Class is now in session! (Stay tuned for summer school.)
Write your site.
Attract your dream clients
Enjoy the process.
The Objective | Attract your dream clients.
Before we start, I'd like to introduce you to four amazing entrepreneurs who signed up for A Course About Copy...before I even had a sales page:
“I feel very strongly that I need to write all of my own copy. But I stumble with how to get started, what needs to be included, and just how much to share. I love that by the end of the program, all of the “core” pieces of copy I’ve been putting off will be DONE. Knowing you, I already know it’s going to be amazing.”
- Bree Hester
“The way your personality shines through every email made me gravitate to your class IMMEDIATELY because ummmm HELLO! I want to learn how to write like that :)!!! I’m so stoked!”
- Dr. Melissa Ponce
“I told you I believed in you. I signed up. I have faith in you always! Xx”
- Caroline Limata
“I had absolutely no hesitation in signing up. You were on the top of my list of courses that I wanted to undertake this year. So I had to jump on it. I have resonated with your writing and instinctively know that this course is what I am after.”
- Dr. Kristy Goodwin
These women epitomize what I mean by "dream clients."
They value what I have to offer (before I even offer it!), they’re a WHOLE lot of fun to work with, and they first got to know, like, and trust me through my writing.
That’s what this course is all about.
The Students | Bright entrepreneurs like YOU.
This course is inspired by, created for, and dedicated to you if…
1. You’ve got something delightfully valuable to share with the world, but when it comes to writing about it, you’re:
Stuck at the starting line (in eternal draft mode).
Overwhelmed by all the possible (wildly creative or totally strategic) ways you could approach it.
Unsure how much to share, where to share it, and how to share it in a way that make sense.
2. You don’t want to hire a copywriter to write everything FOR you because you:
Realize that YOU need to become a more confident, effective communicator in order to reach who you want to reach.
Don’t want to pay thousands of dollars to wait for someone to write or update a page, offer, or opt-in you may want to change next week.
Believe that your audience wants to hear from YOU. Not a (lovely + talented) pro who’s pretty good at sounding like you (most of the time).
3. You’re a generally optimistic, hard-working entrepreneur who values smart, authentic communication and thinks it’d be fun to learn from (and WITH!) a word nerd like me.
Sound about right?
If so, please know that YOU CAN SO DO THIS. You just need to regroup, get some perspective, get comfy in YOUR voice, then get movin’ with some tried and tested verbal training wheels.
[That happens to be my area of expertise.]
The Creator | Word Nerd + Communication Stylist
“Nikki has a rare spark and a gorgeous energy that I can only describe as magnetic. I feel blessed to have her in my life.”
- Natalie MacNeil
Emmy Award-Winning Media Entrepreneur + Founder of She Takes on the World, Inc.
“Nikki is a rock star. Listen to what she has to say and put it to good use.”
- David Siteman Garland
CEO and Creator of The Rise To The Top
+ Create Awesome Online Courses
“Nikki's savvy, smart, and stylish, and her content is FULL of value. No BS. Wish I'd known her six years ago - I would've saved sooo much time, money, and energy learning how to write!”
- Erika Lyremark
CEO of Lyremark: A Boutique Business Agency
Believe it or not, I know what it’s like to stare at a blank page and think:
“What the HEY am I supposed to write?!”
“Does this even make sense?”
“Why am I using so many exclamation points!?!!”
And YET, by using my words (+ the exact steps and processes I’ll teach you in this course), I’ve been able to build a fabulously loyal tribe of over 180 dream clients and 2,200+ email subscribers in just my first 11 months of business. Combine this super-steep learning curve with close to 2,000 hours teaching communication at the college level, and DING!
I’m more than ready to share the best of what I’ve learned with YOU.
The Syllabus | Write your site in four weeks.
Four weeks. Eight lessons. Eight live calls.
I’ll make the videos as streamlined as possible because you’re BUSY, and getting your message right (and written) is IMPORTANT. No need to drag it out.
If you tune in and do the work, you’ll have a site filled with copy you actually want people to read by March 17th. YES.
The Classroom | A word-nerd family in the making.
Private membership site. I was going to wait for the evergreen version to set up a totally new site, but hey. Why not do it right from the start? A few days before class starts, you’ll receive your very own secure login, and we’ll have the course content all in one spot. (You’ll also get instant access to the evergreen content and any updates as soon as they’re ready!)
Multimedia content. Each lesson will include a video (with full video, slides, and audio available for download), PDFs to guide your homeworrrk :), and highly encouraged discussion questions to chat about in the…
Facebook group. Look. I love Facebook. (It’s how my first 90+ clients found me, after all.) And my private “Island of Dream Clients” group has been a hugely valuable asset to the folks I’ve worked with one-on-one. The A Course About Copy community will be a great place to share progress, seek constructive feedback, and help each other out. NOTE: This won’t be a place to tag me for specific 1/1 feedback, although I’ll pop in as much as motherly possible (especially during this live round).
Lifetime access. By “lifetime” I mean “for the indefinite future.” Years. (And I’ll give you plenty of advance notice before taking anything down.) I have some really fun ideas up my sleeve to keep this baby fresh over the months and years to come. I’m a serial tweaker, so rest assured that the value of this course will only increase (figuratively and literally) with time. Another great reason to join early!
The Founding Class | A once-in-a-course lifetime experience.
Dripped content. Just for the maiden voyage, I plan to “release” the lessons on Mondays and Wednesdays. Since the fun of this live round is that we’re writing our sites together (YES – myself included! New brand pants debut this spring), I’ll drip these lessons to help us avoid overwhelm. That gives you a full day to listen, do your homework, and figure out smart Qs for office hours. NOTE: The evergreen version will be set up for free-for-all instant access. Self control not included.
Live Q&A calls. This is my ZONE. My dream clients (happily) paid $499 an hour for personalized communication styling in Fall 2013. My dream students have my full biz attention for the time being, but if/when I offer one-on-one time again, my rate's goin' up. That's why I'm REALLY excited to offer the founding class a very special bonus of EIGHThours of live, screen-sharin', let's-talk-about-YOUR-dream-clients Q&A calls. Held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, these calls will be electric (and recorded, posted to the lesson page, and emailed so everyone can benefit, of course).
Guaranteed early access. The founding class is open from now through Valentine's Day. After that, I'll close up shop until the evergreen version's ready to launch. If you KNOW you want the content but you don’t know if the timing will work for the live run, you can a) go ahead and join now so you can at least be a lookiloo when you DO find time and reference it later, or b) wait patiently for the evergreen launch. SO Important: I do NOT want this to be a source of course remorse for you. Would stink to know that ACAC is collecting dust on your digi-shelf. It’s not going anywhere, so please register when you’re really ready to play write.
A two-payment option. I’ll offer single- and two-pay options for this live round, but I’m pretty sure I’ll only offer a single-payment option moving forward. I know that’s not the norm, but that’s how I’ve been paid for over 200 private sessions, and it works. (With this two-pay option, you’ll be all paid up by the end of the live course. ) When future payments aren’t lingering, we can show up fully and exchange value in a beautiful, synchronized, super-balanced kind of way. (To be clear: I’m not against payment plans or credit. I’m just more comfortable leaving the role of creditor to Visa and MasterCard!) Wanted to give you a heads up now so if you KNOW you want to be part of this live first round, you can do what you need to do to make it happen.
Cool points, social proof, and other fun perks. I have a strong feeling that this course will have hundreds of members by the end of this year. This FIRST, most intimate group will be extra-special, shaping the evergreen content for all those future members! I want to assure you: This content isn’t “beta” – it’s the ultimate collection of processes and “recipes” I've refined in over 200 hours of one-on-one sessions (and nearly 2,000 hours of teaching communication at the college level before that). What I’ll share is EFFECTIVE. That said, I am a total tweaker by nature and want to make sure the evergreen version is as fantastic as possible. As a founding member, you benefit and learn from every update. Plus, as a happy student, you may even see your beautiful face and growing business featured in future blog posts and/or launch pages. That's always fun :)
The Investment | Smart and philanthropic.
We've talked enough about words. Let's talk numbers.
Here's what you need to know:
1. You can reserve your seat for a one-time investment of $999. (And since it’s a digi-seat, you can carve your name into it for no extra charge. It’s all yours for our ACAC lifetime.)
2. For this round only, there is a two-pay option ($549 now, another $549 30 days from now).
3. You can pay with a credit card and/or PayPal. If PayPal isn’t your thing and you’d like to finance your investment with an unattachedVisa, MasterCard, or Discover, be my guest.
4. A full $100 of your investment will go straight to my “let’s build a school this year” fundwith Pencils of Promise (since I’d feel cheap only giving $99.90). I’m using 10(.01)% of my business revenue to raise $25k to build a school in Guatemala this year. (Sidenote: Giving like this makes “selling” a spiritual experience. I highly recommend it!)
The Invitation | Would love to have you.
Before we move forward, I’d like to be clear on this:
I’m not here to help you write like me. I'm here to help you write like YOU.
I'm not here to tell you what to say (or what NOT to say). I'm here to give you the framework (+ confidence) to say SOMETHING.
Smart, authentic communication is what I'm all about, friend. I was created to share this message. And I'm seriously thankful for the opportunity to share it with YOU.
If you're ready to be your OWN best spokesperson, click below to join my A Course About Copy fam.
The Guarantee | An extra vote of confidence.
I wholeheartedly believe that if you’re willing to put in the work, A Course About Copy will help you write your site, attract your dream clients, and enjoy the process.
I feel so strongly about what I’m sharing in course that if it truly does NOT help you write your site (and you want a refund), you can send me your completed workbook by 11:59p CST on March 16th (the last day of our live run), and I’ll refund 100% of your investment.
Good news for both of us: I don’t see that happening.
If you’ve read to this point and you’re excited by what you see, you’re GOING to get some good words on the page through this course. (And if you don’t, I’d feel weird keeping your money.)
So that’s that.
The Social Proof | It's in the pudding.
If testimonials are your cup of tea....check out my "Happy Clients" page at nikkielledgebrown.com for about 60 of 'em. There are about two dozen more that haven't been added yet, and a few of those are included below:
“The writing process can be daunting (if you don’t like to write), but Nikki makes it quick and painless. And quick and painless is worth $”
- Amy Aversa
“What she’s offering is unique. She’s mastered the art of communicating a message simply but powerfully, and she knows how to teach it. In theory it seems like it’d be better just to have someone write FOR you. May be “easier” in the short run, but the results would be hit-or-miss.”
- Amanda Daley
“I had heard so many good reviews, there’s always some small part of you wondering, “Can she really be THAT good?” Yes, my friends, she can be. And she is :)”
- Erin Brule
'I’ve never seen or heard of anything like Nikki in the business world. She created a blue ocean, and she’s worth every penny!'
- Thea Chassie
'In terms of ROI, this is an easy one: I’ve made my investment back several times over already. In terms of happiness capital, this is still an easy one: working with Nikki was a pleasure, and the results have been fantastic!'
- Marissa Bracke
The Last Call | Fence-sittin' FAQs
The gates to the founding class close (Willy Wonka-style) in less than 48 hours.
So let's do this.
I promised you I'd do whatever I could to help you make the best decision for YOU. To help you hop off that fence with SERIOUS confidence. Below I'll share some real questions (and real answers!) that have been popping in and out of my inbox as new dream students join the party this week.
Hope they help you!
Q1: What if I can't join in for all the live goodness? I would LOVE to join you - I just have so much going on right now...I wouldn't be able to give the course the full attention it deserves!!
Here's the thing. If you have the desire and you have the funds, there is NO (good) reason to miss out on the special bonus features of the founding class. Nobody's taking attendance here. This course is for YOU. This content and community is here for you NOW (and digi-forever), whenever you need it.
If you happen to be available while one of our live calls is goin on, HOP ON IT! Bonus! Otherwise, once you're in, you're in. Don't know when I'll reopen registration (hopefully this summer!), but if you KNOW you want to join now and you have the means to do so, just do it, dude.
NOTE: As I mentioned, the value of the course will only increase (figuratively and literally) over time. This first round is a bargain :)
Q2: But I do I want to participate LIVE. How much time do I need?I'm in the middle of my own launch and course, and I don't know if I have the time to commit to actually going through the content. How long do you think it'll take per week?
I'm aiming to keep these lessons LEAN - ideally under 30 minutes each. This course isn't about long lectures; it's about ACTION. I just want to tell you what you need to know, then get you writing!
Writing can take time and that's a HIGHLY individualized process, but the goal here is to just GO for it and get a great START. Since it's only four weeks long, I'm hoping we won't have TIME to be perfectionists ;) There will always be refining and styling to do later, and that will be a beautifully unique aspect of this founding class...the timing of that process will be synchronized for all of us!
The calls will be an hour each on Tuesdays and Thursdays (around noon Central), plus we'll be chatting it up in the FB group. Between the lessons, the calls, and the homework, you could expect to commit about six hours per week. Considering how many potential dream clients you're missing out on every time they read your less-than-confident copy right now, it'll be time well-spent.
Q3: How 'bout them payment plans?I've been sitting on the fence due to payment options. It's the truth. As a small business owner myself, cash is king, and cashflow rules the day. Would you consider offering more payments?
I know I'll lose "quantity" of sales by only offering one- and two-pay options, but I'm okay with that. I actually wrote a full-on post explaining my thoughts on pricing back in January. (If you missed it, here's a web version: http://bit.ly/1bvbq2h)
I've put a lot of thought and prayer into it, and really feel like if it's not right for someone financially yet (with the two monthly payments of $549), then it will be worth the wait for both of us. The evergreen version will only be available in one single payment, so if you KNOW you want in, make it happen!
I'm not goin anywhere :)
P.S. This particular Q'er has now happily hopped off the fence ;)
Q4: Dang* you, Nik! I was gonna boycott new courses this year!*in the nicest way possibleSo interested. Just hesitating because I'm already signed up for ABC and XYZ. (Budget vs. very worthy investment.) But how dreamy it would be to get into an easy groove with my writing!
Trust your intuition on this one. (I've been doing that a lot lately.) I do NOT want to be a source of course remorse for you (or anyone). Ever. That said, I sincerely believe that writing your site in a clear, engaging way is an IMMEDIATE need. I genuinely don't see effective communication as something we can afford to put off (literally or figuratively).
If you're not communicating your message in smart, authentic way, you're missing out on dream clients with EVERY click. That's a fact.
Communication is EVERYTHING, friend. Am I a teence biased? YES. But does my crazy first year of business prove I'm right? YES :)
If you feel it in your bones that I can help you communicate more effectively, don't WAIT. Let me make it easier for you sooner rather than later!
Q5: I'm sold. But it's still a big investment for me. Can you give me a friendly push?This is a financial stretch for me, but it feels right. Still, it'll be easier to hop off the fence (and rationalize this ONE more time) if you can sum up all the reasons why this IS a smarty pants investment for me.
No problem, friend. Here's a list of great reasons to join the founding class, in no particular order:
1. You will save HOURS (weeks? months?) of frustration and overwhelm by trying to figure out what to put where (and HOW) on your own.
2. I'm not giving you a fish. I'm teaching you how to fish. Instead of paying a great copywriter thousands every time you need an update, you will be equipped to share your OWN message and adapt as needed.
3. Confidence is PRICELESS, and once you are super-clear on your message and how you want to present it, it will be beaming from your home page. (BONUS: This confidence will translate to your face-to-face interactions as well!)
4. I attract a SUPERB quality of human beings. The ACAC community is and will always be first-class.
5. Founding members will be like family - you are IN on the first pancake and I share what I learn VERY freely. (Behind-the-scenes videos + surprise bonuses already in the works!)
6. I am a serial tweaker and will ALWAYS look for ways to increase the value of this baby. Joining now ensures you benefit from each and every update (at the first-round rate).
7. You can make a LOT more than $999 when you write clear, engaging copy targeted directly to your dream clients. (One client of mine made sold over $24k in services within a WEEK of our session!)
8. For this first round only, you get to join me for EIGHT live Q&A calls. (In fall 2013 my clients happily paid $499 an hour for the personalized styling I'm about to throw your way!)
9. A full $100 of your registration will help build a school for cuties in Guatemala this year.
10. WHOA: Once the next 22 dream students sign up, we will have officially crossed the six-figure mark. In my first 11 months of business. WHAT!?! This is ALL God. Has been from the start. So to celebrate the milestone, I'd like to offer a "BONUS" give and fund a brand new well in Uganda. (Because it's been a few months since our last one, and it just feels right.)
11. This isn't just a course. It's my calling. And I would LOVE to share it with you.Now for the grand finale to put your busy mind at ease.....
12. Your investment is GUARANTEED. If you honestly do the (home)work and don't get results, I would feel weird keeping your money. But you're gonna get results. So we don't have to worry about that :)
Friend. Do you see you have NOTHING to lose here? And a whole lot of goodness to gain?
The Truth | What I know for SURE.
If you're not confident communicating your value with the people who need it, you're in for a lot of (totally unnecessary) frustration.
Put a brighter way (and I definitely prefer the brighter way):
If you ARE confident communicating your value with the people who need it, there will be. NO. STOPPING YOU.
I truly believe that. Like chills and butterflies, just-give-me-the-chance-to-prove-it-to-you believe it.
I can't let the clock run out tonight without telling you what I know for SURE:
Communication is EVERYTHING.
It doesn't matter if you have a beautiful site (did you see my first splash page?). It doesn't matter if you have the world's most genius product. It doesn't matter if you have a ridiculous and undeniable talent. it doesn't matter if you have superstar buddies to connect you with a bigger audience.
If you don't learn to effectively communicate your value to the people who need it, you will NOT be able to serve in the way you KNOW you're meant to serve.
Take my word(s) for it.
I launched this business not even a year ago because I felt called to share my gift of communicating, connecting, and storytelling with the world in a bigger way. Over 200 clients, 2200+ subscribers, and my first six figures later, I'm more convinced than EVER:
Communication is EVERYTHING.
So I'm just a girl, offering you my nerdy brain. My perfectionist tendencies. My spirit, my encouragement, my prayers, my friendship.
I'm here for YOU.
2014 is the YEAR of A Course About Copy over here. (You know I plan to raise $25,000 to build a school through these registrations this year, right?) I'm not moving on to my next big project until I'm confident this course is EVERYTHING it was inspired to be.
This is how serious I am: Thursday night I brought on a curriculum development specialist to actually track the quantitative results and learning of this founding class - every step of the way.
This isn't a fluffy course on copywriting. It's the most fun, engaging, PROFITABLE college-level communication course you never got to take.
I want you to LEARN. To get measurable results.
Four days from now, four weeks from now, four YEARS from now.
Smart, authentic communication will NEVER go out of style.
Let me help you master it.