Episodes

  • Building a Sustainable Freelance Career in a Gig Economy with Lizzie Mulherin
    Nov 10 2024

    This week Rachel and Lynne are chatting with Lizzie Mulherin, a freelance writer, brand strategist, and travel author. Lizzie shares her career journey and chats about:

    • Having a business mindset when it comes to freelancing
    • How to mix content work and journalism
    • How to boost your confidence as a freelancer
    • Whether you need to build a personal brand to make good money
    • Common mistakes she sees writers making
    • How to get the most out of AI
    • Whether it is possible to make a good living through Substack

    Connect with Lizzie via her website: https://www.lizzie-mulherin.com/

    or through Substack on https://createyourliving.substack.com/

    Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au

    Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com

    Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au

    Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

    Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

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    44 mins
  • How to be paid well with Sue White
    Nov 3 2024

    This week on the podcast, Rachel and Lynne are chatting with freelance writer, journalist, consultant and media trainer Sue White. As a highly successful freelancer, Sue is all about knowing your own worth and charging accordingly. She shares her career journey, why it's important to grow and adapt as time goes on and why you should never accept underpaid jobs.

    She talks about:

    • Where and how she finds her clients
    • Why journalists need to do copywriting and content to make a good living
    • How she secured a long-running column in prestigious newspapers
    • Whether securing retainers works for freelancers
    • How she set up a media training business with fellow journalist Ginger Gorman
    • The systems and processes that work for her

    Connect with Sue (and all the many freelance hats she wears) via her website: https://www.suewhite.com.au/

    Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au
    Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com
    Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au

    Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

    Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

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    58 mins
  • How to earn more as a freelancer without ruining your life with Sarah Greesonbach
    Oct 27 2024

    This week, Rachel and Lynne chat with B2B writer and coach Sarah Greesonbach. We reached out to her after seeing her great comments and funny posts on LinkedIn and we love her approach to freelance writing. We should point out that Lynne had some Internet issues near the end and had to drop out. Luckily Rachel and Sarah were able to complete the chat!

    During our chat we talk about:

    • Why she loves B2B content work
    • How she came back from burning out
    • Why you need to master three parts of the client-getting process
    • How writers can use LinkedIn better (without posting all the time)
    • How to charge more without freaking out
    • Some clever tech tips that help her be more productive

    Connect with Sarah at B2B Content Studio: https://b2bcontentstudio.com/

    or on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahgreesonbach/

    Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au
    Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com
    Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au

    Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

    Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

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    42 mins
  • How to use community to grow a freelance business with Jenn Donovan
    Oct 20 2024

    This week on the podcast Rachel and Lynne are talking about how to grow your businesses with Jenn Donovan. Jenn is passionate about small businesses (which is what a freelance career essentially is) and she talks about how you can use community to find clients and get support from your peers.

    In our discussion we cover:

    • Her interesting career story, from lawyer to retailer to marketer
    • Why she loves working in rural and regional communities
    • How the power of community keeps small businesses alive
    • How AI can save you hours of time, so you can focus on doing what you love
    • How podcasts can be a powerful marketing tool
    • The tech tools she uses every day

    Find Jenn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-donovan/

    Her Small Business Made Simple podcast is here: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/small-business-made-simple-podcast/id1448007188

    Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au

    Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com

    Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au

    Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

    Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

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    38 mins
  • Creating personality-driven email newsletters with Steven Lewis
    Oct 13 2024

    And we are back! After a short post-Summit haitus, Lynne and Rachel are back with a new season and a great guest. And it's all about personality-driven email newsletters. Emails are having their moment in the sun right now - they don't rely on algorithyms that could change quickly or at the whim of a social media mogul and, when done well, can create a powerful conversation between companies and their clients. This week, journalist and content creator Steven Lewis talks all about creating email newsletters for yourself or clients. He talks about:

    • Moving from editorial work to copywriting
    • Bringing your own voice to your emails
    • How to add personality to emails and why it matters
    • How to get those first 10 words on the page
    • Effective business processes, including onboarding and contracts
    • Why he loves creating courses for writers and copywriters
    • How to use AI to save time and be more efficient

    Connect with Steven at taleist.agency and find the special download for our listeners on how to grow your mailing list at taleist.agency/byte

    Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au
    Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com
    Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au

    Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

    Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

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    1 hr and 1 min
  • It's Summit Time! Our pick of the must-see sessions
    Sep 8 2024

    It's just a few days before the biggest event of the year (in our calendars anyway!). It's time for The Content Byte Summit. Hosts Rachel & Lynne talk about the impressive line-up of speakers and all the panels and presentations they are looking forward to seeing this year.

    Some of the presentations include how to:

    → find new high-paying clients in your niche
    → hear how to tweak your website to make it work better for you
    → find out what editors want (and meet three who commission!)
    create digital products for an extra income stream
    → map out a freelance marketing plan you CAN stick to
    write sales pages (and charge serious money)
    → hone your interviewing / storytelling skills (in an AI world)
    → shore up your systems and processes (SAVING you big $$$)
    → get all the pricing + money tips from two of the best in the biz

    AND SO MUCH MORE.

    And we might both be biased, but it's probably the best thing you'll do for your business this year.

    The Content Byte Summit starts on Thursday 12 September, continuing to Saturday 14 September. Snap up one of the last remaining tickets (in person or virtual) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au

    Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au

    Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com

    Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au

    Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

    Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

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    23 mins
  • Corporate communications and using data to create better content, with Cameron Pegg
    Sep 1 2024

    Communications professional and content strategist Cameron Pegg is Rachel & Lynne's guest this week. Cameron talks about how his time at university helped him create better stories and what his early career in corporate communications taught him.

    Cameron talks about:

    • The value of storytelling to create content
    • Securing bylines while still at uni
    • What he learned from working in radio
    • Developing courses with Communication and Public Relations Australia
    • How offering content strategy helps you charge more
    • What data journalism means and how statistics and infographics make for better storytelling
    • Working with graphic designers

    Connect with Cameron on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameronpegg/

    or via his website: https://cameronpegg.com.au/

    Don't forget it's the last couple of weeks to buy tickets for The Content Byte Summit, where you can learn about future-proofing your freelance business, from September 12-14, 2024 in Sydney. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au

    Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au
    Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com
    Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au

    Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

    Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

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    46 mins
  • Lucia Osborne-Crowley on court reporting and trauma-informed writing
    Aug 25 2024

    This week on the podcast, Rachel is unwell, so Lynne is on her own talking with new author and court reporter Lucia Osborne-Crowley. Lucia's latest book, The Lasting Harm, Witnessing the Trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, is a powerful examination of the trial of Maxwell and all the behind-the-scenes machinations with the victims and the lawyers. We talk about:

    • How Lucia's background as a lawyer prepared her for this work
    • How she worked with Maxwell's victims and shared their story
    • The legal hoops she had to jump through to publish the book
    • The frustrations involved when she can't tell the whole story because of legal issues
    • How she looks after herself despite writing about trauma

    Connect with Lucia via her website: https://luciaosbornecrowley.com/

    or on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luciaoc/

    Don't forget it's the last couple of weeks to buy tickets for The Content Byte Summit, where you can learn about future-proofing your freelance business, from September 12-14, 2024 in Sydney. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au

    Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au

    Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com

    Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au

    Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

    Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

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    37 mins