Danielle Pegg Mowbray on Confidence, Client Relationships & Setting Boundaries

Tell us a little bit about yourself & your work.

I’m Danielle, an online copywriter and content specialist and my business is called Writers Of The Lost Art. I work across all types of web copy but I have a soft spot for long-form, such as blogs and guides. I’ve worked both in-house and agency side where I led a content team, so I have 15 years of experience across loads of sectors and industries. 

What has surprised you most about being self-employed?

So many things have surprised me about being self-employed! I’m surprised by how much I love it. Never say never, but right now, I can’t see myself ever going back to work for someone else. I never thought I’d have the confidence to run my own businesses but here I am, doing it every day. 

On the flip side, I’ve experienced imposter syndrome like never before. I feel like I’ve always had a quiet confidence, in that if I didn’t know something, I wasn’t afraid to say and I was always willing to learn and take on feedback. So I don’t feel like I truly experienced a lack of confidence in my work. But as a freelancer, I feel so much more exposed and under constant invisible expectation to know everything about everything. Having talked to other freelancers, I know I’m not alone, so it’s just something that I’m committed to working on because I’m the boss now!

What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned as a freelancer?

Believe in yourself. Always. You’re going to make mistakes. You’re not going to be the right fit for every job. You’re going to die of cringe learning how to market yourself and be ghosted 25 zillion times. But it’s never been more important to have your own back. Freelancing isn’t for everyone, but if you can stick it out, you will learn so much about yourself and what you’re capable of. 

If you were just starting out, what advice would you give yourself?

• Freelancing is going to highlight every single one of your insecurities, so give yourself a pep talk regularly.
• Don’t announce every single change you make in the business. You’re going to pivot a thousand times in the first couple of years while you figure things out.
• Go for more 1-1 coffees with people. Do networking your own way.
• Limit your time on social media. 90% of it is trash, marketing bro’s, short lived trends or people trying to make you feel inadequate. 10% is useful, connection building and job hunting. Take regular social media breaks. Don’t be a slave to the algorithms.
• You DON’T NEED to buy that other copywriters course.
• Qualify your leads – Ask any potential clients what their budget is before you start talking in depth about a project. Be wary of those who won’t at least give you a ballpark, especially when you’ve given them one.
• Simplify everything you can. 

What tools do you swear by?

• FreeAgent and Mettle for finances – you get FreeAgent free when you sign up for a  Mettle account, and you can save in pots for things like Tax and business expenses.
• Email for daily comms
• Trello for daily tasks
• Google Drive for docs, tracking and planning spreadsheets, presentations etc.
• Canva Pro for recording videos, social media graphics and a whole host of other design related bits n bobs.
• Slack and discord for networking groups and sending yourself notes.
• Substack for newsletters.
• Good old pen and paper when you’re feeling stuck.

What is the soundtrack of your working day?

80’s and 90’s, 90’s RnB, white noise or focus music if I’m in deep work mode. And the occasional meowing from my cat. 

What’s your go-to wfh lunch?

I actually prefer to have a more filling breakfast, like shakshuka, boiled eggs or greek yogurt and fruit, skip lunch and have a yummy tea like chicken salad or pasta. But if I was hungry for lunch, (I should probably say salad), but you can’t beat a corned beef and tomato sauce sandwich and a packet of Monster Munch!

What do you wish clients understood better about working with freelancers?

Most of us really love what we do. We really want to provide you with fabulous work. We’re not in it to overcharge or mess you about. But we’re not cheap labour. We’re not your employees. We’re business owners.

There may be times when it’s much cheaper for you to hire a freelancer than to hire a full time member of staff, but expecting to pay £80 for a blog post when we’ve got to pay our own tax and other expenses is unrealistic. The average day rate for a copywriter is around £440. It’s a good place to start if you’re trying to work out a budget. 

You can just say if we’re out of your budget range. There’s no harm in asking if there’s any wiggle room. We expect negotiation. Worst we can say is no. But ghosting or just changing your mind about working with us without any feedback is poor form. 

How do you maintain relationships with long-term clients?

I use a tracking spreadsheet that is always up to date so a client can check it day or night and see the status of any job with notes, deadlines, expected delivery date etc. They never have to wonder what I’m up to. 

Occasional online or in-person coffee catch ups. It’s lovely to see people on screen or in real life, but one of the reasons people choose to work with me is because I don’t need a lot of supervision or management. And so I lighten the mental as well as the physical workload for them. That’s why we tend to keep meetings to a minimum, but I’m there if they need or want a check-in. 

What are you most looking forward to over the next 12 months?

Working with new clients. I’m looking for new business at the moment and would love to have a couple of new retainer clients where I know that the impact of my work is long term and that I’m making their day to day more enjoyable by tackling some of their To-Do list for them. 

I also have a weekly newsletter full of simple, actionable tips, inspiration and an insight into life as a freelance writer and I’d like to see that grow and develop over the next year.

What’s the best way for someone to learn more about you?

My website is www.writersofthelostart.co.uk
My newsletter is https://writersofthelostart.substack.com/
Linked: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellepeggmowbray/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writersofthelostart/