How this copywriter saves 25-50 hours a month with an automated client experience and workflow.

THE CHALLENGE: “I was running fine until I hit 5 clients in my retainer.”

Samantha has been running her copywriting studio since 2018, travelling the world and providing her clients with bold words that help them stand out and sell more.

And she does it while travelling the world, which meant her systems needed keeping up.

“Back in July, I was trying to (test out) this agency model.

I had the most janky system because at first, you’re just trying it and seeing if it works. I had a notion profile for each client and really liked that people didn’t have to log into it. I wanted to keep it simple.

But over time, I realized I could probably do so much more if I had systems — I would not need so many manual reminders.”

Her signature offer is a copy retainer service with an in-depth SOP. It was all being done manually which meant it looked a little something like this: 

• Dubsado as a CRM and for contracts
• Airtable for forms and submission of copy requests
• A new email drafted at every step of the client process throughout the month.
• All done with no automations

Samantha had to be involved at every step of the process. This meant she was spending a lot of time writing emails and reminding clients of invoice payments than on the projects themselves (or finding new retainer clients).

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THE TURNING POINT: “I was worried about clients slipping through the cracks.”

As her retainer started to grow,  her systems and client experience needed evolving.

“As the roster started to grow, I was really worried about having clients slip through the cracks or things being forgotten. That’s when I was like, I better call Ashley and (have her) help me.”

Samantha had worked with Ashley previously on messaging and knew her expertise firsthand. When it came time to systematize her growing agency, Ashley was the natural choice.

“One of the ways I like to build community is working with people who’ve worked with me. And so, I was like, I know an expert. I’m going to work with her and see if she can help me get my agency off the ground.”

What convinced Samantha to move forward wasn’t just Ashley’s expertise, but the comprehensive nature of her approach, knowing her package and timeline was exactly what she needed for such a robust project. 

“For me, it was knowing that it wouldn’t just be the onboarding or airtable but it would be the whole thing. 

And having somebody’s brain on the whole thing from start to finish. Seeing that in her package made me not want to look anywhere else because I knew it was all going to get taken care of.”

But she still had some fears about the systems — if it was going to work for her business or if it was something that would require fixing up after the project was done.

“I think my biggest fear was, ‘Is it going to do what I want to do’? I’ve had systems built and then something breaks or doesn’t work. Or it’s too rigid and doesn’t account for clients making mistakes. 

So, I had this fear that it would be great on paper but not flexible, not functional.”

Her lack of technical expertise added another layer of concern. 

“I wanted to be in a place where I could be really confident the system could work and I wouldn’t have to go through major edits or revisions.

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THE PROCESS: “I’ll show her everything I’m doing and I knew she’d work her magic.” 

Samantha wasn’t really sure of what her ‘systems’ could even look like. On the onboarding call, she walked Ashley through her entire current workflow.

“On that call, I wasn’t quite sure what she was going to do with it. But I knew that by showing her what I was doing, she’d be able to see even things I didn’t know could be automated.”

Rather than overwhelming Samantha with technical details, Ashley’s approach was refreshingly straightforward and quicker than she expected. 

She took everything that had been laid out in Samantha’s SOPs and on the call, and began building out a custom system that would work for her business.

A comprehensive systems build that was unlike anything Samantha had done for her business before.

“I’ve never had a system build this robust, that had so many moving pieces. Everything from ongoing delivery, offboarding, 

So it definitely felt like I was doing a major upgrade.”

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THE RESULTS: “I’ve saved at least 10 hours per client.”

Samantha now has systems and a workflow that makes things so much easier on her and her clients — after Ashley mapped out and developed a system that included automations she didn’t realize were possible. 

When Ashley delivered Samantha’s new systems, the transformation was immediate and comprehensive. The manual processes that had consumed hours of her time were now automated, and the fear of things falling through the cracks was gone.

1. 10+ hours saved with each client.

With every step of her workflow accounted for and automated where possible, the quantified impact is significant.

“For every client I bring on, I can easily see where I’ve saved 5 to 10 hours on just little reminders, check-ins, follow-ups, offboarding. At least 10 hours per client.”

With 5 clients in her retainer on average, this translates to 25-50 hours saved per month.

2. Automated but personal touches that make for an impressive onboarding experience

When a new client gets onboarded, an automation has been set up to create a Google drive folder and documents with their name already on it.

“Now when clients get onboarded, (the drive) has a folder and a folder document that says, ‘Welcome Lauren or whoever the client is.’ 

For me, it’s these little things that take 10-20 minutes out of your day to do, but now it’s done and it looks good. The client feels welcomed and that’s exactly what I wanted. I can’t say enough good things.”

3. ‘Ashley in my pocket’ for when things need fixing.

The Airtable comes in with a resources tab that assuaged Samantha’s earlier fears of not knowing what to do if something went wrong.

“One of my favorite things that she delivered was in the Air Table base. There’s this tab that’s called ‘resources’ and it has a Loom video for every single step of how to do everything that the system does. That’s so helpful for me.

I literally feel like I have Ashley in my pocket to be ‘Okay, here’s how you do it.’” 

And when Samantha brings on a VA, she doesn’t have to train them on the systems. There’s videos by Ashley in the resources tab teaching how to use it. 

4. Systems that increase her capacity for clients and revenue

This new system is in place to help Samantha feel confident about bringing on more clients.

“I was running the retainer with my own systems until I hit five clients in the retainer. 

With the new systems, there’s a lot more ease, I’m not stressed about who’s doing what, and confused where each client is. I can easily go into Airtable and see it in one place.

Now that I have the ease with these five clients, I feel ready to bring on even 10 clients at the same time. That’s only possible because I did the systems work.”

5. A ready-to-use system from day one.

Ashley’s attention to detail meant everything was operational immediately.

“It’s funny. I wasn’t ready. 

I was like, ‘I’m scared. How does it all work? I don’t want to break anything.’ 

But truly everything was ready to use. Another amazing thing she did was to make sure that the clients already on my roster were moved into Airtable. 

So, I could have even had them start using it right away.”

6. More time to put into marketing and sales.

With her systems in place, Samantha’s been able to dedicate more time to marketing and selling the offer, set up in a way where she doesn’t have to stress about the onboarding.

“I felt confident selling my retainer at Emancipation (a conference), in a room with a hundred people.

I was able to confidently put the retainer forward as my signature offer because of these systems”

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Continued Partnership.

The relationship continues beyond the initial implementation through Ashley’s ongoing Systems Support Membership.

“Since we ended in March, I’ve been in her retainer, pinging her with questions. That’s been helpful because little things or little changes have come up. It’s just nice knowing that we can continue to work together and refine it.

(If i could) I would stay in that forever and just keep improving this process.

For a copywriting studio like Samantha’s, a custom system helps her provide an incredible client experience while increasing her earning capacity.

“If you want the absolute, most comprehensive ready-to-use system that takes into account how to make your life and your client’s lives easier? Have Ashley do it.

I’ve never had a systems build this robust with so many moving pieces — everything from onboarding, delivery, and offboarding.

But it’s not so rigid to the point (where you can’t be flexible). She does a really great job of leaving spots for you to be human with your clients. Even in the automated forms, there’s always a little place where you can say “Hi, I hope you love the copy,” — there’s always that option for personal touch. 

For anyone who is at a growing point in your business, where you’re doing things manually but know there’s ways things could be automated — and even the ways that you don’t know — Ashley’s got you covered.”

This case study was built of a conversation with this specific client, going through our work together.
Anything in quotes is a word-for-word statement said by the client on a recorded call or in a testimonial.

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