We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Natalie Topalian a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Natalie, thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

There are two common threads we see in marketing: the use of shame and manipulation. Most sales tactics and sales copy are zeroed in on using shame and/or manipulation to convince folks to take the next action—whether it be to purchase a product, buy a course, schedule a discovery call, or even something as low stakes as following someone on Instagram.

Example of these shame- and manipulation-based tactics include:
-Exploiting the target audience’s insecurities
-Making people feel bad for their current circumstances or life situation—without taking into consideration privilege, trauma, and lived experience
-Price hiding
-Creating false urgency (e.g., Saying “There are only 2 spots left!” when there are multiple)
-Making big promises for the outcome of using a product or signing up for a program or service that truly cannot be guaranteed

These tactics never sat right with me, which is why I’ve committed to taking an ethical approach to copywriting, content writing, and marketing—in my own business and when creating messaging, copy and content for my clients, as well.

The ethical approach in my work focuses on clarity, conciseness, honesty, and accuracy so that each of my clients’ messaging, copy, and content aligns with their core values while still being crystal clear and compelling for their target audience.

Natalie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hey friends! My name is Natalie Topalian, AKA Nat. I am an ethical copywriter & content writer with nearly a decade of experience. Originally from Metro Detroit, I moved to West Michigan to attend Grand Valley State University, where I graduated with a BA in Advertising & Public Relations, with an emphasis in Advertising. While attending GVSU, I immersed myself in the local advertising and marketing community, following the direction of my favorite professor and mentor, Frank Blossom—who truly got me to where I am today.

Speaking of Frank, I took my studies a step further by attending his portfolio school, The Polishing Center, Summer 2014, where I became connected with The Image Shoppe (TIS), a brand marketing firm local to Grand Rapids, MI — who eventually hired me as their first full-time copywriter! During my time at TIS, I supported dozens of clients in a variety of industries, including hospitality, commercial real estate, local government, banking, HR, commercial development, cannabis, and more. My six years at TIS deepened my passion for on-point brand messaging, and the distillation of a brand’s unique message in all of their copy and content.

While I was still working at The Image Shoppe, I became an adjunct professor at my alma mater, GVSU, teaching the Advertising Copywriting class for juniors and seniors. I also spent her time outside of work supporting entrepreneurs and small-business owners with their copywriting and content needs on a freelance basis—until I eventually grew my business to full-time status and went all-in on entrepreneurship in October 2020. Since then, I’ve supported over 100 entrepreneurs & small-business owners around the world in developing their brand messaging, website copywriting, launch copywriting, content creation, launch planning, and even ethical copywriting education.

In January 2023, I re-entered the traditional workforce by taking on a full-time job at a digital marketing agency as Sr. Digital Content Writer—but am still happy to run my business outside of my 9–5. My current focus in my business is:

-Supporting coaches and service-based business-owners with social media and email content strategy and writing
-Website and launch copywriting projects for coaches, service providers, course creators, and creatives
-Creating DIY guided copywriting templates as a more hands-on, affordable option for folks to create their own messaging, copy and content from semi-scratch—and, of course, from an ethical lens.

My motto is “Do Simple, Really Well” — and this is certainly at the core of the work I do in my own business and how I support my clients.

How did you build your audience on social media?

This is a funny one. For years, I was running my freelance business behind the scenes of my first 9–5 job, mostly on a referral basis. But when I wanted to focus on growing my business to be able to pursue it as my full-time venture, I knew I couldn’t just lean on referrals if I wanted to scale my business to the point of full-time, but I also had to be careful about how I spread the word. I couldn’t risk losing my full-time job at the time if they knew I was doing work on the side.

So, I got scrappy and moved forward with a plan that I was convinced would NEVER work, but somehow it kind of did lol. I created an anonymous Instagram (@thebrandcopywriter — now renamed @nattopalian). I posted daily with copywriting tips and insights, but never showed my face or said my name. I even had a series where I anonymously shared more about me (discretely) every Friday… signing off as “ABC” (Anonymous Brand Copywriter).

Much to my surprise, I was able to grow an audience and book some clients that way. Thankfully, I was able to lean on the Close Friends stories so I could start showing my face, which definitely helped! About 5 months after I created that Instagram account, I was able to leave my job and make the leap into entrepreneurship full-time!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

One of the biggest pivots I’ve faced recently was going “back to work” for a company this January. My husband unfortunately lost his job in June 2022, and wasn’t able to find a new job until two months later. Of course, when it rains it pours—and one of my largest revenue streams was no longer going to be a part of my business. I worked incredibly hard for months to stay booked and busy in my business, but with the economic uncertainties and already being financially strapped, I knew it was in my family’s best interest for me to have a reliable stream of income again with a W2 job.

Once I was able to move full-time into entrepreneurship, I thought there was no way in hell I would ever STOP being a full-time entrepreneur. But that’s just not how life works sometimes. Pivoting back into a salaried job while still running my business on the side has been a tough transition. On one hand, I love knowing exactly how much money I’ll be making every month, and having access to benefits like health insurance again, and a 401K for the first time in my life!

And, at the same time, I’m working a lot more than I was. I’m grateful to have a thriving business still, outside of my 40-hour work week, but it’s also exhausting. I like to think I’m mid-pivot in this scenario—still working to find my groove in making work profitable and lucrative without burning myself out. I know I’ll find it, but the time in between is definitely uncomfortable.

Contact Info:

• Website: natalietopalian.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/nattopalian
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ntopalian

Image Credits
The Lipstick Lens https://www.lipsticklens.com/ https://www.instagram.com/thelipsticklens/