Retirement Professional Retires to the Golf Course While Building a Thriving Copywriting Business

Professionally, Alice contributed to newsletters, wrote employee communications, created PowerPoint presentations and became a technical writer specializing in white papers and brochures.

Personally, Alice became a published author after taking University of California continuing ed programs and other creative writing courses.

“When I retired, I turned to writing while trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life,” she says.

Back to Her Roots – Writing for the Retirement Niche

When a friend introduced Alice to copywriting, it was the first she had heard of it. She thoroughly researched what it was all about and decided it could be an interesting way to supplement her income.

Her research led her to the American Writers and Artist Institute (AWAI) and her first copywriting program, The Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting.

“When I completed the program, I had one simple thought,” she says. “I can do this.”

Since she had done some training on the side during her career, Alice selected the training and development industry as her niche. She updated her LinkedIn page, built her website, and focused on landing her first client.

To help with this, she selected Ed Gandia’s B2B Biz Launcher 3.0. With his guidance, she modified her LinkedIn page, website and messaging to highlight her background as a retirement plan professional and expertise as a writer instead.

Alice was ready to find her first client, but to her surprise, her first client found her. The Marketing Director for a large retirement plan company needed help with an article and found Alice on LinkedIn. Alice sent a proposal and they immediately accepted.

Then a LinkedIn contact suggested Alice approach a financial services company that needed writers. Alice contacted them and turned that into a one-year assignment.

Post, Connect, Comment, Repeat… Building A Copywriting Business thru LinkedIn

With this success, Alice jumped in with both feet. Returning to LinkedIn, she prospected for more clients. But ran into a major roadblock.

Alice Watts was always writing. Even while building a 25+ year career as a respected plan professional, Alice never quit seeking out opportunities to write.

“I wasn’t very good at networking or marketing,” she says. “I didn’t know how to approach new prospects or what I should say. I needed help.”

She turned to Ilise Benun’s 21-Day Challenge. During their first interaction, they created a networking plan for Alice to market her services at an upcoming pension conference.

During the conference, Alice confidently approached potential clients. Her breakthrough came when she approached the conference organizers and pitched an article for their newsletter. They accepted on the spot. They liked it so much, she went on to become a regular contributor to their monthly newsletter.

And for Alice, it was the spark she needed to complete the 21-day Challenge and return to LinkedIn… this time with a plan.

She started by posting articles… then actively reaching out to new contacts and making connections while commenting on other people’s posts. This was Alice’s new routine. Daily… weekly… monthly… and things took off. Her prospects began recognizing her expertise and approached her to write for them.

Defining Success on Her Terms

With business picking up, Alice couldn’t shake the feeling that there was still something missing. One final piece to her puzzle. And she found it in the most unlikely way.

“For me, it turned out that where I write was just as important as what I write,” she says.

Free to work anywhere, she relocated from Texas to Florida to be closer to family. She found a house that is open and cheery with a patio backyard where her dog could play–the perfect change of scenery for her writing. And that’s when things fell into place for her.

She now boasts a LinkedIn network of over 700 connections with 75% of them being part of the retirement plan industry.

And as a Circle of Success (COS) member, Alice has used these resources to build her skillset and sell new services to her clients.

With a portfolio of clients all over the country, Alice regularly spends up to 30 hours per week creating content.

And she recently launched a newsletter to keep her in front of her connections… so when they need a writer, she’ll be top of mind.

Copywriting has given Alice the freedom to decide what her life will look like.

“I have the freedom to start my day anyway I want,” she says. “I live in a golf community, so I can spend my mornings golfing before turning to client work in the afternoons.” Alice continues, “Will I ever hit six figures? I don’t know… I’m not sure I want to work that hard. I’d prefer to spend my time playing with my aunt and cousins on Friday mornings.”

Ready to pursue the writer’s life?

Learn more about the program that launched Alice’s career, The Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting.