A once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity that turned toxic was the catalyst for leading journalist Kate Halfpenny to turn her hand to content writing. And what a journey she’s been on ever since. She shares the highs and lows and lessons learnt here.
Bad mothers. Boogie boarding. Bad jobs that make us question our worth and ability. Making a sea change. Life. Death. Empty nesting.
What’s all this got to do with copywriting? Well, a lot actually because my guest today is Kate Halfpenny, one of Australia’s most successful journalists. As the executive editor of Who magazine for 24 years, chief of staff for The New Daily newspaper for many years, and a writer for The Age and other leading publications, Kate moved from journalism into a marketing communications role – and absolutely hated it!
That experience forced her to confront what she really wanted to do, where she really wanted to live, who she really wanted to spend time with, and part of that reinvention was to become a content writer and a highly sought after one, at that.
That’s what it’s got to do with copywriting.
In this episode, Kate and I discuss:
- What’s being a ‘bad mother’ really mean and why it might actually be a good thing
- Why she took a communications role and why it ended so badly
- How to pitch to the media and get your stories picked up
- How to ‘bug’ journalists without being annoying
- How to come up with great ideas
- How to navigate transitioning from motherhood to empty nesting
- Why life is too short to be anything less than honest
- How to deal with rejection
- How to know when the copy you write is good or not
- The 7-step structure for writing content
- How to make a sea change
- Why we love Guy Pearce