We were lucky to catch up with Hanna Marcus recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hanna, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
The big beige background–as much as we might say we don’t want to blend in, we’re all kind of blending in when we write words that sound like everyone else.
The truth of the matter is, as business owners, we work in saturated industries. On one hand, that’s amazing–it means there are thousands of talented people out there occupying space. On the other hand, though, that means if we’re not careful, we can get lost–blending right in with how every other person in our industry sounds.
The copywriting industry is tricky. We’re all so preoccupied with launching our new offers to hit certain numbers, sounding like we “belong in our space,” and making sure people take us seriously. At Boundless Copy, we’re all about ditching the idea of *belonging*, kicking through the blandness of the beige, and flipping on the neon welcome sign for our dream people by diggin’ our heels into the unique brand voice every business owner has. Boundless’ main mission as a copywriting agency is to help business owners and service providers refine and refresh their brand voices that already exist. We help them make them bold, clear, and sticky so their dream people can hear them loud and clear, and then come running.
You want to stand out for your dream people? Boundless Copy believes you’ve got to ditch the industry standard that says you have to sound a “certain way.” Your dream people are out there, and they’re looking for someone just like you–if you’re hiding who you are and abandoning what makes your voice clear and sticky, you’re making it THAT much harder for your people to find you.
Hanna, 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?
When I was 23, I looked around at my life and realized something didn’t fit. I’d been working in the newspaper industry since I was a fresh-faced 18-year-old at the University of Florida. I spent years stringing, staying up into the wee hours of the morning to help get the paper (a variety of them) out on time, and losing myself in the romance of it all. I’d long been obsessed with words and telling stories. I’m an extroverted, out-of-sorts, hyped-up people person and I’m at my happiest when I’m chattering away with others. I got into journalism to tell peoples’ stories–to do something important!
But one morning, when I woke up at 4 a.m. to tune into the police scanner and start my shift as a breaking news reporter at the Tampa Bay Times–my dream paper, by all accounts–I felt an overwhelming sense of dread. It had been building for awhile–with every murder, every tragedy, every knock on the door to get a quote from a family member who’d just lost someone they loved.
I realized that journalism, although it gave me an outlet to work with people and tell stories, wasn’t the right move for me. So, I did what any young 20-somethin’ does when life throws a curveball. I gave notice, packed up my studio apartment, and gave my life a full-blown reckoning.
I decided to try my hand at freelance copywriting–a profession I knew very little about. But I wanted to travel the world and try to reconvince myself that it wasn’t all bad (journalism had dimmed my sunny optimism a touch). I moved into my Mazda 6, got hired to do work trade on Orcas Island off the Washington Coast, and gave it all the best attempt I could.
That was 8 years ago, and it’s still the best decision I ever made. Now, I run a successful, 6-figure copywriting business that changes the lives of other business owners. I show other people how to tap into their clear, sticky brand voices and write words that resonate with their dream people.
The best part? I hired my husband when he was fresh out of grad school, and we’ve worked together on the business for the last several years. I feel lucky beyond reason that we get to team up and grow the business of our dreams. The second best part? That wanderlust never ceased. We run our business while traveling about 5 months out of the year. In 2025, we’ll officially be moving into our truck + camper setup for the entirety of the year–while launching new offers for Boundless!
I’m enormously proud of the business I’ve built. How many people get to say they write words that help other people stand out? Some people might view web copy and sales copy as a service, and it is, but more than anything, it’s an opportunity to tell someone’s story–and that’s what I’ve been chasing all along.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
When I first started my copywriting career, I called myself a “freelancer” more times than I could count. Everyone who mentored me in any fashion cemented that idea in my head. I was a “freelancer” and I was running a “little business.” I don’t think people were intentionally trying to make me feel less than-I think that’s just something we’ve grown accustomed to saying to entrepreneurs who are just starting out.
It took me years to realize this, but I wasn’t “just a freelancer”–I was a business owner. I successful started, maintained, and grew a thriving business. The lesson the world tries to teach you, even if it’s unintentional, is that what you’re doing is small–you’re a freelancer running a little side-hustle. When truthfully, you’re an absolute badass running an entire business that doesn’t just survive, it thrives.
The moment I made that conscious shift in my life-the moment I stopped calling myself a freelancer and started calling myself a business owner–was the moment the biggest changes in my career happened. If I had adopted that mindset sooner? Who knows what could have happened earlier on!
The lesson here? Don’t minimize yourself, your accomplishments, or the work you do. You’re running an incredible, living, breathing business–don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Like most of us, I work in a saturated industry. You could throw a rock and hit another copywriter. And I get it, it’s hard to stand out when there are so many people out there similar to you doing similar things. The thing that really helped me differentiate myself from the rest of the herd and build my reputation in my industry?
A few things. First and foremost, the complete and utter recognition that copywriting is in the creative industry, of course, but it’s also in the service industry. I don’t view myself as an artist, I view myself as a creative service provider. Ultimately, my main goal is making sure the person I’m working with feels completely taken care of, heard, seen, and at the end of the day, we’re delivering beyond their wildest expectations. That kind of dedication to your client is a huge differentiator and I highly recommend other creatives who overlap in the service industry take a quick lil audit of how they view their clients.
Secondly, I built my reputation by showing up as myself and by example. At Boundless, our specialty is copywriting focused on clear, sticky brand voice–the voice that makes you stand out, turn heads, and stick in your people’s brains. Around here, we call that flipping on the neon welcome sign for your dream people. I can share a hundred different client examples where I helped them achieve this. But if I’m not doing that in my own brand, all of that effort feels wasted. People recognize Boundless for my voice–bubbly! hype! a little western influence! They recognize me everywhere online because my voice is so distinct. Practicing what you preach (refining and refreshing your clear, sticky brand voice and using it) has helped me book more clients and build a reputation in my industry.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://boundlesscopy.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/boundlesscopy
- Other: threads:
https://threads.net/boundlesscopy
Image Credits
Brand photos captured by:
Goth Gloss
All other images captured by me/ my husband