Stop letting ChatGPT steal your clients.
SEO mentoring for copywriters. 6 months. 6 places.
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.
Ascend is a 6-month programme that turns copywriters into confident SEO experts who can pitch, deliver, and charge properly for SEO. There are just 6 places.
Why good copywriters are losing clients to AI
You’re a good copywriter. Your proposals are getting turned down anyway. Clients are ghosting you. There’s less work about than there was two years ago, and what there is pays less. You know adding SEO to your services would change everything. 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.
Your clients think ChatGPT can do your job
They’ve had a go themselves, it looked fine to them, and now your quote looks expensive next to free.
You’re competing on price
Someone will always charge £50 for a page of copy. You can’t win that race and you shouldn’t be in it.
You know SEO would set you apart
Clients want copy that gets found. The copywriters who can offer that are charging more and getting hired.
You don’t know where to start
You’ve read the articles, maybe done a course. It still feels like a big pile of jargon with no obvious first step.
You’re terrified of looking stupid
Pitching SEO to a client, being asked a question you can’t answer, getting found out. So you don’t pitch it at all.
You haven’t got time to work it out alone
Your income is dropping now. Six months of trial and error on your own isn’t a plan.
How the Ascend SEO mentoring programme works
Six months, six copywriters, and me. Group calls to learn, 1-2-1s to apply it to your clients, and a target of your first paid SEO client by Month 4. We’ll do this together.
Fortnightly group coaching calls
12 one-hour calls over 6 months. The first call each month is teaching. The second is hot seats, where we look at your work, your pitches and your client projects together.
Apply for AscendFortnightly 1-2-1s with me
12 one-to-one sessions to review your client work, craft your pitches, build your confidence and deal with whatever’s in front of you that week.
I’m ready to Ascend, Nikki!Monthly SOS calls and a private Slack
A 20-minute SOS call every month for the “a client’s just asked me this and I don’t know” moments, plus a private Slack group where I’m in there answering questions every day.
Apply nowWhat you’ll learn month by month on Ascend
Every month has a theme, a deliverable, and a point where you have to go and do something with a real client. That’s deliberate.
Month 1: SEO foundations and client strategy
How search engines work, understanding search intent, and how to do a proper SEO audit of a client’s site. You’ll leave with your first SEO strategy document and audits of your existing clients.
Month 2: On-page SEO, pitching and marketing
Titles, structure, internal linking, and positioning yourself as someone who offers SEO as well as copy. You’ll optimise a client’s work, send at least one pitch, and update your own website and marketing.
Month 3: Pitching deep dive and first client prep
Handling objections, spotting the clients who are a good fit, and marketing consistently. A guest expert on selling higher-value services. You’ll pitch at least twice more, and if you’ve landed a client we start planning delivery.
Month 4: Technical SEO and your first client
Site speed, mobile, working with developers and spotting red flags. A web designer guest expert on how to work together. I hold your hand through your first SEO client. The target is that everyone has at least one paid SEO client by the end of this month.
Month 5: Pricing, proposals and ongoing delivery
Pricing your SEO work, building proposals, managing the client relationship and being efficient. A digital PR and backlinks guest expert on what else you can offer. You’ll leave with refined packages and a clear pricing structure.
Month 6: Scaling, systems and future planning
Turning what you’ve done into repeatable systems, adjusting your pricing, choosing your clients and planning your marketing long term. A final celebration session with hot seats and a six-month business plan.
Everything included in the Ascend Programme
This isn’t a course you watch and forget. It’s six months of me in your business, with the templates, the calls and the support to go with it.
- 12 fortnightly one-hour group coaching calls, recorded if you miss one
- 12 fortnightly 1-2-1 sessions with me
- A 20-minute SOS call every month for emergencies
- 4 guest expert sessions: strategy, web design, digital PR and backlinks
- A private Slack group for questions, wins, feedback and moral support
- A full template library: audits, strategy documents, pitch emails, proposals, pricing guides, onboarding checklists, reporting, contracts, check-in emails, awkward-situation emails, LinkedIn and marketing templates, and a time-tracking calculator
- Hand-holding through your first SEO client: strategy review, work review, and help when something goes sideways
- Ongoing marketing support for your LinkedIn, your own website’s SEO, your content and your positioning
- Email access to me throughout, with ASCEND in the subject line for priority replies
Who the Ascend Programme is for
Six places means I’m picky. That’s why there’s an application and a holding deposit rather than a buy button. Let’s be honest about who this suits.
This programme is for you if
- You’ve been copywriting for 1-2+ years and you’ve got clients
- You need to charge more, but every time you put your prices up clients push back
- You’re watching AI eat into your client base and you’re furious about it, because you know you’re better than ChatGPT
- You’ve done some SEO research, maybe a course, but you don’t have the confidence to offer it as a proper service
- You’re ready to invest from your business budget, not the household emergency fund
- You understand this takes work over six months, and you can handle working closely with me
This programme is not for you if
- You’re brand new to copywriting and don’t have any clients yet
- You want a magic 30-day fix rather than a six-month commitment
- You want someone else to do the work for you
- You’re not willing to pitch during the programme. Pitching is the point
- You need help with the basics of running a business, like invoicing and getting set up
Who joins the Ascend Programme
Copywriters who are good at what they do and want to stop being treated as interchangeable with a chatbot. Most have done some SEO reading or my SEO for Copywriters course, know it would make a difference, and need someone to make them do it properly. If you’re a web designer or a VA, there’s a version of this coming for you – see the FAQs.
Why learn SEO from me
I’ve been doing SEO since before Google existed
I’ve been “doing” SEO since the early 1990s. I’ve watched every algorithm update, every fad and every “SEO is dead” headline come and go, and I still get copywriters and business owners ranking.
I write copy for a living too
I’ve written copy and content for over 50 websites in the last 3 years, since ChatGPT became “a thing”. I know what it’s like to pitch, to be ghosted, and to have a client ask why they can’t just use AI.
Clients come to me because I do both
People hire me specifically because I offer SEO and copywriting together. They don’t want words on a page, they want words that get found and bring in work. That’s what I’ll teach you to offer, and charge for.
What copywriters say about learning SEO with Nikki
Copywriters who’ve been through Ascend, my courses and my training, and came out the other side charging more.
How to apply for the Ascend Programme
Fill in the application form and pay a £50 + VAT holding deposit. The deposit is there so we both know you’re serious and neither of us wastes the other’s time. If I don’t think Ascend is right for you, you get every penny back. If you’re accepted, it comes off your first month, so Month 1 is £350 + VAT instead of £400.
Got a question before you apply? Email me with ASCEND in the subject line, or use the contact form.
How much does the Ascend Programme cost
Early Bird price. Pay in full, or £400 + VAT a month over 6 months. That’s 12 group calls, 12 1-2-1s, 6 SOS calls, 4 guest experts, the Slack group, the template library and me holding your hand through your first SEO client. One paid SEO client covers most of it.
Ascend Programme FAQs
Do I need to have done your SEO for Copywriters course first?
No. It’ll give you a head start, but Month 1 is designed to bring everyone up to the same level whether you’ve done the course or not.
What if I haven’t landed a client by Month 4?
Then we work out why. Is it the pitch, is it who you’re pitching to, or are you not pitching often enough? We find the block and fix it. You won’t be left to flounder.
I’m worried about looking stupid in a group
Almost everyone feels like that at the start. By Month 2 the group is usually the most supportive bunch of people you know. And if there’s something you’d rather not ask in front of others, that’s what your 1-2-1s and SOS calls are for.
Can I join if I’m not in the UK?
Yes. If you’re in the US, Canada, Australia or anywhere else and you work with English-speaking clients, you’re welcome. Call times are UK-based, so check they work for you.
What if I can’t make a call?
Group calls are recorded so you can catch up, and you can follow up with questions in Slack. 1-2-1s we’ll reschedule between us.
Do you guarantee results?
No, and be wary of anyone who does. I give you the knowledge, the templates, the support and the confidence. Whether you use them is down to you. The copywriters who do the work get the results.
What if I don’t have any clients yet?
Then Ascend isn’t for you yet. You need some copywriting clients first. Adding SEO won’t fix a business that isn’t getting clients at all, and I’d rather tell you that now than take your money.
What happens after the 6 months?
That’s up to you. Some people carry on under their own steam with the systems they’ve built. Others want ongoing support, and there are options for that. We’ll talk about it in Month 6.
Can I pay in full instead of monthly?
Yes. Email me with ASCEND in the subject line and I’ll sort it.
I’m not a copywriter. Can I still join?
Not this time round. This programme is for copywriters. Versions for web designers and developers, and for virtual assistants, are in the pipeline. Email nikki@nikki-pilkington.com and I’ll let you know first when they open.
Are you ready to Ascend?
As a copywriter, you have a choice. You can keep doing what you’re doing and keep competing with AI. Or you can become someone clients can’t replace. There are just 6 places available.
I’m ready to Ascend, Nikki!