I’ve been sending a weekly newsletter every single week for 100 weeks straight. And that’s an accomplishment I’m damn proud of. So, naturally, I wanted to celebrate—elementary school style, with a “100” themed party.

Remember being in 3rd grade, and counting down ’til the 100th day of school, when everything was themed after 100? I distinctly remember there being cupcakes with 100 sprinkles, math problems 100 cheerios… please tell me I’m not the only one who experienced this weird exciting-but-not-really day?!

Anyway, point of the story: while thinking of ways I could celebrate with my subscribers virtually, I had the crazy idea to write a blog post about 100 pieces of business advice.

And, well, the “business” part kind of went out the window around #8. But whatever, that’s a perfect representation of how my newsletters usually go, anyway—considering a ‘normal’ person would likely celebrate a milestone like this by, say, writing about how to successfully, consistently send a newsletter, but… here we are.

(Let it be known, I will write that post, though. She’s on her way. I promise. Here’s a similar one for now. And here’s a freebie about email marketing.)

So, without further ado: keep reading for my best advice for business owners that honestly isn’t specific to business owners at all. 🥳

1) Selling is helping. You’re not sleazy for selling your services. If you don’t talk about the solutions you provide, no one will know, and you can’t help them.

(Hi, I’m Sara, and I want to write your website copy for you, or audit your website copy for you, or teach you how to write your website copy yourself!)

2) Biz friends are a must. How else are you supposed to know how to respond to a scope creeper, or a red flag client, or an out-of-pocket DM? (Plus, more often than not, real-life friends have no idea what the frick we’re doing over here online.)

3) Don’t sleep on the power of manifestation. I’m not even woo-woo like that, but I swear to you, if you simply write down what you want, you’re more likely to achieve it. It’s essentially a trendy way of saying “keep your eyes on the prize.”

(But damn, sometimes that stuff comes true and I’m like… am I a witch?)

4) If you’re thinking about adding something new to your services, but aren’t ready to take the full leap, add it to the menu option on your submission form, and see if anyone checks the box to indicate that they’re interested in learning more about it.

This is how I got started offering 1:1 mentorship for copywriters almost two years ago, and now it’s one of my core services, consistently booked every single month for 18 months straight.

5) If you don’t ask, the answer will always be ‘no.’ And no amount of potential awkwardness should stop you from asking for the things you truly want.

6) Start a reach-out practice. It’ll help you feel more comfortable executing the above tip, and it could even be the reason you get introduced to one of your best friends.

Back in late 2020, I commented on one of Sarah Kleist’s TikToks, complimenting her website’s design. She stalked me, and chose to reach out to me as part of a daily practice she had going, inspired by Molly Beck‘s book Reach Out, where she connected with one person every day, new or old.

I’ll never forget the day I read her Instagram DM—I thought I was cool because a stranger with 60,000 followers on TikTok thought *I* was cool.

We’ve quite literally spoken every day ever since, and she has graduated from the superficial behind-the-screen Internet friend to a true real life friend (the kind that you can talk about money with sans judgment, and send screen recordings of conversations with boys to, and count on no-bullshit advice from), which I am so beyond thankful for.

7) Speaking of Sarah Kleist, we have her to thank for this next piece of advice: reframe your goals to be things that you can control, instead of things you can’t. This may be the most impactful tip I’ve learned this year.

I was complaining to Sarah one morning about not hitting my (extremely lofty) enrollment goal for my website copywriting course, Site Series, and she reminded me that I had no control over the outcome of that, despite having done my best to market and sell it.

She told me that she used to spend so much time wishing and manifesting and doing (seemingly) everything in her power to be cast in a specific show—she’s an actor, FYI—until she realized that she isn’t the one that gets to decide who gets cast in what.

What she can take control of, though, is what she does to increase her chances of achieving a certain goal. She may not be able to control whether or not she gets cast in a specific show, but she can vow to go to 100 auditions this year.

Reframing that narrative has helped me a ton.

8) Stick to a morning routine. I don’t want to get all science-y on you, so I’ll just give you the basic reason why a morning routine is important: our brains have a limited amount of decision-making power, and using it all up in the morning is stupid.

(I can hear Wesley’s voice in my head right now: “we’re not supposed to say STUPID, mummy!”)

If this kind of thing interests you, Google ‘billionaire morning routine’ or ‘why did Steve wear the same black turtleneck every day’ – I promise, the answer will be something along the lines of “to save brain power.”

This is also a great strategy for anyone with ADHD, because Lord knows our brains are already wild without adding extra stress of what do I eat for breakfast, what do I wear, what do I do first, which task is more important, where did I put those nude heels I wore to Hannah’s wedding 6 months ago? to the mix.

9) The people who pay you the most appreciate you and respect you the most. And the people who pay you the least appreciate you and respect you the least.

10) Getaways genuinely do help refill your creativity tank so much. Budget for them, schedule them, take them. I recommend going here.

11) More work isn’t always the answer—oftentimes, less work is more impactful. I see so many new business owners taking on way more than they could (or should) handle, and it never ends well. You’re freelancing for a reason – don’t forget why you wanted that flexibility you didn’t have at your 9-5.

12) Try new things. Experiment with a different routine. Test out a new process. Hear someone out who has a different opinion than you. And…

13) Don’t be afraid to go against the grain. Just because no one has done it before doesn’t mean it’s wrong. This applies to everything, but I’m thinking specifically of writing, or saying, things that other people haven’t dared to do or say yet.

14) Everything can be content. Keep a running list in your Notes app of things you notice, interactions you have, feelings you deal with… everything. The amount of times I text “that’s a newsletter!” to my biz besties during a random conversation about nothing to do with work is wild.

15) Don’t launch something before your audience is ready. I’ve noticed that whenever people rush into a launch before properly gauging interest or warming up their community, they don’t get the results they want.

16) Speaking of launches. Don’t put pressure on your first-ever launch. This is a lesson I learned from my friend and mentor, Steph Taylor, when she saw how much I was freaking out over the first launch of my website copywriting course, Site Series.

I had a $19,000 dental bill waiting to be paid, and I needed Site Series to be my saving grace. She could sense that urgency, and told me to cut it out.

So I did.

And it all worked out. Ur gurl got her gum surgery no problem, and all is (almost) well in the world & my mouth.

17) Speaking of Steph. Make an effort to meet the people you look up to, and who support you. When Steph told me that she was going to be in Boston from Brisbane to speak at the HubSpot conference, I knew I had to see her—so I ditched all of my plans to drive to the city & get lunch with her, and I’m so glad I did. There’s nothing better than making connections IRL.

18) Speaking of speaking. You’re likely more qualified than you realize, so don’t hold yourself back from opportunity. When I saw the email about the call for speakers for Squarespace’s inaugural Circle Day conference in NYC this Summer, I immediately filled out the pitch form in the hairdresser chair without giving it a second thought.

I knew there would be thousands of people who applied, but I also knew that my presentation would be perfect for Squarespace’s audience, so I shot my shot.

I was willing to be okay with any outcome. If I got accepted to speak, cool! If I didn’t, also cool!

Turns out, not only was I accepted to speak, but I was invited to give my presentation on how to make your website copy sound more human on the main stage at the conference, was paid to do so, and was somehow what felt like the only copywriter in attendance, so I got to connect with—and become the go-to person for—tons of designers and creative business owners.

That wouldn’t have happened without…

19) The audacity. Audacity is one of the only things you need to be successful. Sure, skill matters. And expertise. And professionalism. And quality. But audacity? That’s something not a lot of people have, and something that everyone needs. (Confidence would help, too.)

20) Having an abundance mindset pays off. Having a scarcity mindset keeps you scared, thinking small, and growing slower.

(More bold advice, for those of you willing to receive it: money is a boomerang. Budgets keep you bound to earning less. You’ll always have the opportunity to earn more, especially as a freelancer, and a creative person.)

21) People are just people. It’s easy to be intimidated by someone’s social following, or their presence online, but they put their socks on one at a time just like you do. They snort when they laugh. They pee a little when they cough too hard. They pick their wedgies. No one is scary.

22) Do not work with people who don’t see value in what you do.

(Notice how I removed the contraction on that one cuz I’m not playing around? DON’T = you prob shouldn’t do this. DO NOT = listen to me, I mean business.)

23) There’s always something to learn. No one knows absolutely everything. You know what they say about being the smartest person in the room, don’t you? You’re in the wrong room if that’s the case.

24) Befriend 24-year-olds, even if you’re 28. Especially the spicy ones. They’re hilarious. I love you, Alethea.

25) Sometimes, you’ve gotta pay to play. Making large business investments can be wicked nerve-wracking, and you need to trust your gut about whether or not they’re worth it. Don’t go all-in all the time, but don’t write them off, either.

One of my biggest investments this year was paying Steph, the lovely gal from tips 16 and 17, for six hours of her time, so she could help me with the marketing plan for my launch. That was $3,000.

And damn did I go back and forth about that price tag for a hot sec.

Ultimately, though, I knew I trusted her, and I knew that she would be worth it.

(Ahem, remember tip 22? I recognized her value, and was willing to pay for it!)

And I secretly hoped we’d become friends, she’d invite me on her podcast, someone would hear me on her podcast, think I was cool, then hire me for every single service I offer, and pay in full for it.

And, to my utter shock and extreme delight, that is EXACTLY what happened. To a T. Like I said: manifestation is real, man.

(Hi, Rachel. ILY.)

26) Sometimes, though, paying to play is just an excuse, and you’re actually trying to avoid shit. Figure out the difference.

When I paid $1,800 for someone else to set up my Dubsado, I was avoiding having to learn the platform on my own, because I didn’t want to do it. That didn’t serve me, and I wish I’d just put in the effort to learn it from the jump.

“Lazy” definitely can be a good enough reason to outsource, but sometimes… it’s not.

Read this post for more details.

27) When you’re able to—aka when you feel comfortable with the amount of leads you’re receiving—choose one primary marketing channel to focus on.

The reason I say ‘when you’re able to’ is because I think that narrowing your efforts down to one place would be too polarizing if your business is still new.

But, when you have an established blog, a good referral network, past clients who recommend you, and you can afford to cut back a little bit on being in all the places all at once, it’s beneficial to find a platform you like creating content for, and sticking to that.

28) Start email marketing. Yes, I’m bullying you. It’ll drastically improve your business, and the relationships you have with your community.

29) Email weekly. Yes, I’m bullying you again. No, it’s not overwhelming. You don’t have to send long ass newsletters. You could send 3 sentences. People will forget about you if you email them monthly.

30) Save 30% for taxes.

31) Use the word “you” in your website copy more. I guarantee you that if you go to your website right now and read through the copy, there are at least 3 places you could add the word “you” to drastically shift the impact of the sentence.

32) If you’re at a crossroads in your business and you’re not sure where to turn, consider hiring a mentor. Serving my 1:1 mentees has been so rewarding, and I legit get more excited about their successes than I do about my own.

Every single one of them has been able to accomplish ridiculously impressive things, and not to toot my own horn, but I believe at least a portion of those accomplishments have to do with the confidence and support they feel, knowing they have someone they can trust in their corner, cheering them on.

(I’m also feeling wicked famous rn because three of them texted me this week saying “I don’t know what I’d do without you” and I just *sniffle* am happy.)

33) Compliment people more. It feels good to say it, and it feels good to hear it.

34) Print your business cards using Canva. They’re cheap, but not cheaply made. You can get 500 of them for, like, $70.

35) Stop procrastinating. Use the Pomodoro method. Use Toggl. Use Screen Time Limits.

36) Do not date a 36-year-old musician when you’re a 23-year-old post-grad floating through life without a plan. It’s scary.

38) Connect your Delta account to your Starbucks account.

39) Speaking of Starbucks, send your clients Starbucks gift cards to make their day. I send them when I kick off a VIP week, when someone gifts me feedback, when our project ends… depends on the client, and the vibe, but best believe I’m sendin’ somethin’.

40) Speaking of sendin’ somethin’, ask for your clients’ birthdays on your intake questionnaire, and, at the very least, add their birthday to your calendar so you can wish them a happy one. (Or send them the best gifts ever.)

41) Seek out in-person events. Connecting with people sans screen is so much fun, especially when they’re also in your industry & actually GET the ins and outs of what you do/what your daily life is like.

42) #laptoplife is bullshit. It’s fucking hard to work on vacation, because all you want to do is vacation on vacation. Be real with yourself—and your clients, customers, and community, if necessary—about how much work you’ll actually be getting done while you’re away, so you don’t feel like a POS when it doesn’t happen how you wanted it to.

43) Dedicate one day each week to working on your own business: writing your blogs, brainstorming email ideas, creating Instagram content, filming reels, learning… something. You don’t have to stick to it every week, but it helps move things along.

When you save these tasks for later, they often interrupt your client work, or they don’t get done at all.

44) Use Hinge to get more newsletter subscribers. I will not elaborate on this one.

45) Switch up your environment when you’re not feeling productive. A change in scenery usually does the trick. If that doesn’t work, switch up the task you’re working on. If that doesn’t work, close your laptop completely, and promise to finish it later, but don’t forget about it.

46) Set aside time to work on client projects immediately after the kickoff call. It’s when you’ll feel most inspired, and most ready.

47) When it comes to deciding whether to prioritize starting a blog or starting an email list, choose the blog. It has more lasting power. You can build an email list whenever, and once your blog has enough awesome content on it (let’s say 10-15 posts), you can then use that long-form content to repurpose as emails.

48) Most business owners that start on Squarespace make the shift to Showit. Here’s the pro-and-con breakdown of both website hosting platforms.

(Spoiler alert: Showit is the platform I use, and the platform I love when my clients use because it pretty much guarantees a gorgeous site. Plus, Tonic templates live on Showit, and who wouldn’t want one of those?)

49) Don’t choose Wix or GoDaddy. Trust me. Ugly. Bad. It’s a no from me dawg.

50) Talk about who your dream clients are often. Tell people. Post about it. Write it down. You’re more likely to attract them this way.

51) Always have chocolate on hand. You know, for emergencies.

52) Always have a book on your phone. Also for emergencies. Specifically, emergencies that involve you waiting for long periods of time.

Instead of scrolling Instagram or TikTok during awkward breaks, long lines, or bored waiting times, you can read instead. I do this all the time & I finish so many more books this way.

53) Speaking of books, you should read Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss. And Everybody Writes by Ann Handley. And all the other “biz brain” books on my must-read list.

54) Speaking of my must-read lists, subscribe to these newsletters if you care about marketing at all. You’ll love ’em.

55) Create special occasions for your community. The whole reason I’m writing this “100 things” post is to celebrate the 100th consecutive week of sending my newsletter, Tuesday Table of Contents, because I wanted to make it a big deal, remember? It’s exciting!

I’m also celebrating by offering my website copywriting course for $100 off, and making it available for 12 payments of $100. This course is typically only available twice a year, but I brought it back for celebration’s sake. Like I said: exciting!

(You know what? I’m actually going to leave the link to that special offer right here, because if you’re on tip #55 of this post, chances are you care about what I have to say, and chances are you may want to learn from me. And I’m all about a sneaky top-secret sale. So, have at it, bestie.)

56) You don’t always have to have or do or be the next best thing. Chasing what Wesley calls the Even Betters—he’s usually talking about snacks, asking for an Even Better snack, that of course never exists—will result in an endless loop of want, and no satisfaction.

(Side note: the Even Betters is a perfect example of a piece of content I’d create using inspo from my daily life. Look out for that newsletter coming soon. Here’s a similar one.)

57) There’s no such thing as passive income. I don’t care what anyone says, income is not passive. It requires skill, strategy, and effort to set up the systems and build the audience that allows the illusion of income being passive, but don’t be out here thinking you can get rich quick with 0 effort.

58) If they don’t have Fireball, get Rumple Minze.

59) When going through a breakup, make a note in your phone of what you would want to say to your ex instead of texting them.

Write the date, and timestamp each entry, and watch them get fewer and farther between with every passing day, as you begin to move on and feel better. I’ve given all of my friends this advice during their breakups, and all of them have implemented & appreciated it.

(I hope this isn’t happening to you right now, but if it is, give it a try.)

60) There’s no reason you need to board your plane the second they call your boarding group. You can wait until the end of the line. You don’t need to be sitting in your seat on the plane for 40 minutes while everyone bangs their bag into you. It’s gonna be okay.

61) If you’re feeling up to it, start the conversation. I have learned so many things, made so many connections, and reaped so many benefits simply from complimenting the stranger, or saying hi to the person in line behind me, or giving someone a wave.

I know I’m the minority here—and I know that I must have some sign above my head that says “talk to me and tell me your life story!” that I can’t see—but please, introverts, don’t write me off. Give it a try, and see what happens.

62) Read “Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want To Come” by Jessica Pan. Thank me later. Especially if you’re an introvert.

63) Profusely thank the people that aggressively support you. (Thank you Jen Olmstead, Xanthe Appleyard, Shannon Beery, Alethea Tyler, Dani Trombetta, Wilda Casado, Sarah Burk, Abby Rudnitsky, Abbey Oslin, Courtney Petersen, Kaili Meyer, and Sarah Kleist.)

64) Don’t be afraid to be exactly who you are. You’re not for everyone, and that’s okay.

65) In that same vein, if you’re marketing to everyone, you’re marketing to no one. It’s perfectly fine for you—and, in fact, encouraged—to be polarizing.

I don’t want to hear any more “but what if so-and-so doesn’t see themselves in my copy?!” when so-and-so does not fit your idea of ideal. Your goal is to attract the right people, and repel the wrong ones. Write the copy that your people will get.

(I can help!)

66) If someone’s showing you their red flags, don’t ignore them. This applies to clients, friends, romantic partners, acquaintances, professional collaborators—anyone. If it feels like disrespect, it is. Treat it as such.

67) People will tell you to market the why but teach the how. And this is great advice. But if you have it in you, over-deliver juuuust a little. Your community will fiercely support you if you do.

(I haven’t nailed the “a little” part. I’m still doing the most. But do as I say, not as I do.)

68) Be willing to change the narrative when something bad happens to you. How can you reframe the situation and flip your mindset into something positive? Consider any and all potential positive outcomes, and harp on those instead. Your mind is more powerful than you think.

69) Don’t put emojis in your email subject lines. It’ll affect your deliverability.

70) Be realistic about your to-do lists. It only makes you feel like shit to not finish all those tasks that Ambitious You put on there. Instead, put on small things like ‘switch laundry’ and ‘eat lunch’ and ‘respond to email’ so you can have the satisfaction of checking them off.

71) Don’t go to the grocery store hungry.

72) Cheese is just a loaf of milk.

(No one needed to know that one, actually. It’s not advice. It’s a fact. One you’re probably wishing you didn’t ever read. But if I have to live with knowing this information, so do you.)

73) Bring a blanket for your red-eye flight. There’s no worse feeling than being teeth-chattering cold on a plane when you’re desperately trying to fall asleep in world’s most uncomfortable positions.

(Can you tell I’m writing this on the plane?)

74) Ensure your contracts have all the necessary clauses for unfavorable situations. We all want to believe that our clients are perfect angels who don’t ever want to wrong us, but things happen. Don’t forget to include language about timelines, payment, price, deliverables, and ownership, and what happens when those things go south.

75) Speaking of, purchase attorney-drafted contract templates to make your life easier. I always recommend my clients and mentees use the templates from my lawyer, Chandler, because she specializes in protecting creative business owners’ intellectual property. (And you can use code “betweenthelines” for $10 off!)

76) Keep all of your links in one place that you can easily access. I have one (really cute) spreadsheet for all the links I access often: the links to all of my freebies, my schedulers (for people to set up calls with me), affiliate links, digital products, etc—it is so freaking helpful. I use AirTable for it.

77) If you want to learn something, turn to the experts who know best. They’re likely more willing to help than you think. But…

78) Do not EVER cold pitch email or DM someone without doing your research first. As a creator, business owner, educator, person in the world in general, whatever, I’ll tell you: it’s aggravating to receive an email or DM from someone asking me for something (to collaborate, to work for me, to recommend them, etc) when they clearly know nothing about my business.

A quick scroll through my website or my Instagram profile would often answer most questions, or, on the flip, render their messages are irrelevant.

Lack of research shows you’re careless, makes you look unprofessional, and ruins your chances for what could have been a good cold pitch. Learn how to do it correctly—and get real results—right here.

79) Plan your week on Sunday night so you can hit the ground running Monday morning.

80) Hire a Pinterest manager. It makes you famous and rich. Basically.

I started with 94 followers and no clue how to grow on that platform, and now I have 14,600+ followers and anywhere from 800,000-1.5 million viewers every month, consistent inquiries from Pinterest, and enough extra cash from the creator fund to not only pay my Pinterest manager’s fee, but to pay for groceries and gas. Slay.

81) Be your friends’ biggest, loudest supporters, and connect them to the people you know who need them and would love them.

My client, friend, and the co-founder of Tonic Site Shop, Jen Olmstead, is world’s best supporter, and everyone should take a lesson from her. When she loves you, she makes sure everyone who needs to know you, not only knows you, but loves you, too.

I have made some absolutely incredible connections with people I never would have ever had the privilege of meeting if it weren’t for Jen’s introductions.

“Oh, you’re the one Jen told me about!” is a sentence worth its weight in gold, I’ve learned, because everyone who knows her is 100% positive she’d never recommend someone she didn’t 100% believe in.

Wouldn’t it be the nicest thing in the world if your recommendations were that highly regarded, too? Start with some light (genuine!) match-making and see what happens. Everyone in your community will be better for it.

82) Prioritize your systems from the beginning, but don’t feel bad if your internal processes and client experiences are something that you keep tweaking as time goes on.

You should never consider any of these things perfect, anyway, because there’s always room for improvement, streamlining, experimenting, and finding new ways to excite your clients.

83) Show up on social even if your hair is in a rats’ nest bun. In fact, show up especially when your hair is in a rats’ nest bun. Speaking from experience: people will like you more.

(I have literally had several people hire me because of my ugly hair on Instagram. Like, they literally said that. At least five people. Like… thank you? I think? Questionable, yet not questioning it.)

84) It doesn’t take much effort for people to notice you, so don’t beat yourself up about how often you do or don’t post on social media.

I’m literally in the airport right now, randomly saw this dude I met at a chamber of commerce event a few months ago, and he pointed to my computer and asked “you writing something for BTL? Always look forward to those posts! We always talk about how good your IG is in my office, I want to be like you!” …like. I barely post on Instagram; I’m lucky if it’s once a week. But there’s an office full of people dying for my feed.

85) You’re smarter than you think you are. Don’t read that sentence and scoff, or shake your head, or roll your eyes. Give yourself some credit for once in a while.

There are people way less intelligent than you doing way more than you, because you refuse to recognize your talent. That stops now.

86) Don’t trust people who wash their hair every single day. They’re not human.

87) Use timers to help you get through the difficult tasks of your work day. I swear, every single time I’m dreading doing something, and I set a timer to “just at least start it already, sheesh” I end up working way past when the timer went off, finishing the task and feeling inspired.

88) Ask fun questions on your client questionnaires to help you get to know their personality better. I ask about their favorite dad joke, what they’d want for their birthday if they couldn’t have cake, the meme that describes them… you get the picture.

I also end the questionnaire with “on a scale of ‘yay’ to ‘omg I’m dyyying to get started’ – how excited are you?” and I get the most hilarious, heart-warming, ego-boosting answers ever.

89) Don’t forget to ask for feedback when your project is over, too. Here are the exact questions I ask to get the best reviews. (And if you download that freebie, you’ll also receive the exact email I send to request said feedback.)

90) Challenge yourself to write a blog post about 100 things every creative business owner needs to know, and see how much of it is actually business advice. It’s proving to be an interesting exercise about what your priorities are.

(Now I’m laughing about some of the things I’ve chosen to add because it’s honestly hilarious what I’ve deemed important enough to live in this post.)

91) Don’t write a list of 100 things if you care about readability. Because this is nawt skimmable. But we’re here for the entertainment right now, so whatever. At least 20% of my blog posts are basically satire, so.

92) That “so” reminded me: ditch all grammar rules if you want to write more conversational copy. And, to be clear, you definitely DO want to write conversational copy, because that’s what converts.

No one wants to be talked AT, they want to be talked TO. And nothing makes copy feel more like a convo than starting a sentence with “so” or “but” or “and” or “ya know” … ya feel me? Because that’s how we sound in real life.

93) Don’t overcomplicate things in life or in copy. Less is usually always more.

In copywriting, being direct converts (and connects with your people!) better than being clever.

In life, simplifying things—your surroundings, your to-do list, your decisions, everything—makes for a much less stressful existence.

Don’t add words or tasks that don’t need to be there.

94) You are your friends. As in: you become who you surround yourself with. If you have decent, loving, motivated, caring, supportive friends, you will be a decent, loving, motivated, caring, supportive person.

95) Say “thank you” more often. Whether this manifests as a gratitude journaling practice or an increase in the literal thank you!s that leave your mouth, the effect is the same: you’ll feel better, and it’ll show.

96) Don’t forget to eat 3 meals a day. I don’t know about you, but sometimes the lack of structure in my everyday life—which is my own damn fault, of course—gets in the way of me existing like a regular human and remembering to do regular human things, like eating.

When I’m not being intentional about my schedule or my time, regular meals are the first thing to go, and I always feel like shit when I go through a spout of erratic eating.

(This is an ADHD thing, by the way – one of the many kinks my lil neurodivergent brain has to work through just to exist. If you’re in the same boat, I feel you. It’s hard. And you feel stupid for saying it’s hard because it’s not hard for regular people.)

97) Color-code your Google Calendar. For me, green is calls, dark blue is BTL stuff (like writing my newsletter and blogs, etc), teal is client work, light blue is Wesley (daycare drop-off, sports), purple is activity (gym, tennis, walk)—you get the picture.

I also recommend having a color for “due dates” and setting the time to “all day” so they stay at the top of your calendar and at the top of your mind.

(Should I write a blog post about how I set up my schedule and my calendar? I think yes. DM me @btlcopy on Instagram if you want to read this!)

98) If you’re not sure what to write about, look within. Very philosophical of me, I know. I *was* just one French class away from a Philosophy major, thank you very much.

(I will forever be salty that I don’t have four Bachelor’s degrees, but whatever.)

When you search for inspo elsewhere, you run the risk of infringing on someone else’s IP, and it’s not creative. Sure, see what your competitors are doing, but for the purpose of identifying a topic or pain point or theme they’re not covering – not so you can figure out how to do the same thing but slightly different.

People want to hear what YOU want to say, not the same-same-but-different version of what everyone else is already saying.

Ask yourself what you’d want to read when you’re writing something.

Is it entertaining? Is it solving a need? Will it help someone going through a specific situation only you are qualified to talk about?

I’m a firm believer that you can turn anything into content if you’re willing to be just a little bit creative. Check out this newsletter to see an example of this mentality in action!

99) Don’t try to be everything to everybody. The sooner you learn your limits, the better.

100) You can’t pour from an empty cup. It does not make you selfish to put yourself first—it makes you a better version of yourself so you can feel full enough to pour into others. ❤️

PHEW! 100 tips. Dayum. I hope you found this post helpful, entertaining, educational…? Something? If you made it all the way to this point, thank you. I love you. Please email me at sara@betweenthelinescopy.com to tell me what your favorite tip was; I’d love to hear your thoughts! 🥰

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If we haven’t had the chance to *virtually* meet yet, hi! I’m Sara Noel—website copywriter and marketing mentor for creatives, copywriters, and all-around cool people. If you like my content and you want even more BTL in your life, here are a few ways you can connect with me:

Subscribe to my newsletter! I send one marketing tip, once a week – and, according to my subscribers, it’s “the best marketing newsletter on the Internet” and “the only reason to wake up on Tuesday mornings.” So… yeah. You’ll love ‘er. 😏 Click here to subscribe!

Check out my services. I write website copy, sales pages, email sequences, blog posts, and brand messaging guides for entrepreneurs of all kinds! Maybe you’re my next favorite client.

Read the rest of my blog. It’s home to everything from copywriting tips, to marketing education, to freelance advice, to portfolio-worthy projects… if you like this post, you’ll love the blog. Here’s a quick roundup of my most popular posts.

Sign up for my web copy course. Actually, it’s not *only* about website copywriting—I also teach modules on copywriting basics, developing your target audience, search engine optimization, blogging, and email marketing.

Enlist me as your mentor. I have an entire in-depth blog post about my one-on-one consulting process for new and aspiring copywriters, if you’re interested in having a big-sis-style mentor to help you grow your freelance copywriting business & get results.

To get in touch with me directly, send me a DM or email sara@betweenthelinescopy.com. Have a great day!