The Soap Box Podcast

With rumours circulating, often planted by right-wing media, suggesting that everyone's taxes are going up and that Labour had lied in their campaigning, there's a notion that we’re heading back to the 1970s in some vague way. In light of this, I thought it best to hop on my soapbox and share my thoughts on the matter: taxes are awesome. Yes, I said it. As we approach the budget announce...

What does your bookshelf look like? Is it a towering stack of paperbacks you bought with the best intentions, or are you more of a digital reader with a Kindle full of interesting titles? One side of my house is pretty much completely covered in books, and while I’ve read a lot of them, a good chunk are there just waiting to be cracked open. And amongst those books are a lot on allyship and anti-r...

Sometimes, it's the most unlikely personal circumstances that push us into the careers we end up in. I never thought I would go into business and marketing, but a pandemic and a blog about being widowed set me on this path—right here in your earbuds, discussing how you can champion the causes you care about in your messaging. In today’s episode, our guest’s journey toward their current career...

How comfortable are you telling your story? I talk with a lot of creatives, copywriters, messaging strategists, and coaches—people who are really comfortable sharing stories about others as part of their work. They're comfortable at helping others tell their own stories, and are really happy to be advocates for them too. In my circles, there are a lot of individuals for whom advocacy and bein...

In today’s episode, I got the chance to geek out with a fellow youth professional, Lisa Kissane. Lisa is a website and sales page copywriter for service-based businesses that are dedicated to doing good for others. With her background as a social worker, we bonded over the importance of having a sense of purpose in our work. Lisa shared her experiences of feeling unrepresented as a woman without c...

How do you feel about money? In this episode, we dive deep into the emotional aspects of money and financial literacy with Jess Walker, a financial advisor and the founder of Bare Naked Money. Jess has been featured in The Times as one of the top 100 advisers to watch out for and is the author of Get Financially Fearless , a book that gives people the practical steps to harness their subconscious...

Lorena Banda is a Latina leader in sex positivity, a speaker and an advocate.  In this episode we talk about her experience as a daughter of immigrants, all the way to working on Senate and Congressional races and launching the P. Files -  her newsletter looking at the intersection between sexuality and politics.   Lorena and I also talk about the importance of being authentic in politics. And how...

As I record this, a series of violent riots are spreading across the UK.  Last week, a 17 year old boy attacked children and adults at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, killing 3 young girls, and injuring many others.  Misinformation quickly spread on social media, claiming the attacker was Muslim, and had arrived in the UK on a small boat. (The police later confirmed that he was a U...

What's the difference between being a little bit frazzled and needing just five minutes without anybody asking you questions to get back to equilibrium, and being in burnout?    My guest today is Carole Jean Whittington. She's a wellness trailblazer, and she specializes in burnout research and restoration for neurodivergent and disabled adults.  Her three-year global research led to the...

Does being enthusiastic feel a little bit cringe?  I don't know about you, but I grew up in a culture where being enthusiastic or passionate about anything was considered to be a little bit weird. It was not cool to be keen. It was cool to be jaded, To not get excited about anything,   Which is one of the reasons why talking to my guest today was so refreshing. Ellie Kime is a messaging mento...

Is coaching just another navel-gazing pastime for middle-class women? Or is it an important tool for helping us build community and make societal change? That's the question on hand in this week's Soap Box episode.  This week I'm talking to Keri Jarvis.  Keri is an intersectional feminist developmental coach, a community activist, and a charity co founder.  Her best work happens whe...

 I'm calling an amnesty today.   An amnesty on using the word authentic in your copy.   And I realize, having sat down and talked to today's guest, that I'm pretty much going to have to go back and rewrite large chunks of my own copying content.  But I hope that after today's chat, you'll understand why.  Today's guest and I think that the word authentic or authentici...

  Power.  Who’s got it?  Who’s trying to get it?  And who’s trying to keep it from you?  It's the age old question. And that's what I'm talking about on the podcast today with my guest Evante Daniels.   Evante is a content strategist and the author of “Power, Beats and Rhymes”. A book that we discussed in our chat.  He's got over 16 years of experience in content production, an...

In all my soapbox content, I really tried to get the message across that politics isn't all votes, caucuses, ideologies, and arguments. It's not all climate change, economics, and big business. Politics is in the everyday structures, systems, and barriers that we face.  It's what gets funded. It's childcare. It's how we access healthcare. It's mental health support an...

This week on the soap box, I get to talk to. Kira Hug. A personality-driven copywriter and co-founder of The Copywriter Club: the home of everything you need to be a successful, growing, supported, and curious copywriter. And also someone who I'm proud to call a friend.   Kira is a thoughtful, curious, empathetic, and fascinating human being, and we covered so much in our conversation.   We t...

"We need people who are able to navigate their own emotions.  To be compassionate to the emotion of others. So that they can get up day in and day out and keep fighting the good fight. Because it's hard, and  they need to know that they can fight and help their cause without having to sacrifice their mental and emotional well-being." If you're a business owner with a social con...

So, you've sat through CopySchool. Binged Breakthrough Advertising (after taking out a mortgage to afford a copy). Watched a few too many webinars for someone who has an actual job. Listened to all the social media gurus.  And you have a whole quiver of sales tactics at the ready. Urgency, scarcity, all the Cialdini tricks, agitation of pain points. But, when you come to write for your client...

As I record this, the UK Advertising Standards Agency is cracking down on how businesses use terms like biodegradable recyclable, and compostable.  So they don't mislead consumers. We're also in the middle of Cop 28, where a bunch of countries have got together to try and solve the climate crisis. But where more oil industry executives ever are roaming the halls and lobbying. The environ...

Should we be terrified or hopeful about the future? My guest today believes we face huge challenges with climate, technology, and inequality, but he also sees routes to tackle them.  I can’t wait to introduce you to Brandon Burton. Brandon’s a Brand voice Strategist who helps businesses scale their communication in a way that means they still sound like themselves.  He’s also a futurist - with a l...

What's your focus when you are crafting the messaging for your brand.  Is it clarity?  Conversion.  Consistency.  Comedy? Today, I'm talking to Ellen Bryant, a copywriter and messaging strategist based in Tasmania, Australia.  Ellen's background, working in communications for large companies taught her about  the most important thing when you're doing anything successfully in c...

I didn't get into this to piss people off. I didn't get into this to build barriers or to make divisions. In fact, the very opposite. I got into this world of politics, marketing -  I developed my membership and I developed this podcast to help people have better conversations, even if they disagreed with each other. I got into this to build connections, to break down barriers. And also...

Want to eavesdrop on a room full of genius marketers (and me!) as they thrash out their thoughts on politics and messaging? Sure you do! While I was at The Copywriter Club's mastermind retreat in London this week, I invited (strongarmed) a whole bunch of the attendees to join me in a round table for The Soap Box podcast.  You'll get to hear from: ​Jon Bejakovik​ ​Rebecca Rosenberg​ ​Mike...

I’m recording this in the week that Hamas terrorists launched a horrendous attack on Israeli civilians. And then the Israeli government retaliated against civilians in Gaza.  But, as the horrendous situation unfolds on the ground, a familiar story is playing out online. Statements, condemnations, calls to support, arguments, confusion, hate, prejudice.  I am not a geo-political expert. I have a ru...

Today on the podcast. We're talking to Carolyn McMurry.  Carolyn runs the world's first Gen Z copywriting community. Her aim with Word Tonic is to help and inspire other young people who want to break into the industry and to champion and nurture fresh emerging talent.  Carolyn and I tap into the world of politics and values and Gen Z marketing. We discussed how ageism affects Gen Z copy...

Today, I'm talking to the original conversion copywriter. Joanna Wiebe.  Jo is the founder of Copyhackers, providing cutting-edge copywriting training in easy-to-digest formats. And Jo joins me to talk about how to, and how not to, mesh politics with business.  I chat with Jo about:  - How she grew up in a politically vocal household   - How you should only start talking after reading and lis...