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Kevin Meng interview

Interview with Kevin Meng the Copywriter

Hey Kevin,

We met in person only recently although we have been Facebook “friends” for several months now. It was a random met on the sidewalk in Chiang Mai as we were both in town for the annual SEO conference.

You’re a regular poster in an SEO Facebook Group that we are both are members of, you often post funny images and clips, even showing us your talents on the guitar (impressive by the way!).

Copywriting has always been a challenge for me and so finding out you're the copywriting guy meant it was too good a chance to ask you for this interview.

You’re very approachable and keen to offer help, even offering feedback on how I can improve my website copy. This is one of the reasons I wanted to interview you here and to also find out your story of how you got into copywriting in the first place.

So, thanks again Kevin for taking time to answer some questions today, let’s jump straight into the first one.

Kevin Meng interview

Can you give us some background on where you were born and spent time growing up?

Thanks for the awesome intro and for having me on your blog, Adam. We bumped into each other quite a bit randomly while you were in town. Always happy to help friends.

I was born and raised in Milford, Connecticut. Since most people have no clue where that is, it’s about an hour from New York City going East.

I grew up there, went to school in New Haven, then moved to Prague, Czech Republic to teach English.

Like me, you’re a big fan of South East Asia and spend a lot of time out here. When and where do you spend most of your time?

I love Southeast Asia. So happy I made the jump to move here from Europe. Can’t beat the food and cost of living.

I move around A LOT, but I’ve spent most of my time in Thailand up til now. But now I’ve got that awesome 1-year visa in Vietnam so I reckon most of my time will be spent down in Saigon or Da Nang.

I’ve spent extended time in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines so far in SEA. Life is tough!

I recently read your blog where you help people become well-paid freelance copywriters. Your “my story” is absolutely hilarious and a testament to how good you are at telling a story (I am still recovering from your haircut photos). What got you first into being a freelance copywriter?

Kevin Meng haircutThanks man. I do love storytelling, especially when it’s about me ;). I try to keep my story lighthearted and fun since the topic is pretty serious being so sick and all that.

I remember being an English teacher and just not being happy with it. There’s a real cap on earnings and I felt like I was wasting my talent.

I had a talent for storytelling and writing in general, just no idea how to monetize it. I have no degree and at the time no experience writing anything professionally.

I just googled “how to write from home” or something like that and stumbled on an article about how to make money writing “SEO articles”. Ya know, those 500-word fluff pieces trying to trick Google into ranking you for for “best plumber New York”, “plumber New York” “best plumber NYC” kinda stuff.

The rest is history!

I started doing better articles, writing on tougher topics, and eventually into copywriting. There’s a huge opportunity in this space, and that’s why I started Freelanceaholics.com. So many people want to write, but they have no idea where to get started or they’re stuck thinking they can’t make good money with it. That’s BS.

We talked about how you first got started as a copywriter. What would be your #1 tip for aspiring copywriters out there (other than signing up to your guide lol)?

Freelanceaholics copywriting guideOther than that, I’d say my #1 tip would be to read my blog!

Kidding…kind of.

The #1 tip would be to start a profile and look for jobs in Facebook groups.

There are a ton of freelance writing gigs available that require little to no experience and you could easily make $40-$50/hr entry-level if you’re any good.

What’s your process for getting started with a new client?

It depends on what they need from me, but most of my new clients now either need blog posts or Amazon listings, and those are obviously 2 vastly different projects.

For blogs, I normally try to get to know as much about the client and topic as possible, and that includes chatting with the owner/team members. From there, they usually give me the topics and I write drafts of the first blogs, and we bounce ideas back and forth until we get something we’re happy with.

Amazon listings are a different beast altogether and require SEO and competitor research. So let’s save that for another day ;).

You kindly took a look over this blog and my supplement brand offering some constructive feedback. Would you be game to outline some recommendations here?

From a birdseye view, I’d say:

LifeHacker Guy:

Better intros with more emotion and foreshadowing what the reader gains from reading the article.

Shorter, more concise sentences with less punctuation. Simple sentences > Complex ones for web content.

For example, Super greens and green powder supplements are marketed as energy-dense and a nutritious way of getting improving your health quickly -> Super greens and derived supplements are an energy-dense, nutritious way of improving your health quickly.

Allegedly! [For real – Adam]

I would also try to “spice it up” by adding in some more humor and addressing the audience directly with questions:

isn’t hard to get all your vitamins and minerals?

It’s impossible to count every single but of vitamin D, isn’t it?

Stuff like that.

Supergreen Tonik

Your home page is great, so the only thing I would improve would be some sentence structure.

Again, shorter and concise sentences. There’s also some awkward phrasing such as “easy tasty drink” and 1 run-on sentence!

Other than that it’s great though, very well targeted and benefits-driven.

The blog is also quite good and informative, but I would definitely recommend writing with more energy, stronger verbs, and fewer adverbs or adjectives. This creates punchier sentences and more engagement from readers. But since it’s written in your voice rather than a company’s voice, that might be tough to do.

That’s all I’ve got for now.

Check out for yourself and left me know = https://supergreentonik.com/

Feedback from Adam

Great feedback thanks Kevin, you have got me looking at this now in a different light.

Looks like I should be hiring you to help me out here – now where's that affiliate link 😉

I bet you have faced the same issues when working with clients’ copy. What are the three biggest mistakes you consistently find when working with a client copy?

Bad intros – the intro is so important yet everyone screws it up. They state useless facts, they bore the reader, they tell the reader things they already know. It’s enough to make me want to smash my laptop.

Weak writing – writing with too many dependent clauses, passive voice, suggestions rather than imperatives, distancing. This stuff doesn’t sell. I can’t tell you how often I read sentences like “whether you need a great PC for gaming or just simply a PC for communicating with friends daily, this XYZ model computer is the computer for your needs”. See how hard that is to read? Yet that’s how the vast majority of content sounds.

Sounding too professional – I feel like most content reads like Sir David Attenborough narrating a nature documentary. “Behold, the elusive hiking boot. Notice it’s curved, it indelible style…it’s sheer power as it impressively meets the trail”. Nobody wants to read that stuff – unless it actually is Sir Attenborough. Then sign me up!

I know you offer a guide to getting started with freelance copywriting. But I am interested to discover if you believe good copywriters are born or bred?

Tough question to answer. I hate to say both, but I’m going to cop out and say this:

Good copywriters either have it or they don’t. I think you are born with the ability to be a good content/copywriter. Especially with content. With sales pages, you can at least learn formulas.

I think you are born with the ability to be a good content/copywriter. Especially with content.

But from there, they’re bred. It’s not easy to stick with this career and reach the highest levels. I’m still climbing the ladder 5 years in!

How do you see your business evolving over the next 1-2 years? Do you see yourself scaling your business or do you prefer the route of solopreneur?

I see myself focusing more on info products and courses, then turning my focus to YouTube. I love writing and content writing, but I want to package my knowledge and experience into digital courses for solopreneurs, ecom stores, and affiliate SEOs. Then create courses and books for new freelancers as well.

I see a potentially symbiotic relationship between it all too. Almost like becoming a hub for writing. I can find and train new writers via books and courses and help them find jobs with companies. It’s a win-win for everyone.

My main message is “This is way easier than you think it is, and you can go from 0 to full-time income in a few short months or even less even from 0 experience.” I did and I can’t believe I waited so long to do it.

Thanks, Adam!

Freelanceaholics logo

Kevin has a hugely helpful FREE guide on getting started in this business. Click here

If your copy needs help then you can reach out to Kevin (and why wouldn’t you!) on his website here – https://freelanceaholics.com/.

You can also contact Kevin via LinkedIn here – https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinowenmeng/

Adam Author

About the LifeHacker Guy

Hi, I'm Adam the founder of the LifeHacker Guy.

I have a First Class Honours degree in Sports Science from Brighton University, specialising in exercise physiology and nutrition. In my youth I was a competitive Triathlete and long-distance runner placing top 10 in most triathlon races I completed.

Since suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I moved into web development, after a couple of years I then moved onto developing a number of online businesses. I've recently taken a sabbatical and I'm now looking to make big changes in my life, hopefully this may resonate with you - join me in my journey!

1 comment

  1. Love the post! As I slog away writing posts for my blog, it’s awesome to read about someone who makes a living off it and from such humble beginnings!

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