03 - The Rule of One: How to Write Copy That Connects with Laura Sands

In this episode of Between The Bells, I’m joined by copywriter and workshop leader Laura Sands. After leaving a corporate marketing role in search of flexibility and challenge, Laura built a thriving freelance business that now includes copywriting, AI-integrated content training, and practical workshops.

We chat about:

✍️ How Laura went from blogging on maternity leave to full-time freelance copywriting

🧠 Why she believes good writing starts with knowing what good looks like
 
🧰 The power of breaking writing into three steps: planning, drafting, editing
 
💬 How to apply the “Rule of One” to keep your copy clear, focused and effective

💡 Tips on navigating AI tools with confidence, not fear
 
☕ Creating a calm and intentional morning routine (dressing gown included!)

Bell Ringing Takeaway: Your health is your business. Laura’s reminder to look after the basics - movement, rest, nutrition, and support - is vital for long-term success.

School Drop-Off Shoutout: No school run these days - just one good coffee, a stroll in the garden, and a fresh mindset to start the day right.

Homework Assignment: Apply Laura’s “Rule of One” to your next piece of writing - one reader, one message, one focus. Simplicity is the secret to copy that connects.

Connect with Laura Sands:
🌐 Website: laurasands.co.uk
🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lauralsands
📸 Instagram: @laurawritescontent

🎙️ Edited with precision by podcast editing master, Mike Roberts of Making Digital Real

✨ Subscribe, follow, and share with anyone who’s growing their business between the bells.

🔗 Connect with Rebecca on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rebeccanewenham
🌐 Learn more about Get Ahead: getaheadva.com

Transcript

It was kind of the point where I was, I had to do something that's not working every hour that God sends in my old job, because I am ambitious, I guess you have to be don't you to an extent, but I didn't want to work every single hour that God sent and be at the whim of you know shareholders, okay you're going to go to Geneva this week, okay you're going to go and do this that week. I wanted to do it on my own terms and the only way that I could get flexibility staying in the kind of work I was in was to stagnate. Hello and welcome to Between the Bells, growing a business in school hours. 

This is a podcast for ambitious entrepreneurs who are building successful businesses within school hours. I'm your host Rebecca Newenham, founder of outsourcing agency Getahead, franchise consultant, business mentor and host of LinkedIn Local. If you're a parent, carer or just someone who doesn't want to be tied to the traditional nine-to-five, then you're absolutely in the right place. 

This podcast is all about proving that you can build a thriving business while still being there for school drop-offs, pick-ups and everything in between. So today on Between the Bells we are joined by the wonderful Laura Sands. Laura is a copywriter that I've known on and off for probably nearly the last 10 years since she launched her business and you're in for a real treat today. 

Laura shares some wonderful tips on how to really keep your copy short, sharp and to the point and I found it really interesting listening to her journey as to why she set up as a freelancer, wanting challenge and flexibility and not wanting to stagnate. So I know you're going to really enjoy this one and her homework assignment is perfect for all of us. So I hope you enjoy this session of Between the Bells.

Well everyone, you're in for a treat today. I'm here with the gorgeous Laura Sands. Laura, welcome to Between the Bells. 

Hello, nice to be here. So nice to be here, Laura. And I love that we sort of reconnected because I know we were just talking earlier that you did a little bit of freelancing with me at Guess Ahead a long time ago, but I've just loved watching your business journey and how you've evolved. 

So I'd love you to share that with everyone. I'm happy to. It's exciting. 

Yeah, yeah. Go for it. Okay. 

So yeah, I used to work in corporate marketing and it's not an unfamiliar story, but everybody on this who's listening will recognize this, but I corporate marketing and I made the mistake of having children. And it was, I went back to work after my first and it was fine. You know, I settled back in, kids were in nursery and all that. 

And then I rather embarrassingly fell pregnant again rather quickly with my second. And whilst I was on my second maternity leave, I got into blogging and I really enjoyed it. And it was something to kind of, it was a nice creative outlet because when you're at home with little ones, it can all get a little bit kind of monotonous. 

So it was a nice creative outlet for me to do the blogging. And as I was trying to work out how I could make my blogging site look better and kind of get blogging tips, I stumbled across an article that was about how you could essentially become a professional blogger and a copywriter. And my understanding of being a copywriter to that point was somebody who wrote adverts. 

And I read this article and I was like, Oh, that's interesting. And I read it and I researched into it a little bit more and realized that, yeah, this is something that I could do. I could definitely do this. 

I enjoy writing. I've got a marketing background and it's something that looks as if it could be flexible enough to fit around and childcare. Because by that point, my youngest, my eldest, sorry, was kind of, you know, school was on the horizon and whilst nursery, you can drop off at 7.30, you can pick up at 6.30 if you need to. 

With school, it's very much drop off at 8.45, pick up at 3.15. And there's very little flexibility around that, especially as very few schools had wraparound care. So we were kind of having that moment of, Oh my goodness, how will we cope? And so this kind of presented itself at a great opportunity. So I thought about it, looked at some different courses and such like, and yeah, decided that that was what I was going to do.

So I retrained to become a copywriter. I like to make sure that I know what I'm doing before I jump into something. I'm not a winging it kind of person. 

So I retrained and I went back to work as I was retraining. So that was fun. So I was working full-time retraining and two toddlers.

So that was, looking back, I'm like, how did I do that? I was more energetic than I do now. I know, we all look back and think, how did I actually handle that job? But when you're in it, you're in it and you're focused. And I think that's really good that you managed to actually find training. 

Yeah. I think, I think it's a case of if you want something, you do whatever it takes, basically, you know, I think that's what it comes down to is like, how much do you want this? And I was like, right, I absolutely want this and I'm going to make it happen. So, and that's what I did. 

And then, yeah. And then rather naively, I left my job, my very low paying job with my fuel card and my health insurance and all that, and became a freelance copywriter. And I didn't realise quite how naive that was until a few years in when I started kind of networking with other copywriters and they were like, oh, so which agency did you start out with? Who did you start working with as copywriter? I was like, oh, nobody. 

I just did it myself on my own. So, yeah, only in retrospect do I realise that that was maybe not the ideal route to take. But like you said, I started out, so I worked, did a bit of work with family and friends. 

I got in touch with you, did some work through your agency, which was a godsend and kind of gave me that initial client base and practice to kind of build up my freelancing abilities, really. And then it's kind of just gone on from there. And I was thinking just before I came onto this, it's going to be 10 years in, I think, July since I handed in my notice, well, since I left my old job, which kind of boggles me a little bit because it's really... I mean, a decade is a huge, if you think about that in the sort of lifetime, that's a huge chunk of your time. 

And I wonder if you had any ideas or vision as to where it was going to take you 10 years ago? Do you know? I didn't. It was kind of the point where I had to do something that's not working every hour that godsends in my old job because I am ambitious. I guess you have to be, don't you, to an extent. 

But I didn't want to work every single hour that godsend and be at the whim of shareholders. Okay, you're going to go to Geneva this week. Okay, you're going to go and do this that week. 

I wanted to do it on my own terms. And the only way that I could get flexibility staying in the kind of work I was in was to stagnate. And I didn't want that. 

So I left with the thought of doing something for myself. But at the same time, I kind of had the view of, well, if it doesn't work out, I'll just go and work in the supermarket for a while. And then we'll see. 

We'll take it from there. So I was kind of, yeah, I didn't have any great expectations. I just wanted something that was going to challenge me and allow me flexibility at that point in time. 

Yeah. And I think that's a common thread, Laura. Is it the challenge and flexibility rather than the other way around? Yeah. 

And it's funny because when I was talking to my manager about leaving, and she's since gone on to have kids, but she said to me, she said, Oh, so you still are interested in developing your career. I was like, yes, I am. My brain didn't fall out when I had a baby. 

It just shut down and that was the end of that. No, very normal thing. I know, exactly.

Yeah, I am still interested in developing. It's not, it's just priorities shift. Absolutely. 

So you did the freelance copywriting and then I've noticed the workshops and other pieces. Yeah. So freelance, so copywriting and that is something that I love doing. 

And the market is shifting a bit and, you know, I think lots of people, let me go back a bit. I guess there's lots of different reasons for doing that. Number one is that writing is really hard work.

It takes a lot of mental energy and also physically, you know, you're just sat in the same position. So it's quite hard on the body in not a great way. And doing the workshops allows me to kind of break up my work in a different way. 

So it gives me the chance to interact with people, which I don't get to do typically in my everyday work. And it allows me to just, it's just a different income stream really. So it gives me a bit of variety because yeah, if you just sat there, desk, head down, tapping away, it can become a little bit, I don't know, a bit samey. 

So the workshops just add a bit of variety to my work. But in parallel to that, the market has been changing and a lot more people are using AI tools now. And I firmly believe that you cannot use an AI tool to help with your writing if you haven't got the fundamentals in place, you need to know what good looks like. 

And lots of people don't know what good looks like. So these workshops do give people that insight into what they maybe need to consider. And then I've been learning a lot about AI myself recently, so I started to incorporate some of that AI training into my sessions. 

But it's about giving people confidence, people who aren't writers and who don't need to be writers, but need to write for their jobs, whatever that job might be. Oh, I love that. Thank you. 

And I'll definitely obviously be sharing all the links to those workshops and things. Oh, they're fun. And I try to make them as non-judgmental as possible, because I think people have this lingering fear about writing that it needs to be perfect. 

And if it's not grammatically correct, then it's not worth using. But that's not the point. Communication is about building rapport. 

And yeah, and I'm not an English teacher, I get things wrong, you know, I have to go through with grammarly and double check that I've got, I still don't quite understand comma splices. But yeah. But you know, I get paid for my writing. 

So it's all good. Well, lovely. And I love the fact that you found another opportunity to get energy, because that's what it's all about as well, isn't it? Absolutely. 

It really is. Yeah. Yeah, definitely.

So let's move on to our next part then. So quick fire questions. So have you got a favourite tool or lesson that you'd like to share running your business? So I guess the thing that I, I've got lots of favourite tools, but it's breaking stuff up, you know, doing things in steps, everybody thinks that you have to sit down and just write, and that you will create something amazing, but it never works like that. 

You have to kind of take a step back and chunk things down. So have a planning session, have a writing session, and then have an editing session. So don't ever try and do everything all in one go, because it just doesn't happen. 

And that's one of the things in my workshops that people are always kind of surprised about. I think people think that they can sit down and write an amazing blog or thought leadership piece in one afternoon, and they get disappointed when they don't achieve that. But the reality is that the planning and the initial drafting is a huge piece of work.

And then it's all about coming back to it afterwards. So that's probably not a tool that you were thinking of. But that is a technique, I suppose, that is really important. 

And yeah, I think for me, I use it a lot. And I always recommend other people kind of take that technique and use it themselves. So that's quite reassuring, actually, isn't it? Because I think you're right, we all think you should be a Jane Austen, sitting and sort of scribbling in our notebook and out comes the most perfect piece of content.

But yeah, that's really interesting. Thank you. And in terms of your bell ringer moment, so the single most important takeaway, or piece of advice you'd like to give? You have to look after yourself. 

That is so basic. But you have to look after yourself. And it's not about getting your nails done, or getting a facial. 

It's about having, which is lovely, but get therapy, eat well, have exercise, sleep well, and take movement breaks. I mean, like real basic stuff. Because if you can't work, and you're not in good health, or you're anxious, or worried, or stressed, you will not be good at what you do. 

You have to look after the basics. And I learned that the hard way. Especially I think a lot of us did with COVID. 

You know, when you're trying to do all these things, plus homeschool, plus worries of the, you know, the world ending, you know, and I got really quite like, yeah, a lot of anxiety and ended up having to spend a hell of a lot on therapy. And I was like, why did I not do this before? It's amazing. I've realized all these things.

Yeah, it's so true. I think we think we've got to keep going, keep going, like you were saying, and be around, you know, the school day is so short and quick, quick, quick, every minute matters. When actually, every minute does matter, but not necessarily change your desk doing the work.

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And you're so much more resilient because you have the health in place. 

And let's be honest, if you have no health, you have no business. And ultimately, though, you're not working because you like working, you're working because you want to have a nice life. And that's what I am anyway. 

So that is the thing is if you had no health, you have, what do you have? So you have to look after that first. No. Oh, that's a perfect hour in the moment. 

Thank you. And then in terms of your school drop off shout out. Well, I don't drop off anymore, because when I was secondary school, and they go off on their bikes, unless it's pouring with rain, or one of them's got a flat tire. 

So I now very happily wave them off, still in my dressing gown. And then I make myself a coffee, my single full caffeinated coffee of the day. And then I'll probably have a walk around the garden if it's dry, then I'll do some exercise, have a shower, quickly tidy around the house, then I'll start work. 

So that's my, so it always involves a nice cup of coffee, hoping I'm like right. Eat with joy rather than rushing. Yeah, exactly. 

It's lovely. It's lovely. Although when they suddenly, you know, like, I've got a flat tire, it's pouring with rain. 

I'm like, oh, okay, fine. Drive you in then. And how long is the drive to school? Oh, like five minutes.

I know, because I'm on my road, the schools at the end of our road, and I look at them coming in in the morning. And it's that whole drop off scenario. I remember going, we're going to be late. 

We were never late. But it's so, it was all consuming. But it set tone for me for the rest of the day. 

And I think what I love about what you've just said, is that setting your tone, isn't it, for the day? Yeah, yeah. And yeah, because we moved a few years ago to a place where we could then walk the kids to school. And that was amazing. 

But the drive, when we used to drive into school, oh, my God, it gets stuck in traffic. We'd have to go down a hill where one car had to come up. And I mean, honestly, it was just awful. 

And the kids learned so many swear words on that drive to school. But it sets the scene for your whole day, doesn't it? It does. It does. 

And then you feel terrible because you yelled at the kids. And yeah, it's just, it's not, it's not good. Well, the old current one sounds like a perfect routine.

It is. It's ideal. I feel very lucky when they're often outside and they're at my fluffy dressing gown, I go, see ya. 

Oh, is it cold out there? And how do you manage? Obviously, we're recording this in the Easter holidays. I know you were laughing earlier, the boys are still under the duvet. But in the holidays, are you quite good at giving yourself some sort of boundaries and planning when work days might happen? I'll be honest, I find Easter holidays almost the hardest out of all of them. 

Half terms are not so bad because you can kind of allocate your work for a week and kind of like squeeze it in and kind of tell your clients you're taking a couple of days off. Summer holidays are fine because there's always stuff on. But Easter holidays I just find tricky because it's too long to stop working, really, at least when you have to take other times off.

And then there's very, there's very little else on. So they're kind of just going a bit feral. And then I check in every now and then to make sure they're not damaging themselves on YouTube and trying to make sure they get some exercise. 

But yeah, we try. I just end up working funny hours doing Easter holidays. And then, and sacrificing all the stuff that I said is important, like exercise, you know, meditation. 

But I am drinking enough water, so you know. You can double down on that off when they're back at school. Well, exactly. 

I'm like, I will get out for that run on that Tuesday when they're back at school. Yeah, and really look forward to that then. Exactly.

No, I hear you, Laura. I hear you. So finally, your homework assignment. 

And I love these homework assignments. And before we recorded this, I said I think I might release these different ones because they're really impactful. And I love the fact that everyone's coming up with different things depending on their experience and what they're doing. 

So what's your homework assignment, Laura? So my copywriting, my assignment is when you're writing for your business, keep in mind this copywriting fundamental, which is the rule of one. And it's about essentially keeping it simple. People over-complicate things all the time, but the rule of one will help you simplify it. 

And there's two really easy, I mean, it goes on and on and on, which is kind of ironic considering it's the rule of one. But there's two easy ways you can apply it. One is when you're writing, imagine you're writing to one person. 

So it's about being really clear about who your target reader is. So not only kind of what their job is, but kind of like their interests, what motivates them, their claim points. So kind of focusing on that one person. 

And by doing that, you will find that your writing becomes so much more engaging and so much more specific. And then the other thing is focusing a piece of writing on one topic. Many of us, you know, will write sentences that cover three or four ideas or paragraphs that kind of merge into entire stories. 

But if you kind of focus on keeping a sentence in one kind of key factor, paragraph on one fact, even, you know, if you're writing an email to your clients or somebody, detailing one key message, then it's always easier for people to understand. Because if we're giving people masses of information, they've got to process it. How do they know what the most important thing to take away is? How are you going to communicate the most important thing? And so just keeping one in mind will make it easier for your audience and therefore make it easier for you to get your key messages across. 

So it means you have to be really, really precise and about what you want to communicate, which does force a bit of discipline in there, which is always difficult. Rather than just the brain dump. Exactly. 

Exactly. Yeah. Because I would, I've heard that and I've applied a similar concept if I'm, say, promoting and looking for franchisees, I sort of, the avatar style, you know, what, and you hear that quite a lot, don't you, as well in the marketing world around? Yeah. 

Yeah, exactly. And it's difficult because often our businesses, we appeal to several different types of people. And so it's very difficult, especially with, if you're writing your website to buckle down on one key avatar. 

But, I mean, there's ways around it, but you'll always get better results if you do focus on that one person. You have to be a bit brave, don't you, I think, almost. Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

And actually go with your gut feeling rather than sort of have a few softer options. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And you can always segment, you know, so there's ways around it.

No, no, no, absolutely. I love that. And I love the fact that it can apply to emails, to blogs that you're doing, to copy. 

It can apply to everything, can't streamline it. Because I find that with emails, I'm often a bit naughty and I'll react really, not naughty, but I'll react really quickly to something rather than if I'd just taken a little bit of time to consider how I wanted to respond or what I wanted to say, rather than shooting off the hip because I want to look efficient. I know I do that as well. 

And then I look back and I'm like, oh, that wasn't very clear. What's it considering? Why did I do that on my phone on the train when I could have waited 10 minutes and done it at home? So I think it's pressing the pause button a little bit sometimes. Yeah, exactly. 

Or drafting it and then coming back to it and going, oh yeah, actually, let's just change that. Yes. Yeah. 

No, that's a good point. Yeah. Popping things in draft, but then remembering to send them.

Well, yes. Yeah, exactly. My goodness. 

Finding something has been in your outbox for a week is the worst feeling. Oh, I know. I hear you. 

Yes. Oh, Laura, that's brilliant. Thank you. 

So we've covered so much. And I love it that you've come from that angle of copywriting and sort of demystified it slightly because, as you say, AI is there lurking and lots of people have opinions, certainly, but it's how you embrace that and move it forward for your business. Yeah, definitely. 

And I think it's exciting. And lots of people are kind of scared of it. But if you use it, you know, you've got to use it for your way that works for you.

Yes. It's not going away, is it, Sola? No, it certainly isn't. No, exactly. 

It's about learning to control the machines. Exactly. Well, on that note, we will love you a leaguey bit. 

Thank you so much. I've loved our conversation today, Norb. Oh, it's been great. 

Thank you for having me on. A pleasure. And I will be shouting about you on socials. 

So, oh, thanks, Laura. Have a great rest of the Easter holidays. Cheers. 

Bye.