Navigating the Beauty Industry: Insights from a Copywriting Connoisseur
Welcome to my latest blog post, where I’m thrilled to share the rich insights from a recent episode of the Beyond Beauty Podcast. I had the pleasure of hosting Shiri Feldman, a seasoned beauty industry expert and copywriter, whose journey and expertise have illuminated the path for many aspiring creatives in the beauty realm. Today, I’ll take you through our enlightening conversation, unpacking Shiri’s valuable advice, and exploring the nuances of beauty industry trends and the evolving role of copywriting.
Shiri Feldman: The Beauty and Brains Behind the Words
Shiri Feldman is not just a copywriter; she’s a storyteller who has carved her niche in the beauty industry. Her transition from a beauty enthusiast to a wordsmith for beauty brands is a testament to her passion and dedication. Shiri’s approach to copywriting goes beyond crafting compelling messages; it’s about creating a narrative that resonates with a brand’s identity and connects with diverse demographics.
The Art of Brand Messaging
In our discussion, Shiri emphasized the critical importance of brand messaging. In a market flooded with products, standing out is not just about what you sell but how you tell your story. Shiri’s strategy involves a deep dive into a brand’s ethos, ensuring that every piece of content aligns with the core values and appeals to the target audience. This alignment is crucial for beauty brands to thrive and stay competitive.
The Copywriting Canvas: Working with Clients and Demographics
Shiri’s collaboration with clients is a dance of creativity and strategy. She shared how she tailors her services to meet the unique needs of each brand, whether it’s a startup or an established name. The role of copywriting in reaching different demographics cannot be overstated, and Shiri’s expertise in this area is a beacon for those looking to make a mark in the beauty industry.
Keeping Up with the Beauty Beat
Staying relevant is key in the fast-paced beauty industry. Shiri and I delved into the importance of keeping abreast of trends, with a special nod to the influence of TikTok in driving beauty fads. She highlighted the success of minimalist beauty brands like Tower 28 and Rowan, pointing out that simplicity can be powerful in both copywriting and visual branding.
The Freelancer’s Journey: Challenges and Triumphs
Shiri opened up about the personal and professional hurdles she’s faced as a freelancer. Striking a balance between work and life, establishing a sustainable workflow, and preserving entrepreneurial freedom are challenges that many freelancers face. Our conversation acknowledged these difficulties while also celebrating the personal growth and self-discovery that come with the territory.
Embracing Generative AI and Networking in the Digital Age
The topic of generative AI in copywriting sparked an interesting dialogue. Shiri views AI as a tool that, when used wisely, can enhance the creative process. However, the human touch remains irreplaceable in crafting narratives that truly connect with audiences.
Networking has also evolved, with digital platforms like LinkedIn becoming invaluable for learning and connecting with industry peers. Shiri’s own collaborative venture, “Beauty Brief HQ,” is a prime example of leveraging social media to share insights on beauty launches and marketing strategies.
Final Thoughts
Our conversation on the Beyond Beauty Podcast was more than just a discussion; it was a treasure trove of insights for anyone looking to navigate the beauty industry’s choppy waters. From the power of brand messaging to the impact of social media trends, Shiri Feldman’s experiences and advice are a guiding light for aspiring copywriters and beauty industry professionals alike.
I hope this blog post has captured the essence of our conversation and provided you with actionable knowledge to apply in your own beauty endeavors. Remember, in the world of beauty, your words are as important as the products you represent. Keep writing, keep connecting, and keep innovating.
For more insights and discussions on the beauty industry, tune into the Beyond Beauty Podcast, and don’t forget to follow Shiri Feldman and “Beauty Brief HQ” on their social media channels for the latest in beauty copywriting and marketing.
Podcast Transcript
Speaker 1 (00:00:04) – Today on the Beyond Beauty podcast, we have Shiri Feldman. She is a beauty industry expert in the copywriting space, and we’re so excited to have Shiri on the podcast today to share her story and how she’s helping beauty brands strategize and write copy that’s used for everything from websites to digital ads, product pages, and so much more. So Shiri, thanks so much for coming on the Beyond Beauty podcast today.
Speaker 2 (00:00:31) – Yes, thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:00:34) – So, Shiri, how did you get started in the beauty industry? How did you get started as a copywriter? Take us back to where it all began.
Speaker 2 (00:00:41) – Yeah, so I was in corporate for five years. I moved around, I did like product development, project management roles, and then I got laid off from a hair care brand and I was exploring, do I want to go back to corporate or what do I want to do? And I always noticed I was always the go to writer. Like a lot of teams, they don’t have a dedicated copywriter, but I was always the one tasked to write product descriptions or blog posts.
Speaker 2 (00:01:06) – So I was like, I think I have something here. Let me like try to become a copywriting consultant. And it took six months to build up to full time. But then I landed a contract with Drybar. And so from then on, yeah, I knew, okay, I’m on to something here. There’s a need for someone to specifically hone in on brand messaging.
Speaker 1 (00:01:25) – Um, and especially in a really super saturated industry like the beauty industry from hair care, fragrance, makeup, skincare, there’s so many different brands. And we’re seeing not only the heritage brands are in the market and thriving and growing and navigating this dynamic world. There’s also so many indie brands coming in and their growth is exponential. So to stay competitive in this space, you really need to own your brand identity, have to like, really craft your voice and understand who you are in comparison to everyone else without getting distracted at the same time.
Speaker 2 (00:02:02) – Yeah, 100%. I think brands focused a lot on like the visuals and that makes sense to me.
Speaker 2 (00:02:07) – But it’s also, if all everyone sounds the same and it’s all generic, then you’re giving it’s a disservice to your brand.
Speaker 1 (00:02:14) – Okay, so how do you work with clients like first, how do clients find you? How do you work with them so that they don’t get distracted by whatever one else is doing? I know it’s a space where a lot of people say, oh, that’s trending. I’m going to do the same, but it might not work for their brand. So take us through your process and how you help these brands in the copywriting space.
Speaker 2 (00:02:35) – In terms of how I’ve found clients, I do feel like I have a leg up coming from corporate. A lot of my connections have been like, oh, I moved to a different company and they don’t need a full time copywriter, but they want someone part time or on a retainer basis. So a lot of has been that way. LinkedIn has also been amazing. I feel like a lot of people don’t post on LinkedIn, but it can really serve you since it’s not saturated, it’s LinkedIn is saturated compared to other platforms like you post on Instagram, and no one’s going to see it.
Speaker 2 (00:03:03) – But on LinkedIn, like a post could easily go viral.
Speaker 1 (00:03:07) – And at the same time it’s like, where are people looking to hire? Whether it’s full time or contractor talent, they’re on LinkedIn. Yes, you might connect with somebody at a networking event in person, or you might see their work, whether it’s creative or visual or technology on Instagram. But for the most part, people are in that headspace of I need to hire talent within their LinkedIn time, whether it’s once a week or a few times a day. So like strike while the iron is hot and catch where their attention is on LinkedIn.
Speaker 2 (00:03:36) – Yeah, exactly. And then also other like Facebook groups. Twitter also posts a lot of copywriting gigs, so you really never know. I think it’s about like creating a name for yourself in the industry. And the opportunities will come.
Speaker 1 (00:03:50) – Definitely. And I’m sure you have a lot of referrals as well. And how people are saying, oh, I’ve been working with Shiri, then she can help you with your holiday limited collection launch, or coming out with a new skincare line for a makeup brand and getting those product pages up to going or writing copy for sephora.com or ulta.com digital ads more.
Speaker 1 (00:04:10) – Mhm.
Speaker 2 (00:04:10) – Yeah, it’s definitely a snowball effect. And then in terms of how I work with clients, some, again, like you said, just want me like for a single project. Others want me like month to month on a retainer basis to write some blogs for them, social captions, and then others really want to take it from the start. Like we don’t want to sound like any other brand. Can you help us develop a tone of voice and really figure out who we want to target? And yeah, I help with that as well. Um.
Speaker 1 (00:04:39) – So within the space of beauty, like what we were talking about earlier, is it so saturated? A lot of people forget that they need to wear what we call horse blinders. They need to look at like straight ahead. Where are they going? Where is their brand evolving? And we’ve all seen it on Instagram. Someone posts something, whether it’s a reminder to put your retinol on at 9 p.m. at night, or like the vibe of which influencers are reaching out to, and people copy it, people are copycats for the most part within the space.
Speaker 1 (00:05:08) – So within the brand identity that not only visuals are important, but I really believe copywriting is so integral within that core of the brand identity. So how do you help these brands stay true to who they are? Understand? Yes, you need to tap into the trends and you need to evolve and transform, but really stick within what works for them and why people are shopping their products versus others and walk us through that process of how you get to that core and who they are.
Speaker 2 (00:05:39) – Yeah, well.
Speaker 1 (00:05:40) – Exercises or research or. Yes. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:05:44) – I think having like a strong brand mission really helps. And then also knowing who do you want to target. And let’s stick to that demographic. Whether if it’s Gen Z, we need to talk in Gen Z lingo or if it’s moms we got to stick with, you have to like, you have to really approach your prospect as you would approach them, like in a human to human way.
Speaker 1 (00:06:04) – Um, so what happens when it comes down to products where Gen Z’s are just as excited about them as millennials are as our boomers? How do you craft those different messages?
Speaker 2 (00:06:15) – Yeah, I actually I really look to brands like Katine for this, if you notice, like their product is expensive, but the marketing is very geared towards Gen Z.
Speaker 2 (00:06:24) – And so I think it’s this like upward effect of first Gen Z gets interested in it. And that’s who their marketing is geared toward mainly. But then it flows uphill because older people then see it and are interested in it. So I think you still need to like niche down a little bit, but then you can retarget and go from there if that makes sense. Mhm.
Speaker 1 (00:06:46) – And are you finding that different age groups are on different platforms. So maybe the boomers are finding out information through blogs and maybe Facebook, whereas Gen Z might be on TikTok and millennials maybe on TikTok and Instagram. And is that how you can also differentiate. The voices.
Speaker 2 (00:07:05) – Yes, blogs are interesting because I don’t think anyone reads blogs anymore in my opinion. So I think that blogs are mainly for SEO purposes, search engine optimization for your website. And I also think that if a consumer is going to look into you, it’s good to have that content, that educational piece on your site to go to and say, okay, like they know what they’re talking about.
Speaker 2 (00:07:27) – But I think older consumers are on Facebook, like Facebook groups are a huge right now to share, like product recommendations, Reddit even. And then of course, younger consumers. But I think more and more even older millennials and stuff are going to TikTok. So yeah, it really it’s spread out. But yeah, I think you have to know what do people actually read and what they’re not going to read. Blog posts are more for like I said, like that search aspect versus like an Instagram caption. People may skim it, people may read it. You have to like from there and then like your website’s landing page, people are going to read the headline. Probably it’s going to catch their attention. Product description. People are only going to read it if they’re actually interested in the product. So you have to make sure does the description actually speak to the usage and really show people if this is for you, this would be a good fit. So it’s very diverse in that way.
Speaker 1 (00:08:21) – And how do you keep up with all the different trends too? Because something that I keep hearing about is for Instagram.
Speaker 1 (00:08:27) – Everyone was promoting really lengthy captions and they were saying, those lengthy captions are going to help your SEO, whereas in on the TikTok world, the shorter caption the better. And the same time this could change in two weeks from now. This could totally be transformed. So how do you stay up to date with not only like the social media trends, but also the macro trends within the beauty space of like, I don’t know anything from like marketing to ingredients. Yeah, clean beauty to skincare first and makeup. There’s so many things that are going on from both, like an ingredient all the way to a technical standpoint. So how do you use to keep up to date or what’s your process?
Speaker 2 (00:09:07) – Yeah, I’m a LinkedIn girl. I’m on there like a few hours a day. I read a lot of articles. A lot of posts. Yeah. And it’s super important to stay up to date, like you said, with not just like the trends, but also the business side of things. It’s a lot, but it’s doable.
Speaker 2 (00:09:21) – I think on LinkedIn it’s a great platform for that.
Speaker 1 (00:09:24) – If someone comes up to you for advice and says, Shiri, I’m also interested in growing a copywriting career. What advice would you give to them or what advice have you received and what advice would you like to share and why?
Speaker 2 (00:09:37) – I would say start like you’re you don’t need a brand to write for. You can write your own stuff. So say you really try. You try out a product, you really love it, write a medium article about it, or start an Instagram where you review products. Make your own content first. It’s a craft. You have to hone it and work on it daily. So that’s the first thing I would say. And my biggest piece of advice of what I’ve learned so far is that if you throw out a rate and they accept it right away, that’s a bad sign. There should always be a negotiation. So if they accept it right away, that means you under charge. So always ask above and go down after.
Speaker 1 (00:10:16) – That’s an interesting question too, especially in the world of self-employment. Freelance. We hear this from directors, photographers, copywriters, consultants. Everyone is saying what is something worth? What is my time worth? Do I charge a retainer? Do I charge an hourly rate? Every company has different policies. How do you navigate this? Or can you leverage learnings from other industries or other types of roles that you find do this well, because this is a question we get asked all the time or people talk through on this podcast a lot.
Speaker 2 (00:10:49) – Yeah okay. So firstly with hourly rates let’s start with that. I don’t think there’s any set rate. I’ve met people who are severely underpaid maybe 25, 30 an hour, and then people who charge 150 an hour. I don’t think there’s any set rate. I think that you can really, based on your experience and how much you have in your portfolio, you can throw out anything and see what goes. Obviously, if a brand is smaller, they’re not going to have as big of a budget.
Speaker 2 (00:11:14) – But yeah, in terms of how I do reading, I think it really depends. If it’s a set project you can do like a set project fee. If you don’t, if it’s just like a couple hours here and there, you might want to go hourly. And then in terms of reaching some stability as a freelancer, I think having a monthly retainer does help. But yeah, in terms of figuring out your rate, I think you have to really determine, yeah, I’m not going to get benefits. I’m not going to get paid time off. Like you have to put all that into consideration.
Speaker 1 (00:11:44) – Like a tax. That’s a big percentage.
Speaker 2 (00:11:46) – You’re not paying anything. Yeah. So you can definitely go a lot higher than you would with a like full time salary. And again, I think whatever you’re planning to ask don’t be modest about it. Ask for more. Because again, it’s better to ask for more and then negotiate down versus you’re stuck with that lower rate. But I think you learn as you go and as you get more experienced, you become more confident in your abilities and you feel like, yeah, I can throw that higher number.
Speaker 2 (00:12:14) – Like I have a right to do that. It’s not just the time I’m working on this project. It’s also all the time and years I’ve invested into honing this craft I agree.
Speaker 1 (00:12:23) – Mhm. So how do you balance both pitching yourself and finding these new clients, as well as getting your work done and like staying up to date with these trends and researching and reading and viewing. And I would argue that scrolling through TikTok and Instagram is a big part of your expertise as well. Understanding like what people are talking about, why they’re talking about what’s trending, what’s not, what’s working, what’s converting. So how do you balance all of these things that you need to really, I don’t know, optimize?
Speaker 2 (00:12:51) – Yeah. No, this is a struggle a daily struggle. And I think because it’s been my first year being self-employed, I’ve really spent a lot more time marketing myself than I have doing the actual work. Like maybe I’ll work for six hours a day on actually writing, but then the rest of the day I’m promoting myself, making TikTok content, LinkedIn posts, networking with people.
Speaker 2 (00:13:12) – So I think like it’s normal for it to ebb and flow. And I think like sometimes when you have less work on your plate, you should spend that time marketing yourself or learning more like it’s never really. There’s never a break. There’s always more to learn. There’s always more people to meet, have like virtual coffees with people. As your name gets out and more people know you like, you don’t have to do as much pitching, and people will just come to you with opportunities. So you can then focus more on the work and less on the marketing aspect. But no, it’s really it’s a division between those three things, like marketing yourself, doing the actual work, and then also honing your craft and learning more. It’s like putting.
Speaker 1 (00:13:50) – That hard work, getting it done up front and really building your name, showing your authority within the space and having people or letting people identify you as the expert and someone that they want to reach out to, or they want to refer to another of their friends, that is a lot of work.
Speaker 1 (00:14:08) – It’s a lot of things to balance to, and it’s something that we’re continuing to look into is just the world of self-employment and entrepreneurship. There are not that many resources in especially in California and in Southern California. I would argue that a good portion of people are self-employed, and what resources are out there to say, what is the best healthcare? Can you join a group health care plan? How do you know your hourly rate? How do you get a retainer? Do you open an S Corp? Do you stay as an LLC? There are so many questions and these are these things can be complex over time and especially as your business grows. And there’s definitely a need for people to bring in resources here and say, this is what’s working for me. It might not work for you, but let me share your story. So that’s something we’re constantly pursuing to say, like, how can we help people and make it less complicated? And this complicated world of taxes, self-employment, health care, etc. they.
Speaker 2 (00:15:05) – Don’t want us to know, like they want us to stay, you know, employed to an employer or a big corporation. And I also think it’s within copywriting. There’s a lot of copywriters who are great writers, but not great business people. And like you said, I think it’s so important to know both because this is your livelihood, this is your but something you’re passionate about. But it’s also your job. Yeah. I think like you said, I think transparency in this aspect is like so important. I’m also just trying to I don’t have anything to hide here.
Speaker 1 (00:15:34) – It’s also learning like you have to your marketing, so many other brands and personas and now you have to market yourself. So there’s a lot to balance there. And as a copywriter, you have a leg up of understanding how you can verbally describe. Who you are and differentiate yourself. So that is definitely a plus and an advantage when it comes out to self marketing. Some people love it, some people don’t.
Speaker 2 (00:15:59) – That is.
Speaker 2 (00:15:59) – Oh no, you gotta love it. If you’re self-employed, self-promote like people are like, I feel weird posting on LinkedIn or showing off my work on Instagram. And I’m like, but that’s what you’re supposed to do. I think especially women, like, we feel weird showing off what we’ve accomplished, but we should know.
Speaker 1 (00:16:16) – Hey, look what product I helped to launch. Look what I just did. I reached my, you know, freelance goal within the first three months. Anything like show it off. It’s okay, I agree.
Speaker 2 (00:16:26) – Yeah. And I think if you do great work, but nobody knows about who you are, what you do, then what’s the good in that? Like you’re not gonna be able to help anyone. You’re not gonna be able to get farther ahead. Mhm.
Speaker 1 (00:16:37) – Mhm. So switching gears into the world of generative AI, we hear a lot of this talk on ChatGPT. Where is this heading in the world of copywriting. Are using it as a resource as a tool for brainstorming.
Speaker 1 (00:16:54) – Do you agree that some people think it’s going to take over people’s jobs? How do we understand what’s happening without becoming fearful and knowing the ins and outs of it, and the positives and the negatives? And what is your perspective on this?
Speaker 2 (00:17:10) – Yeah. So I see two camps of people here. So I see there’s one group of people who are like, I will never use it. It’s bad. It. I’m gonna write from scratch 100%. So they’re just like in denial in that way. And then there’s another camp that’s oh, I’m fearful it’s going to take over my job. The technology is going to improve. I think it’s a tool. Like anything like in finance and accounting. These are calculator. It’s the same type of thing. Obviously it can write generic copy and it’s going to improve and how it can write that. But it can’t tell a personal story. Like I think if your skincare brand like share someone’s personal acne journey like ChatGPT won’t be able to write that, like it can’t replicate real human stories.
Speaker 2 (00:17:52) – It’s not a person like it can write generic copy, but that’s about it. And then in terms of how I use it, I like to use it to brainstorm. Like sometimes I’ll ask it like for product name suggestions and they don’t sound great, but like it gets the wheels turning. I also use it to help me with outlining blog posts because that like outlines take a long time. So I’m like, okay, there I have it fleshed out and now I can save an hour or two right there. So yeah, I think it’s a tool. Like anything else.
Speaker 1 (00:18:18) – It’s a good way to view it too. The same way you’re talking about calculator within the world of finance when. So speaking of generative AI as a trend per se, maybe it’s not a trend. It’s a continuation of evolving and advancing technology and how we can better understand it, to leverage it and find the positives and not be so scared of the negatives. What is a trend that you think is working and doing right now, and what is a trend that is not really.
Speaker 1 (00:18:46) – Is probably not going to stay here for a while within the beauty space. And maybe it’s affecting copywriting, or maybe it’s more on the visual side, or it’s like a macro marketing trend. And how are you navigating these right now?
Speaker 2 (00:18:59) – TikTok is really the driver of trends. So like the everything shower I think is brilliant. That hashtag. Because again, there’s so many products right now on the market and people didn’t have a time or place for use. And so, oh, you have that hair mask, do it during your everything shower, that shower where you have that full spa routine going on. So I think brands will follow suit with social, but also they can create their own trends that help consumers know, like how to use when to use products because there’s just there’s too much.
Speaker 1 (00:19:32) – There’s a lot of products that are coming out too, and there’s new product categories or extensions of products. Skincare companies are getting makeup, getting into skincare, extending into haircare. I think haircare is having such a moment.
Speaker 1 (00:19:43) – So there’s definitely a lot. There’s a lot going on. There’s a lot of noise and navigating that as well. What brand do you find as a gold standard right now? Whether it’s marketing, talking about products, staying true to their brand identity and why are they the gold standard of beauty? Or they could be a product outside, or a brand outside of the beauty industry as well. And in a larger consumer vertical.
Speaker 2 (00:20:08) – I really love there’s a lot of beauty brands that I like. I think the ones that have the simplest copy or the best, because it’s like they’re the most honed in on who they are, like brands like tower 28 or road like. It’s very clear. I think also having a celebrity backing helps too. But if you notice, like those minimal brands, they have the least copy. But like the most clear message where I was looking at day, they had a great tagline. I was looking at their Sephora point of sale merch and stuff like those brands I think are going to excel because it’s so clear and the visuals are beautiful.
Speaker 2 (00:20:47) – They transport you to this feeling and then the copy helps also really show you what they’re about, who it’s for. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:20:56) – Um, I like those examples. They are. It’s like the more simple the better. And this clean kind of like less is more thought process. It’s going to catch more attention than something that’s just it’s no one wants to be overwhelmed anymore. I think we’re all overwhelmed when we step into stores or when we’re scrolling. So less is more. That works. One question that we love to ask is, where do you sit in the stands in your life? And this refers to maybe you are sitting at a sports game, whether it’s in a baseball stadium and a football stadium, and someone throws the ball to someone and you’re screaming, even if you’re not a sports fan, you’ve probably seen someone do this on TV or at a game and they’re screaming and saying, why did you toss the ball to him? Or why didn’t you run it down the sideline? They can’t hear you, right? Is there a place within your life where you’re sitting in the stands? Maybe you want to stop doing something.
Speaker 1 (00:21:47) – Maybe you want to start doing something. It could be as simple as, I want to start making my bed. And I put it on my to do list. Two weeks ago or five years ago, I said I was going to commit to running a marathon. Where in the life do you sit in your stands? You don’t have to be sitting in the stands. I would say most people have something that they’re excited to dive into. And where are you sitting in the stands in your life?
Speaker 2 (00:22:13) – Yeah, I would say I want to figure out like a better workflow because again, this year I’ve just been like, it’s your first year, you’re hustling your networking. I was working weekends, nights. So obviously like creating a better balance and having set days for set clients. But honestly, now I take life like a day at a time. But I know this isn’t like sustainable long term at all. Yeah, I’d love to figure out how I can really work with as many clients as I can and do well and have some sort of stability even as a freelancer, but still take weekends off and not work nights and that kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (00:22:48) – Um.
Speaker 1 (00:22:49) – It’s a great thing to structure and look forward to. It’s hard when you it’s like time is money and money as time, and you’re looking at clients and promoting yourself and getting work done. Or maybe it’s reading through that blog post a few more times, or changing some captions to really see what’s going to work better. And I think we’re all so tough on ourselves, especially in an entrepreneurial mindset. And you always want to continue to improve and evolve and transform. So it’s hard not to work on nights and weekends, and especially if you’re comparing yourself to other people that might have a more structured 9 to 5 job. And you really have to stay in your lane and know. What’s next for you? How can you keep going? And it’s a hustle. Yeah, I’ll give you a lot of credit.
Speaker 2 (00:23:31) – I don’t think freelance is for everyone. I think a lot of people think, oh, there’s so much freedom. I’m working harder than I ever did compared to working in corporate. So, yeah, you.
Speaker 1 (00:23:41) – Probably feel better because you’re in control and you can pick and choose projects you want to work on, and you’re doing something you’re excited about. And at the same time, you can really watch yourself grow, whether it’s through self-promotion or your work evolving or having that goal of winning that certain brand as a client and that, like, those wins are just everything and more.
Speaker 2 (00:24:02) – Yes, definitely. And I think you, you learn a lot more working for yourself than you do working for others. Both like you learn a lot about business, but also about a lot of your you learn a lot about yourself as a person. So yeah, I know it’s great. But again, if people I think are just in it for the flexibility or the money, I say don’t go for it. The entrepreneurial route.
Speaker 1 (00:24:26) – You gotta do it for something that you’re excited about. And it’s a really it’s a genuine commitment to doing that deep, hard work. And like you said, finding out who you really are and what motivates you and what drives you.
Speaker 1 (00:24:38) – And that is a deep dive. So one last question I’d love to ask is talking about networking a big thing for entrepreneurs, self-employment, creatives? What is your best networking advice and why? What has worked and what would you like to share with everyone, whether it’s in-person or digital networking? Traditional. Non-traditional.
Speaker 2 (00:25:01) – Yeah, I think a lot of people think, oh, I have to live in LA or New York and go to these $200 networking events, and those are great, don’t get me wrong, but you really don’t. I think you can reach out to people on LinkedIn and say, hey, I’d love to meet you for a virtual coffee. Just talk to you for 20 30 minutes. And people are willing, like people really want to help each other out, especially if you’re like a freelancer. I know there’s this attitude of that work doesn’t just come to you all the time. So yeah, I would say just continue to put yourself out there and learn from others. See how much are other people charging? How do other people structure their workloads? And the more you learn, the better.
Speaker 1 (00:25:38) – So, um, don’t be afraid to reach out. And if you don’t ask, then you’ll never know exactly. So, Shiri, where can everyone get in touch with you? Where can they find you? And how can people reach out?
Speaker 2 (00:25:52) – Yeah, I’m Shiri Feldman on my socials. Shiri underscore Feldman on Instagram. And then I also have an Instagram with my co-founder. Her name is Bethany Ramsey. She’s also from corporate and now has gone freelance. So we have a Instagram and LinkedIn called Beauty Brief HQ where we basically like dive into beauty launches. So not just showcasing like trend mood shows. Oh, there’s a new launch. We actually like dive into the marketing and the go to market strategy. So that’s been really fun. So you can also follow me on there.
Speaker 1 (00:26:24) – That’s great. It’s a good resource to the beauty brief, keep up with new product launches, maybe limited edition and or like understanding case studies too is a big part of what you you’re mentioning and diving into, right, is like, why did this product extension work better than this other brands product extension and the world of like retailer versus direct to consumer.
Speaker 1 (00:26:42) – So that is a great resource for beauty marketers to to read and consume. Amazing.
Speaker 2 (00:26:50) – Yes, 100%.
Speaker 1 (00:26:52) – Thank you, Shiri. Thanks for coming on the podcast. Thanks for sharing your self-employment entrepreneurial going out in the freelance world story. It’s really exciting and I give you a lot of credit for diving into your first year, getting some amazing clients, retainers as well, and building your network. That is not an easy journey and you are doing so well and you’re shining, and we’re excited to see what’s next and who you get to help. And teams would be very lucky to have you as a copywriting consultant.
Speaker 2 (00:27:24) – Thanks so much, Anne.
Speaker 1 (00:27:26) – Thank you. Have a good rest of your day.
Speaker 2 (00:27:28) – Okay. You too. Bye.