Conversations with Jennifer Hickerson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Hickerson.

Hi Jennifer, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Back in 2016, I decided to quit my job and move from the Midwest to Colorado. I never worried about finding a job because of the vast amounts of opportunities I knew were here. And, coming from a small suburban area where work could be difficult, I wasn’t worried at all. Unfortunately, I couldn’t have been more wrong. I wound up living off of my savings for a year and a half until I started seeing ads for a copywriting course popping up on my Instagram feed. I had an educational background in criminal justice and a work background in healthcare — none of it involved writing or marketing! But, being my own boss, choosing my own hours, and working from home where all things I could get on board with. So, I took the plunge. I bought the course, started my own business, and now enjoy the entrepreneur life!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was bumpy, for sure. Since I didn’t have any experience as a copywriter, it was difficult finding clients at first. SEO can take a while to work its magic, so referral work was my main source of clientele until my website started getting found in Google. LinkedIn has also been a huge resource for me. Their platform is full of people looking to network and I discovered the more you give, the more you get. I was able to grow my following to over 17,000 people in only nine months. The reward from that has been incredible! Building your brand’s reputation on social platforms is difficult but the payoff is well worth it in the end.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Most people think that copywriting is easy. It’s just coming up with clever taglines like in Mad Men. And that may be a true representation for billboards or physical products found in-store — but it’s much more involved when it comes to digital copywriting. Nowadays, we’re not only writing for the targeted audience, but we’re also writing for Google. Because unless our clients are willing to pay for paid advertisement as well, no one will find their websites, articles, or products unless they’re optimized for search engines. This is especially true for my niche, which is medical copywriting. Believe it or not, many doctors find marketing to be sleazy or dirty. But gone are the days that someone pulls a phone book from the bookshelf and calls the first practice listed in the yellow pages. Potential patients use websites to decide whether or not they choose that doctor or their competition down the street. The words used, the tone of voice presented, and even the formatting can be the deciding factor when determining if they’re going to call for an appointment. A great copywriter researches your target client to the point where the words on your website make them feel like you’re speaking out loud their internal thoughts. It truly is an art form.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
The first copywriting course I took had an amazing teacher. She actually gave me some jobs, which was incredible! I literally was being paid to learn. Having a professional copywriter critique, my work was invaluable to my success. And once my work was published on the clients’ websites, I had portfolio pieces to use. Even the other students were amazing! Since we were all learning at the same pace, it was nice to have others to ping ideas off of and brainstorm with.

Contact Info:

• Email: jennifer@peakcopy.com
• Website: peakcopy.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/peakcopy