The 2025 Wrap-up with Rachel and Lynne

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Rachel Smith: Hello and welcome to The Content Byte, a podcast for freelancers who use their words to make money. I’m Rachel Smith, a freelance journalist, copywriter, and content producer. I’m also the founder of Rachel’s List, a jobs board and community for Australian writers and other creatives. 

Lynne Testoni: I’m Lynne Testoni! I’m a journalist and content writer as well. Rachel and I are your weekly co-hosts, and every week we bring you all kinds of tips, tricks, and some fabulous guests to help you make the most of your freelance business.

Hey, Rach, how are you? 

Rachel: I’m good. Crawling to the end of the year. 

Lynne: Crawling to the end. Yes. Crawling to the end of the year, aren’t we all? So, we thought we’d do something a little different this week. This is our final episode for the year, so the idea is to do a little bit of a wrap up because one of the things in our survey was that people wanted to hear a bit more from us, which was interesting.

Rachel: Shock horror. It’s fine. 

Lynne: Yes. So, the idea is we used a website called YearCompass – we’ll put the links in the show notes – and I thought it was really interesting and we just picked six different questions. Some questions as thought starters, really about the year of 2025. The year that was.

Rachel: Yes. I loved that process. It was really thought provoking. 

Lynne: Was it? Did it make you think? 

Rachel: I went and did it. I just went and sat in the sun on the deck and filled it in and it was awesome. I think it’ll be great for people to check it out, so we will definitely put in the show notes. We’re only doing a few of the questions. There’s lots of questions in it, but we’re only picking out a few, aren’t we? 

Lynne: Exactly. Otherwise, we’d be here for the rest of the afternoon. We don’t have time for that today. So, the first question was wisest decision. Shall I go first? 

Rachel: I know what you’re going to say. 

Lynne: I think my wisest decision, I don’t know about you, was not to do the summit.

We did two years of The Content Byte Summit and while I loved it, it was a lot of work. And this year, 2025 has been a super busy year for me, but even with all that it was less stressful and more financially successful without the summit. But I didn’t do nothing. I mean, and I still wanted to connect with people. So, for me, I made it as you know, made it the year of ‘yes’. I went to a lot of other events within our industry, content and writing. And I went to some lunches, some launches and all sorts of things. And interestingly, the more times I went out, the more invitations I started getting for some really good events that aligned with my niche and brought me contacts and business, and I wonder if that’s why I had my best year yet. 

Rachel: What were some of your favourites? Because I know that you went to a lot. 

Lynne: I did. Some of them were just little things. I went to, most of the Women in Media, there’s chapters all around Australia. I went to Women in Media in New South Wales. I went to a few of their workshops and I went to their annual conference, and I found that really interesting. Women who work in different parts of the media, a lot of broadcast people who I don’t normally contact, spend time with, which is interesting. I went to Georgia Rickard’s Brand Camp, which was really interesting. It was a whole day of some really interesting sessions, particularly on personal branding, which I found really good. 

Rachel: I missed that. I think I was away, but I wanted to go to that. 

Lynne: It was really good. I also went to one thing that was a bit random, I went to the Murcutt Symposium. Now, Glenn Murcutt is Australia’s greatest living architect. My niche, as you know, is interiors and architecture and things, and that was more about my niche. I didn’t actually write anything of it, but oh, I found it inspiring and I learned so much about that, and I felt that was a really good way of really expanding my world. I really liked it. Then I’ve been going to a networking group called Collabor8 Women, and I found that really interesting. There are women from all different places. I found that really good and I got added to a few good PR lists, which landed the events that I’ve been, and I’ve also got a little bit of work out of that. But mostly I’ve just been inspired by the women. 

Rachel: I love Collabor8 Women. I’ve been to a few as well.

Lynne: It’s really interesting. So, what was your wisest decision? 

Rachel: I think mine was to go to Bali, which, bear with me, was on a whim. A friend offered me the chance to crash in her room because she was at a conference for the whole week in Bali. So, I really spent that week in a self-imposed writing retreat and I wrote all the copy for the Rachel’s List website. I was just enormously productive and that was a massive shock to me, how much I got done when I took away all the distractions of my life – parenting, needing to cook, shop, et cetera. I was hugely productive, and I realised that as much as I love my husband, sharing a home office means I’m so distracted all the time because he’s in meetings a lot, so we’ve had a pull down desk installed that can be tucked away, but brought up when you need it in one of the bedrooms, and it’s under a window with a beautiful view of a big olive tree. So, I can go in there and work in the quiet. Peace and quiet when I need to and that’s been really amazing. That was something that came out of being away and thinking I really need to do something about this shared office situation because it’s not working for me.

There’s been lots of wisdom on the podcast this year. I think I’ve learned a lot about focus from Claire Emerson and Steve Puri. I really nerded out on Evelina Kaganovich’s episode on clear messaging. Because being a copywriter, I just loved hearing how she approaches things. And Lee Elwood really made me realise that editing is so much bigger a service than I want to offer. After her episode, I took editing services off my website. 

Did you? 

Rachel: Yes. 

Lynne: So are these, so then the second question was, biggest lessons. Are these your biggest lessons? 

Rachel: No, I’ve got biggest lessons as well. I just thought that those, I think that was a wise decision to not offer. I love doing an edit or a very light edit on things, but I realised I don’t want to do the kind of editing that Lee does and I’m glad she exists because we admired her. 

Lynne: Yes. Sounds good.  So, the next question is the biggest lesson I learned. And for me, I think I knew this, but for me, I really embrace the concept of developing relationships as the key to finding clients. Now, that’s partly because of my year of ‘yes’, and seeing a lot more people in person. But you know, almost every guest we’ve had when we always ask them how they find their clients, it always comes up and almost everyone says it’s about relationships and developing and that it’s sometimes a long-term business. It takes a while.

I actually have not sent for a really long time, like years one of those, LOI’s, the letter of introduction. I haven’t done that. I do connect with people and sometimes I reconnect if I haven’t touched base. But so much of it is about relationships. And actually, in that, the other day I was re-listening – I was going back in preparation for today looking, listening to a few back episodes and I listened to our episode with Treasa Edmond, and that was right at the beginning of 2025. And I think that’s really interesting because Rach, we were so optimistic then. It’s a really positive, exciting episode and I think maybe at the end of the year we’re a bit worn down. But she talked all about how her niche is content strategy.  She talks a lot about offering strategy. 

Rachel: It’s a brilliant episode. 

Lynne: She says it’s all about securing clients through relationships. Now, I wanted to quote her and she says, strategy is relationship based. It’s difficult for some people to do this, but I start by leveraging relationships past clients. I ask for referrals going to online communities, and I offer value. So, I’m building relationships with people. And she said that I’ve really found that while marketing works pretty well for my writing, my best strategy clients have almost been referrals or people I’ve connected with personally in some way. And that’s kind of the same. If you want to work with any higher value client, authority building adds onto that as well. It’s so interesting. 

Rachel: I know. If you follow her on LinkedIn, I do – you can see her doing that in action. She’s a machine the way she connects and offers value in. She’ll pop up on a post of someone I’ve never known before, but there she is giving a tip or an idea. She really does. 

Lynne: She lives it. 

Rachel: She does. She’s great. 

Lynne: I think I first came across Treasa when she was commenting and adding value in a Facebook group, I’m part of for content writers. The other thing that Joe Pulizzi, who’s quite recent or was sort of only a couple of months ago, talked a lot about being ahead in the age of AI and how to future proof yourself. He talked all about relationships as well, and he said that we have to accept that the algorithms are going to take over and it’s tough to swallow, but he thinks the earlier we come at this and he says, what am I good at?

He talked a lot about establishing yourself as authority. Meeting people face to face because people want to work with people. I think that was really interesting and he also talked about what you are really doing. Figuring out what, how you can diversify those things now and that might give yourself a chance as this AI thing happens, particularly in the next two or three years.

Rachel: His was more of a recent episode and really one we recommend listening to because there are parts of it that are quite scary and confronting, 

Lynne: But he had a really positive, constructive take on it.

Rachel: It absolutely will give you ideas for next year for how you want to approach building those relationships and his newsletter is amazing and so is his book, Burn the Playbook. Really good resources from Joe. 

Lynne: So, what are your lessons? 

Rachel: So, my biggest lesson. I think one, and this is what I talked about in a Rachel’s List event yesterday, was deciding how to manage my LinkedIn because we had Bec Cofrancesco on the pod earlier this year and she also did a really good lunch club for the Rachel’s List Gold members.

For those two things, I learned a lot about what I was not doing on LinkedIn and I kind of started slowly to change things. I started to change how my LinkedIn presented, and I think with premium LinkedIn you can have a slider on your banner, and if you’re like me and you have two businesses, I could use a different slide for each thing that I did.

So, it wasn’t like I was trying to jam everything onto the one slide, and it was really kind of confusing. I could just have one slide with my freelance work and one slide with Rachel’s List stuff. And so, I did that. I created a sliding revolving banner, and I was also realising that I was posting not a lot because I was worried that I was confusing people. Were they reading a post from Rachel, the journalist and copywriter, or were they reading a post from Rachel, the owner of Rachel’s List. So, I decided to separate out my businesses. Instagram is now for my freelance business and LinkedIn is now for Rachel’s List to attract people on Rachel’s List.

That has been really useful for Rachel’s List and really liberating for me. I’m less stuck than I was in how I post, so that’s been good. The other big lesson I learned is to take better care of my brain because my migraines are getting worse and I’m on another journey with that, but I’m also trying to be really structured in terms of sleep and exercise, and I learned a lot from Lucie Robazza’s episode, which she was all about making writers look at their health as a business asset, but that really stuck with me too. 

Lynne: She was great. I really liked her, and I think it was really useful. We talk a lot about fixing your skills and updating your writing skills, but that was a bit about your overall health and why it’s important to be healthy if you want a long-term business. And was it, she said, working towards your 80-year-old body? 

Rachel: The actions you take now are building your 80-year-old body. That’s great. 

Lynne: So good. So, the next one was the biggest risk I took, and I know that you’ve seen it, so you know, it makes you laugh. Well, I really bullied you into doing a photo shoot for the podcast website. We updated the website. It’s a lot more interactive and it’s got lovely photos of us, which is another bit of feedback we had.

The people, I think it’s back to relationships. People want to do work with people and by listening to by looking at our faces, they know that we are real people. And I think that was really interesting and I think it was really worth it. I updated my own headshots at the same time, but it was really nice to have some professional shots of you and me. What do you think? 

Rachel: I think that was definitely the biggest risk for me too, and I really avoided it because you tried to get me to do that for years. 

Lynne: Yes. It was good, wasn’t it? 

Rachel: I think you’re right. You were really right to push me. I think it took the podcast to a new level. When you have those photos as a freelancer, you’re not scared to do take on opportunities because you might be sending a selfie to someone instead you can send a professional photo.

You look good. You look more professional. It’s so, so worth the money. I think the other big thing to come out of taking that risk is that it coincided with the Rachel’s List rebuild, which is the third time we’ve rebuilt the website and hopefully the last for a long time. But it’s the first time where I’m actually the face of it because I have this photography. And so that’s scary. But I also feel like it all happened at the right time and it was very serendipitous. The risk paid off.

Lynne: Oh, cool. I do encourage people, like clients or other freelancers to get, I think, Karen Eck, who might have been at the beginning of the year.

Rachel: Yes, she was. She was January. 

Lynne: She has this thing; her little thing is being asset ready. 

Rachel: Yes. I love that. 

Lynne: And so having some good headshots, and she also usually recommends a bio, a short, medium, and long bio. So, whenever somebody wants it, if they’re asking for you to comment on something, speak somewhere, anything, you’ve just got assets all there, and you just send them a link to a Google folder or Dropbox or something like that. I think that’s really good. 

So, the biggest surprise of the year and I wanted to talk a little bit about AI because that’s been a recurring theme in our episodes this year, but it actually hasn’t – it’s affected the industry in really unusual ways. Not where I thought it was going. I actually didn’t lose any work from it, but I could really see how it was dividing the writing community. We had a couple of polar opposite views on AI. Dan Kaufman hates it with a passion. He was very vocal about that, which was great. It was a really interesting, well, we had Steven Lewis talk about how to use it as a marketing brain setting up custom GPTs and stuff.

And I find it really interesting; I was talking to somebody at an event last night and they said how market research is being really hurt by AI. So, everybody at this dinner, by the way, asked me if AI was affecting my writing career and I had to say, nope, nope, nope. But it’s hurting other things. It’s hurting entry level law clerks, market research, a lot of research. It’s hurting a lot of different people. And I think it’s quite surprising. I know that one of your favourite episodes was Ilise Benun on using AI to find clients. I think that was really helpful about how it can be really beneficial to your career and business.

I’ve been trialling lots of new AI tools this year, including Riverside, which is the recording studio we are using today. And this is a bit of a trial for us, and Riverside has got so many tools. I’ve been playing around with them that can really make my work on the podcast a lot easier too. What was your biggest surprise?

Rachel: Look, I will touch on Ilise, because I undertook her prompt system. She basically had a PDF, a really amazing PDF that outlines these five prompts that you can take to find clients. And it’s just so incredible. I worked through that, but I realised as part of that process that I wanted to chase after different types of clients.

I do lots of web copy for service businesses and that won’t change, but I want to bring in more healthcare type businesses that really need help. It has prompted me or nudged me into going into another niche or going back to a niche I used to write about a lot. I have Ilise to thank for that for sending me on that little journey.

But also, you mentioned Steven Lewis, and he also did a lunch club for us on his course, which is called Make ChatGPT Your CMO, and I did that course. We had him on the pod and then we had the lunch club, and then I did his course, which is a 30-day course where you build your GPT, train it on your business and layer it with all this knowledge. And then at the end you basically have a marketing expert in your back pocket. And that was the biggest surprise of the year for me because I don’t want to use AI to write, that’s my passion and my thing, but to have that knowledge and be able to do a sense check on something with all that knowledge behind it is – that’s been really incredible and has saved me a lot of time.

Lynne: So interesting, isn’t it? 

Now this one, I sort of hesitated with this because I’m not very good at sharing personal stuff. But, the last question, or the fifth question was the most important thing I did for others. I guess one thing I should mention is my redundancy scones that I’ve had when friends or colleagues are made redundant, I often have them over for scones and help them set up their freelance business and everything. It’s my way of giving back. I’ve had a lot of people for scones this year. 

Rachel: There’s been a lot of scones coming out of your oven. 

Lynne: It has been. There’s a lot of redundancies out there. So yes, so that’s been a thing. But also in the last eighteen months, my two eldest daughters have both had twins. Oh, my Lord. I really wanted to be there for them and sometimes this is mother guilt because working full time in media when they were born, I don’t know if I was always there as much as I could have been. So, the second time around, I really want to be there, and this is why I love my freelance life so much because I can do that. I was able to adapt my workflow around their needs and all the demands they had on their life. 

So, for the first two months of this year, I got up before six am to drive to my Sydney daughter’s house and to help her and her husband with a morning rush with an extra pair of hands, taking their three-year-old to daycare before heading home to start my day at about eight thirty or nine. And then those first few months after the twins were born were really hard on my daughter, and I was really glad to be able to help them in a practical way. 

Rachel: So good. 

Lynne: It is. And that’s what life’s all about. That’s why we do this stuff, isn’t it? My other daughter lives in WA, so that’s a five-hour plane ride away. But I took five trips west this year, helping her with her three-year-old before her twins were born in May. And then I’ve had regular visits to help with the inevitable chaos of having three kids under three. I wrote a lot of content on the plane each visit. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie on the plane. It’s always been writing, and I juggle projects in the early morning and evening over there while helping my daughter during the day. That was really nice, and I think that flexibility that freelance gives out. So, I still probably put in a long day and often six or seven days if I’m helping my daughters. But I love it that I can choose what I do, and nobody notices whether I’m at my computer or not. It’s a real joy. 

Rachel: Can I just say, I just still think it’s amazing that you went from two grandchildren to six. 

Lynne: I know, my God.

Rachel: In the space of a couple of months. 

Lynne: Yes. Crazy. Crazy. 

Rachel: Seriously, I want that story in the Australian Women’s Weekly with professional photos of you all. 

Lynne: Not going to happen. I need privacy there. 

Rachel: Yes. The most important thing I did for others, I kept looking at this question and I thought, well, I really think what I’ve tried to do this year is meet more Rachel’s Listers in person. 

Lynne: Oh yes. 

Rachel: And I’ve done that with lots of coworking sessions. There’s a little group of writers and we try to meet once a month, or it’s probably more like once every two months and we meet at a library and have the day, and it’s not really coworking, it’s evolved into more like a brainstorming session, which is so valuable when you have a freelance business and everybody does slightly different things to you, but they can see gaps where you can’t, or they can see roadblocks where you can’t. And so, our whole day ended up being just sitting there and talking through issues we were having and unravelling stuff and then going and having a lovely lunch somewhere. They’re not really coworking, but I have done those with quite a few writers and thank you Lani, Helen, and Pip for always saying yes or turning up when we book boats because they are just so lovely and so valuable.

But also, you and I flew to Melbourne, to the Rachel’s List, Melbourne Christmas party. We had the Sydney Christmas party. I wish I could go to every city and have every party with everybody, but it hasn’t been possible. What we have tried to do a little bit more; I’ve met some other people in cafes this year and stuff and supporting the Rachel’s List community is something I really enjoy.

There’s lots of crossover with the podcast community and I’m just enjoying planning out the new website and the things we’ll be offering members. I had a couple of people tell me, Rachel’s List really helped them in their business this year. So that means everything to hear that really.

Lynne: Wow. Okay, now we’re getting near the end. So, one more question, what was the biggest thing I completed? Workwise, 

Rachel: I know what this is. We talked about this so much, but you were doing it. 

Lynne: I know. This year I took on a large project for a relative new client, Bunnings, which is a big hardware store here in Australia, a hardware chain writing all their content centred around the TV show called The Block, which they sponsored. 

It was huge and it was great. I loved it. It gave me a whole lot of work, which kept me really busy, but it also helped to make this year my best year yet financially, and I really enjoyed the challenge. It was really good. I haven’t done such a big project for a while. I really liked it. They were lovely to work with. So, on a personal level, I actually took some holidays this year, Rach. You talked a bit about your Bali trip, which wasn’t really a holiday. 

Rachel: That wasn’t a holiday. No. 

Lynne: But I went on a four-day hiking trip through Tasmania’s Three Capes and that is honestly, the first time I’ve actually been on a holiday without my laptop, I’ve never done that. I went into the Tasmania wilderness. I walked, I did, 15 kilometres one day and 21 kilometres another day. And it was just the most spectacular scenery. I think that really helped. I did it at the beginning of the year, and I think it really gave me a fresh perspective about beautiful things. I really enjoyed that. 

I also went when it was really cold here in Sydney, I took my husband up to Port Douglas in far North Queensland when it was beautiful and warm for a four-day getaway for his sixtieth birthday. And that was really lovely, and I really enjoyed that too, that was nice. And of course, as I said, five trips to Perth to see my daughter and grandchildren. 

Rachel: Not a holiday. 

Lynne: That was nice. They weren’t holidays. No, but you know, it was nice to change of scenery is nice. 

Rachel: Yes.

Lynne: What about you? The biggest thing you completed. 

Rachel: So many. I mean, I could talk about projects and stuff, but I think the biggest thing I completed, and this is also a bit on a personal note, is a bathroom renovation.

Lynne: Oh yes! 

Rachel: But fun fact, I renovated my bathroom and actually, funny that we are both talking about Bunnings, but I renovated my bathroom when I first moved into my house and that was in 2007. And I wrote a story for Bunnings Magazine about that project, about the renovation. They even sent a photographer, and it was this big story in the magazine, right?

So nearly 20 years later, we had this terrible leak in the bathroom and there were things going on behind the walls and I was just like, oh, we need to rip out this leak because we don’t know what it’s doing to the foundations. So, I just having already renovated that same space, I pitched it to Bunnings, but to our editor at Bunnings, The Content Hub Bunnings editor, who is lovely, Darren, and he picked it up and it hasn’t been published yet, but it was really cool to compare what I did differently in those two renovations. And honestly, I could become a renovation project manager at this point. It was an easier process. It didn’t blow out. It was just really, and now I’ve got a beautiful new bathroom without a leak in it.

Lynne: That’s awesome. Pretty good. 

Rachel: Big project. That’s not for work 

Lynne: For work, of course you did talk about going to Bali, so you finished all the copy for the new Rachel’s List website. That was a big project that was dogging you all year, wasn’t it? 

Rachel: Oh my God. So, I don’t think we would be at the stage we’re at if I hadn’t done that. Got away and just did it.  

Lynne: Wow. I think that’s our little summary of the year. Hopefully. I think we’ve learned a lot. We’ve got some great episodes. I’ll try and put some links in the show notes to some of those episodes. But honestly, it has been a really good year for guests. We’ve had some amazing people on lots of different things, and I think really inspiring. Did you have a favourite? 

Rachel: A favourite guest? No, that’s like trying to tell me to choose a favourite child. I only have one. I had so many favourites. And this is the thing, like I think I said on Kim Kerton’s podcast once that, the podcast is like a curiosity playground for me because I get to pick the brains of all these incredible people.

But we learn so much, don’t we?

Lynne: We do. 

Rachel: From everybody. It’s just like, it’s kind of amazing. I think it’s like the ultimate lunch club every time. And we come away with so much wisdom at the end of the year. So, I hope that our listeners, I hope that you have thought the same thing if you are listening to this.

Lynne: I hope we brought some practical skills and a bit of inspiration to your business and your freelance career.

Also, Rach, we should say thank you to some of the people that really help us with the podcast this year, particularly the wonderful Josh who does the editing because neither of us want to do that, and he’s way better than either of us could ever be. Thank you, Josh. 

Rachel: Thanks, Josh. We heart you. 

Lynne: We do also the wonderful Claire Chow who helps us with a lot of the social media and some of the admin tasks, which is amazing. And this year we’ve had Heidi from Blackbird Collaborative and Heidi’s been creating transcripts that are going on the new revitalized website with new photos. And so that means for those people who want to find us or just read the transcript or get details and everything, that’s really helpful as well.

So, thanks to Josh, Claire and Heidi. And of course, to the wonderful, Rounded. 

Rachel: And to Rounded our amazing sponsor. 

Lynne: Oliver at Rounded. He’s the best sponsor ever. 

Rachel: We met up with him in Melbourne. It’s actually really nice having an ongoing sponsor, isn’t it? Rather than different sponsors changing all the time. Rounded understands us.

Lynne: That makes our life easier. 

Rachel: We love their business. 

Lynne: Their support helps us to pay people like Josh, Heidi and Claire, so we don’t get too stressed, so yes. Fantastic. 

Rachel: But we are planning a few cool things for the podcast next year and we’ve got some exciting things planned out. 

Lynne: We’ll do a few little summer episodes over the next couple of weeks, and we’ll be back mid-January with some fresh new guests and maybe a little tweak to the format. 

Stay tuned. Okay. Bye. 

Rachel: See you everybody. Bye.

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Credits:

Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com 

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au 

Rachel’s List www.rachelslist.com.au 

If you have questions you’d like us to answer in our next Q&A episode, just send them here.

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Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co