The Copywriter Club Podcast #465: From Teacher to Copywriter with Meredith Cooley

Date: September 16, 2025
Host: Rob Marsh
Guest: Meredith Cooley

Episode Overview

This episode explores the powerful intersection between teaching and copywriting, focusing on how former teachers—like guest Meredith Cooley—are uniquely equipped to excel in copywriting roles. Drawing from her own journey from a 17-year teaching career to becoming a copywriter and coach for others, Meredith shares the skills teachers bring to the craft, practical strategies for transitioning careers, and actionable advice for building relationships, telling stories, and establishing authority in a new field.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Meredith’s Journey: From Classroom to Copy

• Motivation for Change

  • Meredith always aspired to write but started teaching because of limited writing opportunities and the impracticalities of the ad world for new grads:

    "I came out of college and wanted to be a writer ...there was not this world of online writing or digital marketing..." (04:35).

  • The birth of her daughter and the exhaustion of teaching full-time prompted her to seek change:

    "I knew I wouldn't have what I needed...to show up as the parent that I wanted to be." (05:34).

  • The pandemic provided a turning point—a taste of flexible, remote work.

• Initial Steps

  • Upskilled with a mix of online courses.
  • Landed early gigs writing about insurance and car topics, which clarified her interests and niches.

• Transitioning Niche

  • Realized her teaching background gave her an edge writing for education companies:

    "I have something they will value...writing for education companies." (10:21).

  • Eventually built a course for teachers, From Classroom to Copywriter.

2. Why Teachers Make Great Copywriters

• Transferable Skills

  • Project management, stakeholder communication, handling disinterested audiences.
  • Storytelling:

    "Teachers really know how to make...content and concepts that can be dry, exciting, and they know how to hook kids in." (12:58).

  • Empathy & Relationship Building:

    "Kids learn from teachers that they trust and that they can tell, care about them...empathetic listening skills as a copywriter is very valuable." (18:05).

• Teaching as Core to Copywriting

  • Rob and Meredith agree: Copywriting is essentially a form of teaching, just on the page (00:58, 15:55):

    "Copywriting is teaching...helping potential customers learn about products and solutions." (00:58).

3. Developing Copywriting Superpowers

• Empathy & Client Relationships

  • Suggests virtual coffee chats and intentionally cultivating conversational skills:

    "One of the easiest things is setting up some virtual coffee chats…that helps to build those kind of human conversation skills." (20:41).

  • Networking not just for leads, but genuine friendships:

    "Not only acquaintances, but also friends that we check in with … it really does make a difference." (23:17).

• Breaking Down Complex Ideas

  • Practice explaining concepts simply—"explain it like I’m five" approach.

  • Uses the Bluey “Born Yesterday” game as a real-world tool:

    "He'll just…say, 'Oh, I don’t know what that is. I was born yesterday.' And then she has to…explain whatever it is..." (24:59).

  • Consider the "curse of knowledge"—don’t assume your audience's baseline.

  • Tip: Use frameworks like the five W's (who, what, where, when, why) to structure clarity.

• Conversational Style Over Formal

  • Teachers may default to academic formality—Meredith encourages making copy more conversational and accessible:

    "You have to figure out a way to actually make it a little less formal and a little more conversational..." (28:51).

4. Storytelling in Copy: Advice and Techniques

• Story Mountain Framework

  • Start by writing out the full story, but consider opening in the middle for immediate engagement:

    "Don’t start at the beginning, start in the middle. Drop your reader right into the action..." (30:26).

• Sensory Language

  • Use descriptive, sensory language to evoke emotion—even with technical topics.

• Humanizing Technical Content

  • Even in dry, complex fields, focus on real people:

    "For most products, even in the most complex tech products, there is someone on the other end..." (35:24).

  • Identify benefits for the individual, not just features.

  • The power of one: One message to one person.

  • Challenge: Finding human stories and sensory angles in technical, B2B, or SaaS niches isn't always easy—it takes digging, iteration, and bandwidth:

    "It takes focused time ... allow yourself to drop into what is the feeling of that?" (38:35).

5. Building Credibility in a New Niche

• Gaining Experience & Authority

  • “Get scrappy”: Take whatever gigs you can at first, focus on delivering and reliability.
  • Build relevant spec work for your dream clients:

    "List out five dream clients…choose one and do a project…that shows your skills." (40:02).

• Networking & Outreach

  • Leverage communities for referrals; personalize LinkedIn outreach:

    "My first ever client I had from a referral ...Then used LinkedIn…changing my profile to reflect what it was I wanted to do…" (43:42).

• Integrity Matters

  • Prioritize relationships and being known for reliability and seriousness:

    "Integrity in this business, to me, matters a lot." (46:18).

6. Lessons Learned & Advice to Teachers

• Mistakes to Avoid

  • Staying too long with low-paying work before raising rates:

    "I probably stayed too long on the level of doing really good work and not charging enough for it." (47:17).

  • Mindset work is essential—remind yourself of your value and don't be afraid to move on to better clients.

• Mentorship

  • Investing in coaching/mentorship accelerates your path and helps avoid common mistakes.

7. Meredith’s Newsletter & Course

• Newsletter: Turn the Page

  • Weekly (ish) guidance specifically for teachers considering or starting the transition.

    "It really is very specific to…the journey of, you know, how do I know that I'm ready to leave the classroom?" (49:49).

  • Includes actionable steps and processes—subscribe via the show notes or by connecting with Meredith on LinkedIn.

• Course: From Classroom to Copywriter

  • Designed to provide teachers with foundational skills and confidence for a copywriting career.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Copywriting as Teaching
  Rob Marsh, (00:58):

  "Copywriting is teaching. But instead of practicing that skill in a classroom, copywriters are teaching on the page or on the screen..."

• On Relating to Audiences
  Meredith Cooley, (12:58):

  "Teachers know how to engage what oftentimes can be an uninterested audience... to make, you know, content and concepts that can be dry, exciting..."

• On Building Trust
  Meredith Cooley, (18:05):

  "Kids learn from teachers that they trust... having those empathetic listening skills as a copywriter is very valuable."

• On Storytelling Technique
  Meredith Cooley, (30:26):

  "Don't start at the beginning, start in the middle. You know, drop your reader right into the action..."

• On Community and Mentorship
  Meredith Cooley, (40:02):

  "A huge factor in bolstering your own confidence and also feeling more serious about what you're doing can be going out and finding someone to help you..."

Timestamps for Essential Segments

• Meredith’s background and pivot to copywriting: 04:27–12:14
• Why teachers excel at copywriting: 12:14–18:05
• Building empathy & relationships as a copywriter: 18:05–24:17
• Breaking down complex topics & “Born Yesterday” game: 24:17–28:51
• Conversational vs. formal writing styles: 28:51–30:26
• Storytelling frameworks & practical tips: 30:26–34:11
• Storytelling in technical/B2B copywriting: 34:11–38:35
• Finding your first clients & building credibility: 39:29–45:19
• Common mistakes and lessons learned: 47:08–49:34
• Newsletter and course info: 49:49–51:56
• Wrap up & key takeaways: 51:56–52:18

Final Thoughts

The episode highlights how teaching and copywriting are deeply linked by core skills like breaking down complexity, building empathy, and telling stories that connect. Teachers considering a career switch will find Meredith’s journey and advice reassuring and actionable—a testament to both the value of their experience and the practicality of upskilling, networking, and leveraging existing strengths for a fulfilling copywriting career.

Links:

• Meredith’s newsletter: "Turn the Page" (see show notes)
• LinkedIn: Meredith Rice Cooley