Hi! If you're a teacher who's dreaming of a career outside the classroom... but you think your options are limited to EdTech or Project Management, think again.
I'm Tania Yeo, your host. I'm a former teacher and current copywriter myself... and I'm on a mission to record the journeys of as many teachers-turned-copywriters as possible.
Why?
There's a thriving community of former teachers who've stumbled into the lucrative world of copywriting -- a.k.a. the art and science of writing ads, emails, and sales pages to sell products and services.
I never thought this life/career was possible, and I hope these stories help you to dream bigger.
Get more details here at tania-yeo.com.
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Hi! If you're a teacher who's dreaming of a career outside the classroom... but you think your options are limited to EdTech or Project Management, think again.
I'm Tania Yeo, your host. I'm a former teacher and current copywriter myself... and I'm on a mission to record the journeys of as many teachers-turned-copywriters as possible.
Why?
There's a thriving community of former teachers who've stumbled into the lucrative world of copywriting -- a.k.a. the art and science of writing ads, emails, and sales pages to sell products and services.
I never thought this life/career was possible, and I hope these stories help you to dream bigger.
Get more details here at tania-yeo.com.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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In this episode, you will discover:
You can connect with Zahidah on LinkedIn.
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[00:00] Introducing one of my biggest mentors, Joshua Lee Henry, and how he’s been instrumental to my copywriting journey…
[02:37] Joshua shares how he always wanted to be a teacher, including how he became a mega-church pastor and his original plans to become a professor…
[12:28] The powerful story of Joshua promoting his services as a copywriter, door-to-door, after falling on hard times (this is one of the stories that kept me going when I thought I was gonna give up on copywriting)...
[17:47] His first few copywriting jobs, how he got started prospecting clients, PLUS what gave him the conviction to choose freelance copywriting over another full-time job…
[22:35] Joshua’s SECRET to accelerating his copywriting career faster than anything – and replacing his income from his full-time job…
[25:16] Why you can’t get good – or far – in copywriting just by reading books or watching YouTube videos…
[31:02] The surprising skill overlaps between being a pastor, teaching, and copywriting… and why a planning sermon is like writing a 45-minute VSL…
[39:02] “The biggest HOAX of my life”: Joshua’s honest (and controversial?) opinion on going to college, and the more VALUABLE skill he thinks we should be mastering instead…
[43:52] A day in Joshua’s life: his experience as a financial copywriter and copy chief at Banyan Hill, other projects he's working on, and the difference between being a copy chief and a copywriter…
[51:04] Joshua’s words of encouragement for those sitting on the fence and considering a career in copywriting.
You can connect with Joshua here:
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In this episode, you will discover:
[00:48] Kristy Chadwick’s journey from working in a bank… a law office… a theme park… to stumbling into teaching - PLUS why she thanked her boss for making the surprising decision to fire her from her teaching job last Thanksgiving…
[08:57] How she discovered copywriting after teaching, and why her entire life began to change after joining the Copy Chief community and Kevin Rogers’ Escape Velocity program…
[13:01] “These people believed in me, so how dare I doubt myself?”
[13:27] How the Copy Chief community helped both of us create better personal and professional boundaries as former teachers who struggled with setting boundaries…
[16:42] The top 5 teaching skills that Kristy says will translate seamlessly into copywriting (PLUS: she shares a great document that shows you how your teacher skills translate to real-world skills!)…
[23:55] The #1 thing Kristy wants you to know - and a powerful message for teachers who currently get the “Sunday Scaries”, take work home every night and weekend, and can’t see themselves still doing this in 10 years…
[26:39] "It's never too late to become what you might have been" - Kristy reveals the No. 1 secret ingredient we both used to make the leap to a completely different career…
[28:40] Kristy’s advice for former teachers who’re considering copywriting - and her GREAT strategy for building your copywriting skills regardless of your budget…
[33:19] How to approach imposter syndrome (hint: it’s not about making it go away completely!)
Kristy Chadwick was a teacher for over a dozen years and is now building her new dream in writing, coaching, consulting, and community building. She is known as a “powerhouse” and a “conduit of community” in the Copy Chief universe. Kristy loves sharing stories, building people up, true crime documentaries, live theater, foreign films, satire, dark comedy, and her 7-year-old daughter’s pretend YouTube videos. Any of the above are even better by the ocean.
You can find her online here on LinkedIn, Medium, and her website.
Recommended Resource: Teacher Skills Translated
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In this episode, you’ll discover:
1:03: Melanie’s background as a former 9th-grade algebra teacher with a huge caseload of IEP students… and all the cool strategies she used to get their attention
4:51: “My whole life has been about children… but [now] they're a little bigger, and I can get out of the house. What am I going to do?”
7:46: How teaching forces you to fight imposter syndrome - and why you should do the same with copywriting
9:12: “When you're on a steep learning curve like that, everything feels like the biggest deal ever. [But] it's mostly not. It's just that you're becoming a person who was always living on their edges.”
10:19: Why being a former teacher helped Melanie snag a place on Kevin Rogers’s Copy Chief team… as well as her first paying retainer client
12:32: How she became one of Kevin’s first copy coaches for his Real Free Life program… and how the attendees inspire her as a coach
14:46: Melanie’s #1 secret for going from a sudden layoff to an interview with Tony Robbin’s team… just a few days later!
17:21: How she survived the emotional hiring process by brilliantly using the top 2 strategies every great copywriter uses in their copy
19:40: The surprising number of skills Melanie transferred over from teaching to copywriting - including the ones we take for granted
21:30: How Melanie juggled five kids with copywriting and freelancing… and how she’s using the same skills she used as a super-Mom as a copy chief today
24:22: Her advice for anyone who’s on the fence about leaving teaching for copywriting… and why she can’t think of a teacher who wouldn’t excel at copywriting
You can connect with Melanie here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanielwarren/
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When my friends Ben Henken and Charlotte Ellis posted about their latest copywriting wins in the Copy Chief forum, I knew I had to get them back on Classroom to Copy to celebrate and share HOW they did it. It took a long time to schedule this across 3 different timezones -- so this episode is an accomplishment in itself. Here's what we discussed when we finally recorded the episode in Nashville, with Charlotte calling in from New Zealand:
01:26: Learn about Charlotte's past life as a preschool teacher in New Zealand, her freelancing journey, and the amazing copywriting role she just landed in Auckland...
02:07: Discover how Ben went from 12 years as a high school math teacher and assistant principal to becoming a freelance copywriter and email marketer -- PLUS the life of freedom he's pursuing with his family...
05:32: Follow Charlotte's journey from freelancing to landing her agency job (which she applied to on a whim!), including how she aced the application process, crushed group interviews, and overcame imposter syndrome along the way...
16:48: Discover how Ben landed his biggest retainer client yet and impressed them with THIS fantastic strategy for turning an Upwork assignment into a long-term project...
25:37: Do you get lonely as a freelancer? Or do you prefer having control over your schedule and who you work with? Hear our varied perspectives on the pros and cons of freelancing vs. full-time copywriting work...
29:23: Learn about Ben's month-long adventure traveling across Northeast U.S. in an RV with his wife, two kids, AND two dogs -- while ALSO freelancing and scheduling meetings around spotty WiFi!
37:25: Get Charlotte and Ben's BIGGEST tips for getting steady work as a copywriter -- whether you're freelancing or looking for full-time work -- and the #1 most overlooked way to find the best opportunities (hint: it's all about mindset).
You can connect with Ben and Charlotte here:
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here’s Part 2 of the priceless interview I did with Sean — the first teacher-turned-copywriter AND financial copywriter I ever met:
[00:23] Why Sean is of two minds about niching down as a copywriter… and why having a niche could make you struggle MORE in the beginning…
[02:40] What makes financial copy “a WEIRD freaking world” that’s different from any other type of copy… and what you need to be prepared for if you want to break into this industry…
[03:19] Why a few of us IGNORED Sean’s advice about niching down and went for it anyway
[03:39] Sean: “Approach it with a monomaniacal singularity of purpose. Just go after it. But most people are not like that… Most of those people don’t make it.”
[04:00] His secrets for succeeding at a generalist copywriting career… getting really good at copy… and becoming known for your quality of work, NOT your niche (be warned, there’s a lot of talk about candles here)…
[06:29] Sean: “If you’re not passionate about something, if there’s not a particular niche or topic that you’re just like, ‘Oh my God, I want to live, breathe, eat, shit, consume financial copy every single day of my life for the next 18 years…’ If you’re not that person, man, just let yourself become the candle guy.”
[08:00] His 3 steps to a BETTER, less stressful, faster-to-monetize copywriting path…
[08:06] Sean TURNS the tables on me and asks: “As you were learning copy, were you trying to go the broad route or were you trying to hyper-specialize at first?”
[11:16] What you could miss out on if you ONLY hyper-focus on the most financially profitable niche…
[13:55] Sean’s journey from having a strong distaste of the financial industry DESPITE growing up around stockbrokers and Bloomberg terminals… to finding REAL meaning in financial copywriting…
[16:23] How it’s possible to write ethical, evocative, emotionally compelling copy that STILL makes sales…
[19:14] Why being a copywriter is like being in the MAFIA… and how it can get surprisingly lonely…
[21:13] Sean: “You know, my job is to show up and teach people and get paid… Switching from that mindset to being like, ‘Oh my God, my pay is directly connected to how much work I do and the quality of the work that I do.’ Most people never experience that.”
[23:33] What he would say to himself if he could go BACK in time… and how he would approach his career and mindset differently…
[25:43] Sean: “I was able to pay off all my student loans with a single check. I was able to buy a house with a single check.”
[29:11] Sean: “Teachers are horrifically mistreated and underpaid. But, unfortunately, you know, we don’t get to live in the world we want. We have to live in the world that we’re in.”
[31:42] His advice for anyone transitioning from teaching to copywriting, why you DON’T have to quit your job, and how this could be a FAR more fulfilling career for you.
If you want to check out more of Sean’s work… He’s the chief editor and analyst at diywealth.com (which I used to write for back in the day), which also has a very entertaining YouTube channel. Also, check out his copy YouTube channel, Copy That! You’ll find lots of fantastic free tutorials to get you started in copywriting there.
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If you want to check out more of Sean’s work… He’s the chief editor and analyst at diywealth.com (which I used to write for back in the day), which also has a very entertaining YouTube channel. Also, check out his copy YouTube channel, Copy That! You’ll find lots of fantastic free tutorials to get you started in copywriting there.
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About Alex Perry: Alex is a copywriter with 6+ years of experience in direct response. She’s generated over $5 million in sales in the Fin Pub industry and have helped raise over $10 million for companies going through Regulation A+ offerings. She’s also written multiple top-performing lead gen and YouTube campaigns. She’s a marathoner, avid book reader, and writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories. She also has a dog. Alex says, “If you know me, you already know this because I have likely made you look at photos of that dog.” You can connect with her on LinkedIn here.
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Today, I’m interviewing a very special guest. To me, he represents the next step in the teacher-turned-copywriter journey, and so much more. He’s where I want to be in the next 3 to 5 years. He’s none other than THE Email Copywriter himself, Chris Orzechowski.
In this episode, you will discover:
- How Chris Orzechowski saved MY copywriting career multiple times (probably without knowing it himself) 😆…0:02
- Chris’s background as a Special Ed teacher and how he knew teaching wasn’t for him…2:15
- How he started making money online while teaching… and how getting laid off from his first teaching job “lit a fire under his ass” to make copywriting work for him…4:49
- Why “winning takes care of EVERYTHING”… how he used sick days and personal days to boost his copywriting career… and the 3 “flows” you need to have before you’re ready to “rip the bandaid off” and make the tough decision to leave……8:33
- How he MADE the time to keep his copywriting business growing as a teacher…14:30
- The top 3 things he invested most of his time, energy, and money on… to get GOOD and make money from copywriting…17:18
- Why you NEED to break out of your teacher circle to build a copywriting network… and his SECRET to growing his network fast and doubling his ROI…19:43
- How ONE opportunity changed everything for him and led to a 31-month project that made him almost $200K… and how to quickly get KNOWN for what you do… 26:01
- How to earn monthly copywriting income BEYOND full-time jobs and one-off gigs… 30:50
- His pep talk for teachers who think it’s impossible to command so much authority and income in copywriting – especially after coming from a field where it was pretty much the opposite… 36:25
- BONUS: THE NEXT STEP FOR TEACHERS-TURNED-COPYWRITERS… His advice for anyone who has broken into copywriting and wants to move beyond simply offering copywriting services… to building a multi-million-dollar empire like his…39:31
About Chris Orzechowski:
In 2013, Chris knew from his first day as a teacher that he didn’t want to work a job for the rest of his life, but didn’t know what else he could do. So he started studying copywriting. In 2015, he landed his first copywriting gig and realized he’s found the “thing” he wants to do for the rest of his life. In 2017, he finally quit to become his own boss and full-time email copywriter. It’s been TEN years since Chris started, and he’s worked with over 200 clients like Jeff Walker, Filippo Loreti, NeuroGym, The Hustle, Betterment, and Rich Dad Poor Dad, generated over $100 million in revenue, and helped over 4,000 students start their copywriting careers. In 2020 he earned his millionth dollar from copywriting. In 2022, he was featured in a Forbes article where he talked about making $974,000 from his copywriting business last year… while only working four to five hours a day… with less than ten years of experience as a paid copywriter. He also does consulting, coaching, and team training, and he works as a fractional Chief Marketing Officer (fCMO) for two brands.
To learn more about Chris, get a free copy of his book, “Make It Rain” at https://theemailcopywriter.com/… and follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/chrisorzy.
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What about you? What are the biggest things you hope to accomplish in the next 30 days to get closer to your copywriting goals? Leave a comment below and let me know.
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To learn more about Bitsy and her copywriting services, connect with her on LinkedIn or visit her Medium!
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To learn more about Charlotte and her copywriting services, you can connect with her on LinkedIn or visit her website.
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Meet Chris Pearson and Ben Henken.
They very kindly allowed me to interrogate them for a SUPER special episode of my podcast (which I finally named), Classroom to Copy.
Check out Episode 5, “More Done Than Perfect — The Value of Community and Mentorship in Copywriting”!
(So, although Chris didn’t transition from teaching, he’s got a really cool story that I believe anyone can learn from.)
We talked about:
– How Chris went from quitting his job without a plan, with only two months of savings… to clearing $20K in total gross revenue last month and working on a huge deal with an agency to build their email department…
– How Ben went from being a Math teacher and assistant principal… to becoming an email list manager for DTC eCommerce brands, information clients, and ed-tech clients within a year!
– Why you shouldn’t overlook (1) your use of time, (2) your budget, and (3) your short-term sacrifices to successfully make the transition into full-time copywriting
– How Chris and Ben took vastly different approaches to generating leads and clients for their freelancing businesses
– Chris’s surprising “trick” for making great sales calls, and Ben’s interesting perspective on Upwork as a “front-end offer” for his funnel
– The ONE thing all 3 of us have in common that accelerated our progress and transition (we all wish we’d discovered it sooner)
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In this episode, you will discover:
>> The exciting future of this podcast (hint: I want to help more teachers transition to copywriting and get paid well for it!)
>> How different teachers-turned-copywriters approach the process of “niching down”, with a special shoutout to Elizabeth Salisbury, Charlotte Ellis, and Ben Henken
>> My special guests on next week’s episode at Copy Chief Live, who’ll be sharing their unique experiences of breaking into copywriting
>> Charlotte Ellis‘s super cool and unusual approach to niching down that’s unlike any approach I’d ever seen before
>> My take on Elizabeth Salisbury‘s really great medium posts about transferrable skills teachers bring to copywriting [see below, they’re a must-read!]
>> The surprising advice I got about “niching down” early in my copywriting career
My biggest question I’ll be asking teachers and other #careerchange folks next week: Why copywriting?
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In this episode, you’ll find out:
>> How to find your niche in direct response copywriting after spending years in a completely different industry
>> The #1 thing you need to ASK other experienced copywriters if you want to find a lucrative niche
>> What to do when you find out you’re in the “wrong” niche and feel like you have to start over
What about you?
Have you found your niche in copywriting? If so, what is it and how did you discover it? If not, what steps are you taking to find it?
Have you tried writing for different industries or niches outside of your comfort zone? What did you learn from that experience?
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