What Does a Copywriter Do All Day?

If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me what I do all day, I’d have a pile of nickels. 

I’m a copywriter, not an accountant, so I’m not doing the math on that to figure it out for you. If you need me, I’ll be firmly inside my zone of genius, away from math. Ahem.

A lot of people (especially my friends and family), don’t know what copywriting even is - so the 12 second version is that it’s writing designed to persuade, or get somebody to take an action.

It’s part marketing, part sales, part creative writing, and a lot - I mean A LOT - of research (if you’re doing it the right way). 

The list of things that benefit from a copywriter’s expertise is long and growing. The main things I write for my clients are websites, landing pages, emails, sales pages, ads (social media and/or print), and mission statements.

Now that you know what it is I’m actually doing, we can move onto the second nebulous question I often get, which is: “How do you run your business while homeschooling?”

The answer is by getting real clear on my priorities, firm on my boundaries, and by being (painfully) flexible...plus a bit of help from my husband.

Here’s how a “typical” Wednesday goes around my house. Side note - there are literally no typical days around here, this is a best case scenario that rarely actually happens.

5:45 am - alarm goes off. On the easy days, I’ve already been awake for a few minutes so the chiming of my cell phone doesn’t actually wake me up.

I lay there for a moment contemplating my life choices, then get out of bed. I head to the bathroom to get ready for the day in the clothes I picked out the night before. It’s a dry shampoo kind of day since I don’t have time for a full shower (I’m not gross, I took a bath last night to wind down).

6:00 am - In the office, ready to write! I spend the first hour of my timeboxed schedule working on my personal writing. My session begins with a few minutes of focussed meditation and intention setting. From there, I usually work on a blog post or persona; business writing project.

7:00 am - This is my social media and email time. I post to LinkedIn and Facebook, then spend some time connecting with my network on those platforms.

Usually around 7:30, my youngest wakes up and I take a quick break to get her set up with breakfast and start her homeschooling day.

I specifically choose to work on a low priority, easily interruptible task during this time because I KNOW there will be interruptions.

For example, my daughter just came in to show me that her cornflake was shaped like Africa and to ask if she could take a picture of it. Can’t make this stuff up! Also, the geography lessons are working…

8:00 am - This hour is a toss-up. Sometimes I do content planning/creation for my social media, sometimes I go back to personal writing, sometimes I work through a course or class I’m learning about...CCA modules are great to review, and I’m also working through an NLP program right now.

If the morning is going poorly, and the kiddo needs some snuggle time, I grab my kindle and read a business/mindset/marketing book while I spend some couch time with her. 

9:00 am - Now, I switch gears, put on my apron (sometimes literally), and go into Mom mode. I log off the computer, put my phone away, make sure my youngest has eaten, and await the moment when my tween-aged, yet man-sized son wakes up.

This hour is spent connecting with my kids, making sure they are fed (hangry Kossows are no joke - you don’t want to be around that kind of heat), and doing a few chores around the house.

The kids start with their independent homeschool work for the day, while I get our bags packed so we can head to horse riding lessons on time.

I love having the flexibility to take this time out of my normal “work” schedule because it sets us up for success for the rest of the day.

10:00 am - Research and backup! My husband gets home from his freelance gig, and he spends the hour trying to get both kids ready to leave the house and trying to get through a few homeschool lessons with them.

I’m available to help if they’re struggling, which is about 50% of the time. If things are going well, I sneak away to do some research for the client I am writing for in the afternoon.

11:00 am - 2:00pm - Horsey time! Wednesdays both kids have riding lessons, and we get to drive almost an hour to get there…hooray!

If I have a deadline, my husband takes them and I stay home to have quiet work time. We swing by the library on the way out of town to drop off our returns, and pick up our books on hold (plus some of the awesome science kits our library has been putting together since quarantine!).

Most weeks, I’ve managed my time well enough that I can go and hang out with my mom-friends whose kids are also taking lessons. This is one of the highlights of our week, and we all look forward to it. 

2:00 pm - 4:00pm - Husband homeschools, and the kids have screen time once they finish their school work. This is my deeply focussed client writing time.

Headphones are on, and the white noise app is cranking.

The office door is closed.

There is ONE tab open on my computer, and all notifications are turned off.

My phone is in sleep mode.

I am in the zone.

Another quick meditation to set my intention for the writing session, and I’m off!

If I’m struggling to get started, I set a timer for 15 minutes and make myself get something down, even if it's a shitty first draft (in this house, we love Anne Lamott).

Most times, once I’ve made it past the 15 minute mark, I’m flying through and making great progress. My brain knows this is it’s time to write and create. The rituals I’ve created around my writing practice help me clue into the idea that now is the time to go to work.

4:00pm - One of my favorite hours of the whole week - my meeting with my accountability partner Jenn Landers! We meet for about an hour to go over our goals for the week, troubleshoot any copy problems we have, celebrate our wins, and work to let each other know that as freelancers, we are not alone.

We inspire and motivate each other, and having her in my life has made a huge impact on my business. Every quarter we meet to set long term goals that really push our businesses forward.

Moral of this part of my day: if you aren’t 100% satisfied with your personal and business lives, make the investment in yourself to find a good accountability partner…it’s been an immensely transformative experience for me.

5:00pm - Usually by now, I’m a bit spent. The kids still have one hour left in their allotted screen time for the day, so I try to finish up a few tasks while they’re occupied.

I do a last check of emails and social media for the day, make sure I’m up to date with my invoicing and financials, and tidy up my desk. I timebox my schedule for the next day, and check to make sure I got all my MITs (most important tasks) done.

If the weather is nice, I head out to the hammock and read, work on a course, or review a training I’ve previously done.

Sometimes, I just rest, meditate, or do an easy yoga sequence.

Oftentimes, my meeting with Jenn will give me ideas for new things to focus on, and I’ll work to incorporate those new goals into my weekly plan.

My work day (usually) wraps up by 6:00pm so I can enjoy the night with my family.

We have dinner together most nights, and I love having family time together in the evening.

Usually, it’s lights out for me by 10:00pm, but one of the things I accept as a freelancer (who homeschools her two autistic kids) is that sometimes, things won’t go according to plan.

There’s a lot of freedom and flexibility in my life thanks to the work I do, but I also need to flex in the opposite direction sometimes.

I’d be lying if I said there haven’t been some nights (mornings?!) at 1:00am where I’m struggling to prepare for a client meeting the next day because a kiddo had an hour long meltdown and needed total support during a time I had work scheduled.

I’m great at getting the writing portion of my job done well before the deadlines are due. I do admit, occasionally, the “running a business’ side of freelancing can get a bit overwhelming…

There is A LOT of juggling going on - notice I said juggle and NOT balance - there is no balance when you have this many things going on.

It’s all controlled chaos and planned confusion, and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.