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The Content Byte: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Rachel Smith and Lynne Testoni
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- Yesterday39 min
How freelancers can find work through referrals - with Sarah Hubbard
Rachel and Lynne speak with Sarah Hubbard, author of The Intentional Networker, about using referrals and relationship-based networking to find new clients. Sarah shares her MAPP framework (mindset and intention, authentic presence, precise messaging, purposeful follow-through) and explains how to systemise networking with simple tracking (even spreadsheets), an A/B/C contact system, and regular follow-ups. She describes using AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude to capture event notes, create templates, and update a CRM, and offers strategies for introverts such as preparing in advance, keeping the day's workload lighter, and leveraging extroverts for introductions. It's a great conversation, about being curious, connecting as a person, going deeper rather than wider, and building relationships over time. Connect with Sarah via her website: https://sarah-hubbard.com The Intentional Networker: How to Strategically Build Your Sphere of Influence and Transform Connections Into High-Value Opportunities https://a.co/d/0426cgMQ AI Prompts for Strategic Networking: https://sarahhubbard.myflodesk.com/aipromptsitn Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au ), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co
- 1 weeks ago33 min
How to make time to work on your freelance business
This week Rachel and Lynne are responding to a question from listener Stephanie about how to make time to work on your freelance business. It's a bit of a choose-your-own adventure because we have such different work styles and systems. Rachel uses a mix of a bespoke paper diary (Creator's Friend), Outlook, Google Keep, batching, and Friday "work on the business" time, plus automations in Moxie (forms, pipelines, calendar booking windows, templated replies, and auto-created Google Drive folders). Lynne has a paper-free setup using Trello, an electronic calendar, "salami tactics" (small daily actions), Marketing Monday, Mail scheduling/follow-ups/reminders, and industry events for networking. We also discuss invoicing habits, accounting software, setting aside GST/tax/super, and recommend choosing regular business time, one in-person event monthly, and automating two tasks per month. Want to suggest a topic for a future episode? Email us at hello@thecontentbyte.com Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co
- 2 weeks ago32 min
Creating customer-centred content with Mat Patterson
This week, Rachel and Lynne are chatting with freelance writer Mat Patterson (morehumancontent.com), who argues small and medium businesses and freelancers should lean into being personal, flexible and customer-close rather than copying big-company systems and jargon. Mat shares his path from web design to customer support to writing, explaining how support work builds communication skills through fast feedback. His work includes newsletters, podcasts and articles for customer-centric SaaS and customer experience companies, focused on clearer, more engaging messaging. We also chat about: Customer marketing via happy customers Why good service requires leadership giving staff authority How generative AI will increase the value of unique human perspective amid generic content Connect with Mat via: https://morehumancontent.com, https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathewpatterson/ and https://www.helpscout.com/resources/supportive-podcast/ Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co
- 3 weeks ago56 min
The systems freelancers need to succeed - with Leticia Mooney
This week, Rachel and Lynne are chatting with freelance business coach Leticia Mooney about building an "engine room" of systems across customer experience, sales and finance so clients feel safe, payments are smoother, and work is easier to deliver. Leticia says freelancers often skip systems because they assume their work is unique, but writing includes research, analysis, delivery and communication, all of which benefit from good processes. It's a great discussion about how to make your business run better and free yourself up for creative work. So many tips, including the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle with frequent review, how to do client updates to reduce anxiety, and walking through agreements on sales calls to prevent questions and ghosting. Connect with Leticia via her website: Https://leticiamooney.com Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co
- 4 weeks ago57 min
How to create your own career luck with Mel Barfield
This week Rachel and Lynne discuss luck, visibility, and career resilience with guest copywriter Mel Barfield, managing partner at Copy or Die, host of the Indie Business Club podcast, and a Freelancer magazine columnist. Mel shares her career shift into freelancing after moving while pregnant, how expectations and mindset can block opportunities, and why "luck" is largely created through action, relationships, and optimism. She talks about creating and noticing chances, acting on hunches, reframing setbacks, and expecting good outcomes. Practical tips include breaking big goals into chunks, building personal authority, asking for opportunities, avoiding overly negative public posting, networking with curiosity, and using LinkedIn strategically to connect with ideal client job titles without cold pitching. Connect with Mel via: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniebarfield/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allcopymel/ Substack: https://indiebusinessclub.substack.com/ and the agency she runs with Dave is https://copyordie.co.uk/ Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au ), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co
- Apr 12, 202640 min
How to make money through TikTok and Instagram with Keenya Kelly
This week Rachel and Lynne discuss how freelancers can use Instagram and TikTok to make money and win clients with guest Keenya Kelly, a social media strategist known as the "TikTok Queen,". Keenya has over 500,000 TikTok followers and has generated more than $4 million through short-form video. She explains how TikTok shifted marketing toward entertaining, educational, scroll-stopping videos (often under a minute), speeding up the like-know-trust factor and purchasing decisions. She recommends prioritising consistency (at least weekly), creating stronger content rather than posting anything, and using tracking links and automation such as comment-triggered chatbots to convert views into leads and sales. It's such a valuable episode as Keenya talks about how she batches her workflows using B-roll, scripts, and organised storage, as well as using AI for competitive analysis and video ideation, and highlights authenticity, newsjacking, and how to better repurpose content. Connect with Keenya via her website: https://www.keenyakelly.com/ Or on TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@keenyakelly Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co
- Apr 5, 202638 min
Theresa Miller on speaking up and the opportunities it brings
This week on the podcast, Rachel and Lynne discuss how public speaking can help freelancers become more visible and attract clients, despite battling nerves. We are joined by media trainer and journalist Theresa Miller to talk about her book Speak Up on becoming a successful presenter and media spokesperson. Theresa shares why knowledgeable people often stay quiet, why it matters to "speak up" in an era of misinformation and AI fakery, and how to manage those all-too-common nerves. She outlines practical strategies including researching your audience, tailoring your message to their needs and pain points, using structure and story (including the hero's journey), and ending with a clear, ideally dated, call to action. We also chat about pathways into speaking, the role of in-person events, as well as Theresa's career lessons and favourite tools of the trade. To buy her book https://www.theresamiller.com.au/books Her online course: https://www.theresamiller.com.au/online-course Ten tips to nail your media interview https://www.theresamiller.com.au/media-interview-tips Eight-attention grabbing openers for presentations https://www.theresamiller.com.au/openers Or connect with her on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresa-miller-tm-media/ Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co
- Mar 29, 202636 min
How to nail client meetings
This week on the pod it's just Rachel and Lynne as we answer a listener question about how to nail client calls. We compare warm leads (often via referrals and niche networks) with cold leads (often from Google), and share tactics and tips on how we handle professional calls, including researching the client (website, socials, ABN and reviews); being punctual and prepared; using interviewing and soft sales skills along with reflective listening. We also discuss how to handle the question of budgets by stating indicative pricing, adjusting scope, offering tiered options, and focusing on value, plus being prompt with quotes, setting validity windows, and clarifying terms such as deposits, SEO non-negotiables, and limits on revisions. We also cover longer discovery calls for web copy projects, using transcripts/AI notes, and the value of meeting clients in person to build trust. Here are links to some of the article we discuss: Why to offer tiered pricing (blog) https://rachelslist.com.au/why-you-should-offer-tiered-pricing-as-a-freelancer/ Client brief template (shop) https://rachelslist.com.au/portfolio/client-brief-template/ Quoting freelance projects with Lynne Testoni (shop) https://rachelslist.com.au/portfolio/21062/ Gold members of Rachel's List can listen to the lunch club with Treasa Edmond on nailing discovery calls, which includes her downloadable checklist. https://rachelslist.com.au/freelance-writing-jobs-australia/lunch-club-library/ Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co
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About The Content Byte
Hosts Rachel Smith (from Rachel's List) and journalist and content writer Lynne Testoni are serving up weekly short bites of advice, tips and strategies, plus special guests, for freelancers who make a living from using their words. We're shooting for 15-minute episodes, but can't promise anything because we can both talk the leg off a chair.
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