Heading to CopyCon

So excited – I’m heading to CopyCon (copywriters conference) in Sydney at the end of the month!

Being in business for myself, I budget to attend one conference each year.

Over the past few years I’ve gone to Problogger on the Gold Coast a couple of times; and I also went to the Australian Virtual Assistants Conference when it was right here in Brisbane.

This year, there was only one conference I *really* wanted to go to: CopyCon, the first dedicated copywriters conference in Australia.

I was particularly keen, as over the past 12 months I am focusing more and more on SEO copywriting (writing web content that gets found by the search engines).

Purely by chance I stumbled across news of this conference at the end of last year, but by the time I got myself organised, it was booked out. Although there are video tickets available, that just isn’t the same. Half of the fun (and benefit) of a conference is meeting and connecting with others in the same industry. I was so disappointed!

Undeterred, I asked to go on the waiting list and crossed my fingers … then came the email just over a week ago, asking if I was still interested!

So now I’m heading to Sydney for a flying visit – literally – I arrive on Friday 28 April, attend the conference on the Saturday, and fly out Saturday night.

I’m sure I’ll learn lots about copywriting for web and print, as well as handy business tips.

But for a giggle I decided to put together my own program for a copywriters conference based on my needs at this particular moment:

Proposed Copywriters Conference Program

Keynote – So You Think You Can Write (aka overcoming imposter syndrome): everybody can write. What makes you think you’re so special that people will pay you for it?!

Session 1 – Secrets for Home-Based Business Success: How to find clients when you work from home, and your colleagues are small, furry and have four paws and a tail.

Session 2 – When Business is Slow: Tips to keep you going when the paid jobs aren’t as frequent as you’d like AND how to double your business in just one week (bonus: includes resume preparation).

Session 3 – Procrastination 101: Writers are usually experts at procrastination; learn from the pros, how to stop doing the housework / reading a book / doing a 1000 piece jigsaw / scrolling through Facebook, and actually write!

Session 4 – Accounting for Copywriters: Whatever you think you should be charging, double it, and add 10% because you are DEFINITELY worth.

Session 5 – The Gentle Art of Persuasion: How to convince potential clients that you are DEFINITELY worth it.

Can you tell business is a little slow at the moment?!

I’m used to things dropping off over Christmas, but April has taken me by surprise. It’s like everybody is in the “holiday” frame of mind and doesn’t want to even think about business til after Easter.

I love what I do, but the uncertainty can sometimes get me down, and yes, there are days when I think about just giving up and getting a “real” job. (If you want to help cheer me up – why not pop over to my Front Page Web Writing Facebook page and give it a like?!)

So in all truth, this copywriters conference has come along at just the right time for me!

What was the most timely conference you’ve ever attended – and why?!

Joining up with: