We would like to introduce you to one of our 2021 SuperConnector Mastermind cohorts – Sarah Walkerden, founder of The Rural Copywriter.
Sarah Walkerden, The Rural Copywriter, is a digital marketing messaging and strategy ace. She helps rural and regional businesses win scores of adoring customers and boost their Google rankings.
Her ‘no fluff, no bull-dust’ approach creates straight-shooting SEO Website Copy that cultivates real results, helping ‘agri’ and other rural businesses to flourish.
In an exciting addition, she’s recently joined forces with husband Toby, to create The Rural Marketing Company – a full-service digital marketing agency helping both rural start-ups and existing businesses to get even better results, online.
A country girl at heart, Sarah spent years managing websites for large corporate companies in Melbourne. Now she’s settled on her rural property in regional Victoria with her young family, her horses and her thriving businesses.
When did you start your business?
I started my general copywriting brand 3 years ago, however niched down to my new brand (The Rural Copywriter) in February 2020.
What was the inspiration behind starting this business?
I originally started my copywriting business after we closed down our family’s retail store, and I needed something else to do that wouldn’t see me back in the corporate world. I was however a Web Content Specialist over a 13 year corporate career, so it made sense to pursue writing for websites and marketing as a business. The inspiration behind The Rural Copywriter brand, was to specialise in an area that I loved. I’m a country girl, who loves horses and farming, so it seemed the perfect niche! There also aren’t too many copywriters or service providers who do support rural, regional and remote businesses – and I believe these guys need more support and recognition. There are so many fantastic businesses outside the major capital cities – and marketing to a more rural audience can also be quite different.
What are you most excited about in your business?
Recently, I have organised my first collaborative book designed to inspire rural women in business. I have 16 authors, all amazing rural business women, who are writing a chapter each – and it’s due to be launched later on in 2021. It’s the first book specifically for rural women in business, so it’s very exciting!
Due to the success of The Rural Copywriter over the past 15 or so months, my husband and I have recently decided to expand into creating a full digital agency – The Rural Marketing Company. While we’re still very early days, it’s exciting to bring my husband on board in a much bigger role (as a business coach!) and to be able to support rural businesses further.
(The Rural Copywriter will still be continuing to grow too!)
What has been the most challenging thing about starting your business?
Gaining that initial traction and getting that word out as a newbie. I think most of us start any new business on a bit of a wing and a prayer and it can take anywhere between 6 months and 2 years, to really start getting consistency in revenue and reliable systems and processes in place. In the meantime, everything feels a little messy and all you can really do is trust that it will work.
What advice would you give to other women thinking about starting a business?
Be brave and give it a shot! Your first business or idea, or even your first 10 ideas, may well flop, but persistence is the key to success. The trick is to keep moving forward and to take as much fast action as you can. You really only fail if you quit – so keep on going until you win 😊
And – your mindset matters! Always work on your own personal growth, to fuel your business growth.
What do you believe is the secret to success?
Having and maintaining the sheer grit and determination to keep on going and taking daily action, no matter what happens, until you start seeing real results. You also need to be completely authentic and firm in your own unique branding, messaging and approach in order to really stand out in your market. People buy real people!
What’s happening next in your business?
Hubby and I are really looking forward to building our profile and our new brand The Rural Marketing Company, so we can both work full time in the business together (hubby currently has a casual backup job we want to retire him from asap!)
I’ve got plans for writing lots more books for rural/regional/remote businesses – along with starting a rural marketing podcast.
What are your big plans for the future?
Ideally, we’re aiming to build our new agency into a leader in the Agriculture and rural space – to the point where we have a solid team of marketing specialists, in all different aspects, so we can offer a full range of digital marketing services for rural business.
Alongside that, I’m totally hoping to dominate the copywriting space for rural business, along with providing lots of books and courses specifically for rural business.
(To let you in on a secret… ‘The Rural Marketing School’ might be coming next! 😊 )
To learn more about The Rural Copywriter, please visit Sarah’s website, Facebook or Instagram.
If you are a rural start-up looking for a digital marketing agency to help you gain traction online, do visit The Rural Marketing Company here.
The SuperConnector program is an exclusive Mastermind designed for the AusMumpreneur Community.
If you’re interested in being a part of it, contact us at hello@thewomensbusinessschool.com