From Stuck to Standout: How to Rebrand, Recharge, Reinvent Your Business

Feeling stuck in your business? Or like you just aren’t landing the clients you want (or used to)? 

In this episode, I’m joined by Topaz Hooper, founder of American Copywriter Co, who recently rebranded her own business and now helps global companies launch and grow in the U.S. market. Whether you’re feeling bored, misaligned, or just sensing it’s time for a change, this conversation will help you get clear on what’s next! 

We’re talking about: 

• The key signs it’s time to rebrand (and what to do first)
• Why even a small pivot can reignite your creativity
• What to fix if your website “feels off” but you don’t know why
• How to refresh your brand without blowing your budget

Topaz shares lessons from her own reinvention and what it really takes to stand out in a crowded market, including where AI fits into the conversation.

This one’s packed with insights, so tune in and let me know what lands for you!

About Topaz Hooper:

Topaz Hooper, the founder and chief copywriter at American Copywriter Co. A new copywriting company helping global businesses launch and grow in the U.S. with messaging that resonates with American consumers. She's also the founder of Cruelty-Free Copywriter, a copywriting business helping plant-based, vegan, and sustainable brands turn heads, stand out, and change the world.

🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES

• Connect with Topaz on LinkedIn
• Learn more about American Copywriter Co here
• Interested in Vegan, Cruelty-free copywriting? 

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Get In Touch:

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Transcript

Speaker 2 (00:00)

Have you ever found yourself feeling stuck? Maybe it's that you're ready for a rebrand, a recharge, or even reinventing your business. Today I'm chatting with Topaz Hooper and she's going to help us get go from stuck to stand out. She is the founder and chief copywriter at American Copywriting Co, a new copywriting company helping global businesses launch and grow in the U.S. with messaging that resonates with U.S. customers. The thing I really appreciate about Topaz is that she made her own personal pivot in the last year.

So she went from her cruelty free copywriter to this new iteration of her business. So she's really speaking from experience. And I know that many people right now are questioning this in this new market with AI and even maybe you've just evolved what you're doing and it's time for that change, or maybe you're feeling bored with what you're doing right now. So there's a lot of great things we're going to be chatting about in this conversation to see if you might be ready for that big pivot or refresh.

So let's go ahead and get into it. It's a great conversation today. So make sure you listen all the way to the end and let me know what you think after the show. Hello and welcome to the show. Topaz.

Speaker 1 (01:07)

Natasha, thanks for having me.

Speaker 2 (01:09)

I am so excited to have you here today and I know that a lot of people listening right now, especially with all the changes in our world, may be feeling a little stuck in their business. And I'm really curious, what are some of the signs that it's time to rebrand, recharge, or reinvent your business?

Speaker 1 (01:26)

my gosh, if anyone's feeling stuck, you are so not alone. It feels like a really wild economy, at least in the US right now. And I know a lot of people are feeling like, is now a good time for me to change, evolve, rebrand, do something different? And the answer is probably yes. Here are some signs that I know and I've used and I've seen with other fellow business owners that are great signs that you need to rebrand. Number one.

is you feel like your current branding does not reflect your existing business. I have a great girlfriend who ⁓ has an amazing copywriting business. I loved her branding. It was awesome. But then a couple of years ago, she had a baby and that's fine. She loves her baby, but her lifestyle changed and then her service has changed. And now she looks at her website and she's like, this doesn't feel like me anymore. This woman doesn't look like me anymore.

I think I just need to get new photos and get a new website and get new design and rewrite my copy. And she did that a couple of months ago and she's so much happier with it. So if you're feeling that kind of vibe, like, you know, I don't really look like this person anymore on my website or my branding doesn't feel right, that's sign number one. Sign number two is your offers and your services have actually evolved, you know, and your current messaging no longer matches what you're actually offering. One good example of this is I just launched a new company called the American Copywriter Co.

and this company helps global businesses launch in the United States. My previous business, the Cruel to Free Copywriter, was not really doing so much launch copy. That wasn't what I was focusing on. I wasn't using the five languages that I speak in my business. I was speaking English and I was focusing on D to C businesses all the time. Now with the American Copywriter Co, I'm working with global businesses and I'm translating things and I'm helping people launch in the U.S. and it's so much more stimulating. So.

You know, I felt stuck in my last company because I just wanted to do something else. I just felt like I wasn't growing. And so I knew I needed to rebrand and start something new because my service has changed. And that's something that you can think about as well for your business if that's evolved. And then the final thing I would say that you could probably think about if you want to rebrand is if you felt like you haven't gotten traction in a while and you have this sort of stinking suspicion that your brand or your industry

has sort of evolved in such a way where you're kind of left behind and your website's no longer getting the visitors it usually gets or your services are no longer getting tapped. That's a really good sign that you just maybe need to listen in a little bit more and say, you know, has my industry changed? Whether you're in tech, you're in wellness, you're in, you know, manufacturing or whatever it is that you're up to, you know, maybe you should think about how do I listen in and see if I should rebrand and re-change some of my messaging to match the current market.

and what my ideal client is looking for.

Speaker 2 (04:19)

Yeah, I really love this idea of evolution because I think sometimes we can fall into this false concept that brands are stagnant. You design them once and that's just how they are. And I've used this example in the show before, but I just really love it. So I always go back to it. And when I was in Ireland, I was at the Guinness factory and they have this whole beautiful art installation of how their brand has evolved over the years. And it's taken on so many different iterations. You know, some are small changes, some are big changes, but it is

evolved over time and we just see these snapshots of a brand and we actually miss sometimes when brands are changing. Sometimes we might notice someone updates a logo, we'll see the press release, but these things are changing a lot over time and we're just seeing these snapshots and our brain kind of just filters it out and we don't even see these changes that everyone else is going through. So we think of these things as standing still, but they really aren't. And I think that especially with online businesses, these small changes over time,

are just part of it. And so this can give you this allowance to make these changes, that kind of permission structure that sometimes is missing. And it's just really neat to witness when you actually take time to look at brands and just realize that they are constantly evolving just like you.

Speaker 1 (05:32)

Absolutely. mean, do you all remember when the Apple logo, what the original Apple logo looked like with the like rainbow Apple thing? And now it's just like new refined Apple and Pepsi and Nike and all these brands that we love have always evolved. And it's been a little bit weird to think about it in such a way that individual business owners often don't think of themselves as like able to evolve, right? Like if Nike can evolve and if...

you know, then you can evolve. And rebranding is totally normal, it's a part of the business process. And honestly, your customers, your ideal clients are looking for a fresh face every now and again.

Speaker 2 (06:10)

Yeah, totally. And I know you've helped other people through their reinvention process and you've done it yourself with this evolution of your business. Can you share a bit about that experience and how it shaped the work you're doing now?

Speaker 1 (06:24)

Totally. And so for me, I loved cruelty-free copywriter. That was my first business. And it was the perfect business for me. It matched my values. It matched what I wanted to do, my skills, my services, who I wanted to serve. It was the perfect thing. But then I started to look in the mirror after a long, slow Q3, Q4 last year. And I was like, okay, I still love cruelty-free copywriter. It's still my baby. But do I want to just do that?

Or should I grow a little bit? I'm slow this season, can I grow? And so I start to look in the mirror and think about what services do I wanna offer now? What am I looking to grow in? What am I good at now? What have I done with Quill Degree Copywriter that I can now apply to a new company? And that's when I realized that I was a little bored. To be frank with you, I was bored. like, I don't wanna write another email or a website about a snack.

I really wanna work with bigger companies now. I wanna work with global brands. I wanna work across time zones. I wanna work with different currencies. I wanna help people launch in the US. The US is such an amazing place to have a company, to be based. Like we're lucky, we're based in the US. we have roots in the US. And there's so many companies that wanna grow there. And there's not that many people who can translate their company mission and vision into the American mind. How do you sell?

French furniture to a woman in New York City, if your website's only in French. You know, like the woman in New York City is not gonna buy that furniture, but if you have someone to help you, she might. And so for me, this whole process of like, I have another skill that's beyond just this industry of cruelty-free and vegan. I can help people translate their mission and vision into the US. So I wanted to do that. And so for me, it was just a new challenge. It was a new invention. It was a new me.

And I was also living a global life. I moved away from the US and I was starting to connect with different companies around the world. And they looked at my website and they were like, we're not quite vegan or cruelty. That's not really what we do. Like you seem like a great girl. We want to work with you, but it seems like you don't serve us. And so I had to make that calculus. And maybe some of your listeners might also like, am I closing a lot of doors because my existing branding or my existing messaging isn't really resonating with people who are coming to my website.

And so I would suggest that anyone who's looking to do a reinvention, start over and start new, look at the data around you. How many people are knocking on your door that wanna work with you but don't quite fit into what you're offering or what your messaging is? And how can you meet them where they are and grow and expand to support them?

Speaker 2 (09:08)

Yeah, it sounds like I'm hearing a couple things when you're feeling bored and the work that you were doing and it sounded like there were some shifts in your industry where maybe it just wasn't as in demand anymore and so there was a market pivot you needed to make to even maybe maintain your income and those two things if you being bored and needing to make that market shift aligned and that was how you knew it was a great time to make a pivot and it sounds like you were starting to get other people who you know were looking for that evolution and it wasn't quite reflective

in your website yet, so this was just an upleveling for you.

Speaker 1 (09:45)

Yeah, nailed it, Natasha. And that's what I think people should really think about as they're reinventing. I would not suggest just jumping in and reinventing yourself. And I have a horror story about a friend who did that, and it did not turn out well. But really learning how to listen in to what the market is telling you. And again, we think of ourselves as freelancers or solopreneurs or small businesses, but all businesses should always listen to their clients and adjust to their clients' needs.

Like how many times has Nike and Coca-Cola and all these amazing brands that we love pivoted because their audience changed, you know, like a billion times. So as small business owners, I always suggest listening in and adjusting.

Speaker 2 (10:29)

That listening is so important. I really appreciate that you highlighted that because sometimes we operate with this theory of if I love it and I build it, they will come. And we both know that's one of the quickest ways to put yourself out of business. So unless you've just got a really good sense of business without doing research, I'm going to tell you it is not most of you. It's not me either. We need to do that research. It's so important. So I would love to ask, you know, in today's market, that's a really competitive, it's uncertain.

What's the first thing that you recommend someone does when they know it's time to pivot?

Speaker 1 (11:07)

my gosh, piggybacking off of your last comment of like, I will build it and the people will come. Please don't do that. I forgot to mention that Cruelter Free Copywriter was my biggest business, but I had a small business prior to that called Afro Feminista Vegan. And I was a plant-based coach for women of color. And I had that mentality. I will build it and they will come. And what happened? My business had crickets the entire three years that I was buying and spending and

investing in it. And that's because what I failed to do with my last previous business, Afrofeminist to Vegan, I failed to do research. I literally failed to do research. So when I did that business, I closed it up and I said, I'm never gonna start a business again. I'm never gonna pivot until I do research. So when I created Culture Free Copywriter, I was so in the weeds with data. I was looking at five years, 20 years of growth projections for plant-based foods or fashion or beauty.

I was looking at innovative products and brand new industries that were popping up within that niche. I was looking at new companies that just got funding from VCs and what are they making and how are they launching and what kind of copy are they using? And I was totally deep into the research. And it wasn't until I was certain that for the next five years, the culture-free niche was gonna grow that I decided that I would go for it. And that's what happened. I jumped in in 2020 and my business grew all the way. It's still growing.

2025, it's still growing. And so if anyone wants to make a pivot, always do your research. And I want to say it's so easy now. A chat GPT, just punch in what industries are growing in the United States or what companies are fast growing in this niche and just see what comes up. Look at their projections, look at the products that they're creating and then think about, could you work with some of these top brands? Could you work with a small business in your neighborhood?

Could you work with this local entrepreneur that you wanna support? think about the day-to-day as well. When you're pivoting, what you may also wanna think about is what would it look like to work with these people? I'll tell you a story. I met two amazing virtual assistants at a networking event not long ago, and they were so happy to be in this networking event. It was full of women, it was awesome. And they're like, we're ready to get out of our niche.

And I said, okay, why are you pivoting out of your niche? And they said, we're in construction. And they're like, it's a great lucrative industry, it's awesome, but the people in the construction ⁓ industry treat us really poorly. You know, we're two women, it's a really male dominated space. A lot of people sort of talk down to us, you know, we're your virtual assistants, but we're not your punching bag. And they're like, we just wanna be with like kinder people, whatever that niche is. You know, we just aren't feeling the construction niche anymore.

And that was a good sign for them. If you're not feeling comfortable in the niche that you're in, or you're feeling like the industry that you're working in doesn't respect you, or you don't like the people, or the vibe's not right, that's a great sign to pivot and get out and do something else and meet new people. ⁓ And so that's what I would also suggest is to do your research, to do a day-to-day audit on your life and who you wanna work with and how you work with them. And then also think about

Is this new area or niche something that people need? Again, that's what I failed to do with my plant-based coaching. Nobody really wanted plant-based coaching at that time. It was like 2018, it was before the big boom. And so when you start searching for the industries that you wanna work in and you wanna pivot in, look at their pain points. What are people looking for? If you wanna work in tech, if you wanna work in beauty, if you wanna work in fashion, if you wanna work with animals, if you wanna work whatever, ⁓

Are there pain points in that industry and can you help alleviate those pain points with your skills, with your assets? And so all these things should be thought about before pivoting, before anything at all. And so I spent hundreds of dollars on websites and businesses and companies that never grew because I didn't do research. I didn't think about my day-to-day or my ideal client. And I thought I knew their problems, but those problems weren't big enough to build a business around. And so there's so much opportunity to rebrand and to reinvent yourself.

if you come armed with research, with data, with numbers, with a vision for who and what you want your business to be.

Speaker 2 (15:37)

Yeah, and I find myself repeating something and learn from Melissa Glick, who I had on a few episodes back, and she said, you know, what is the painkiller for your audience? Not the vitamin. People are looking for something that's going to alleviate their pain right now. And I think that's so important to remember this and mark in this market, which is why I bring it up. And

I know when it comes to rebranding your business, can feel really overwhelming, maybe even unnecessary when money is tight. We've gone over some of the reasons why you might want to make a pivot, but what makes it really worth the investment and how could someone approach it strategically without maybe blowing up what they've already built entirely. So it's just strategic in the way that they're spending money and investing right now.

Speaker 1 (16:19)

Well, it depends on where you're coming from. So let's say you are a company or a small business and you've invested in a website, you spent the $10 on the domain and maybe spent a couple hundred dollars a year on the website, you built it from a template and honestly it works fine, then don't change it. If you're sort of strapped on cash, don't change it. But if you feel like, okay, now is the time.

when I can evolve, I have a little bit of money, I can sort of work on little things, those are the moments when you wanna invest. So some people make the mistake of rebranding and investing in their business when things are actually pretty good. Don't invest in anything that you don't have a pain point around. For example, when I first bought my first great website design for Cruelty Free Copywriter, I...

Spent $5,000 on it. It was painful. But it was because I had the money at the time and I knew that it was a good investment. But before I had my 5K, I just used a regular old template and I also got great clients. And so I think if you're strapped for cash, do what you can with what you have until you feel that you have the means to do more. ⁓ One of my other favorite pieces of advice is the 1 % rule. Now I did not.

⁓ Create the 1 % rule. I will give that to my favorite podcaster Stephen Bartlett of diary of a CEO I don't know if you've seen that Natasha It's an amazing podcast

Speaker 2 (17:52)

So I just found this podcast this year and it's blowing my mind. I really love it.

Speaker 1 (17:57)

He is such a game changing podcaster to me. And what I love most about him is not his guests, but the way he runs his company. And he has a rule in the diary of the CEO company and all the other companies that he owns, a 1 % rule where we will do 1 % effort. Like we will improve the company by 1 % every week, every day, every month, you choose the metric and that 1 % compounds over time. So if you're strapped for cash,

Maybe all you can afford is to rewrite your homepage. It costs you your time, it costs nothing else. Maybe your 1 % is getting new photos. That's one thing you can do this year to make your brand look so much fresher. Maybe you wanna get some new tools. Maybe you wanna integrate something interesting into your website and that's the way that you 1%. Maybe it's posting more on LinkedIn. Maybe that one free post on LinkedIn gets you one or two new clients.

takes 1 % of your effort, but might bring you a lot of compounding interest. And so I would suggest anyone that's looking to sort of upgrade their branding and reinvent, but they're just kind of strapped, just think about what is one small, tiny little thing that might not even make a huge difference. And like in your mind, you don't think it makes a big difference, but in your business, it really could. Think about what those 1 % changes could be and just implement one this week. Don't even have to change the whole thing. Just one small thing.

that can make your brand a little bit fresher, a little bit funner, a little bit more interesting, or drive a little more traffic to your website.

Speaker 2 (19:32)

I think this is the secret and it seems so simple. And like you said, it could feel insignificant, but when we add that 1 % every day, suddenly that's 20 % over a month and you know, versus, okay, I didn't do anything this month, which happens all too often. We're like, that little actions not really going to do anything. So then guess what we do? We don't do anything at all for a month when you could have taken 10 minutes a day. And that's actually a lot done over a month. That's a couple hours. So I'm really in love with this concept. And actually I chose my

word of the year, kaizen, which is a Japanese word and I'm sure it's pronounced differently, but it's just this beautiful concept of continual process improvement, one percent better every day, so really similar and that's just the thing I'm embracing for this year, it's just a little bit better every day, then it's not overwhelming and you know if we could just do that...

Then when we get busy, things are still getting done, even if it's just a little bit each day. And the other reminder, I talk about this a lot, is just the importance of checking in and reflecting. And so I love to see people checking in at least quarterly so they can actually recognize what they do too. Cause sometimes we get confused in our heads. We think we did more or we think we did less and we don't really know until we sit down and check in. So I just think this is so important and all of that little effort adds up over time.

Speaker 1 (20:56)

Absolutely. And you know, if you're someone that's easily distracted, you're like, listen, like I can't even focus on a rebrand, let alone get through it. I think Stephen Bartlett said recently on an episode that his one of his coworkers just changed the scent of the office. She's like, I'm just gonna, you know, let's take out the lavender and let's just do vanilla or something. And like everyone on the group chat was like vanilla. And it changed everyone's, you know.

you know, productivity level, just that one thing. So even you can even change your space. And if that helps you mentally get ready for your rebrand or do one small thing today just by changing the scent or putting an extra pillow behind your back or like chatting with your mom like 10 minutes prior, and that always puts you in a good mood. Like even that could be part of your big rebrand or your effort to make a big rebrand, one small thing. So sky's the limit on that.

Speaker 2 (21:49)

Yeah, and I know that messaging is your background, that's your expertise. So when it comes to the successful reinvention, how important is the messaging and the copy in that?

Speaker 1 (22:00)

My gosh, messaging is essential. I always say you could hold up a cardboard box and put up a sign on the sidewalk. And if your messaging resonates, someone's gonna give you a dollar. If you have a gorgeous website, but the messaging is off, you might get no money at all. So I think sometimes, and I'm a copywriter, so I'm biased. I love words. I think words matter so much. Some people get so caught up in the look of their rebrand.

which is fine, we need that, that they forget the messaging. And so it looks good, but it doesn't sound like anything. And then your rebrand was never really a good rebrand. And so I would never skimp out on messaging. It is really the secret skill, the secret power. And again, I'm biased because I'm a copywriter and I'm a messaging strategist and I do a lot of brand messaging and brand strategy stuff. But none of my clients have ever been like, you know, I really regret investing in messaging. It just didn't do anything for us. ⁓

Everyone's always been like, why haven't we done more? And so messaging matters to me more than the colors and the fonts and the images on your website or on your business card or on your book. I know Natasha does amazing book designs and you should hire her for that. ⁓ But also the messaging on those books and on those designs really make a huge difference. And so for me, I think a before and after in my life was when I first started Cruel Tree Copywriter, I wrote

helping game-changing brands stand out. That was my tagline. And I'm like, when I looked back, I was like, that is so fucking boring. Excuse my language, it's so boring. I was just like, who was that for? Like it just, it did nothing. And then over time, I realized who my ideal client was and I was like, okay, now I'm ready to refine this message to helping clean beauty, sustainable fashion and plant-based CPG brands stand out, turn heads and change the world. It's way longer.

But that's what they honestly wanted. All these brands came to me because they're like, we look like everyone else, we need help. Or we sell like everyone else, we need help. Or we can't reach our mission of sustainable, of a sustainable planet or healthy people or whatever, because like our stuff is boring, help us. And so, know, messaging is such an important aspect and it's okay to audit your stuff with a critical eye. you're not good at critical stuff when it comes to your work, go ask a friend, go ask.

colleague, go ask a fellow business owner and they'll give you the tea and say, you know, this tagline is kind of boring or it's amazing. And just think about one way so you can be more concrete with your messaging, more specific with your messaging. Who do you serve? Why do you serve them? What are their pain points? What can you help with? And why you? You know, why you of all the millions of people in the world, why should someone choose you to support them? so yeah, messaging is king or queen.

Speaker 2 (24:52)

Yeah, I think that this is so true. And the more I work with people, the more I realized that, mean, so many people in business, even five years into their business, can't succinctly tell you what they do and how they help. And I love the story brand by Donald Miller. I've always just love what he says, which is that confused people don't buy. If someone cannot walk away and go tell someone else what you do easily, they're not going to buy from you because they don't know what you do and they don't understand it. And this is so unbelievably common. And I think that's why I.

is so important.

Speaker 1 (25:27)

Yes, and you've nailed something else for me. The more businesses that I've created, the more I've been able to nail down that message so much quicker and so much shorter. And so American Copywriter Co, my new company, my tagline is five words, helping global businesses reach American audiences. Wait, helping global businesses reach American audiences, six words, my tagline is six words. Helping global businesses reach American audiences, period, that's it.

And there's so much interpretation in there, but you know who I serve, you know who's doing it, you know who the audience is, you know what my big goal is, and that's it. And it's so much more refined than what I had come up with in my other two businesses and so on. And so one thing I would caution about, and like you said, Natasha, confused customers don't buy, I have a friend, who shall remain nameless? She's an amazing copywriter.

but she was starting to feel the pinch from the economy. And she's like, maybe I should rebrand, maybe I should reinvent. Then she became a coach. Then she became a strategist. Then she became a mentor. Then she became, and then I think, and then she started charging really extravagant prices for things without giving the value, without messaging the value. And ultimately,

She's not doing that well financially right now and that's not her fault. It's not because she's not an amazing person. It's because her messaging has been so complicated that people don't really know what she stands for. know, are you a messaging strategist? Are you a marketer? Are you a mentor? It's confusing. And so no one bites because she's wearing so many hats. They don't know which one to choose. And so that's one way, that's one pitfall I would avoid if you're going to reinvent yourself. Just do something small, something incremental.

Don't confuse everybody. Don't lose your roots for who you are and what your brand is, ⁓ but evolve. Apple never lost their roots. Just evolve. And there's an art to that. It's easier said than done, but try to avoid the trap of reinventing yourself every three months.

Speaker 2 (27:37)

Yes, I think that's important because then you can cause massive confusion for yourself and for your clients because at the end of the day, if you go to a networking event or something, someone needs to be able to walk away and say, I want to send you to Topaz because she does excellent copywriting for people trying to break into the market for America. And you know who that is, right? You can identify with that. But if you just go and say, hey, she does copywriting, copy strategy. Well, that could be anyone and so many people, but you're different.

differentiated your niche down.

Speaker 1 (28:10)

That's a lot. Thank you. And thank you. When you start meeting people, if your tagline and your messaging is tight enough, even your friends can advocate for you. Your colleagues, network, people in your network can just be like, oh yeah, know Natasha. She does amazing graphic design work and branding. And I think she did my book cover. Yeah, she's great. You should totally hire her. And it's so much easier for people to talk about you when your messaging is tight from the beginning.

Speaker 2 (28:35)

All right, so we need to get into a topic that is on everyone's mind right now, or at least it seems like it, which is how AI is changing who they hire or even what they choose to hire for. So I think what's important to hear is for someone who thinks that they can get away from hiring a real person with brand and copyright experience and just use AI for that copy, what would you advise and say to them?

Speaker 1 (29:03)

You know, I would say if you are cash strapped, use AI to write your website, but don't let it write everything. With that, I have a friend who launched a photography business and she's bootstrapped, she's doing it all herself, just her and her camera and her cute dog and they're trying to make it work. And she shared her website with everybody. So of course I took a look.

And when I read her website, I knew it was AI through and through and through. Nothing about the page felt unique. Nothing talked about her special skills or why she's uniquely qualified. Nothing talked about her dog. For goodness sake, he's part of the branding. ⁓ And so if you are going to skip a professional copywriter or brand person, I don't recommend that. But if you feel like you need to get something down and get something started, use AI, it's fine, but refine it a little bit.

you know, rewrite some things on your own, make something funny on your own. You don't have to write the whole website, but don't let it write everything for you. Cause people know. And then again, like you said earlier, messaging that confuses doesn't get sales and branding that's just boring doesn't stand out. And someone will go somewhere else to someone else whose branding is better. And so, you know, definitely use AI to get you started.

but I will always advocate for copywriters. I will always advocate for professionals who are skilled in what they do, who can translate your branding into something more magnificent. ⁓ And they might use AI too to help. They might be happy to build upon what you've already created, but don't lean on AI for everything, because you'll just sound like everyone else, and then you're back to square A.

Speaker 2 (30:53)

Yeah, I definitely agree with that. There's this whole kind of AI thing going on, like this AI fatigue. So if you land on someone's website and it looks like it's entirely written by AI, it's going to be an immediate turnoff and AI writes a lot of fluff. There's just not a lot of substance. So if you're using AI, you know, and DIY bootstrapping, I think it can be a good place to start, but I would say write out your own thoughts and content and then have AI improve it. If you just ask AI to write you something, it's going to be super basic.

And that's just not what we want. And make sure to infuse your stories into it, your personal experience. And that's going to be way better than nothing, especially if you're feeling not confident with these skills. So there's that bit of collaboration and really making it your own.

Speaker 1 (31:41)

Totally. Yep, I totally agree. So yeah, not to discourage you to not use it. Just don't lean on it 100%. You know, add some creativity, hire a friend, hire somebody to support you.

Speaker 2 (31:54)

I love that advice. AI is definitely going to be here with us for the long run. So you think that a lot of people are afraid though, that they can't stand out, that they're going to get lost in all of this noise. What would you say to someone who's feeling like they're going to be replaced or left behind?

Speaker 1 (32:10)

You are totally not crazy. You have every right to feel that way because there are some early young career, early career roles that are being taken over by AI. So you have a totally valid fear. However, thinking back to when the first car was introduced, the first car came about in the early 1900s when the horse and buggy was still around. And can you imagine how

replaced the horse and buggy felt like that guy on the horse that's been doing this for like, since like 1888, like that guy felt replaced. And so there were two options. That gentleman who did a horse and buggy for centuries could either like stop doing his business and like kind of fade into the background while cars took over, or he could learn to drive a car and become a taxi driver. And that's what happened. ⁓ AI is like when the horse and buggy is getting replaced by the car.

you can take the bull by the horns and you can own it. You can use it, you can learn it. Instead of having it replace you and pummel you and take away your power, you can say, how can I use AI to make me faster, to make me smarter, to make my copy more clever? Like, can I help AI, how can AI be useful to me instead of a replacement for me? It's a total mental shift. And as someone who was definitely feeling a little threatened by AI,

Now I'm using it so that it can help me, not hurt me. So I would say try to think about AI in a new way. Try to sort of shift your mental map of not just letting it take your job, but letting it help you with your job.

Speaker 2 (33:57)

I think AI is a strong collaborator, especially for a solo printer where it can feel kind of lonely, it's just some feedback, like a co-worker. And a lot of times I don't use it in a way where it's writing anything from scratch, it's just...

Or even writing anything at all. It's just, Hey, what do you think about this? Can you give me some points where I might want to improve? And it's not like I take all of AI's advice, but I think critically about it and go, is this something I was missing? And in that way, I think it's just really strong and a good collaborator. And I think that's the real strength of it is helping people feel less alone, especially if you're starting out a business as a solopreneur, because it's challenging on your own.

Speaker 1 (34:35)

Yeah, totally.

Speaker 2 (34:38)

Where can people find you online to connect with you?

Speaker 1 (34:42)

Yeah, so anyone can find me at AmericanCopywriterCo.com, that's all one word, ⁓ or on Instagram at American Copywriter Co., LinkedIn at the same handle. Or if you're interested in my vegan, cruelty-free copywriter business, that's crueltyfreecopywriter.com. And same on Instagram and same on LinkedIn. My businesses are open and I love helping people. And if anyone is occupying the same niches, I love answering questions on DMs or emails so people can reach out if they have questions about anything.

Speaker 2 (35:12)

This has been such a great topic because I think it is so timely. A lot of people are looking at pivots, you know, whether they wanted to or not. And sometimes the world is just bringing us new ways of being. Like you mentioned the car and buggy, these things change and we have to deal with it. So I think this is giving people out a lot of things to think about, even if it just solidifies where they're at right now and that that's exactly where they need to be. So before we close out today, I would love to ask you one thing that I ask all my guests, which is

What is one piece of advice you would have for your younger self?

Speaker 1 (35:47)

Oh my goodness. That's a good question. I would say you were born a writer. Never stop. And I say that only because when I told my parents I wanted to be a writer when I was 11, they were like, oh, that's so cute. Yeah. Yeah, that's a great hobby. So what are you going to do with your life though? And it really discouraged me when I was young. So I did all these weird jobs and careers that I never should have been doing.

And so coming back to copywriting and coming back to writing has done something for my inner self, my younger self. And ⁓ I can't imagine doing anything else. So yeah, I would say if you were born a writer, never stop.

Speaker 2 (36:32)

I

am so glad you came on today.

Speaker 1 (36:35)

Thanks so much, Natasha. This has been so much fun, I appreciate you.

Speaker 2 (36:39)

All right, thank you so much everyone and goodbye. We will see you in the next episode.