How I Fuse Marketing Strategy With Copywriting To Get Clients Results

Host Zaneta Chuniq Inpower sits down with Sarah Ashley, a self-described “late twenties, multi-passionate creator” — writer, entrepreneur, and storyteller who has spent about six years in digital marketing and copywriting. From Mississippi and now living in Florida, Sarah runs Portal Copy Co, where she does everything from landing pages and ghostwriting to ebooks, ads, and social media.

In this conversation she opens up about where entrepreneurs should actually start, the emotional attachment we form with our work, honest advice for pivoting into freelancing, the SEO-versus-AI-search question, using AI as a “thought partner,” and why marketing strategy is the overlooked ingredient behind everything — even writing a book.

Start With Introspection, Not Tactics

Sarah’s answer to “where do I start” isn’t a channel or a tool — it’s a mirror. No matter where you are on your journey, she says, it begins with self-awareness and questions you may not have asked in a long time or ever.

“Understanding like where to start and where to go just always begins with a lot of introspection and a lot of self-awareness and a lot of asking yourself hard questions that maybe you haven’t asked yourself in a long time or ever.” — Sarah Ashley

“A lot of the direction of your path and your journey can actually be derived as a result from how you answer those questions. And it might be different than what you think.” — Sarah Ashley

The Emotional Attachment to Your Work

Sarah is candid that she’s navigating her own pivot right now. What isn’t helping, she admits, is being so emotionally attached to what she does that a change can feel like betraying herself. Her reframe: your skills carry over.

“A lot of your skills and a lot of the things you’ve learned are transferable. It’s not like you’re going to be abandoning them or giving them up or betraying yourself in a way.” — Sarah Ashley

“I have to remind myself that’s me being emotionally attached to what I’m doing. It’s not a huge situation — your skills and how you feel about things can transfer to something else.” — Sarah Ashley

The Unglamorous Truth About Freelancing

Both host and guest push back on the “just be a freelancer” advice floating around online. Sarah’s counsel is to prime your expectations, expect long hours, and start broad before you niche down.

“A lot of people online make it look simple and they think it’s like a glamorous path, but it’s really not. It’s very time consuming and a lot of just throwing things at the wall and figuring out what works at first.” — Sarah Ashley

“At first I would suggest being more of a generalist, if you’re just getting your footing, because you’ll learn a lot more through being a generalist at first. And then you have time to narrow in on something specific.” — Sarah Ashley

From Mississippi State to Fiverr

Sarah studied computer science at Mississippi State University for one semester before realizing it wasn’t for her, moved into the business school for an MBA, and cut her freelancing teeth on Fiverr writing five-dollar blog posts.

“I like computers, I like technology, but it can be something you enjoy without it being a career path.” — Sarah Ashley

“I started on Fiverr in the writing space. I was doing five-dollar blog posts, fifteen-dollar pieces, just writing whatever for very low amounts of money at the time. And I was doing everything.” — Sarah Ashley

Getting Out of Your Box With AI

Sarah admits she still feels some resistance to new AI tools and a streak of perfectionism that makes her hesitate. Her fix is a bit of self-talk — and reframing AI as a partner for ideas rather than a replacement writer.

“I have to mentally tell myself, Sarah, you got to get out of your box. You got to be okay with trying new technology, and just try it and do it. It’s not a big deal.” — Sarah Ashley

“I’ve heard a lot of people recently refer to ChatGPT and AI as a thought partner, and I really liked that phrase. So I use it in that way — just help with ideas and brainstorming and organizing data or information.” — Sarah Ashley

Why Marketing Strategy Sets Her Apart

Asked for her unique selling proposition, Sarah realized only days earlier what it is: she leads with strategy. She fuses marketing strategy with copywriting strategy — something most copywriters treat as a side note rather than the main event.

“I bring a lot of the marketing strategy into the copywriting. I fuse the marketing strategy and copywriting strategy and find a way to blend them together. That’s what makes me unique compared to other copywriters in the field.” — Sarah Ashley

“So many people don’t really think about marketing strategy, but it’s so huge. Even if you feel like you don’t need marketing or you just need a one-off sales page, some people don’t even think about the marketing component, but it’s there.” — Sarah Ashley

Even a Book Needs Marketing

Sarah’s favorite illustration of why strategy matters: even something as seemingly simple as writing a book falls flat without marketing behind it.

“Even something like writing a book needs marketing so people can find it and see it. You think you just write a book and you publish it, okay, and then people will buy it. That’s part of the equation, but again, how are people going to know you even wrote a book if you don’t have some marketing behind it?” — Sarah Ashley

“There’s still marketing behind everything, even something as basic as one would think is just writing a book.” — Sarah Ashley

You can find Sarah Ashley and Portal Copy Co on social at @portalcopyco and at PortalCopyCo.com, where she shares free resources under the Knowledge tab, including brand messaging playbooks and AI-age brand story boot camp materials.