as well as great lead generation strategies using the platform. Find Jillian Bullock at https://linkedinninja.com.au/ Read her blog about LinkedIn tips and strategies at Rachels List: https://www...

Let's face it, we are all human - and we are likely to make a mistake (or two) over the course of our freelance career. But how do you recover from a big stuff-up? Long-time freelancer John Burfitt joins us this week to chat about how to come back from a mistake and regain trust with editors and clients. 

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

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

Overwhelmed with the amount of time you spend on screens? Jocelyn Brewer talks to Rachel and Lynne about digital nutrition and how freelancers can find a way to live with technology without it taking over our lives. Jocelyn is a cyberpsychologist and a digital wellbeing expert, who talks to us about conquering our love-hate relationship with technology.  For freelancers and writers, she gives insi...

Digging deep into freelance communities in London after she'd lost a lot of her work during the pandemic inspired freelance marketing strategist and copywriter Sophie Cross to do something no one's ever really done: start a magazine by freelancers, for freelancers. In this chat with Sophie, she shares how the idea came to her, how it's taken over her life (and her work!) and much more. Listen to f...

Freelancers who start to do a lot of client work will soon realise they'll be taking lots of briefs - and while you can do it in person, on Zoom or over the phone, you can also send a client brief template to your clients as well. In this episode, we chat about: The various ways to take a brief and what works for us What you need to consider when taking a brief Your briefing template, or the clien...

This week on The Content Byte, we're talking to Sarah Townsend, a UK-based copywriter and the bestselling author of Survival Skills for Freelancers, a book that's fast becoming THE bible for anyone starting out working for themselves. (There's lots to learn too even if you're a veteran freelancer, just quietly). We chat to Sarah about: What inspired the book, and how she essentially wrote it for h...

Do you live in terror of asking for more money? Many freelancers do, and end up undercharging as a result, or charging the same rates for years on end. In this episode we cover why we need to get to grips with raising our rates (regularly) and the best way to do it. We also talk about: Why we're so nervous about raising our rates Why most clients prefer to pay you more than replace you The best ti...

This week, Rachel and Lynne chat with Rachel's List gold member, colleague and long-time freelancer Monique Butterworth, who shares behind-the-scenes tales of celebrity interviews, the huge budgets of magazines in days gone by and why being professional and meeting deadlines still matters.  We chat about: Monique's start in journalism and moving from a country town to Sydney Why developing relatio...

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

If you endear yourself to a content agency that pays well, and offers you regular, interesting work, you're onto a good wicket as a freelancer. But how can you get your foot in the door in the first place? It can be a challenge for some writers, but in this episode, we ask Clare Brundle, managing director at Hardie Grant's Heads and Tales Content Agency, for her tips. She shares: + How agencies lo...

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

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

Do you struggle to get paid as a freelancer? Need some strategies to ensure clients don't ignore your invoices? You're in luck: in this episode, we're talking to Collectmore's Paul Metcalf, a nationally renowned debt collection expert. In this episode, Paul shares: Some of his most memorable debt collection stories Red flags about clients who may be problem payers How to set boundaries with client...