We were lucky to catch up with Cortney Farmer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Cortney, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

My biggest, not-so-secret professional secret? On paper, most people would argue I have absolutely no business running or working at a creative business. Theoretically, they aren’t wrong.

When I first launched my own freelance copywriting company in 2010, I had a Speech Pathology degree and 10+ years of experience as an Executive Assistant. What I did not have was a shred of business owning, freelance, or copywriting experience.

Also, remote work was definitely not “the norm” 12 years ago. Most businesses only hired onsite workers and contractors. Still, I knew I didn’t want to spend my career doing something I didn’t love just because it was safe. I wanted to build a professional life that allowed me to live creatively, challenged me, and granted me complete control of my own success. In February 2010, I quit my full-time job and have worked remotely as a writer, copywriter, and content creator ever since.

Diving into a creative business without any relevant experience quickly makes the learning curve very apparent. When I first started, someone asked me if a client needed copy or content, and I had to look it up online to figure out the difference.

But being completely self-taught has enabled me to learn my craft across multiple platforms and channels. I’ve read countless articles about copywriting and content creation (and yes, I do know the difference now). I joined online copywriting groups where we would review each other’s work and offer feedback. I also took a few online certification classes that helped me build some of my own best practices.

Welcoming constructive feedback helped accelerate how quickly I mastered a particular creative format or technique. I would tell all of my clients that I was impossible to offend when it came to their edits. Encouraging their transparency on a project taught me how to capture a brand or business owner’s voice and tone quickly. Most importantly, the best way for me to learn how to be a better writer is to just keep writing. I realized soon after launching my business that creativity, talent, and skill can all be strengthened and conditioned the more we use them.

I wish I had learned sooner to not only trust the writing process — but actually welcome the writing process! I spent way too long believing a piece had to be perfect right away. As a result, I would write one excessively long first draft, painstakingly working and reworking each sentence as I went. Now, I understand the power of outlines and multiple drafts. I will jot down some ideas or bullets before I begin writing sentences, and I always take breaks between drafts to clear my mind and gain a fresh perspective. This doesn’t just help me write better; it also helps me write faster.

Best of all, there is always something new to learn. I appreciate that I have a specific writing style, but I constantly challenge myself to push outside my comfort zone to do and try new things. Almost 13 years later, I’m still running that freelance copywriting business that I have no business running. I’m also the Co-Founder and Head Copywriter at The Soft Never, an online community I launched with my husband. And in 2021, one of my favorite long-term clients offered me a full-time remote position as VP of Content for his growth agency.

Cortney, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I got into my current industry by essentially burning my former professional life to the ground, leaving myself with little choice but to rebuild from the bottom up — a process I do NOT recommend!

Professionally, I help build and grow brands and businesses. I love collaborating with business owners to help them tell their stories, solve problems for their clients, and expand their reach. I’m most proud of spending the last 13 years building a career doing something I love.

Personally, I develop all the original copy and content at The Soft Never, an online blog and social media community I launched with my husband in 2020. The idea for The Soft Never came from examining just how many just how many “firm nevers” in my own life were actually limiting my growth, my healing, my peace, and my joy.

I use The Soft Never’s social media pages and website as a place to hold all these self-imposed “nevers” up to the light, questioning them until they finally and forever lose their power — and encourage others to do the same. I have connected with so many amazing people through The Soft Never who are also stepping into the gifts that come from doing the very things they thought they never could, would, or wanted to do. I’m proud of our growth and community. Additionally, in August 2021, I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer and I’m currently in active treatment. I’m both proud of and grateful for being able to still develop and create new content despite the obstacles that come with getting well!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer on August 16, 2021. My initial diagnosis was heralded as a “minor bump in the road” — I actually used this phrase with my freelance clients and my boss to assure them that this was NOT a big deal.

As we got deeper into the tests and screens and scans, my diagnosis kept evolving, which prompted my decision for a double mastectomy. After surgery, we discovered that my initial diagnosis was wrong. I had a more aggressive form of breast cancer — and it had spread to a single lymph node. Suddenly, my “minor bump in the road” required major surgery, radiation, a year of chemotherapy, and a decade of hormone therapy.

I’ve been checking things off that overwhelming list, one by one, working and writing and creating the entire time. Being creative has been therapeutic, and I’m grateful for it.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I build my audience on social media slowly. My best advice would be “Don’t be afraid to try new things!” So far, I’ve had the best success on Instagram, despite having very little experience on IG before launching The Soft Never. But I stuck with it, learning different tips and insight on connecting with people and growing an audience. And my other suggestion would be to not get too comfortable with doing things a certain way on social media. Things are always changing (we see you, algorithm) and it’s important to keep evolving to ensure your audience will see what you’re creating.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thesoftnever.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesoftnever/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSoftNever
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cortney-farmer-1493736/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/SoftNever