IAM431- Copywriting Expert and Mental Health Advocate Helps Female Entrepreneurs Be Heard

Kelsey Formost is a copywriting expert and mental health advocate who helps female entrepreneurs use copywriting tools to be heard, feel valued, and make money. She is the CEO of Magic Words Copywriting and creator of the Youtube show “Find Your Magic”; the series about mental health for women in business.

• CEO Hack: Investing in content marketing and copywriting
• CEO Nugget: Niche down sooner
• CEO Defined: Helping the world in the best way I can

Website: http://www.kelseyformost.com/

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/kelsey.writes
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/kelseyformost

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Transcription

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:29

Hello, hello, hello, this is Gresh from the I AM CEO Podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today of Kelsey for most of Magic Words Copywriting. Kelsey, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Kelsey Formost 0:39

Thanks so much for having me.

Gresham Harkless 0:41

No problem. Super excited to have you on and what I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Kelsey so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. Kelsey is a copywriting expert and mental health advocate who helps female entrepreneurs use copywriting tools to be heard, feel valued, and make money. She is the CEO of Magic Words Copywriting and she has a new online course on the way called Copy Class. Kelsey, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO Community?

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Kelsey Formost 1:05

I'm so ready.

Gresham Harkless 1:07

Awesome. Let's do it. So I wanted to kick everything off with what I call your CEO story. And what led you to get started with your business?

Kelsey Formost 1:14

Oh, man. So I got started with copywriting because I actually have a background in entertainment. I spent 10 years as an actress and a screenwriter. I did off-Broadway stuff in New York, and I have been in movies and on TV shows. I had what I think every CEO has, or every business owner has, which was this sort of niggling feeling that I was supposed to be doing something more, but I couldn't put my finger on what. Then at the end of 2017, I had a fancy staff writer job that was kind of my day job as I was an actor, and my entire team got laid off.

Gresham Harkless 1:53

Oh, wow.

Kelsey Formost 1:55

I had just signed a lease on my first big girl apartment. I was on my own financially for the very first time. And I had a complete breakdown. I was, what is it when you're in those moments? I actually get excited now. I think that that's something that's so important for anybody who has their own business to hear is that those moments of darkness are a great sign. Because it forces you to get super clear about what you want to do who you are and how you're going to serve your community.

So anyway, it was New Year's Eve, I was with my mom, and it was 10 pm she was asleep, and the dog was asleep on our laps. And I was just like, I really need to make some changes. I just started asking myself a bunch of questions. long story short, I realized that what I really loved was telling people's stories and helping them feel deeply heard and seen. So I explored some career choices that would allow me to do that.

I found copywriting and I'm so glad that I did. Because copywriting if you don't know what copywriting is, it's not the little c with the circle. A lot of people think that you're not alone if you're a lot of copywriting is writing words that sell. So it can be used across every single business. And not only in business but in life. Like once you learn about copywriting, you'll start to see it like oh, I can use it to convince my friends to go to the movies with me. It's a it's an amazing skill. And it allows me to be fulfilled creatively, but also feel like I'm really giving back to the world.

Gresham Harkless 3:37
Right? That's, that's definitely huge. And I feel like that's a lot of what we all kind of hope to do with whatever our craft is, is to be seen and heard, just like you say, and you know, we're doing sometimes such great things, but we don't necessarily always know how to articulate that and let people know exactly what we're doing. So that's why I appreciate you, making this your focus and in your gift being able to help people articulate themselves so that they can be found heard, and seen. And then, of course, make some sales.

Kelsey Formost 4:05

Oh, shucks, thanks.

Gresham Harkless 4:08

You're welcome. You're welcome. And I think too, like it just going into what you were talking about, like sometimes I usually always say it's always darkest before dawn. So those dark times and those dark moments, a lot of times that gives us that opportunity to kind of cut bait with things that don't really serve us and start to really hone in on those things that do serve us the most in our passion and what will a lot of times drive that needle. So I think a lot of times we need those rock bottom moments in life and also of course in business.

Kelsey Formost 4:36

Absolutely. It's because as you just said, It's in those moments that you're forced to let things go you're forced to get clear. And once you're not spending a lot of time on stuff that doesn't serve you as you say, all that time gets freed up. It's like this magical thing that happens. It feels really scary because we're as human beings, we crave security. And yet, when you have this sort of blank page, that opens the door for you to be able to create the life that you actually want, versus, you know, a situation that you might be feeling stuck in.

Gresham Harkless 5:19

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. When I, looked back at it, like when I got laid off, I think that because, of course, when it happened, it wasn't a happy camper at all.

Kelsey Formost 5:29

I would love to know what the actual statistics are of like, CEOs or people who own their own businesses, of like, how many of them had that moment where they got laid off? And I'm not going back? Crap.

Gresham Harkless 5:46

Exactly, exactly. And it makes you fortunate for you to kind of exactly Yeah, unfortunately, you did to make sure that you have to do that. And, and sometimes it's those moments that you need that you don't want, but you kind of need them in order to kind of propel you forward to wherever you need to be.

So you got propelled into copyright. I know you touched on it a little bit. Can you take us a little bit more through what you're doing to support the clients? How do you work with them? And then of course, tell us a little bit more about your course.

Kelsey Formost 6:12

Absolutely. So copywriting, like I said, is every business's secret weapon, you can apply it literally everywhere. So the act of copywriting is writing words that convince somebody to take an action. That action can be subscribing to an email list, buying a product or a service, a course following you on social media, or reading a blog, any action you want a reader or a customer to take, you can use copywriting tools to get them and guide them to do that there are a few hacks on how to do this, I'll share a couple today.

One is right, like you talk, a lot of people think they got to fancy up their writing to appear professional and buttoned up. And it just makes you sound like a walking LinkedIn profile. Nobody wants to buy from a lacking LinkedIn profile. So if you're having trouble with that, just pretend like you're talking to your best friend. Or I also like to say, if you're still having trouble, pretend like you're talking to a third grader, because that forces you to be super clear. But also like you can explain to a third grader, some big concepts.

So those are just like a little, some little tangible tips that you guys can take away and use. But what I do is a few different things, people can work with me one on one, where I will actually build something with them and give them, I'll actually write the thing for them. If they're like, please call me I don't need to know I don't need to DIY this like take, take my email funnel, take my website, make it pretty, and then give it back to me. So that's one way that I work. Another way that I work is consulting.

So I actually will work with somebody and live write. And they can see I call it over the shoulder where you open a Google Doc and you're writing in real-time and they can see the edits that you're making. And you're working together to craft something in real-time. The last way that people can work with me is through my upcoming copy course it's gonna Copy Class is what it's called, it's going live in October. And it's going to have different sections on the philosophy of copywriting. Like, why it works. Help people care more about themselves. I don't care about you and what you're offering. They want to know how you can solve their problems, We all do it.

So we talked about the philosophy, why things work, it trains your brain to think in that way. I give some just basic copywriting tips that you can apply across the board. And then I get into the nitty-gritty of how to write a website step by step for people who hate writing.

By the way, you do not have to be a writer to use copywriting I think a lot of people are nervous about that. This is free, if you hate to write if you stare at the blinking cursor of death. And then I also take besides the website, I take people through email funnels, which are the most effective sales tools that you can possibly invest in learning how to do. So that's a brief overview of the Copy Class. If you want to know more, I'm sure Gresham will put a link up somewhere. Yeah, I'd be happy to hear from any of you guys, if you want to know about any of these wonderful offerings.

Gresham Harkless 9:47

Right. Nice I definitely appreciate that and kind of like what you spoke to. I think I read something where it's like to sell as a human. You don't really realize you kind of touched on it a little bit or earlier where he talked about, you know, the copywriting is kind of like a skill, but you literally use that in every aspect of your life if you're trying to get your kids to eat their vegetables, or if you're trying to get a started movie, or whatever it is, you're using some type of sales and copywriting, and that communication piece is such a big part of it.

So I definitely appreciate you sharing that with us. And you might have already touched on this, but I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce. And it can be for you or your organization. But what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

Kelsey Formost 10:30

Empathy. I think that empathy is the most amazing tool for life and for business. If you can put yourself in somebody else's shoes, and really understand how to connect with them. Like really, truly digging deep and understanding if somebody's feeling vulnerable, or if someone is fearful that there is scarcity, that they're not going to be able to achieve a certain thing. That is the most valuable secret sauce that anybody can have is identifying with your community and being able to help them from a place of real empathy.

Absolutely. And I wanted to switch gears a little bit. And I know you've already given us a CEO hack. Did you have any other CEO hacks you wanted to kind of tell us are some things that make you more effective and efficient?

Yes, this is across every business. And I know I've got blinders on when it comes to copywriting. But this is nerdy for the podcast people I'm putting I'm pushing fake glasses up my nose. Marti fact, a statistic that businesses that invest in content marketing and copywriting actually see three times the profit of businesses that don't. So if you don't have a content strategy yet, go get one because it can triple your profits. That is no small potatoes, though.

Gresham Harkless 11:55

So now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. And this is a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. Or if you could happen to be a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self,

Kelsey Formost 12:07

I could hop into a time machine, I would tell my younger business self to niche down sooner. I think that we have and this is a copywriting thing to know who you're talking to. And be really, really specific with that information.

Gresham Harkless 12:27

Nice. Nice, nice. So now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different, quote-unquote, CEOs on this show. So Kelsey, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Kelsey Formost 12:38

Being a CEO means helping the world in the best way that I can. Because when you are the CEO of your own life, that means that you get to make all of your decisions on how you spend your time and your energy. And that means that you are giving your best self at all times, you don't have to be listening to what somebody else's idea of what you should or should not be doing, and you get to have that gut check for yourself with every single decision every single day. So that's what it means to me.

Gresham Harkless 13:16

Nice. I appreciate that definition. And I always say, if you're running your own race, you can't lose. Because a lot of times, there are so many external polls and pushes that a lot of times we think we should be doing this, I think we should be doing that. But if you're in alignment with yourself, and you're staying true to who you are, then it's very, very hard to lose.

Kelsey Formost 13:33

Oh my gosh, completely. I talked about this. I mean, part of my bio, as I say I'm a mental health advocate. And that's very, very true. Because I think copywriting actually really relates to mental health because it's not just saying what you think you should say, or what you're supposed to say, or what class is telling you to say.

It's really getting down to who are you and what makes you happy. How are you showing up to serve the world? And, man, can we all get bogged down with comparisonitis? No, we see that person who is in a similar field on Instagram with 100,000 followers. Why? Why is this working for them and not for me? It's like learning to separate that it is your own race, as you said, and just turning down that noise of the internet. And focusing on just taking that next right step. That's where the wins come.

Absolutely, absolutely. And then writing in and of itself is definitely a great way to do that in a very therapeutic way. So I truly appreciate you, Kelsey, for all the awesome things you're doing appreciate your time even more. What I wanted to do was passionate that mic so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you can let our readers and listeners know and then of course how best they can get a whole view. Find out about your course and all the awesome things you're working on.

Oh my gosh. Well, I'll just end by saying that wherever you are in your business know that you're doing great. Like you are listening to this podcast because you're tuning in trying to learn more about how you can better show up for yourself and for your customers.

So you're already doing a great job. Pat yourself on the back unless you're driving listening to this and just sort of mentally pat yourself on the back. And if you want to know more about me, please visit my website KelseyFormost.com.  No, it's not a stage name. It's my real name Formost, so freely up at Ellis Island. I would love to hear from you guys.

So if you found me through this podcast, let me know send me a DM or an email. Lots of free resources on my website. So be sure to check it out. And I really hope I hear from you.

Gresham Harkless 15:59

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Well, thank you so much again, Kelsey. We will we'll make sure to have those links in the show notes. And just as you said, if you are driving you can get it when you're driving or mentally remember to come back and look at the show notes after you stop driving. But thank you so much again for all the awesome things you're doing. I hope you have a great rest of the day.

Outro 16:15

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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