eLISE HODGE
Hello, hi! I’m Elise and I’m a conversion copywriter and educator for ambitious female entrepreneurs.
I could bore you with all of the details about how I studied Journalism, got my start in PR and worked as a media consultant for a federal MP, but pssssh, that’s totally snoozeworthy. ;)
The really good stuff is the amazing women I’ve had the honour of working with since starting my business. Over the years, I’ve “learned the ropes” of conversion copywriting or “acquired my expertise”, so to speak, on the job – diving deep into the brands of female entrepreneurs. They have inspired me to be better and hone my craft time and time again.
My thing? I firmly believe that conversion starts with connection. That’s why, before I ever put pen to paper, you’ll find me deep in detective-style research (sparkling rosé in hand), uncovering “its-like-you-read-my-mind” moments that speak directly to my clients’ dream clients' souls.
What inspired you to start your business?
Create a retainer service (or monthly membership). This allows you to create predictable income in your business while refining your offer, making it the very best that it can be. This also allows you to not have to spend soooo much time creating personalised packages or constantly finding new ways to market your services, because you already have established clients. And, if you create a referral-worthy experience, those loyal clients will tell their friends about you (a win win!). Of course, this is my personal experience with what works best for me – take it with a grain of salt, everyone’s business is different and what works best for their lifestyle might differ too!
Another tip (because I can’t stop at one!), especially for the female founders and CEOs who are new to business (but applicable at all stages), is networking! There’s SO much power in connecting with other business owners, particularly those who offer complementary offers. You may be able to explore ways you can partner to share about your offers to each other’s audiences, or you may simply be able to leverage each other’s influence and add value to each other’s audiences through shared blog posts, Instagram posts, podcast interviews, email newsletter blasts, etc… the sky’s the limit with this one. ;)
DEEPLY ROOTED STUDIO X ELISE HODGE
The short version – my husband and I had a trip booked to Europe and wanted more money to enjoy it… so, I started a copywriting business.
The long-ish version – six months on from quitting my job as a media consultant to go all in on my lifestyle blog, I realised I wasn’t quite making the kind of money I’d hoped to. Hubby and I had a trip booked to Europe and we needed cash, stat. So, I thought, why don’t I combine my passion for empowering women with my skills in the media and writing sphere and start a copywriting business? Around 30min after that initial thought came into my brain (#imovequick), I threw up a post in an Australian female business Facebook Group letting people know that I was starting a copywriting business and sharing an introductory offer for $50 bios.
A bunch of people said “heck yes”, because, well, that’s kind of a no brainer (yikes!). That started a small but consistent stream of PayPal notifications, signalling that this whole “business-ish” thing actually worked, hooray! From those very humble (but super exciting) beginnings, I did all sorts of odd copy and content-writing jobs before streamlining my services to focus on web and sales copywriting. That was a good few years ago and I’ve had many iterations of my business since. Oh, and I’m pleased to say I don’t offer $50 bios anymore (#sorry). ;)
Who do you serve and how do you help your clients?
On the agency side of my business, I serve them in three different ways:
- Monthly Content Creation that helps them delight and engage leads again and again (think done-for-you blog posts, email newsletters, social captions, etc)
- Brand Messaging & Website Copy that allows them to attract aligned clients 24/7 (and have a digital home they’re actually proud of!)
- Conversion-Optimised Launch Copy that puts the fuel on the fire of their live (or evergreen) launches, making them more effective (think sales page copy, promotional emails, etc)
On the education side of my business, I serve business owners in the following ways:
- Plug-and-Play Copy Templates that make writing a page of web copy or an email series seriously quick and easy (how’s just one day sound?!)
- The Connection Copy Club where my team and I provide pro-copywriter reviews month after month and teach brand messaging and copywriting essentials for those who want to make sure their words always connect and convert
What are the top 3 mistakes you see being made in your industry?
connectioncopy.co
What is your top trick for female founders & CEOs who are looking to scale their business?
@elise_hodge
How would you like readers to connect with you?
What can this look like:
- Monthly Content Creation that helps you delight and engage leads again and again (think done-for-you blog posts, email newsletters, social captions AND all graphics and any other banners needed, delivered on a silver platter!
- Conversion-Optimised Launch Copy + Design that puts the fuel on the fire of their live (or evergreen) launches, making them more effective (think sales page copy AND design, email copy AND design, etc.)
contact us via dm or email hello@deeplyrootedstudio.com for more information
- Not having a clear idea of who they’re speaking to.
This sounds simple, but it is the BIGGEST mistake I see – and it holds so many business owners back from connecting with their dream clients. A lot of people speak to everyone in their copy (because they’re amazing and want to include so many people), but in doing so they actually deter action taking because the right clients don’t feel confident that the offer is for them. To be effective in your writing, you need to speak to one person at a time. This doesn’t mean you have to be restricted to only ONE dream client across your entire business BUT with each piece of copy, you should speak to one person (think one web page, one person, or one email, one person, etc!) - Something that goes hand in hand with mistake 1 is that business owners often make a LOT of assumptions when they write copy.
This is because “marketing gurus” have taught them to create “ideal client profiles”, and people often do this by sitting down and thinking about who they want to work with and what that person’s characteristics are. But that’s totally ineffective for writing conversion copy. Demographic stuff can be important (and should be sprinkled throughout your copy) but the most powerful stuff is in-depth research and discovery, aka getting inside your ideal client’s head (think surveys, interviews, snooping the comment’s section of YouTube videos, Reddit forums, etc!) - Not having a really clear goal when writing a piece of copy.
When you write a page of web copy or an email or an Instagram post without a goal in mind, the whole thing becomes totally ineffective. The point of conversion copywriting is to get people to take action (whether that’s fill out an application form, purchase a product, opt in to a lead magnet, or send a reply to an email). So when you’re writing anything, consider what you want your reader to do before you put pen to paper – it’ll make the writing process SO much easier and your content more effective.
Make it to the bottom of this post? Hiiiii – I’d love to connect with you! Shoot me a DM @connectioncopyco on Instagram and let me know what your favourite takeaway was (or ask me a question – I’m all ears!).
If you want to learn more about how my team and I can help you write copy that converts (whether that’s from the ground up, month after month, or DIY-style), head on over to connectioncopy.co to peruse our offers and get lost down a rabbit hole on the blog. ;)
If you prefer to listen to tangible copy tips and business chatter in your ears, tune in to my podcast, the Expert Status Show, on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Thanks for reading!
