Sarah Townsend, Marketing Copywriter and Author, Sarah Townsend Editorial Limited
Sarah Townsend has been a freelance copywriter for 20+ years and is the author of the #1 Amazon bestseller, Survival Skills for Freelancers. Described as "better than a business coach" the bestselling guide to self-employment busts the myths about being your own boss to help you ace self-employment without burnout, distilling twenty years of freelance experience, plus quotes from over one hundred freelancers, into two hundred unputdownable pages. Since publishing her bestselling guide to self-employment, Sarah has combined her copywriting work with delivering mentoring, training and events to help the self-employed community tackle the ups and downs of freelance life.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
Tough call – I enjoy Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. Probably Instagram. There's a thriving and supportive community of small biz owners and freelancers over there, and it challenges me to come up with fresh ways to share what I do in a visual way. Not always easy when you work with words!
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
As a copywriter, I help business owners identify and articulate the things that make their business special, using powerful and persuasive copy to help them become more successful. As the author of the bestselling Survival Skills for Freelancers, I get to help entrepreneurs, freelancers and small biz owners through mentoring, talks and training. It's empowered me to make a real difference to the self-employed community, and I love that.
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
I've always loved helping business owners raise their profiles and grow their businesses using clever copy. Writing Survival Skills for Freelancers has given me a gateway to help them in a completely new way, by raising awareness of the importance of boundaries and balance to avoid burnout.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Stay curious and keep an open mind. You never know the ripples that can occur with every human interaction and decision you make.
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
I've run my own business for twenty-two years now and have been a single parent for more than twelve of them. I've always been motivated by the desire to help people and to do a good job, but until I achieved financial security, I was also money motivated. Money gave me the ability to provide security and comfort for my family, and that was top of my list when I first got divorced.
Over the years, as I've become more and more financially stable, my focus has returned to wanting to help others. Since publishing Survival Skills for Freelancers, I've been super driven by the desire to educate the younger generation on the reality of self-employment and how to deal with the challenges it can throw at you. It's the reason I've begun to spend more time mentoring, taking part in interviews, and delivering talks and training.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
Raising two incredible kids: my daughter is now twenty-two, and my son is eighteen. Running a successful business and writing a book that's made a huge difference in so many people's lives all around the world (Survival Skills for Freelancers has sold in fourteen countries)! One review said, "This book won't just HELP small businesses – it'll SAVE small businesses". I find that incredibly humbling.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
Oh, any way you like! I'll chat to anyone, anywhere! When I talk about staying curious and keeping an open mind, this is what it's all about. You never know who the person you're talking to is married to, or related to, or hangs out with. The ripples of connection are endless – and that's an exciting concept!
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
I'm very immediate. If I decide to do something, I want to do it NOW. That can be a blessing and a curse, but it does mean I make things happen. I've always been self-motivated and organised, and I can be hyper-focused and driven.
As for copywriting, I've always had an ability to make the complicated simple. I'm very much a fan of conversational language – it's one of the reasons the book's proved so popular, and my superpower is creating something special from other people's rough drafts or bare ideas. So satisfying!
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
Basically, everything in Survival Skills for Freelancers! When you start out in business, you don't know what you don't know. I found myself as a 20-something-year-old faced with juggling starting a business and being a mum for the first time, and I knew nothing about either! Back then, I couldn't find a book that spoke directly to me, like getting reassurance from a trusted friend. Last year I set out to create just that and to bust the eight myths of self-employment in the process.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
Too many people to mention!
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
I'm a keen photographer and love getting out in nature – give me a long walk in the countryside or by the coast, preferably with a picnic, and I'm happy. I'm also a total bird nerd! I've started learning to identify different species just from their song – it's harder than you'd think! Aside from that, I'm obsessed with movies, love gigs and theatre, and am a keen reader (currently enjoying my 45th book of 2021!).
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you been managed it?
Neither, really: it's been pretty unaffected. Apart from that initial wobble while the world came to terms with what was going on, I've had as many – if not more – enquiries as before. If anything, self-publishing Survival Skills for Freelancers two months into lockdown was positive, as it meant I could share my advice for staying productive and efficient while working at home, and not losing your mind in the process!
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
I don't have a mentor, but I now offer mentoring as a service for freelancers and small business owners. I'm also a peer group mentor for the groundbreaking FreelanceHER 100 scheme.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
Do your research! Learn from those who've been there and done it, by reading books and blog posts, by listening to audiobooks and podcasts and by having conversations. There's so much information and experience out there!
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
Lack of preparation, I think. You don't know what you don't know. It's the reason I wanted to share my 20+ years of experience in Survival Skills for Freelancers, to help people achieve their definition of success both quicker and with fewer mistakes. On top of that, a reluctance to put yourself out there.
If no one knows who you are or what you do, how can they buy your products or hire your services? Yes, the idea of 'selling yourself' is uncomfortable to many people, but it's vital when you're trying to establish a business, raise awareness and grow your customer base.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
So many! Let's go with Maya Angelou: "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." A lesson for life, not just for business.
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
I've always admired the brands that stand out for having principles: purpose-led businesses that make a difference (as well as a profit) by standing for a cause and having fun in the process. Speaking directly to your target audience using their language, without fear of alienating people who aren't your target market and just don't get what you're doing... that's brand confidence.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
Success means different things to different people. It's less about the money you earn, the car you drive or the number of foreign holidays you can afford. Instead, true success is about being fulfilled by the work you love and having the freedom to balance that work with the other important things in your life, such as family, hobbies and free time. If you're earning enough to live the lifestyle you dream of... well, that's the icing on the cake.