From Lockdowns To Freedom – Exclusive Interview With Kirsty Simpkins
- Sep 16, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Sep 17, 2024
Kirsty Simpkins is a leader in copywriting excellence and mindset mastery. After spending 3 years stuck at her job in China, subjected to Draconian lockdowns, she set out on a mission to live a life of freedom and fulfilment. She has since experienced unprecedented success in writing for sustainable brands while documenting her travels through Central America. Now, she is set on helping others do the same. She has founded the Empowered Copywriter Master Program, which equips individuals with the mindset and skills needed to thrive in the business of online writing, allowing them to pursue a life of fun, freedom, and flexibility.
Kirsty Simpkins, Copywriting Coach
Hey Kirsty, can you introduce yourself to Brainz. Please tell us about you and your life so we can get to know you better.
Of course! So, since 2020, I’ve been working as a copywriter. Even as a child, I was fascinated by words and languages. I’m bilingual, which I fought hard to achieve because language teaching in the UK is not that great. I’m sure any British person out there would agree with me! It was actually through studying a Masters in translation studies that I realised I had a knack for writing commercially.
Before this, I was an English teacher. And I was actually pretty happy teaching. But I was always saving up to travel and having to take long breaks from work so that I could explore the world. The desire to travel played a huge part in my decision to write because, that way, I could be location-independent.
What was the turning point that made you decide to leave teaching and pursue a career in copywriting and online work?
The Masters in Translation lit me up. I was working with language in new ways, crafting phrases and revelling in the creative process. It felt awesome to break out of the restrictive writing structures you have to teach in the classroom.
It was early 2020 and my plan was to move to Madrid and find work as a writer/translator, but then COVID hit Europe, and everything changed. COVID brought with it so much uncertainty; it felt like a bad time to switch careers, and I ended up applying for another teaching position. This time, in China, where COVID was under control at that point.
How did your experiences in China influence your decision to change careers?
Despite the fact that they had eradicated COVID at that time, there was still a lot to grapple with in China. The culture shock was unlike any I’d felt on my previous travels. The school system was different, my commute was long; Shanghai was a concrete jungle with roads that were eight lanes wide, with multiple flyovers to accommodate the heaving traffic, the air quality was terrible, sometimes bordering on toxic.
I could go on.
But it was the second wave of COVID that turned the situation from difficult to absurd.
What happened during that second wave?
Basically, China insisted on eradicating COVID at any cost.
So, when a student at the school tested positive, they locked down the building, keeping teachers and students inside for 48 hours. Two days later, on a Sunday, I received a call saying I’d be taken away to a facility because a pupil in my class had tested positive.
All this despite the fact that I’d tested negative every day for the previous 7 days. None of that matters in China. Logic doesn’t live there.
I spent two weeks in a disused 2-star hotel in Shanghai. It was dystopian. I had to sign a contract in Mandarin that, for all I knew, could have said anything. The walls and floor of the lobby were covered in plastic sheets, sprayed with disinfectant that was both slippery and suffocating. My room, ironically, was filthy. The “food” they brought was mostly inedible and unidentifiable. At one point, we went 24 hours without water, the explanation being simply, “We’ve run out.”
I felt impotent at that time: I spoke to my employer, my doctor, and the embassy. No one could get me out of there.
It was during those two weeks locked up that I knew something had to change. I realised I valued freedom above all else. That’s exactly why everything I do now revolves around helping people live a life of freedom, whatever that means for them.
What were some of the most valuable resources or courses you invested in while building your copywriting business?
I have to confess I wasted a lot of money and a lot of time. Like many people, I was confused at the start. I spent money on blogging courses, wondering whether I could monetise a blog. I did literary writing workshops and joined online conferences and summits, but nothing propelled me forward like getting a coach.
It wasn’t writing I needed help with. In fact, I had already written promotional copy for restaurants in Shanghai. It was an awesome gig, but I didn’t know how to scale it. How to market myself, get more clients and take it full-time.
That’s where my coach came in. She gave me the blueprint for building a personal brand and reaching out to clients in a way that doesn’t feel “salesy”, which was a huge obstacle for me at that time.
How do you balance travelling the world with managing your copywriting business?
This is such a great question. In the last 18 months, I’ve visited 9 different countries.
I’ve written from poky Tokyo hotel rooms, idyllic AirBnBs on Thai beaches, and coffee-shop courtyards in Guatemala. It’s possible, and it’s wonderful, but it takes organisation.
You must have systems in place for days involving long journeys. The calendar is king: make sure everything is on the calendar and that you communicate your availability to your clients.
In the first few months, I moved around a lot: island-hopping in Thailand and visiting Cambodia and Japan. But I quickly realised I needed to slow down. Following that, I’d stay in one place for 2 or even 3 months before moving on.
Travel is awesome but it can get lonely. After 18 months on the go, I’ve settled in the UK, where I have the best of both worlds, as hopping on a plane to European destinations is easy. I’ve just gotten back from Spain, and I’ll be out there again in November for some winter sun.
So, you’ve just launched The Empowered Copywriter Master Program. Can you share a success story from a student who’s completed it?
I’ve recently opened the program’s doors and only to my subscribers. But, already, after just two weeks, Nic has landed his first client on a $1500 project.
That’s to say, he had no prior copywriting experience at all! In two weeks, he identified his niche, attracted a major client, and made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. I can’t wait to see what happens to him next.
Places are limited, so I can provide full support to each and every student. My aim is to provide a program that’s more personal than other courses out there.
What advice would you give to someone looking to transition from a traditional 9-5 job to a remote, online career?
Two main things. The first is to address your own limiting beliefs and self-doubt. People often skip this step, but when you deviate from the well-trodden path, it brings up all sorts of insecurities.
Successful people aren’t magically immune to this. What differentiates successful people is their ability to recognise their limiting beliefs and work to overcome them. We all feel fear, doubt, and insecurity. You have to equip yourself with the right tools so that the fear doesn’t win.
The second thing is to invest in yourself. But don’t just purchase the first $59 course the algorithm spits out at you. Do your research. Identify your points of weakness; identify the gaps in your knowledge and find someone who’s offering the exact roadmap for your blindspots.
Tell us about your greatest career achievement so far.
They’ve been varied. Getting published in Spanish was a big deal for me because learning a second language to such a high level was something I doubted I could do. And I proved myself wrong.
Following that, I replaced my previous teaching income with my writing work. I booked a one-way ticket to Thailand and felt like I might burst with joy. It was a moment I’d been visualising for about a year and it felt surreal for it to actually happen.
Right now, the biggest achievement is having filled this first cohort of The Empowered Copywriter Master Program (TEC). I am beyond excited to see the first round of students develop their own online writing businesses.
If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why?
There’s this perception of a saturated industry and a race-to-the-bottom pricing model. But it’s simply not the case. The truth is that more businesses than ever are in need of copywriting services. Sure, you can jump on any freelancing platform and see a stream of projects that pay $20 or $50, but that represents a tiny fraction of the work available.
My services begin at $700, and I’ve had clients on retainers for up to $ 4,000. It’s about finding the right client and approaching them correctly. It really is that simple.
Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today.
I can take you back almost 20 years to 2005. I was only fifteen years old, on a family holiday. And my younger brother got sick. He had to spend a few days in hospital. He recovered fine but at the time it felt gut-wrenching. I remember sitting next to him in the hospital, wondering why this had happened.
I’ve always believed that there is some good to come out of every and any situation. So, I was searching for a positive message in his illness.
Finally, it hit me. You see, I’d been battling an eating disorder and body dysmorphia from a very young age. At the time when my brother got sick, I was stuck in a cycle of bulimia that was slowly but surely making me very ill as well.
I decided that this was a sign that I needed to get better. So, when we got back from our holiday, I went to the school counsellor and that was the start of a very long journey to recovery. I’d say it took a further 13 years before I’d recovered fully. But, in that time, I developed a love of food so strong that I ended up writing for restaurants.
I really am obsessed with food and the joy it brings and how it unites people. I have the utmost respect for chefs, cooks, and people working in the hospitality industry. To this day, food is the thing I love writing about the most. Ten years ago, I could never have imagined that. It goes to show that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.
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