Today we wrapped up the final training in our groundbreaking World of Financial Copywriting course.
If you haven’t heard of it yet – you will soon.
See, the incredible thing about having a community like Copy Chief is it allows us to develop training in real-time, for the benefit of our members, then take the most powerful parts and turn them into a stand-alone product.
Which is what we’re doing with the WoFC. (We’ll be releasing it in January.)
There’s never been a course like this in our industry before.
Where you not only learn how to write financial copy from the people in the trenches every day doing the work, creating control ads, then doing their damndest to beat them…
But, also connect directly with the people who want to HIRE YOU to write the copy they’ve trained you on.
Today, myself, Joshua Lee Henry, a copy chief from Banyan Hill (who ran this training program with us), and Aaron Dehoog, the CEO and publisher there, held an extended Q&A session to wrap up the training.
Joshua laid out 10 things you can do to become indispensable as a financial copywriter.
#10 was my favorite:
Dig The Well Before You’re Thirsty
What Joshua meant was to create momentum towards the thing you’re naturally passionate about and get good at writing just that at first.
For instance, you could dial in your practice by writing “lift notes” (short emails to test out new hooks on existing campaigns)…
Or, you could choose to do the same with advertorials (short articles that teach a quick lesson and persuade readers to click over and watch a VSL)
These are the kinds of things you’ll be hired to do first as a financial copywriter, so it makes sense to start getting good at them now so you will stand out when the opportunity comes.
However, this doesn’t ONLY apply to financial copywriting…
You can do this with any niche you’re passionate about. (Although, it certainly helps if it’s one where the product creators are hip to direct response)
Start with…
Taking a personal assessment of your natural abilities to provide value to your clients, i.e. what you deliver boosts their revenue.
Now, if you’re not at a point where you’ve yet to work with clients who’ve allowed you to take charge – no worries. There are ways to put your methods on display despite that.
How to dig a well:
Simply choose an “Ideal Client avatar” from the real world – a person or company that is doing the kind of work you’d feel inspired to be a part of. Meaning they…
- Share your values,
- Market with intention, and,
- Live in a market or niche you are naturally drawn to…
Find those “dream client” avatars and study them like a detective would a lead suspect in a murder case.
Learn everything you can about them, not only from their marketing but their social media, company history, etc.
Unlike murder suspects, however, we are on their side.
We’re looking for the clues to their “innocence” that they are not putting on display, and how we would demonstrate those qualities if we were presenting them to a jury.
Because, if you think about it, our job as copywriters is to represent our clients and demonstrate the most compelling facts that put them in the truest light.
In the oversaturated landscape of modern marketing, prospects are often cynical and skeptical, like a jury being presented with skewed facts and making assumptions that lead them to dismiss our client as “guilty” so they can end the trial and get on with their lives — by simply clicking away.
It’s a heady comparison, perhaps, but I use it to call out the importance of going deep into our thinking because doing this will make a difference in how you execute your ideas.
Imagine the advantage you’ll have by approaching your research this way compared to another copywriter who believes hand-copying sales letters will magically unleash their abilities to sell a client and their offers.
Again, you don’t have to wait for the right client to come along and grant you this opportunity.
You can establish your own standard of going deep right now, in practice, so it will be there when the opportunity presents itself – which it will.
This is the meaning behind the maxim that “‘luck’ is when preparedness meets opportunity.”
You’ll create your own “luck” by developing your methods in your own practice first.
And now is the time to do it. Not when your client’s money, and your reputation, are on the line.
I refer to this as “practicing with purpose.”
Identify a few of these Ideal Clients, get on their lists (both subscriber and buyer, when possible), and examine everything they are sending out.
Look for holes in their case.
Ask yourself how you would present things differently to their skeptical audience.
All businesses suffer the “curse of knowledge” and can benefit greatly from a copywriter who sees through the prospect’s lens.
Practice rewriting some of their assets to be more clear, more compelling, and more meaningful to their prospects.
Collect your best examples and include them in your portfolio. No need to pretend you were hired for the work, just state that these are samples you created to demonstrate your writing and your thinking as a copywriter.
Also, create short before-and-after case studies and use these as Authority Content on LinkedIn and other relevant places. (If you create a simple website, repost these as blogs as well.)
The value of doing this is two-fold: to present yourself to the market as an expert, and, even more importantly, to solidify your own thinking about how marketing can be improved.
Go pro before becoming a pro, and you will excel in the right circumstances.
Want to learn how to become a world-class email copywriter in record time?
We’re re-opening the famous Email Copy Academy (ECA) home study course for 7 days only AND making it better than ever, take a look:
Expert email copywriter, Chris Orzechowski, will walk you through his exact system for writing high-converting emails and campaigns. Plus, he’ll show you his freelancing system for finding, attracting, and closing “whale” clients who pay good money for your email writing skills each month.
The 1-week only Black Friday deal (Nov 22 – Nov 29) gives you all this for nearly half the normal price:
- Lifetime access to all 6 recorded training sessions and bonus materials in your personal Training Dashboard
- Additional coaching and feedback through the program from the Copy Chief Community
- BONUS #1 – 30 days of unlimited access to the Copy Chief Community, Training Dashboard, Job Board, and Feedback Forum
- BONUS #2 – 30 days access to the Email Copy Academy private coaching club (get help and feedback on your work)
- BONUS #3 – Chris’s Insider Email Secrets: 6 Bonus Call Recordings
- BONUS #4 – “Million Dollar Email Sequences” Bonus Training where Chris breaks down his highest converting sequences
- BONUS #5 – Growing Your Biz Without Going Insane: The Small List Strategy To 7-Figures and Beyond
- BONUS #6 – Special bonus coaching call with Chris in early December to answer all of your questions and discuss anything you want
