Teachers Make the Leap

How Corrie Became a Copywriter After 15 Years in the Classroom

• Hillary Gale

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In this episode of Teachers Make the Leap, former high school English teacher Corrie Myers shares her journey from the classroom to founding her own copywriting business. 

Discover how Corrie leveraged her 15-year teaching career to build a successful copywriting business, all while balancing full-time teaching and being a busy mom. 

Corrie shares practical strategies for transitioning from the teaching to copywriting, building a client base, and finding what makes you stand out in the business world.

Want to ask Kristin and Hillary a question? Click here to submit your question to the podcast. We'll answer it on an upcoming episode of Teachers Make the Leap!

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Hillary:

Welcome to this episode of Teachers Make the Leap. We are so excited today to have Corey Myers joining us. Corey is a former high school English teacher. And today she owns Corey Myers Consulting, where she helps people driven companies, large and small, connect with their kind of people with clear and personalized Corey is a believer in public schools and Ted Lasso, and she loves getting to champion the best version of the brands that she writes for. So Corey, we're so excited to have you here today. Thanks so much for coming on and chatting with us.

Corrie:

Thanks for having me. I love talking about the topics we're going to discuss today and I'm excited to get to know you guys more.

Kristin:

Corey, I can't tell you enough how excited I am to chat with you today. And the reason I'm really excited is because we know each other as copywriters in the, in the online copywriting world, we've crossed paths a couple of times, which is, such a delight. And also, I know of your teaching background, but I, I don't think I've ever gotten the full story of, how you became a teacher, and then, Eventually how you became a copywriter. So I'm really excited to dive in just to learn more about what that transition looks like for you. do you think you'd be able to start off by just giving us some context? Can we start with your teaching days? What did you teach and and what initially drew you to teaching?

Corrie:

Yes. So I was a high school English teacher and department chair for 15 years. So I had a solid first career, worked at a couple different school sites, ranging from, you know, uh, low income underserved areas to high performing, high achieving and everything in between. taught one year at a continuation high school. And my first year I taught Spanish. Spanish at a private school, so ran the gamut, and I loved it. And I think I loved, the creativity that it drew out of me, especially switching schools and having to recreate, you know, learn a new audience every single time. Every time I taught a new class, whether it was an honors class or a college prep, it was like, Hey, this is a different audience. We have to tailor the content towards them and what they need, even though it's the same set of standards. So, what drew me to teaching was honestly, I loved, um, I loved writing, loved reading, and I really enjoyed teenagers. I thought they were fun, and that's why I always stayed at the high school level, because while some people are afraid of them, I always loved them. I thought they were funny. I, they gave me hope in our future. and I always would tell parents I'm back to school might like, I wish you could see what I see, especially after I became a mom. I was like, I get to see like the bravest version of your kid. Like here they are like trying out you know, uh, A new personality, being confident in themselves, asking questions, and it's a vulnerable thing to just show up and be yourself in a big public high school. so I loved that part. I love the human side of it. and then towards the end of my career, the last school is that it was a brand new school and I got to be a part of the founding team. And so really, it was like a startup business and I was on the ground floor and our administrator gave us a lot of, trust and leeway to. build the brand that was our school. And, um, so we got to do some really cool stuff that was very different from your traditional English classroom or traditional school setting. And so that is probably really what inspired me to think of other options because, um, it really tapped into a side of myself and entrepreneurial side that I didn't know existed until I had the opportunity at that school.

Hillary:

Wow. That sounds like a really awesome experience. and I have a couple of follow up questions for you because I want to understand, you know, what, attracted you to entrepreneurship and, and made you feel like, okay, teaching has been great. I love these aspects of it, but it's no longer, you know, the career. For me that I want to dedicate my life to. And, and one thing that you brought up that I think is really important to circle back to is you had a full career in teaching you taught for 15 years, right? And Kristen and I, we each taught, I think, for five years, and, We talked to a lot of teachers who have spent 20 years in the classroom, and I think it's so hard to give that amount of time to a career and then think about a transition. So I think you have a lot of wisdom that you could potentially share here around what that was like as well, you know, being able to see your teaching experience, not as a wasted 15 years, but as like, really valuable part of your career that then led you to a different path.

Corrie:

Yeah, absolutely. You know, like with any great story, you know, we're both all three of us were English teachers and professors. Like any great story starts with an inciting incident. So there were a couple different inciting incidences that led me to this. So, the two that stand out to me, was one. I was teaching seniors the book The Alchemist, and we were talking about what it means. Have you guys read it?

Hillary:

Yes.

Corrie:

Oh, it's just it is a seminal book. it's, you know, obviously about figuring out what you're passionate about, which I know gets a lot of, um, bad play in some regards, but I think it is a beautiful way to invite people to say, like, what is it that I'm really interested in and not just what other people say I should do. And In the area that I taught in, you know, a lot of kids had a lot of expectations from their parents, family, culture, et cetera, on what they should do. And it was really a lot, giving them space to think, well, what do you enjoy? And who are the people in, in The next season of life that you want to follow and emulate. Um, so that you don't just look at life as this linear path that you do a, then B, then C and so on and so forth. And then, you know, collect your retirement, which is very much the teacher pathway. Like you do this and you stay for 40 years and then it's worth it.

Hillary:

Yep. Yeah.

Corrie:

I had like loved what I had done. Love these conversations. And I remember thinking like, I no longer feel this way about this job that I'm doing right now. It was just this like aha moment talking to these kids. I loved that. Like, I feel like I have. I'm done. Like, I feel like I have reached that, but I didn't know what that meant. And then, and, you know, obviously teaching is a very safe career in the sense that, like, you know what you're going to make now and in 10 years, unless there's a salary negotiation that you get, you know, a 3 percent raise or whatever. and. it definitely took something else. And it was having my second kid, which is just, there's something about, and I like really think the birth and the aftermath, I was like, okay, like I am ready to be brave and do something different. Like, I didn't want to go back. I had done the whole like six or 10 week maternity leave and come back and like, you know, do something different. Give it all to my students and they're like full day daycare, all that stuff. And that was great for that season. And we had great support, but I was ready. I wanted to do something different. I wanted to be able to spend more time with my kids. That was, that was the goal. So, following the actual instructions. I told my students, I just met with people who were in the next season, who took some risks. I was like, I need to talk to people who took, who take some risks because that's not what I have done historically. And one of the people that I met with was a good friend who had started to become a copywriter. And I, at that point barely knew what that was. Like I was like, Oh, you write ads. Like is that it? and she took me out to lunch and just like had a really great conversation with me and encouraged me that I could do this. And so then I used that maternity leave to. Learned about copywriting. I meet with a few more people. And I told one person that I wanted to become a copywriter, like a friend of mine and who was not in copy. And her photographer from her wedding was like looking for, um, a copywriter to help her with her business. And so she sent me her info and that was my first client. And it was like, the rest was history. So I then I taught for two more years to build up the side business, which I think is a, I would highly suggest for anybody who's leaving a career, especially if you have kids, to keep your full-time business and do the side hustle thing, build up a safety net, and then make the leap. So that's my story.

Kristin:

I can't even Pick what I want to circle back to I love all of that so much The one I the one thing I have to highlight is that I I just find it so poignant and so Beautiful in a way that you really took the advice from the same book I actually think I could tear up like I'm not even kidding You took the advice from the same book that you were sharing, like, the wisdom from the book you were sharing with your students, and then all of a sudden became relevant to your own life. And I think there is such a, there's such a, like, power in recognizing, Oh, I can do these things too, right? Because we do, we get locked on autopilot and we just keep showing up in the same ways. That used to work for us that don't work anymore. Um, so I love that you realized that those, those principles are so applicable, to your own new direction. one other thing, Corey, I have to highlight is that, we share a similarity here where I think in the beginning, whenever we're trying on something new, like trying out something brand new that we've never done before, it's, it's second nature to really hold that close to our chest because we want to protect it and we don't want to talk about it to anybody because we're like, I don't want us to be seen as a quote unquote failure or what if this doesn't pan out or what if I embarrass myself? So we don't talk about it. I can definitely say that once I started talking about Myself as a copywriter and just kind of proudly sharing that with people It turned into a couple of my first clients as well So I I love this little connection that just talking about like, oh, I think i'm trying out this copywriter thing Led to your very first clients, which we we share that as a client getting strategy all the time

Corrie:

Yeah. I mean, that's like my suggestion. When people are like, I'm, whatever it is, they're trying. And I do this with my clients too. Like if, as you're figuring out your messaging. Like, talk this out. Just tell people because as you're talking about it, you start to clarify because you're, you're literally seeing a reaction. And so it helps you gauge how to position it, which angle you want to take, you know, there's so much power to just like, speaking it, but even just like, you know, especially for teachers, you have built up a, You know, a huge professional career that, you know, some people don't have and use that to your advantage. Like I, I know lots of people and I thought that they only knew teaching and, and also they only knew me as a teacher. So I had to change that narrative for them. I couldn't just like, let that happen. Like I had to tell them. And so. I always tell people, like, just tell people, tell everybody, you know, it feels a little bit embarrassing. but like, you have to do that in order to, A, find the client, but B, like, become confident in yourself and like, take on this new identity because it is like very much an identity as a teacher. especially when you've been in it for a long time. So it's like, you have to kind of shed the skin a little bit to figure out this, this other version.

Kristin:

Yeah, absolutely. And I just want to jump in quickly and ask you to maybe talk a little bit more about, those two years that you continued teaching while you were building up the business, because I think that's such a smart move. I'll speak from my own perspective, but when I put tons and tons and tons of pressure on my own business, things can start to feel very slippery and very like I'm boxed in. So I really appreciate how you took some time to not just leave, you know, leave one, one career and just put all this expectation on your business to replace your salary immediately. But you took you said two years to build up a client base and really build up the business before you were able to leave teaching. can you talk a little bit more about what it was like to be a full time teacher and building a business?

Corrie:

Yeah, I mean, it was hard. I'm not going to sugarcoat that. Like you, it's a lot of work. Um, I was very intentional with who I told, because I was going to be working outside. I also, um, went like slight part time. So like 80 percent I, we had a wonky schedule because we were trimesters. So it was like some trimesters. I was full time. Some I was 80%. And so I was just intentional with who I told. So, you know, oftentimes teachers work really closely with other teachers. And so I, that's who I told first was like my, my two main like teacher besties, because it would impact them, my time and the programs we had created and we're running. So I told them, because then that helped me not feel guilty about what I was doing. Because they were, you know, I told them and I told my boss, and then, I was just intentional with the time outside. My, my husband is incredibly supportive. And so I worked a lot of weekends. I would just batch content on the weekends, you know, and my clients knew. The clients that I work with knew that I was still teaching full time. So I wasn't hiding that fact. I think in some cases you might want to just depends on who it is. but mine were really supportive because they knew what I was doing and they trusted me. and I also took that time to learn. So, and I, I wasn't a huge course junkie. I was pretty intentional with which courses I took. I jumped into programs. It really, it allowed me to create a strong foundation because I could afford to join, programs that I had been following for a while and take a couple of courses and actually take and finish them, So I didn't, you know, I had kids like I have a responsibility to do this. Well, I can't just like, hope that it works. So, Yeah, I would just say, you know, get the support of the people who might hold you back from going for this, like, whether it's a partner, whether it's a partner teacher, um, and then just be cognizant of your time. Lots of teachers have other gigs, like, they have to, like, they tutor, they do other things, like, don't worry about that. Like, you have to. You have to make money for your family. and I would say, give yourself kind of a timeline of like, okay, how much do I want to have saved? What, what does it feel like to have a, solid client flow if you're going the service provider route? and for me, I mean, to be totally honest, the pandemic year allowed me to do that even more. So it was like the first year was 2019. And I just, you know, in person all day, come home at night and on weekends, do that work. And then. The pandemic year allowed me to do a little bit more from home because the schedule was so wonky and there was a great need for copy. I mean, that was like, you know, the dot com era of just like a boom of copy needs. So, yeah, and I would just say, like, you will feel better once you have 3 to 6 months saved up. And you can do it and I did it and I found that I was pregnant with my third. I was like, all right, we're good. I am, I'm, I'm saying no to like a, basically a free birth and delivery with very good insurance. And we did it. Yep.

Hillary:

Corey? I can relate to that so much. Um, I like you. I started my copywriting business in the summer of 2020. So about a year after. Yeah. It sounds like you started, I started learning coffee, all of those things. Um, and then I taught for another two and a half semesters after that, because it was really important for me to, to just like build up and, and have the proof that this was going to work before I completely cut ties with my teaching career. but like you, when I finally cut that tie and I actually left teaching mid October, which is, you know, Quite taboo. but I left teaching mid October. My last day was October 15th. And then three days later, I found out I was pregnant with my first, so it's like, well, we better make this work now. Yep, there's nothing like a, like a, a baby as like the most intense. Pressure deadline. I have to make this work.

Corrie:

Hmm.

Hillary:

You know, you, you had two kids already. You were teaching full time and you still made time for this. And I think it's really important, for other people who are feeling like. I'm already giving so much of myself to teaching. How could I possibly make time to build a business? And so I would love to dive into that a little bit deeper with you if we can, and maybe talk about what are some tangible things that you did say no to during that time so that you could have time to put into your business. And also the other piece of this is I think sometimes We do have to put in periods of hustle to make something work, but that shouldn't be a long term thing. Right. And it sounds like maybe that's been true for you. And so I'd love to hear you talk a little bit about that as well.

Corrie:

Yes, I definitely, like in the season where I'm at right now, like I couldn't do that. Like, I feel like I'm still kind of coming down from that and I have different goals for my business right now. And a lot of it is around the pace. Um, so 100%, I love that you said that it's like, there is an element of hustle that you need to do. but it can't be forever. So, I think trying to think of what I said no to, I mean, honestly, in that season, I was like, I said no to working out. I said no to, taking on extra things. So I, I mean, I really didn't have a social life, which, which timed up well for me pandemic wise, but I didn't have a social life, which was okay. Let me back up. The biggest suggestion, like practical suggestion I can make is get really clear, and I know this sounds very gimmicky, but I think Simon Sinek is, is the, like, founder of this idea, but like, you have to know your why. And I had a very clear why. I wanted to be able to do kindergarten drop off. Like that was something, you know, cause I commuted. I like my husband did all the drop off and I did pick up. It was like, I left the house at 6am, got home with the kids at the end of the day at five and had two hours with them. And so I had this very clear, vision for kindergarten drop off. And that was like, it just made everything crystal clear. Yep. We're saying no to. like buying new clothes or these things because we're paying down debt and saving so that I have this three to six month padding and, we are gonna, you know, live in a smaller house and, yeah, there was just a lot. We said no to so that we could clear out the space. I'm trying to think of other practicals, but getting really clear and like writing it down. And I just like, This, can sound a little bit gimmicky too, but I had a very, uh, basic vision board. I just want a sheet of paper. I just made it really clear after those conversations with my friends who were risk takers. I just wrote down some notes of like my, very vivid goal and what I wanted to have, uh, or, you know, the steps I wanted to take to get there. I just had that on my closet and the door so I could see it every day. And it just reminded me every day of why I'm doing this and not, not everybody's going to understand it. Yeah. Especially in the teacher world. Like you really, like, you really don't know what life is like outside of education, unless you're married to somebody who's in business or whatever. And so you are like learning a brand new language and nobody understands that you're with everyday understands that language. And so I just had to be like solely confident and, What helped was meeting other people. I'm a people person. I was like, where's the online community? Okay, like, let me join these groups so that I can meet other people to keep me going that like a this is possible and be there's other people like me. Anytime I found a teacher who became a copyright. I was like, oh, my gosh. Okay, it works like this isn't just like a random idea. I have this, this works. so, and it was just like, it was like for a season. I knew that. And I had some goals. So it was like, when I, when I did leave, I, I wasn't sad. I was really confident. And I had some like fun things planned for myself that summer. I mean, honestly, things like going for a walk on a Tuesday morning when I was pregnant, it was like, I could never do that. I was, I mean, I walked around the classroom all day with my other two, but like, so that to me was a huge win. And then when I got to experience, you know, I got a taste of that in the pandemic of working from home and I was like, Oh yeah. I want this to be able to be here, so I would just like long, long answer short, get really clear on why you want to do this. What, what is it that you want out of this? and like set a scene for yourself and then backwards plan just like you do as a teacher of what you need to do to get there and get other champions in your corner. Like I needed to have people who are like, yes, like in my, in my online world and in my real life that were like, yes, you can do this. and the pace was very different when school started. I was pregnant and I was still working and like full time work as an online business owner doesn't have to me in 40 hours, seven 30 to three 30. So that was rewarding in and of itself.

Kristin:

Corey, can we also talk about what your client acquisition process was like during those years? If you had one, I know that Hillary talks about being in the classroom and building a business for two and a half semesters or so, and not having like a really dialed in client acquisition process, but she'd, she'd take clients when they would come by her or when they came through connections and stuff like that. sure there's, listeners who are curious about How in the world you came across copywriting clients while you were still teaching?

Corrie:

Yeah. So I, you know, I started just by telling people I know and then once I landed that really good client was like, Just on that one client and I wasn't trying to get other clients after her. And then once I got to a place where I knew that I was delivering and we were seeing some results, I asked for, um, not just a testimonial. I asked for her to share on her platform. So in her email list and on social media, and then that landed me my next big client who was, uh, and both of them were retainers. That was my main model was to have retainer clients because that was like, I, you know, I was like, That felt the safest for me, um, which I would highly suggest. and because then you just get into there, you can learn their voice, you can learn copy, and you have a, at least a three month income that you know you're going to have. So, so that landed me in my next client. And then I, then I just had more social proof and more confidence in talking about it. Then I just connect, I mean, every client I've had can be connected back to a few different people who I knew before or outside of education. So it was like, I connected with, another, a story coach who is in Orange County where I live and we have multiple mutual friends, including my brother, but we didn't know that at 1st. And so she became a huge. Yeah. She's like, I've stayed at your house, like your childhood home. Um, so, and then, so just great referrals. So for me, my acquisition strategy has just always been like meeting people in person, connecting people from some sort of real life in person thing. And then, their referrals and just asking them. So asking them for a testimonial, asking them to share about my work. And, my main lead source are referrals, um, which has been great. And now I focus primarily on website copy and brand voice. And so most of my referrals are from website designers, because that just kind of fits where I'm at. But, Yeah, that's why telling everybody, you know works because somebody knows somebody who knows somebody and I started an email list really early on And so that allowed me to take to stay top of mind even when I didn't know what on earth to say on social media I could just talk about what I was learning in a more comfortable setting and Yeah, you stay top of mind with people and they talk about you. So that's my approach

Hillary:

I just have to say, Corey, I have never heard anyone say what you just said. You asking a really great client that you had a great relationship with to talk about you to her email list and on, on her socials, that is genius. That is a really, really, really great strategy. And I can't believe I've never heard anyone say that before.

Corrie:

Yeah, so it worked. And, I mean, I think you still have to kind of go with like, well, it's based on that particular person's marketing approach. So what's the best way? So if somebody is more on social media, ask if they can share on social media. I always prefer email list because that consumer is probably a little bit more ready to actually engage, for a bigger ticket service.

Hillary:

Well, Corey, your story is I mean, it's inspiring to me. I know it's going to be inspiring to a lot of our listeners. I would love if we could wrap up this conversation with one big takeaway from this journey. I mean, this journey isn't easy. Right. And so one big takeaway that you think could help someone who maybe hasn't started that leap yet, or is thinking, but wondering, can I really do this? Can this work for me? do you have one thing that comes to mind?

Corrie:

yeah, I would just say, get, you know, think about what's particularly for teachers. Think about what your administrators and your colleagues and your students or their parents have said about you and your qualities. Get really clear on what makes you unique because that's gonna be your differentiator moving forward, and it's gonna be the same thing in your business. Like that's gonna be your clients are gonna say that call the same thing out. And so I would Like, do some reflection on what they say about you as an employee, as a colleague, etc. And then use that to talk about your approach as you're launching a business. And then the second very practical thing I would suggest is get on LinkedIn and start making connections because I don't know why teachers aren't on LinkedIn and it's a huge, huge miss.

Kristin:

Corey, I feel like we're the same in terms of client acquisition, which is like my philosophy on client acquisition is like make friends, you know, people call it networking. I love to just talk about it as making friends and talking about what I do and whether it's, you know, on LinkedIn, you can make friends, you can. Talk to the friends you already have to make new friends. You could tell people about what you do, um, and, and grow your network that way. I just, I think your, your excitement for what you do and to talk about it. with other people it's really admirable. And I think it's such a lesson that listeners can take forward with them. Don't be shy about starting a copywriting business or any business at all. share it with pride. it's so surprising how that can turn into your very first and also probably your hundredth client, right? It's a great strategy. Corey, I just want to say thank you so much for sharing your experience with us, and for sharing all your wisdom, can you let people know where we can learn more about you or find you online?

Corrie:

you can, you know, head to my website, CoreyMyers. com and join my email list. That's always my preferred connection. Um, but you can always follow me at CoreyMyers on Instagram and LinkedIn, where I'm like starting to peek my head out. But, um, yes. Would love to connect with your community. I know how hard it is to make the jump and I want to encourage you that it's possible.

Hillary:

Well, thank you again so much, Corey. We will link to all of those places in the show notes so people can really easily find you if they want to. And thank you, of course, to all of our listeners of the Teachers Make the Leap podcast.