Stop letting ChatGPT steal your clients.
AI is eating your lunch.
Your clients think ChatGPT can replace you.
You’re competing on price with people charging £50 for copy.
The Ascend Programme is here to change all of that.
| You’re a skilled copywriter. You understand tone, structure, how to make words convert. But right now, you’re watching proposals get ignored, clients ghost you after discovery calls, and work dry up compared to two years ago. |
You know adding SEO to your services would change everything. You’d stand out from the AI crowd, charge what you’re worth, become indispensable to clients who need strategic content that gets found in search.
But you don’t know where to start.
You’re terrified of looking stupid.
And you don’t have time to figure this out alone while your income drops month after month.
Ascend is a 6-month programme that transforms copywriters into confident SEO experts who can pitch, deliver, and charge properly for SEO services. There are just 10 places available.
This isn’t about becoming an “SEO copywriter” who sticks keywords in headers and paragraphs.
This is about being able to take any client’s website (whether you wrote it or not), identify what’s broken, fix it, and position yourself as someone who delivers strategic SEO services – not just words on a page.
By the end of Month 4, you’ll have landed your first paid SEO client.
By Month 6, you’ll have the systems, confidence, and expertise to build this into a sustainable part of your business.
This is for you if:
- You’ve been copywriting for at least 1-2 years and have worked with a few clients. You’re not a complete beginner wondering if copywriting is right for you.
- You need to charge more but every time you raise prices, clients balk or disappear. You’re stuck competing on price and you’re sick of it.
- You’re watching AI erode your potential client base and you’re bloody furious about it. You know you’re better than ChatGPT but clients can’t see the difference when you’re just offering “copy.”
- You’ve maybe done a lot of SEO research but you lack the confidence to actually offer SEO services. The gap between “I understand this in theory” and “I can charge money for this” feels massive.
- You’re ready to invest in yourself properly. This isn’t cheap, and the money is coming from your business budget, not the household emergency fund.
You’re not desperate for results tomorrow – you understand this takes work.
- You can handle working closely with me!
We’ll be spending a lot of time together over six months. If you need someone gentle and corporate, this isn’t it.
This isn’t for you if:
You’re brand new to copywriting and haven’t landed any clients yet. You need to get basic copywriting skills and client experience first.
You’re looking for a magic solution that’ll fix your business in 30 days. Ascend is 6 months of work, implementation, and building confidence. There are no shortcuts.
You want someone to do the work for you. I’ll support you, guide you, review your work, hold your hand through your first client – but you have to do the actual pitching and delivering.
You’re not willing to pitch during the programme. The whole point is to land SEO clients. If you’re going to do the learning but never send a proposal, save your money.
You need hand-holding on basic business stuff like invoicing, time management, or whether you should be a sole trader or limited company. This programme assumes you already run a functioning copywriting business.
“Nikki really knows her stuff, and she knows how to walk you through it in a way that is step-by-step, logical, and easy to follow.“
Georgia Aussenac, Learning and Development Specialist
Month-by-Month Breakdown:
We’ll do this TOGETHER
I’m not someone who learned SEO from a course and now teaches it. I’ve been ‘doing’ SEO since the early 1990s – before Google existed. Boots on the ground from the very beginning.
I’ve written copy and content for over 50 websites in the last 3 years since ChatGPT became ‘a thing’.
People come to me specifically because I offer both SEO and copywriting.
They don’t want an SEO who can’t write. They don’t want a copywriter who doesn’t understand how to rank in search.
They want someone who does both properly.
Why Ascend will work for you
You already know how to write. You understand structure, tone, how to make words work.
Adding SEO doesn’t mean starting from scratch – it means layering strategic expertise onto skills you already have.
And when you can offer both? You charge more. You work with better clients.
You become indispensable.
The Ascend Programme Includes:
Fortnightly group coaching calls (12 total over 6 months)
One hour per call. First call of each month is teaching. Second call is hot seats, where we review your work, your pitches, your client projects – whatever you’re struggling with.
Fortnightly 1-2-1 sessions with me (12 total over 6 months)
These are for reviewing your client work, building confidence, crafting your pitch, handling specific situations, and getting support tailored to where you are. We’ll use these sessions to make sure you’re not stuck.
Monthly SOS calls
Sometimes you need help RIGHT NOW. Once per month, you can book a 20-minute emergency session for “my client just asked me something I don’t know how to answer” or “I’m about to send this proposal and I’m panicking.”
4 guest expert sessions
You’ll learn from a strategy expert (selling higher-value services), a web designer (collaborating with developers, basic tech), and someone who does digital PR and backlink building. Fourth guest TBD based on what the cohort needs most.
Private Slack community
Ask questions, share wins, get feedback, panic with people who understand. I’m very active in there. So is the rest of the cohort. This isn’t a dead community where no one responds.
Complete template library (available from Day 1)
Every template you need to pitch, propose, deliver, and manage SEO clients:
- SEO audit templates
- Strategy document templates
- Pitch email templates (for existing clients and new prospects)
- Proposal templates
- Pricing guides
- Client onboarding checklists
- Reporting templates
- Contract and scope of work templates
- Monthly check-in emails
- The awkward emails (scope creep, price rises, firing clients)
- LinkedIn and marketing templates
- Time tracking and profitability calculators
Hand-holding through your first SEO client
This is the bit that separates Ascend from a course. When you land your first SEO client, I don’t just say “good luck.” I review your strategy before you send it. I check your work before delivery. I help you handle difficult situations. I answer your panicked questions. I teach you to trust your instincts.
You’re not figuring this out alone.
Marketing support throughout
Learning SEO is pointless if no one knows you offer it. Throughout the programme, I’ll help you market yourself – LinkedIn strategy, website SEO (yes, your own site), content strategy, positioning refinement. You’ll learn SEO and how to sell it simultaneously.
Email access anytime
Programme participants can email me at nikki@nikki-pilkington.com with ASCEND in the subject line. Your emails get answered first.
Your Investment
The Ascend Programme is £2,400 + VAT.
Pay in full, or spread the cost: £400 + VAT per month over 6 months.
This is an investment in transforming how you
run your copywriting business – and becoming
someone clients can’t replace with AI.
To apply, you’ll pay a £50 + VAT holding deposit.
(Here’s why: I’m not doing 500 discovery calls with people who “might be” interested. The deposit means I’m only speaking to people who are serious about joining. I’m not wasting your time, and you’re not wasting mine.)
If I don’t accept you into the programme after our discovery call, I’ll refund the deposit in full. If I do accept you and you choose to join, the deposit comes off your first month’s payment (so you’ll pay £350 + VAT for Month 1 instead of £400 + VAT).
Questions?
Do I need to have done your SEO course first?
No. It helps (you’ll have a head start on foundations), but it’s not required. Some people in the cohort will have done it, others won’t. We’ll bring everyone up to speed in Month 1.
What if I don’t land a client by Month 4?
Then we figure out why and fix it. Either your pitch needs work, you’re targeting the wrong people, or you’re not pitching enough. But the goal is one paid client by Month 4, and I’ll support you in getting there.
I’m scared I’ll look stupid in front of the group.
Everyone feels this way at the start. By Month 2, you’ll realise everyone else is also figuring this out, and the group becomes your biggest support system. Also, if you’re worried about looking stupid asking questions, you can use your 1-2-1s or SOS calls instead.
Can I join if I’m not UK-based?
Yes, as long as you’re targeting English-speaking markets. Most participants will be UK-based, but if you’re in the US, Canada, Australia, or elsewhere and serving English-speaking clients, you’re welcome.
What if I can’t make a group call?
They’re recorded. You can watch the replay and ask follow-up questions in Slack or your next 1-2-1. But try to attend live when you can – the real-time interaction is valuable.
Do you guarantee I’ll land X clients or make £X revenue?
No. Anyone who guarantees specific results is lying. What I guarantee is that you’ll have the knowledge, templates, support, and confidence to pitch and deliver SEO services. What you do with that is up to you.
I don’t have any clients right now. Should I wait?
Probably, yes. If you’re struggling to land basic copywriting clients, adding SEO won’t fix that problem. Get a few clients first, then come back to Ascend when you’re ready to level up.
What happens after the 6 months?
You decide. Some people will keep going independently with the systems and confidence they’ve built. Others might want ongoing support (we can discuss options). There’s no obligation either way.
Can I pay in full upfront?
Yes. Email me and we’ll sort it out
I'm not a copywriter, can I still apply?
Not this time, sorry. I will be running separate programmes for Web Designers & Developers, Virtual Assistants, and other industries in the future. Please email me at nikki@nikki-pilkington.com and I'll make sure you hear about the new programmes first.
As a copywriter, you have a choice
You can keep doing what you’re doing. Keep competing with AI. Keep justifying your prices to clients who think ChatGPT is good enough. Keep watching your income stagnate or drop.
Or you can spend the next 6 months becoming someone clients can’t replace with a chatbot. Someone who understands search intent, optimises strategically, and delivers content that gets found and converts. Someone who charges properly because they’re worth it.
AI can write words. It can’t develop SEO strategies. It can’t understand your client’s business goals and translate them into search visibility. It can’t audit a website and prioritise what matters most.
You can…but only if you learn how.
Applications for the January 2026 cohort open 10th November 2025 for people who have registered for one of my non-wanky SEO courses.
Applications will open for the rest of my newsletter list on 18th November.
There are just 10 places available
Are you ready to Ascend?