'Cancer warrior' marks decade turning clients into rock stars with her writing

Throughout her decade as proprietor of Company Content material Author, Anne McAuley Lopez has survived a recession, a most cancers scare and a pandemic, powering by means of all of it to buff her shoppers to a excessive sheen within the eyes of consumers. –Anne McAuley Lopez photograph

She has an underlying hard-driven edge, however she’s simply so darn good about it.

Author Anne McAuley Lopez lately celebrated a decade within the enterprise of spreading her phrases to spice up companies throughout West Chandler and South Tempe by means of her Company Content material Author. With content material technique, web site copywriting, freelance writing, working with digital-marketing businesses or blogs, she has helped corporations prosper.

“As an company content material author, my aim is to make you appear like a rock star to your shoppers,” McAuley Lopez mentioned.

Beneath her charming smile and congenial persona, although, is a self-proclaimed closet badass. In reality, her model is Running a blog Badass.

“I prefer to assume I’m however I’ve been advised that I don’t appear like a badass, so I don’t know,” she mentioned. “However I feel my writing is.”

That she has survived her journey and stayed in enterprise for a decade this present day lends supporting proof.

4 months after McAuley Lopez acquired married 5 years in the past, she was identified with power myeloid leukemia, a slowly progressing and unusual kind of blood-cell most cancers. Many individuals don’t develop signs till later phases and the prognosis is made solely by means of routine blood work.

McAuley Lopez, 47, doesn’t pronounce herself a most cancers survivor. Not but. She takes a chemotherapy tablet every single day.

“I prefer to say I’m a most cancers warrior,” she mentioned. “They discovered it by means of primary bloodwork, a bodily. I inform individuals to go get a bodily. CML isn’t curable though they’re getting near what could be an efficient treatment.”

She in the reduction of on work initially, discovering sufficient power to energy by means of half time.

“The primary 9 months have been fairly exhausting,” she mentioned. “I had muted unwanted effects. I didn’t lose hair, however my hair thinned. I’d get nausea on and off. Bone ache, to not the intense that sufferers of different cancers would possibly expertise, however fairly debilitating.

“It’s been an fascinating experience. I used to be nervous to inform individuals what was occurring. As I’ve talked to individuals, I’ve realized there loads who’ve power circumstances, additionally. My physique must relaxation typically, and that’s OK. Give your self grace for that.”

The leukemia has been undetectable for 2½ years, she mentioned. She is writing a e book in regards to the journey, to be printed this fall.

“I’m in as shut as we get to remission,” McAuley Lopez mentioned. “We’ve acquired every little thing rather well managed. I inform my husband this isn’t going to be what kills me.”

Hold content material sharply targeted and take a look at to not do an excessive amount of at one time, Anne McAuley Lopez advises shoppers. –Anne McAuley Lopez photograph

It has been good, she mentioned, that she may immerse herself in her ardour of writing, trying to exceed her shopper’s expectations whereas assembly deadlines. She writes for a wide range of industries, most notably monetary and actual property, understanding the significance of analysis, search-engine optimization and target-market-focused writing.

“I attempt my finest to ship good content material,” McAuley Lopez mentioned. “Once I was rising up (in Stratford, Conn.), I had an English instructor for 3 years who taught us so many issues that was tremendous useful. I consider her each week. I’ve been writing my complete life. I don’t keep in mind not loving it. I don’t keep in mind not wanting to write down after we have been at school.

“They’d ask, ‘Wanna do a poster board or an essay?’ I at all times mentioned essay. Youngsters checked out me humorous. I can do a five-paragraph essay sooner and simpler than discovering stuff to attach to a poster board – which I hated anyway. It was not my factor.”

However phrases and storytelling have been. Regardless of incomes her undergraduate diploma in economics from the College of Connecticut, she discovered her strategy to phrases after working within the monetary trade in New York for a few years.

After her mother died of breast most cancers, her aunt and uncle, who’d lately moved to the Valley, invited her out to unwind.

“My aunt mentioned, ‘I’m gonna offer you a ticket, simply come out, sit by the pool, pet the canine, the beer’s within the fridge,’” she mentioned. “I fell in love with Arizona. It was the peace I wanted, the setting I wanted with the sunshine whereas I attempted to determine who I needed to be.”

She would observe her ardour to that.

As a small-business author for rent, McAuley Lopez has found the professionals and cons of engaged on her personal.

“Each shopper is your boss, which nobody tells you,” she mentioned.

“Through the years, I’ve developed a reasonably easy course of, and that’s to speak to individuals about their enterprise. Why do you do what you do? What’s your story? Why did you begin the enterprise? What do you hope to get out of our work collectively?”

Usually, her shoppers have taken the primary crack at writing their very own web site or advertising and marketing content material.

“Sometimes once I work with of us it’s the second or third time round for his or her content material, the place they are saying they’ve acquired a advertising and marketing price range now, they’ve seen development however need extra development,” McAuley Lopez mentioned. “They perceive that digital advertising and marketing is the place to be however need assistance getting on that path. They name me to assist fill within the blanks on the group, after which I are available and do writing for them.”

Some companies or writers are gun shy about financial-services writing due to compliance points.

“I’ve labored with financial-services corporations on and off mainly my complete profession in writing,” she mentioned.

The key to nice search-engine-optimized content material? Analysis and having an excellent author who places all of it collectively, she says.

“Individuals need related content material,” McAuley Lopez mentioned. “If you’d like an auto mechanic in West Chandler in 85226, that’s what you need. You don’t need a horrible web site. Give them content material that is sensible and solutions questions that they’re asking. Is it driving web site visits? That’s the reward.”

For an excellent weblog – a badass weblog – reply just one query, she says.

“Get your viewers sufficient to choose up a telephone and name your corporation,” she mentioned. “Have a name to motion on the finish. A mistake is of us attempt to say an excessive amount of or reply too many questions in a single article.”

And her secret to holding her enterprise afloat for 10 years popping out of a recession, working by means of her well being points and now the COVID-19 pandemic?

“Not burning bridges and consistency,” McAuley Lopez mentioned. “One mistake of small companies just isn’t following by means of and never holding in contact with individuals. It’s so easy. It’s not that tough. Then be sure to ship what you say you’ll ship, and when.

“First is community, second is don’t burn bridges.”