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The Copywriter Club Podcast
TCC Podcast #455: A Proven Process for LinkedIn Success with Divya Agrawal
00:47:47
This isn't the first time we've talked about LinkedIn. But in this episode, we cover specific recommendations for the content you should create and post as well as a proven process for connecting with clients.
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- [00:01]
Rob
If you've got enough clients or you're not willing to put yourself out there to get the clients you need, well, you can probably skip this episode. This is the Copywriter Club Podcast. Like last week, we're revisiting a recurring topic on the show this week, but unlike last week, the recurring topic isn't persuasion or psychology. This week we're talking about biggest challenge facing almost all copywriters, and that's finding clients. Even established copywriters will struggle with this from time to time. One of the truisms of business is that if you don't have clients willing to pay you for the work that you do, it doesn't matter how good your website is, it doesn't matter how good a writer you are, it doesn't matter that you can solve your clients problems better than anyone else. Without a paying client, you don't have a business. My guest this week is Divya Agrawal, a SaaS and tech copywriter who has deep experience finding clients on LinkedIn. LinkedIn Divya started her career as a programmer, but quickly figured out she was on the wrong job track and she switched to writing. The lessons she shared from her experience launching this new business will help any copywriter or content writer who's looking for clients to work with. Specifically, Divya used LinkedIn to create connections with prospects. Her success posting content and making comments on other posts is a model for other writers who want to do the same. And LinkedIn is where a significant number of people who hire copywriters hang out and connect. If your clients are there, you need to be be there too. In this interview, Divya shares the questions that she uses to vet her prospects before they become clients, and she outlines exactly how you can connect with clients on LinkedIn yourself, including something like 24 or 25 different things that you could be writing about from your business today. This is information that she charges her coaching clients for, but she's sharing much of it today for free. Before we jump into our interview, a little while ago I recorded a masterclass to show copywriters, content writers, and other marketers how to write emotional copy. Everyone says that emotions sell, but how do you actually write emotional copy? I walked through more than a dozen examples in this masterclass and I give you a proven process for figuring out the right emotions to focus on as you write and how those emotions change as you make your pitch. The masterclass includes several bonuses on storytelling, using AI to find the dominant and the transformational emotions, and much more. You can get this masterclass@thecopywriterclub.com emotion and now my interview with Divya Agrawal. Divya, welcome to the podcast. I'm excited to hear your story and to talk about how you're finding clients. But tell us, how did you become a freelance copywriter for tech?
- [02:58]
Divya Agrawal
Thank you so much for having me on the podcast, Rob. I highly appreciate this chance to talk to you. I have been a big fan of your podcast, so it's really cool that I get to sit here and share what I know. Yeah, I became a freelance tech writer back in 2017, end of 2017, after a year long stint at a IT company as a software engineer. I was a salesforce developer for a year and that didn't work out. I did not like the corporate environment. I did not like the work I was doing. So then I was like, I need to do something else. I had always been a writer. So I was one of those kids in school who is asked to write other kids speeches. So I was the introvert writing speeches for my more extroverted friends who would get on stages and deliver those speeches. I was participating in essay competitions, all of those things. So I also had a lot of passion for technology. I was always learning about new technologies. I was good at development, if I do say so myself. So when I decided to shift gears, I was like, let me try and combine two of my passions, writing and technology. And that's how I got into it. I had a little bit of an internship experience at a local IT company writing their social media content. So when I decided to do this full time, I reached out to the hr. I was like, this is what I'm doing full time now. Do you have contacts for me? And he put me in touch with a bunch of companies and that's how I got my first client.
- [04:49]
Rob
So as you were reaching back to the school and they gave you these contacts, did he make warm introductions or did you have to reach out to them directly? Like how did that all come together?
- [05:02]
Divya Agrawal
Yes. So when I reached out to the HR at the company that I had interned with, I just had to tell him that, you know, this is what I'm doing full time. And he knew that I was good at writing. I, I understood technology and how it worked. So he confidently put me in touch with other people and I actually didn't have to do a lot of convincing. It was actually really easy to get my first client. Of course I have experienced other struggles in business later, but getting my first few clients was not a struggle.
- [05:36]
Rob
So you have a background in programming and technology. Obviously that gives you some advantage in writing for tech. But as a writer, do you think that copywriters need to know tech? To write for tech or sat? You know, they need to have maybe done some development work in order to write for SaaS companies, or how does that skill set benefit you or hold copywriters back?
- [06:02]
Divya Agrawal
I would say if you are working for SaaS, you do not need a lot of development experience. But for the, for the kind of clients that I work with, they are deeply into technology and I, even I, with my background have to spend some time understanding what exactly they do. So let's say I worked with an AI ops client. So then I had to understand what AIOps does. I had to understand how IT operations work in IT companies and all of those areas. I had to deeply read and understand about them before I began working with the client. My clients also helped me with the right materials, like they have internal marketing materials that I study and, and prepare myself with. But if you are doing SAS or less complicated technology writing, I don't think it's important to have a degree in computer science because as writers, I believe we can write about anything because the skill lies in asking the right questions and not in knowing all the answers. So I don't think that a degree is important. And I have proof about this because I worked as a writer for a, for an agency in the US that works with law firms. And I didn't know anything about any laws even in India, let alone the US But I was able to work with them because I was able to ask the right questions.
- [07:40]
Rob
And what are some of those questions? And I should maybe just jump in. I totally agree with you. I think when we're writing about things, obviously it helps to understand how a mechanism works or how a program functions. But the real thing that we're selling is the benefit for the client or the end user. And so as long as you understand how this transformation happens, this result they get, obviously we could write about it. But you know, in, in thinking about this stuff, what are those questions that you're asking to get to that end result?
- [08:14]
Divya Agrawal
First of all, I ask about the buyer group that we are targeting for a specific piece of content. In B2B, there are buyer groups. And then I try to understand if there's a specific buyer Persona that the, that the post or the white paper is aimed at. What are their specific challenges? What is the status quo? What are they struggling with right now that my client is trying to solve with their product and then I try to understand what is their competitive positioning. So who are the other competitors in the market? A lot of the times, status quo is the competition. So how things are done in legacy companies with legacy IT systems is generally the competition. So then I try to understand whether if that's the case or if there are other players in competition, and how my client's product is different from those competitors and how they are trying to position and what is the narrative that they are bringing to make the buyer understand that this is the status quo, this is what you're losing out on right now. And here's how we can shift it, here's how we can improve it, and here's how the competitors are doing. But here's why that's a weaker solution and here's why ours is stronger. So those are the things that go into it. And then. Yeah, and then finally bringing the products, features, benefits into the limelight as and when the piece demands it.
- [09:56]
Rob
That makes sense. Okay, so let's go back to your story. You were launching this writing business. You reached out to, you know, get these referrals, but obviously referrals don't last forever. You've got to continue to grow your business. So what was the next step for you as you were looking for additional clients?
- [10:18]
Divya Agrawal
Yeah, early on, I really heavily relied on LinkedIn. LinkedIn was still very in its early stages. This is 2018, 2019. And there were a handful of creators who were doing videos on LinkedIn. And I started doing videos. You know, I wasn't that young person. I was with that young person energy in my early 20s. So I was experimenting with everything. And then somehow I started getting a lot of leads from LinkedIn from all this experimentation. I was posting a lot, I was posting videos, I was doing carousals, everything. And then other writers started asking me how I was being so active on LinkedIn, being so visible, growing my business. And that's when I started the second arm of my business, which is coaching freelance writers and copywriters on their lead generation strategies.
- [11:16]
Rob
So when we were talking a while ago, I mentioned we've talked a lot about LinkedIn on the podcast. In fact, some listeners may see that, you know, oh, no, here's another episode about LinkedIn. And I even said to you, hey, we've covered a lot of this stuff, so what can we talk about that might add some additional ideas for copywriters and content writers and hopefully, like, we can really dive into your process and go so granular that people walk away from this episode knowing exactly to succeed. But as you started out, you were posting a lot of video content. Is that still like the stuff that's working today? How has, how have things changed since 2018, 2019 to where we are here in 2025?
- [12:02]
Divya Agrawal
Oh, a lot actually. LinkedIn used to be so much less crowded and noisy. Back then, like I said, only a handful of creators were doing content at all on LinkedIn. Today there are a lot of, a lot more professionals creating content on LinkedIn from all kinds of careers, which is really great to see. However, specifically with video, I don't think that video is that big on LinkedIn right now because I see it from the perspective of, okay, when I log into LinkedIn, am I watching videos and I'm not, I scroll past them usually I feel like LinkedIn is a very text heavy platform and I expect to read a lot when I go on LinkedIn, but when I'm in, when I'm on Instagram, I expect to see a lot of videos. So yeah, I don't think videos are big on LinkedIn right now.
- [13:01]
Rob
Okay, so what is working right now?
- [13:04]
Divya Agrawal
What I believe works for freelance writers and copywriters is creating lead generating LinkedIn posts. And what I call lead generating LinkedIn posts are posts that are written from the perspective of your ideal clients. You disregard all the distraction and the noise on LinkedIn and you focus on what your ideal clients need to know about you before they can hire you. So how can you build that know like and trust factor with them? And then you just put the blinders on and create your own content. And that's how I have been finding leads on LinkedIn, growing my business, et cetera.
- [13:48]
Rob
So can we talk about some specific examples of how you're doing that and what you're posting, the kinds of, you know, problems that you're talking about or the ideas that you're sharing that really pull in these potential clients.
- [14:03]
Divya Agrawal
Sure. So how I see it, I see LinkedIn, I see my services, specific services that I offer as LinkedIn pillars. Content pillars. So let's say thought leadership, content, white papers, case studies, interview led blog posts. So all of these are specific content pillars. And then for each of these services, what do your ideal clients want to know? So they want to know what is your process of creating content? What are some of the testimonials from you having done the same work for other clients, how do you approach these deliverables? And what do your collaborations with clients look like? How far do you invest in your projects? So are you just doing writing? You get A brief and you write and you're done. Or are you also doing strategy work? How do you ensure that each piece of content fits into a bigger strategy and fits into the bigger picture and helps your clients achieve their goals? How you maintain client relationships and partake in your clients success? How much do you charge? What are the timelines you work with, whether you prefer long term engagements or one off projects? And then do you conduct interviews? How do you conduct interviews? What's your process there, how you handle revisions and feedback? All of those things are what your ideal clients are interested in knowing about your business. And that's what I focus on the most in my own LinkedIn content. And this is what I teach freelance writers to also do. Of course there are other kinds of content, like introducing yourself on LinkedIn every once in a while, sharing some behind the scenes from your business, or maybe sharing your pets, pictures, your kids pictures, things like that.
- [16:01]
Rob
Okay, and this is probably obvious, but I just want to be crystal clear so that nobody misunderstands. You just gave us this long list of things to be writing about on LinkedIn, but you're not suggesting we put all of that into one or two posts. These are individual ideas for posts. So one day I might write about, revision process, my revision process, and the next day I might write about, you know, how much I charge or why I charge the way I do and then the next day, or it's probably not even every day, you know, three days later or whatever I write about. So you've just given us, it was probably about 24, 25 things that could easily fill a content calendar for a month or two and then almost you just start over and sort of, you know, talk about those same topics again in a slightly different way.
- [16:49]
Divya Agrawal
Yes. And if you match each service to each of those ideas, you probably have like three months of content right there, which speaks to your ideal clients, which talks about how you specifically deliver service, how you specifically work with clients. So it's not generic content. It really brings out your expertise, your experience, why you do things the way you do them, even how you learned to evolve your processes. Anytime you're making a small change in how you deliver a service or how you set up your backend processes, you can create a post about it.
- [17:31]
Rob
And would you say that these, these post ideas are LinkedIn specific because they're so based around your business? Or could you take some of these and also use them, say on Instagram or TikTok or some of the other platforms?
- [17:43]
Divya Agrawal
For sure. All of these ideas can Be content ideas for other platforms if you are using other channels for your business's marketing.
- [17:53]
Rob
Yeah, I suppose if you're going to take those ideas though, you obviously you're going to customize them for that channel. So you mentioned earlier Instagram, you expect to see videos, so you wouldn't be posting copy or text on Instagram. You'd probably want to make a video talking about the same kind of a thing as you go through. But I also, I like that you break it up by product and making those your content pillars. So, you know, if I write sales pages, you know, I've got 25 things that I can write about sales pages, but I also happen to, you know, write case studies. And so I've got, you know, there's 25 things about case studies and each of those pillars may attract a slightly different client into my business.
- [18:36]
Divya Agrawal
Yes, exactly. And talking about specific services, you could also match that up with multiple niches. So if you are working in tech and let's say you also do healthcare writing, then you can create all sorts of combinations there and talk about things repeatedly, which is completely fine. Sometimes writers are like, you know, my content is not unique. Other writers are also talking about the same things. But that is a common objection when you think about things from the perspective of your peers. Because you are connected with probably hundreds of writers on LinkedIn, but your ideal clients are not connected to hundreds of writers. They are only, they may only be connected with a few or more probably you might be the only writer in their network. So they are not seeing this content over and over again. But so again, it's like you center your ideal prospects when you think about content and you forget all of the other distractions.
- [19:39]
Rob
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And I think that's actually a really important point that I think people forget. We see so much marketing and so many things from, like you said, peers, other copywriters, other designers, programmers, you know, all of these people who are doing the same things that we do as freelancers. But our, our audiences don't always, you know, they're not necessarily in the marketing space. Right. So if I write for roofing companies, I'm not sure that there's a lot of roofers on LinkedIn, but let's assume that there are. They're not seeing a hundred posts from other copywriters. They're seeing mostly people in the construction industry or people that they're connected with. So I think that that's a really good point. But let's also talk about how do we make our content stand out because one of the things that's happened with LinkedIn is that there is so much sameness now. Part of it is that we see it over and over. And so, you know, maybe the problem's not quite as bad for our clients as it is for us, but I have a feeling that there are clients who are seeing, you know, the same kinds of posts, the same, and especially with AI, you know, literally the same kinds of headlines, the same ideas over and over. And so how do you make content stand out? And how are the people that you're working with on LinkedIn doing that as well?
- [20:57]
Divya Agrawal
One way to make your content stand out is to incorporate stories. So things that are happening in your business every day. You went on a discovery call, it went well. You talk about that. You went on a discovery call, it didn't go well. You talk about that. You recently completed a project. You provide some context into how you made it successful, whether there was a challenge that you had to overcome, whether it went smoothly, and what are the processes that you put in place to make it so. So all of these stories make your content unique because a lot less people on LinkedIn are sharing real business stories and showing, okay, this is what's up in my business. A lot more are out there talking about, here's how to do things in your business, or a lot more like how to achieve something, how I achieved something. But a lot less content on LinkedIn is about actually sharing behind the scenes of your business. So that's one way that your content can stand out.
- [22:05]
Rob
Yeah, stories are big and obviously stories tend to be personal. And so, you know, things that have happened to me haven't happened to you. So that, that definitely helps. So what kinds of success have you seen with LinkedIn? So, you know, you've been posting this stuff, but how did this impact your business.
- [22:26]
Divya Agrawal
In a big way? I would say last year alone I received 115 + leads from LinkedIn for both my short term and long term projects. And I have had all kinds of opportunities come in. One was a book feature. So one of my freelance writer friends wrote a book and I got to be one of the interview features in the book. I have had guest contribution opportunities to contribute guest articles on some really great websites. There have been podcast appearances and so, yeah, all kinds of opportunities, actually.
- [23:11]
Rob
And how often are you posting?
- [23:14]
Divya Agrawal
Right now I'm posting five to six times a week.
- [23:19]
Rob
Okay, so literally every day you post. Yes, nine leads a month. You know, roughly 115 leads a year is pretty Good. Obviously they're not all for tech projects or tech writing projects, but how do you then go from somebody who reaches out and says, hey, I'm interested, you know, what does the conversation look like so that you can actually close those clients?
- [23:44]
Divya Agrawal
Yes, My first priority is to qualify the lead. So I have a pretty tight system that I use to qualify whether or not a client is going to be good for me. And how I do it is I qualify the company, the person and the project. So there has to be a fit in all three of those areas for someone to be an ideal client. First of all, I will look at their like, what company they're associated with, what is the project they are talking about. I will get on a discovery call and then I'll find out more details. And as I go I will keep checking these boxes that I have. And yeah, at the end of it, hopefully if they're a good fit, we get to work together.
- [24:34]
Rob
So what are those boxes that you're checking? What like how do you know that a company is a fit, a person's a fit and a project is a fit?
- [24:40]
Divya Agrawal
Yeah. So I have this series of questions and I think everyone should make their own series of questions. So for example, to qualify the company, I am asking how much foundational work this client already has. So if there are startup, they could be starting marketing from scratch. If they're a more established company, they might already have their value proposition, positioning different audience segments that they target. They might know why their customers buy, how their product differs from the competition, et cetera. Then what is their budget for content marketing, how much revenue they're making annually, then their payment terms. So are they okay with upfront payment? Do they have a 30 or 45 day payment policy? Do they need me to sign a non compete clause? Do they want me to sign an NDA and not reveal that I'm working with them? How big of a company it is? So the biggest companies usually have a lot of bureaucracy. On the other hand, startups often come with a lot of chaos and change because they're figuring everything out. So I like to be somewhere in the middle of those two. And then what is the project? So for the project, are they providing clear expectations for what they are looking for? Will they provide me the topic to write the content, if it's a series of blog posts or do they want me to help with the editorial calendar? Do they provide me additional background material or is it my job to do an in depth research? Are there interviews involved? Is there any kind of SEO Work involved, is there designing work involved? And then I also measure a project by is it like a next level project for me or is it more of the same? So depending on your experience level, you might prioritize more of the same projects or you might want to reach out of your comfort zone and go for next level projects. And then what are the timelines that the client has set up? And yeah, if it's an ongoing project or a one off project. And then people. So there are a lot of red flags that I now avoid having worked with some problematic people in the past. So some of those red flags is if they are engaging in some fear mongering like AI is already taking over, there's less work to go around. Are you sure you're ready to let this project go? If they're using that sort of language to negotiate, negotiate me on my price. Then is, is the person looking for help with a single project or hoping to build a long term relationship with you? That is a big green flag for me because I like to work with clients over a long period of time. Then are they late for calls? Are they constantly canceling calls on the last minute? So yeah, and over the years as I've worked with people, I have created this huge list of things that I look out for.
- [28:14]
Rob
It's a good list and obviously we're all looking for those red flags. So having those of the leads that you get then and you put them through this discovery call process, how many of them do you close on a monthly basis? And what does a typical project look like?
- [28:34]
Divya Agrawal
I don't have that statistic for you right now because it's really hard to like measure. I do have an Excel sheet where I capture all the leads, but I just don't do a good job of finding out what that percentage is. But yeah, this is my process of closing them. I like to sign contracts. I like if they have a policy of upfront payment or if I suggest it and they are ready to do that.
- [29:03]
Rob
Yeah, and you mentioned you like to work long term. So you know, usually you're signing a retainer of some kind. What does that work look like on a month to month basis? Is it a couple of blog posts? Are you working on a variety of different projects? What does that typical retainer agreement look like?
- [29:24]
Divya Agrawal
Yes, sometimes it's a series of blog posts month after month and other times it has also been white papers. It has been case studies. So I had this client who I was writing two blog posts and a white paper for every month there was this other client who I was refreshing case studies for every month. So those two were like long term recurring work.
- [29:52]
Rob
That makes sense. So going back to LinkedIn, let's say that I have not been posting on LinkedIn, or maybe I posted a few times last year, but I haven't posted in several months. The idea of posting five or six times a week, even though you've given me this list of all of these things that I could write about, you know, 25ish items, you know, across my different content pillars, it. It still feels like too much, really too much to get started. So what is the bare minimum that I would need to do or another copywriter would need to do in order to start seeing traction?
- [30:30]
Divya Agrawal
Yeah, there are a few things if you don't want to directly go into publishing your own content, you can start by engaging with other people's content. You probably follow a lot of freelance writers, you probably follow a lot of your ideal prospects. So start engaging with their content, leave really thoughtful comments under their posts and really try to make a conversation. And don't just do it for the sake of getting visibility, but really see how you can add to the conversation, bring a different perspective again, share a story. All of the things that you can talk about in your own content can also be stuff that you can post under someone else's content. So comments are content too, and that will help you warm up your posting muscle a little bit. And then once you're more comfortable being visible on LinkedIn and you have sort of a network of people that you've engaged with, you'll feel more comfortable posting on LinkedIn because then those people might engage with your content also.
- [31:40]
Rob
Yeah, and as I start out, is once a week enough, or do I really need to be posting more than that in order to, you know, to grow my presence there?
- [31:50]
Divya Agrawal
I would say whatever you can start with is the ideal cadence for you. So if you, all you can do is once per week, then start with that, and as you go, you can ramp it up. You can then do twice per week. There's this law, I don't know what it's called, but it works. When you want to start anything new, it goes like, first you just do it, then you do more of it, then you do it better, and then you add something new to it. So that's the law that goes with everything. So first of all, just do it, then do more of it, then you do it better. So you look at, okay, how can I make my posts better? How can I fix the hook a Little bit so that people are intrigued about my content. How can I add some storytelling into it, make it sound better, flow better, and then you add something new. So then maybe you start experimenting with other formats on LinkedIn, like carousels or add images or maybe videos.
- [32:54]
Rob
Okay, that, yeah, that definitely makes sense. So as I'm again thinking about this process of, you know, how, how we do it in your posts, do you specifically have a call to action in any of them where you say, hey, I have an opening this week or I'm taking on new clients, or if you want help with web copy or blog posts or whatever, do you ask for work or do you let people figure that out on their own?
- [33:23]
Divya Agrawal
Yes, I do add calls to action to some of my posts, but that's like a call to action that's there after they have consumed my entire post. So the entire post is not about me asking for work, it's about maybe sharing a sample that I did for another client and then adding some context around the project, like this is how I executed this, et cetera. And then at the end I might say I'm open to new projects if you are looking for something similar. DM me.
- [33:54]
Rob
So it's kind of a soft sell, but you're making the invitation.
- [33:57]
Divya Agrawal
Yes.
- [33:59]
Rob
Okay, so obviously this has helped you grow your business and you've done it well enough that you've brought in other copywriters, content writers who want help from you to do this. How are other copywriters succeeding as well? Obviously they're following your process, but can you share just like some examples of some of the things that they're doing and the success that they've seen?
- [34:23]
Divya Agrawal
Yeah, I was on a catch up call with a bunch of freelance writers and one of them has taken one of my content workshops and she was sharing that a recent client that she converted came in as a lead from a post that she created after like learning from my workshop. So yeah, it, and even like sometimes writers are not very open to sharing that they landed a lead or got a client. Like we, we all forget we learn from people and then we implement their systems and we move on. But when I see them posting on LinkedIn consistently, I just feel very happy that they have started showing up on LinkedIn and being visible. And yeah, I think I'm their cheerleader. I'm always liking posts from people in my network.
- [35:19]
Rob
So, yeah, again, yeah, makes sense. So earlier on, as you were telling us your story of how you got started, you mentioned that you had several struggles as your business has Grown. Tell us about some of those. You know, what have these. What have been the hard things about growing your business and the things that you've struggled with as you've started to find success?
- [35:44]
Divya Agrawal
Yeah, I think one of my biggest struggles has been discipline. So because this is a one person business and if we are not disciplined, there's literally no one to tell us to do things or not do things. So that has been one of my biggest challenges. I am so much better at it now. But I do remember a time where I had gotten a little bit lacks with my marketing and then two of my biggest clients that made up like 80% of my income, suddenly they stopped working with me in the same month. And this was during the pandemic too. So then I had to ramp up my efforts on marketing. And it takes a lot of time to build the same momentum as opposed to if you are always consistently marketing your business. So. And other little things also, like discipline shows up in all aspects of business. So yeah, I feel like being my own boss. I kind of felt like I could get away with things, but I have discovered that that's not true. You have to stick to processes. You have to do things consistently in your business that keep it running and keep it at a healthy growth trajectory.
- [37:07]
Rob
How much time are you spending creating content for the marketing side of your business versus the content for your clients?
- [37:16]
Divya Agrawal
I would say a couple of hours. So when I sit for a couple of hours on a day, I'm able to create content for two to three weeks. So yeah.
- [37:31]
Rob
Okay, so what does that process look like? Because I have a feeling somebody might hear you say two hours and that's 15ish posts. 15 to 18 posts. That seems like a. I mean, discipline doesn't seem like a problem at that point because clearly you are putting out a lot of content. And so what does that writing process look like so that you can get that much stuff done?
- [37:52]
Divya Agrawal
Yeah, I would also say that I've been doing this for a long time. Like ever since I started posting on LinkedIn in 2018. Just one or two breaks that I've taken. Besides those, I have been consistently posting content. So there's a lot of practice that I've had. But what my process looks like is that I will. So I continually document what's happening in my business. First of all, I'm always taking notes on my phone. And this is something that I also think writers have a mental block around. We think that we have to sit in a chair and spin up ideas about content from thin Air or we are like, we feel like we're always short of ideas and we are thinking about ideas. Whereas what I teach is that you need to notice content in your everyday life, in your everyday business. So anytime something interesting happens in my business, anytime I notice myself doing something differently or doing anything interesting, I make a note of it. So anytime I sign a new client, anytime a prospect says something interesting in a conversation, all of those are content ideas. Anytime you finish a project, anytime you start a project, there are things that you do in your business every day that you might think are pretty normal and regular and you feel like everyone must do it. But we operate in very different ways as business owners. And something as regular as, like how you set up your desk can be idea for content, because we all do things differently and that can become like a point of conversation on LinkedIn. So first of all, noticing things and taking notes all week long. And then at the end of the week, probably on a Sunday evening when I'm well rested but also thinking about work again, I sit down for a couple of hours and I look at those notes on my phone and I flesh out those posts. So that's also why it takes me a less amount of time to quickly create content. And the other thing that I do is something that I shared earlier, which is focus on one service at a time and think about how I deliver that service, what my process looks like. I might zero in on one part of that service. So let's say if I want to talk about writing blog posts, I might focus on how to create unique blog post introductions, how to conclude your blog posts, or like how to create infographics for a blog post article. So zeroing in on a particular part of the service, sharing samples on LinkedIn about that service, all of these. Yeah, give me a huge do you.
- [40:53]
Rob
Repost content or reuse content that you wrote, say, last year? And you. And if you do, how do you change it up?
- [41:00]
Divya Agrawal
Oh yeah, all the time. I actually teach this and I highly encourage people to repost their content. If it's been a couple of months and you want to talk about the same service again, sometimes I just shamelessly repost it. No changes made, nothing. Some other times I do. Like if I posted something last year, I might notice that I have changed my process a little bit or I've added something to it, which is when I will update the post. If I shared a sample or a testimonial, I might update that to a more recent sample or testimonial from a client.
- [41:39]
Rob
Are you using AI as part of this process at all?
- [41:42]
Divya Agrawal
I am not.
- [41:45]
Rob
Okay. Are you using AI in your business at all or it's all your brain?
- [41:50]
Divya Agrawal
In my business, yes. In my business, I use it to. Oh, actually in my content also, I sometimes use AI. I will tell you how. So if I want to focus on a specific service and I feel like I'm out of ideas, I will simply tell AI to give me, like a broad range of ideas. I will just ask it a question related to that service. Like, what are some of the challenges with blog post writing today? Or what are the trends in blog post writing? But those will not become my content. What AI throws at me will not become my content. That will just give me things to think about so then I can respond to something that it's saying instead of just again, sitting there and thinking of ideas. And in writing for my clients, yeah, again, I use AI to think widely about things. So I will search a topic and then it throws a bunch of stuff at me and then I can decide if this thing needs to be part of the narrative that I'm building for this article or if this deserves a place. If this needs to be researched more, which is when I'll more deeply research it and then include it in the piece.
- [43:04]
Rob
So going all the way back to when we started talking, you were a computer scientist, a programmer, but you also were a writer on the side. How did you sharpen your copywriting skills or learn how to be a copywriter? Coming from the background that you came from, what are some of the things that you've done to continue learning?
- [43:28]
Divya Agrawal
I would say I read a lot, so I have learned from reading and observing a lot. I follow a lot of freelance writers and copywriters who do really great work. And when they post something that they have worked on, I try to see what are the different elements. I try to pick it apart essentially, and really focus on, okay, they have structured this article a certain way. They have include. Included these perspectives or this is how they. They are building the narrative. They've included a lot of examples from different sources. So yeah, I think I have learned by reading widely.
- [44:13]
Rob
And I suppose, I mean, that's probably how I learned the most as well, you know. Do you have a favorite author or book or reference that you've gone to?
- [44:24]
Divya Agrawal
Oh, no, I have hundreds. I could not name one. But yeah, there are a lot of writers out there who just do phenomenal work and I'm always reading what they're posting.
- [44:37]
Rob
Yeah, I agree, Divya. This has been helpful. As I think about, I don't post on LinkedIn a lot. I have some guilt around that, where I feel like I should probably be there posting, talking about some of the stuff that we talk about on the podcast a lot, the things that, you know, I teach on in the copywriter underground and the workshops that I do there, and even clients that I, you know, happen to be working with. So this has given me a lot of things to think about. Hopefully it's been helpful for other copywriters who maybe struggle with the same kind of thing. You know, how do I show up in this place where there are so many clients? But I appreciate your approach to this and your advice to us. It's been really helpful. If people want to reach out to you or follow you, where should they go?
- [45:25]
Divya Agrawal
Yes, please connect with me on LinkedIn. That's the best place.
- [45:29]
Rob
Thanks. Thanks for your time, Divya.
- [45:31]
Divya Agrawal
Thank you, Rob.
- [45:39]
Rob
Thanks Divya, for laying out the process for Connect your potential clients on LinkedIn. If you're wondering what to share, go back and listen to that list of 25 things that you can write about and then do it. Use those prompts to create content for your business and post it on LinkedIn or wherever it is that you want to post your content. Of course, you if you don't love LinkedIn much of the advice the 25 topic ideas that Divya shared, they also work on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, or anywhere else that you're showing up with content for your prospects. And if you don't want to be in any of those places, my question for you is where are you showing up? Where are you connecting with your potential clients? Because no matter how good we are as writers, there is no line of prospects out there just waiting to magically discover you. If they can't see you somewhere, if they can't hear from you, if they can't see what you're thinking, you may as well not exist. If you want to run a service business and copywriting is a service business, you have to do something. If you're not going to post on social media, you need to go to events or work your network, or respond to posts on job boards, or spend money on ads or blog and guest blog for others in your niche, or post videos or guest on podcasts or something. You have to be out there. And what Divya shared in this episode will help you do that. Okay, don't forget to check out the how to Write Emotional copy masterclass@thecopywriterclub.com emotion I mentioned the Copywriter Underground on this episode. If you want to check that out, that's@thecopywriterclub.com TCU2 that's the end of this episode of the Copywriter Club Podcast. If you like what you heard, please share it with someone you know. Simply copy the link from Spotify or Apple Podcasts and drop it in a short email to let your friend know that you were thinking of them as you were listening to this podcast. If you've heard me say this over and over and you haven't done this yet, try it today. I promise when you share the Copywriter Club podcast, your friends will thank you. I'll see you next week. Foreign.
- [47:47]
Divya Agrawal
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