Friends with Business Benefits hosted by Charlie Swift and Franky Shanahan is a podcast for creatives who crave connection, understanding and support.
Hello, we are Charlie and Franky, two self-employed business owners living in Bristol in the southwest of England.
Franky runs a copywriting business called Love Audrey, helping brands and creative businesses find their voice and tell their story online. As a business mentor to creative mamas, Charlie supports women to build their businesses alongside raising a family.
For the last 5 years, we’ve been meeting for regular co-mentoring sessions. Working for yourself can be lonely at times, but through our monthly meet-ups, we’ve found the support and accountability we were craving in our working lives.
Through our podcast, we hope to continue these conversations, share what we’re learning and also learn from you, our listeners.
Business Mentoring for Creative Mamas: https://charlieswift.com
Copywriting for Creatives: https://www.love-audrey.com
friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com (https://friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)
In this week’s episode, we’re chatting about finding your voice and sounding authentic in the AI era. Specifically, are Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Claude really making it easier to produce written content, or are they generating a whole new set of issues for businesses to navigate?
As well as explaining why a unique brand voice is so important, we discuss the challenges LLMs are creating online, from the homogenisation of language to a complete loss of confidence in our own writing ability. Finally, we share tips and strategies to help you find your voice and use it consistently without relying on AI.
Links and Further Reading
Is AI Going to Kill My Copywriting Business? (https://www.love-audrey.com/is-ai-going-to-kill-my-copywriting-business)
Franky’s Brand Voice Brainstorm (https://www.love-audrey.com/services/mentoring-support)
How are LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude impacting how you feel about writing copy and creating content for your business? Join us on Substack to share your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you!
Connect With Us
Friends With Business Benefits on Substack (https://friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/)
charlieswift.com (https://charlieswift.com/creative-business-mentoring/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=SN&utm_campaign=Group+Mentoring&utm_id=Mentoring)
love-audrey.com (https://www.love-audrey.com/)
Find Us On Instagram
@loveaudrey83 (https://www.instagram.com/loveaudrey83/)
@_charlieswift (https://www.instagram.com/_charlieswift/)
Subscribe to Our Mailing Lists
Franky’s Mailing List (https://larkingabout.substack.com/)
Charlie’s Mailing List (https://charlieswiftcreative.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips)
Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe (https://friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)
23 Sept 2026
Adventures in Analogue Marketing
We’re back from our summer break and diving into a topic we’ve been talking about a lot off mic - analogue (or offline) marketing. What is it? What does it entail? And what are the potential benefits?
As well as discussing the AI backlash and other broader trends making analogue marketing more popular right now, we share ideas and inspiration for your own offline campaigns. Franky also chats about her experience handmaking and distributing a small run of mini-zine business cards earlier this year.
Links and Further Reading
Our Thoughts on the Analogue Trend (https://friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/p/our-thoughts-on-the-analogue-trend?utm_source=publication-search)
Polaroid’s ‘The Best of Summer is Analogue’ ad campaign (https://press.polaroid.com/266982-polaroid-drops-another-provocative-reminder-that-the-best-of-life-is-analog-this-time-on-coney-island-beach/)
Parker’s Anti-AI Billboards (https://www.creativebloq.com/design/advertising/parker-only-went-and-made-those-viral-anti-ai-pen-billboards-real)
Studio-Om (https://www.studio-om.co/)
Being Freelance (https://www.beingfreelance.com/)
Franky’s Mini-Zine Business Cards (https://www.love-audrey.com/adventures-in-analogue-marketing-my-mini-zine-business-card)
Have you tried any of the analogue marketing methods mentioned in this episode? Join us on Substack to share your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you!
Connect With Us
Friends With Business Benefits on Substack (https://friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/)
charlieswift.com (https://charlieswift.com/creative-business-mentoring/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=SN&utm_campaign=Group+Mentoring&utm_id=Mentoring)
love-audrey.com (https://www.love-audrey.com/)
Find Us On Instagram
@loveaudrey83 (https://www.instagram.com/loveaudrey83/)
@_charlieswift (https://www.instagram.com/_charlieswift/)
Subscribe to Our Mailing Lists
Franky’s Mailing List (https://larkingabout.substack.com/)
Charlie’s Mailing List (https://charlieswiftcreative.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips)
Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe (https://friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)
27 Jul 2026
Our Tips for a Summer Spent Working in the Margins
In our final episode before taking a break until the autumn, we’re chatting about working in the margins during a busy summer. What would the next six weeks look like if you did this intentionally rather than squeezing things in on the fly?
Drawing on our own experience, we discuss visualising what you want the season to look like, adopting the right mindset, and mapping out the next six weeks. We also explore whether things really do go quiet online at this time of year and chat about the impact you can have by staying visible, even when you’re time poor.
Links and Further Reading
How We Savour (and Survive) the Summer (https://friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/p/88-how-we-savour-and-survive-the-2e7?utm_source=publication-search)
Can You Ever Take a Break When You’re Self-Employed? (https://friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/p/26-can-you-ever-take-a-break-when-749?utm_source=publication-search)
Friends with Business Boundaries (https://friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/p/59-friends-with-business-boundaries-042?utm_source=publication-search)
The Lazy Genius (https://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/lazy)
What will working in the margins look like for you this summer? Join us on Substack to share your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you!
Connect With Us
Friends With Business Benefits on Substack (https://friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/)
charlieswift.com (https://charlieswift.com/creative-business-mentoring/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=SN&utm_campaign=Group+Mentoring&utm_id=Mentoring)
love-audrey.com (https://www.love-audrey.com/)
Find Us On Instagram
@loveaudrey83 (https://www.instagram.com/loveaudrey83/)
@_charlieswift (https://www.instagram.com/_charlieswift/)
Subscribe to Our Mailing Lists
Franky’s Mailing List (https://larkingabout.substack.com/)
Charlie’s Mailing List (https://charlieswiftcreative.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips)
Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe (https://friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)
Reach and audience
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 68 / 100
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Quality
84
Social presence
94
YouTube
0
Engagement
85
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