Creative Roots: Classroom to Copywriting | Katie Bridgewater

Welcome to another episode of The Profitable Creative, the only place on the interwebs where you will learn how to turn your passion into profit. I am your host, Christian Brim. Special shout out to our one listener in Montgomery, Alabama. Uh, I went to Alabama to retrieve my fiancée. Uh, she was not my fiancée at the time. I went to Alabama to ask my wife to marry her. She was in, uh, Enterprise, Alabama. So I've never been to Montgomery, but I, never mind. I'm wandering. Joining me today is Katie Bridgewater of Bridgewater Copywriting, the motherhood copywriter. Katie, thank you for joining us today.

You're welcome. I'm happy to be here.

What I was going to say about Alabama is I grew up in Oklahoma and I had been to southern states before, but they were in the metro areas. And I, for some reason, thought Oklahoma was the South. And then I went to the Deep South in Gulf, Alabama, their enterprise, et cetera. And I realized I was not a Southerner. That was a completely different world. They talked very slowly and lots of kudzu. So anyway, have you ever been to Alabama, Katie?

Um, I haven't personally, but I lived in the South for 7 years and I lived in North Carolina. And you're right, it, it's different over there. It's like a different country.

Yeah, the, the actual, the, the, the most out of place I have ever felt, and this is traveling the world, uh, the most weird place I ever, uh, visited was rural Louisiana. That is a different world.

I mean, wow.

Anyway, Katie, tell us who you are and what you do, please.

Okay, absolutely. Yes. So, so my name is Katie. I call myself the Motherhood Copywriter. And basically what I do is I help business owners in the motherhood industry organize their brain dump and turn it into high-converting copy and beautiful content. So I do that in a variety of ways— email marketing, blogs, course creation, all kinds of different things to help the motherhood industry.

I love it. I'm going to take a wild guess and say you are a mother.

I am, yes. I am a mom to two kids ages 4 and 18 months.

Oh, nice. So you're, you're on the front end. Mine are Uh, almost 31, 28, and 24. So, um, good luck.

I know, fingers crossed. I know, it's like every stage of motherhood is different, and people keep telling me like they're not any like easier, it's just different, which is—

no, really, it's like you, you, you master that skill and then you got to learn another one, and Exactly. Yeah. But, you know, in all reality, I look back on the raising of my children as the best time of my life, although most of it was a blur. I mean, like, we had 3, so I was busy and mom was busy and yeah, it is a blur. Some things stand out. So, um, how did you get into copywriting in general?

Well, what happened was I took this course online, which is like the beginning of everyone's story recently, where there's all these courses online that you can take. Some people take them and do them. Other people, they leave them. I decided, you know what, I really want to do this. I have an educator background, so I have my master's in education, and so I followed that path. But I decided that teaching wasn't for me anymore after doing it for 5 years. And I decided that I wanted to turn to my first love, which was writing, and use it in a way that was going to make a business for myself. So I researched basically how to become a copywriter. And I came across this course, which is now super, it's a fairly well-known course and super valuable, extremely helpful. Has like one-on-one coaching, copy coaching, and all that. And so really set me up for, um, success in that. And the biggest thing too was of overcoming my mindset as well, moving from that employee mindset into like that business owner mindset, which is a big shift to make. And, um, yeah, so that was mainly how I got started. And then I just started, um, basically doing cold outreach because I had no network to speak of really., in that world. And then, and then now, yeah, so that, that's what I'm doing now. And it's been kind of crazy, but it's been really amazing.

So did you teach writing when you taught?

So I taught a variety of different grades. I taught 2nd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade, all of which I did teach, you know, writing.

Well, sure. But it's not like you were a high school writing teacher or something like that. No.

I didn't teach that, no.

Yeah, I mean, I always thought when I was younger that I wanted to teach and coach. And I, you know, as I grew older, I even last year was looking to do some, you know, part-time teaching or adjunct work at the local high school. And I went to the website and just the way the jobs were posted and it was like not real clear what it was. And then the job descriptions were just pages. And I'm like, I would never survive in that culture. Even if I could get through the interview process, I couldn't survive. And I mean, it just seems like extremely rigid. And I figured I'd get fired immediately. But so, but, but so you realized early on that, you know, 5 years isn't a career, but, you know, you, you realized that that wasn't for you. What, what aspects of it were not for you? Like what, what was the itch you were trying to scratch?

Well, like you said, Christian, looking at the, even a job description of a teacher, it's is rigid. And basically what happened was I was, well, feeling a little creatively starved because even like 20 years ago, teaching was different because there was less laws in place, less standardized testing and things like that. And those kinds of things just really ate away at me and just the— yeah, being so rigid. And So I didn't feel like I had the opportunities to be creative. And then when I did those, those times where I could, I was like, oh my gosh, this feels amazing, you know? And I'm thinking to myself, what are ways that I can fuel my creativity more? And write— I've always turned to writing to, to be creative. And so it seemed like a natural thing to at least try out. But that was one thing too. Um, also the bureaucracy, you know, of teaching, it can be kind of It's weird, you know, depending on where you're at. And, you know, the student is changing, you know, kids are changing. And I had to deal with actually some pretty intense behaviors too. So that was a contributing thing as well.

My sister-in-law teaches pre-K in Katy, Texas, and I'm like, I, the stories I hear through my wife, I'm like, I, one, I don't know how she does it. And two, I don't know why she tolerates it. Like, I like the behavior things. I'm like, you know, I remember, you know, back in the Stone Age when I was in grade school and, you know, like if there was a behavior problem, you were, you were gone from the class. Like it was not an issue. Like, but she's expected to manage it and deal with it. And I'm like, how in the hell are you supposed to do your job? If you're, if you're playing referee, I mean, I—

you don't— that's the thing, you don't do it as well as you need to. And that was another thing too, where I'm like, I want to do my job, you know, to the best of my ability. And yeah, pre-K, well, I don't know, I sent my, my child, you know, my, my first child to preschool, and I bless his preschool teacher. I mean, she only has to deal with like 6 or 7 of them at a time, and I'm like, Oh my gosh. Yeah. Like, I, yeah, I don't know. It's crazy.

Yeah. Okay. So you, you, you landed on motherhood as a specialty. How did you get there?

Well, it was kind of a process. I mean, I would recommend like any writer or, you know, creative person that's trying to pick a niche is there's no like right or wrong way to go about it. People get really hung up on their niche. And what I decided to start was like, okay, I just made a list of all the things that I love. That I would be passionate about, you know, writing about, and that what made sense, you know, like what industry like needs this type of service, like what makes sense, you know. And so I tried out, um, health and wellness first because I was like, well, it's broad, you know, I'm passionate about health, I, I love fitness, you know, it's a part of my life. And so I was like, okay, well, I'll start with that. But it didn't feel like authentically me. It was kind of— it was too broad for me personally. That might not be broad you know, for somebody else, but it was for me. And I decided, you know what, like, there's lots of things going on online about motherhood, motherhood lifestyle, um, there's so many, um, big companies, uh, midsize, small, large companies in the motherhood industry that it's kind of unbelievable. And I was like, well, you know, this is kind of a specific niche, but I feel like there's enough. And so I just went all in on it and doubled down on it. And decided that's what I was gonna do.

Yeah, I mean, I think even motherhood could be very broad because you could be specializing in, you know, by age of child. You could by like vocation, like maybe mompreneurs versus, you know, women that work regular jobs versus don't, like work in the home. So like, yeah, you could continue narrowing that down. I talk about how, you know, finding your target market is really difficult because you want to narrow it down enough that you can really be successful and dominate that space. Yeah. But you don't want it any bigger, right? Because the broader you get, the less traction you get with your marketing and even with your deliverable, right? Like, so the more narrowly defined the niche, the more you can do for that potential customer. And so it's kind of a feeling out, like, I don't think there's an analysis, like, you can go and research SIC codes and it, I mean, you can do that. Initially to find out, you know, okay, is this a thing? But for us, it's really been more of a feel than, than an analysis.

Yeah, absolutely. You know, you do have to, and it's different for everyone, you know, depending on what path you decide to go down, where sometimes like your aptitude for a certain niche or industry is going to be the best thing for you, but not for somebody else. So when I went into health and wellness, there were other people that I think maybe had a better aptitude for that. But then like, but when I chose motherhood or it's kind of, it's motherhood, parenting, you know, that is just kind of where my heart was and where it continues to be. And so, yeah, I think that's a big part of it.

So you talked about that mind shift. Um, we have a saying, I've been a member of Entrepreneurs Organization for 13 years and there's this saying that's kind of floated around for a decade of the difference between signing the front of the check versus signing the back of the check, which in today's electronic age probably doesn't make sense anymore. But the principle is the person on the front of the check is the one paying, and then if you endorse the check on the back, you're cashing it, so you're the employee. But that, that, that is the mindset shift. Um, talk about that. What was challenging about that?

Well, for me, uh, the employee mindset is like, you know what, someone's gonna take care of all this for me, you know. They're gonna take care of my taxes, they're going to take care of organizing my health insurance, of anything that I have to think about when it comes to the money that I make. They're gonna take care of it. I don't have to worry about it. I just have to do my job. And there's— there is some security in that. There is peace in that for sure. And there's nothing wrong with doing that at all.

No, we need employees.

We, we need people to do that. And I did it happily, you know, for, for many, for, you know, for several years. And so for me, the biggest shift was like, okay, well, now you're shifting from that person that is being told, okay, you have this, this, you know, XYZ, and then you're switching to, okay, I'm the person in charge of figuring this out for myself now. Currently I don't employ anybody. Um, you know, it is, you know, it's just me. I'm a one-person agency. But, um, in the future, you know, it's kind of crazy thinking about, um, you know, when I started my teaching career, like, 5— uh, at this point, like, that was like 6, 7 years ago. And then moving to this, I, I don't know, that person that was doing that is different than the person that, you know, that I am right now, you know, the way that I think about things.

Yeah. Yeah. And I think you hit on the word responsibility. And that's something that I've heard echoed from other guests is that, oh, shit, this is my responsibility. Like, you know, I've got to figure it out. And I think that anybody can be an entrepreneur. But not everybody is wired to be an entrepreneur. You know, you do have to have a certain amount of initiative. You have to be able to take responsibility for things. And you have to have a certain amount of drive because there, you know, and flexibility because you're going to run into new situations all the time. And you've got to be able to adapt and overcome them. And, and I think that's what is so critical about people like you, is that the passion is there to back that up. You know, if, if you had decided to become a plumber and start a plumbing business, you wouldn't have had any passion behind it. And, and so those adversities that you encounter as a business owner and an entrepreneur you, you wouldn't have had the fuel to get through it. But, but having the passion, like, no, I really want to figure this out because this is what I want to do, is critical.

Yeah, absolutely. I like, like you said, the passion that fuels it behind it, that's a huge part of it. That's why when I tell people when they're having trouble picking their niche, because I talk to fellow copywriters and other writers sometimes where they're like, oh, well, what should I do? Like, what direction should I go? It's really like if you start writing about something that you don't like, you know, like where that passion isn't fueling behind it, well, I mean, you could probably do it for a while, like, but at the end of the day, you're going to wake up in the morning and be like, I don't really want to, I don't really want to write about this. I don't really want to do this.

Yeah, I'd be remiss if I didn't ask about how technology has affected your, your business, um, with the advents. I mean, we're pretty much 3 years on from the release of these large language models. How, how, how does that, how has that affected you and how do you see it affecting you in the future?

Honestly, I see it. So you're talking about, you know, AI. AI has only strengthened my business. It is my partner. You know, I use it as a tool. It's not my brain. But it is my tool that I use. You know, it's not perfect. I mean, I don't think— and I don't think it's ever going to be perfect. There is, in my opinion, there is no machine replacement for a writer's gut, human instinct, in, in my opinion. I mean, other people might have different opinions, but that's what I think. It's actually only helped to grow my business and make me work faster and more efficiently. And I mean, if I look at my business now between like 2 years ago, which I started my business 2 and a half years ago um, I'm making like, I'm making way more than I did 3 years ago. So I don't know, like, to me I'm not seeing it as an obstacle but more as like a tool to, to elevate me.

And to be clear, you're, you're, you're making more money but you're not working necessarily more?

No. Yeah, I mean, if I, if I think about it, you know, really like it's made me quicker It's made me more efficient and just better at my job. And yeah, so I'd use it to my advantage and I think other people should too. I think it's really important 'cause I think what's going to happen is writers or like other, I mean, any, you know, other niche of creative, you know, if you're not accepting it, I think what's going to happen is those who are not accepting it and using it at least as a tool to help them Those people are going to keep rising up and those people who decide to ignore AI and not use it, those are the people who are going to end up being replaced, in my opinion.

Yeah, it's kind of like the guy that just says, I'm not going to use that machine to dig the ditch. I'm just still going to do it by hand. It's like, well, you can continue to do it by hand, but That other guy is going to get it done a lot quicker and can do more, right? Yes.

Yeah.

I like that you define it as a tool, and I think that's a great label for it because I think you're right. It's— you call it writer's gut. I, you know, I think it's beyond that. I think it's the ability to truly understand humans. That AI doesn't get. And I don't think it ever will get because it's not designed to do that. And I don't know if you could design it to do that, but that's another story for another day. What are some of the challenges starting a business that you experienced?

Well, the biggest thing, like I mentioned before, is that mind shift. That mindset shift of like going from employee mindset to, um, business owner mindset. And also a big shift is that scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset. So scarcity is like, oh my gosh, like I contacted this one person and they said no to me, it's over. Versus they said no, but look at all these other people that could I, I could talk to, where we've never lived, you know, in a world that is more abundant with businesses, in my opinion, where we have an opportunity to connect with, you know, with people such as yourself, or, um, yeah, just people that are even adjacent to me that, uh, that can help us along, you know. Like, there's so many different, um, opportunities. And so just kind of that shift of like how I used to think of like Oh, well, if something doesn't work out, that perfectionist mindset of like, oh my gosh, it's not perfect exactly in my little box how I like it to be, versus, you know what, it's— it wasn't meant to stay in your box anyway. It's not going to be perfect, but we're going to keep going, you know, and there's that abundance there.

Were there any, uh, financial or operational struggles that when you started out that you had to work Well, that's a good question.

Um, what I, what I did was, uh, the fortunate thing about my business is there's almost no overhead, um, with starting a writing business. It's really just like, okay, I paid some money to start my website. Um, I did pay for the course that I took. That was kind of before launching my business. Um, but other than that, I didn't have much. I also started this, um, as a side hustle while I was teaching still. And then I decided at a certain point, okay, well, now I'm gonna go all in on this. This is really what I want to do. It was kind of testing the waters, lack of a better way to say it. So, um, I didn't have much, like, financial issues when it came to that. I suppose the biggest thing was like making enough money to end up buying a health insurance policy. That, that was really hard because I was like like, why is it so expensive? Which is a continual problem we have here, you know, in the States.

I don't want to get on that. Insurance is a scam, but we'll, we'll, we'll talk. That's another episode.

So yeah, that's a whole other thing. Yes. So that's— I mean, honestly, for me, I, at this point, yeah, I haven't had many like, wow, like I had to take out a loan, you know. Never have I had to take out a loan for my business, it's just been all, any money I make is essentially all, you know, profit for me, except for just some small expenses here and there.

Yeah. Well, yeah, you have a high margin business. We have low overhead. So that's pretty easy to manage financially. I'm, you know, curious. You talked about potentially expanding and maybe having other writers work with you, have you thought about the economics of that? In the show notes to purchase a copy. And if you're not ready to make that full commitment, you can download a free copy of the first chapter. Check it out right now.

I haven't thought a ton about that yet. I'm not quite ready to wrap my head around that. I think what I'd have to do this year— that's what my goal this year is, to scale. More, um, get— I guess like, I guess my biggest goal would be to get my pipeline full of potential clients where I'm, I'm constantly having inbound leads. I do get a good amount of inbound leads, but I would like more. So like cold outreach can decrease. I'm trying to get rid of cold outreach altogether and mainly focus on like content creation and building strategic partnerships.

So I think that's certainly something that we have found, is that there's a lot of noise in the marketing space. And the thing that is tried and true is creating connection and creating community. That's a surefire winner. It takes time. It definitely does. I was thinking, you know, you did mention there pretty much is a low barrier to entry to do what you do. Yeah. You know, there's not a lot of cost, not a lot of training. I mean, to get in, I'm not saying to be good. Right. How have you— and you've partially answered this already, but how have you differentiated yourself from all the others out there?

Well, the big thing was, like, you know, like I touched on, was niching down, um, to the motherhood copywriter. And that is— I think that's my biggest thing that I stand apart. That's what most my inbound leads tell me. They're like, I love your commitment to your niche. I've never seen anyone do that before. I haven't come across anyone that does that. So I think that's, that's a pretty big thing that I really, I really like to lean into, honestly. Um, you know, that's definitely how I differentiate myself. Also, like, for me, I, I love to give more than I take, you know. I, I think that it's really important. People are thrown off by it, you know, of like, oh yeah, I want to give this to you, like, for nothing in return. I don't expect absolutely anything in return, and I, I feel like that definitely sets me apart from people. Because what a lot of it in the world is, people see other copywriters or other people that are— they're competing against me. Well, technically that's true, but I believe that like rising tides like raise all ships. So where— where, okay, yeah, technically they're competing, but I'm like, if there's any way I can help you, like, I truly want to do that. Not just like a one-off, like, yeah, sure, like, I'll think about you. I, I really want to help those people, and even people that are technically competing with me. Or potential clients that may never choose me as a client, but I just want to help them because I'm passionate about helping people be successful, especially in the motherhood industry and that parenting industry. So I think that's what sets me apart.

Yeah. I mean, in our, in our culture, it is met with skepticism when people try to give you something for free. Um, but, but there is this law of reciprocity that, that like, when you give, uh, people will feel compelled to give back. I mean, it's, it's just human nature. Um, it is. I, I will ask you, uh, just only because it's on my mind, um, have you, uh, trademarked The Motherhood Copywriter?

I haven't.

I've thought about it, but I would recommend it because I, I'll give you a brief experience share on this. We started this podcast in August of '24, and I did a search, fairly exhaustive. I don't want to say completely exhaustive for the name of the show, The Profitable Creative. And we— I don't know why. I'm just going to claim stupidity. Uh, we didn't, we didn't trademark it, um, until we started that process this month in February. So we're talking about, what is that, 8 months? Um, we found a trademark application for The Profitable Creative that had been submitted in October after we started our show. And so now we're in a situation of like Do we dispute it? Do we try to cooperate with the trademark applicant? You know, all these other things. So my suggestion to any creative is if you've got a name, trademark it. I don't remember how much. I think it was $200. You can do it yourself. You don't have to involve an attorney. I think it's copyright.gov or trademark.gov, but definitely do that.

Oh, okay.

That's it. Because it's first, it's first in line. It's whoever claims it first.

Well, I could— yeah, I definitely have been wanting to look into that. Um, if it's that affordable, it's definitely doable. Um, I don't know.

I mean, you can hire— you, you can hire an attorney. Yeah, but, but I, I think you really only need an attorney if there's a problem. Like, if no one's, no one's there, then just claim it.

That's a good idea. Yeah, actually, I thank you for that. I'm actually going to look into that because I have, it has crossed my mind where I'm like, wow, this would make, you know, I probably should think about trademarking this.

So yes, it's a great trade. It's a great trademark. I mean, yeah, who doesn't like mothers? I mean, I guess there's some psychopaths that don't like their mothers, but you know, I guess, but there are, you know, there's a handful of them. We're not going to build our lives around the psychopaths. Oh, right. So how do you, how do you, well, let me back up a second. Do you work a lot directly with the companies or with marketers like agencies?

Well, I've done a combination of both. Truly. I work collaboratively with a few agencies where I'm kind of their like I'm a freelance copywriter that helps them out. I have also worked with, um, just different sizes of companies. I've worked with large companies, I've worked with mid-size. I've also worked with like solopreneurs. So like solopreneurs like can be great. Um, like I've worked with like lactation professionals that have their own practice. I work with doula agencies. Um, I've worked with, uh, e-commerce, like baby clothes companies, you know, things like that. It's all like all kinds of different, um, avenues to, to go down.

Who do you prefer to work with?

Well, um, right now, honestly, I— it's kind of split. Like, I have this— a big desire to work for a large company. That's kind of like my next thing, to work with some of my dream large companies. I've worked with some, but I've got like a dream list. And then I, I love working with some solopreneurs that really want this, like, to see the value in what I do and they, they want to work with me. I love talking with them. I love collaborating with them and figuring out like what's going to work best for them. And I really love doing that. Impacting like small communities doesn't have to be, you know, earth-shattering. We don't have to go viral. We don't have, you know, it's all about, you know, helping the people like within their community, which is great.

So you mentioned messaging, which is not necessarily the purview of copywriters. Usually the marketers come up with the messaging. So how much do you get into audience research, product research, and that strategic element?

So the strategic element is part of what I offer because I am a copywriter, but I also do a bit of strategy too. If they, if they need it. So, um, for example, like, I've worked with a doula agency before where I did her blog content for an extended period of time, and I did all of like the keyword research. Like, we discussed like who her target audience is, and we did research on that. And then I make, you know, a blog schedule, and then I write, you know, and then I write those blogs for her. That's just kind of a little example. I wouldn't call myself like— I'm not I'm not like a fractional CMO, like type level, you know, but it's definitely, I definitely do contribute some strategy.

Yeah. And that would probably be based upon the size and sophistication of your client. Like, yes. Gerber doesn't need your help with their messaging, for instance. So I'm going to force you to put your dream team out into the universe. So who are your— who's a few of your dream, dream list?

My dream list, well, I love the idea of working for— let me think, um, a big one on my list is, um, Bobbi. They are a baby formula company that I just— I love their vibe. They're female-owned. I love working with, um, female-owned companies. That's just like, that's something that I truly love. I love—

sounds a little sexist, but we'll let it pass.

It's a little sexist. Yeah.

I mean, you are, you are dealing with mothers, so I'll give you a pass.

So, so it just naturally, it just happens. Now, I've worked— I'm not saying I'm never gonna work with men. I do work with men, but I— this is what— it happens naturally, you know.

I get, I get it. I'm not complaining.

Yeah.

Okay, so, so, uh, you, you gave us one. Give us another.

Okay, um, let me think. I think so. Bobby is definitely a big one. Um, I would love to work for, um, Tender Leaf Toys. They are like, they're, they're a bigger, um, like natural, like wood toy company for kids that I've actually bought toys from them for my kids. So I was like, that's, you know, that's amazing. I love that. Um, and then my other one was, um, Mommy. Mommy is a, is a baby bottle company that I really like their, um, I like their, I love their, um, product. And a few lactation professionals have, um, recommended like that bottle to me. And I'm like, oh, that would be awesome to work with. So all three of those like have been in the works for, for a bit. So Yeah.

Have you sent, have you sent a copy to them?

Have I sent copy to them? Um, I've sent, um, I've sent messages to all of them and I have had conversations with all of them. So, so we'll see.

Well, I mean, I, I, I couldn't think of anything more compelling, like you, you bought the toys, like writing copy based upon your experience.

Uh-huh.

Right.

Um, yeah, that, that's all part of, um, some of my cold messaging. Sometimes for cold messaging, I'll send like a, Hey, like I wrote this like product description for you, you know, take it if you want it. If not, toss it to the side, but you can use it, no strings attached. That's typically like my cold messaging approach.

I like it. I like it. Well, if anybody in our audience knows any connection at any of those three companies, please reach out to Katie and help, help. Because I find this to be true. That, you know, when we have these ideas, like I had this idea, we're going to have a live event later this year here in Oklahoma City, a 2-day workshop. And it had been mulling around in my brain for a while. But once I said, I think we should do this, it's, you know, it's then the momentum starts. So hopefully you putting it out here into our audience will generate some, some traction for you. Um, Katie, how do we find, uh, out more about your company and what you do?

So you can always find me on LinkedIn. Um, I'm Katie Bridgewater on LinkedIn, and my bio says The Motherhood Copywriter. You can find me there. You also can find me at bridgewatercopywriting.com, um, or Instagram at The Motherhood Copywriter.

Perfect. We'll have all of those links in the show notes. Listeners, if you like what you heard, please rate the podcast, follow the podcast, share the podcast. If you don't like what you heard, shoot us a message and give us some recommendations and I'll replace Katie. Until then, ta-ta for now.