As a self-identifying outsider, I’ve always hated social cliques.
Have you ever seen the show Freaks and Geeks?
I was the little brother, Sam.
Awkward in my skin and want to fit in, but never find a groove socially.
I was painfully shy with girls, too.
I remember crushing so hard on the cashier at Blockbuster video that I would rent a movie and return it a few hours later hoping I’d muster the courage to ask her out.
Never happened.
What a bummer, too, because I’m sure she was equally intrigued about the skinny guy with the mini-mullet and how he became brilliant at both film study and avoiding eye contact.
I realize now, looking back, that my awkwardness early in life caused me to categorize a lot of things as either: for me, or NOT for me.
Or, more accurately, for “other people”.
We lean into things we feel comfortable with, and away from things we’re not.
As creative copywriters,
this is dangerous behavior
We are curious creatures, but I’ve noticed we tend to allow our naturally biased curiosity to lead us down comfortable paths…
When we would benefit much more from guiding it to places we’re not familiar with and see what we find there.
A good example is financial copywriting.
Every year at Copy Chief Live, copywriters who were sure that financial copywriting was “for them” end up signing contracts with big-name publishers to test the waters.
In most cases, they go onto bigger contracts involving royalties.
This means they are earning more than ever, and loving the craft more than ever.
Top of mind I can see enough faces who’ve made that journey to pack a luxury bus on its way to a fine restaurant and eat and drink themselves silly.
And almost every one of them will tell you they thought financial copywriting was “for other people” before they met the publisher they work with now.
They thought financial copywriting was for…
- People who were actively investing and understood the markets inside and out…
- People who were comfortable writing super aggressive style copy…
- People who were socially conservative…
- People who were young and white and male and hung pictures of Jordan Belfort on their bathroom mirrors…
- People who were willing to move to a cold-ass, crime-riddled town like Baltimore for a year to compete against other super aggressive copywriters for attention from their chiefs.
Those assumptions didn’t come out of anywhere.
That culture was a thing.
For a while.
With a few publishers.
Maybe it still is with some of the envelope-pushers who haven’t been sued yet.
But, they’re a dying breed.
The new reality in financial copywriting
is an industry of…
People of all ages, from diverse backgrounds…
- with little (or no) knowledge about the stock market,
- who prefer to work remotely and,
- independently,
- with the support of a team, and,
- become very passionate about helping people like them learn how to create financial security so they can have better lives.
A completely different world than when I was actively freelancing and saw financial copywriting as a clique I did not fit in with.
THE ONLY SHAME…
… is that all of these amazing stories of writers discovering that working with the right financial publisher is very much a fit for them were only happening once a year at the roundtables during Copy Chief Live.
Then, late last year two really cool things happened that swung the pendulum…
1- We did CCL virtually and it was a raging success – especially the virtual roundtables where freelancers connect with companies who need their talent.
2- We featured only ONE financial publisher at the roundtables, instead of several like we’d done in the past.
I made the decision to feature this particular company because…
– they are doing the most interesting stuff in the industry, like injecting humor and authentic transparency into their ad campaigns…
– they are led by a team of very cool and relatable marketers who cherish relationships with creatives and embrace fresh thinking…
– they go out of their way to NURTURE newer copywriters and not only respond to every job submission but give helpful feedback on where to improve whether they’re ready to hire you or not.
– they work with their teams remotely…
– they start their relationships with “get to know you” test projects, instead of outdated “second date marriage proposals”…
– they have multiple teams with various needs, which means you’ll be guided where your natural strengths lead you…
– they’re realistic about the capacity to keep a healthy creative culture, and if they don’t have a space for you, they are likely to refer you to another publisher that they see as a good fit…
Oh. And…
— they are the TOP producing company at Agora publishing right now!
If this sounds like a dream-come-true scenario – it is.
And, as someone whose been paid handsomely over the years to help financial publishers build copy teams, I want you to know:
Finding a financial publisher who operates
this way – incredibly rare
Not that more of them don’t WANT to build a better onramp for working with talented people… they just haven’t prioritized it enough to get it done.
My biggest frustration in recommending copywriters to publishers in the past was seeing the writer get excited about the gig, only to be left hanging by the publisher.
It crushes me to see all that potential squashed by a harried publisher too busy to reply to an email.
Because I’ve seen the magic that happens when the two parties connect.
I became determined to find a way to make these connections that happen once a year at Copy Chief Live, and happen all year long inside of our Copy Chief Community.
So I partnered with an amazing publisher to create an ongoing, interactive workshop inside Copy Chief.
Every month we’ll create a new one-hour live training with financial copywriter and long-time Copy Chief community “badassador”, Joshua Lee Henry.
Joshua is a freelancer like you.
He’s spent the last few years focused on financial copywriting, where he’s had so much success that publishers actively recruit him to join their teams.
This means he is finally calling the shots in his business.
And like our partner publisher, he’s in-house with now, he’s committed to helping us give more copywriters the chance to learn how things work in the world of financial copywriting so they can potentially find new life in the market.
Inside our new World of Financial Copywriting private club, you’ll get a first-hand look at how the industry works, and find out if it’s for you.
Every month Joshua will present a new live training covering the most important skills in the World of Financial Copywriting (WFC).
Better yet, he’ll be there to help by answering all your questions and showing you exactly which piece of copy to nail first before you apply for a paid gig.
In true Copy Chief style, there will be a slew of other actively working pro copywriters from the financial industry there to help out as well.
They’ll share their journeys – with great honesty – into figuring out how financial was for them, and what it looks like now…
… including the kind of stuff they work on, what it pays, and how the teams operate.
The things you would ask them at the bar during CCL, are the things we’ll be sharing inside the laid-back atmosphere of the WOFC club.
Cool thing is, every member of Copy Chief gets access to the World of Financial Copywriting club, so if you want it, all you have to do is join at the regular price.
Beyond the WOFC club you’ll have full access to all the one-of-a-kind training, discussion forums, and job boards that’ve made Copy Chief the standard for copywriting communities since 2014.
Don’t make the mistake of assuming financial copywriting still isn’t for you.
It’s a whole new world, and I’m excited to show it to you.
Are you ready to advance to the next level in your Freelancer’s Journey? If so, the newly revamped Freelancer’s Journey Accelerator Mastermind might be exactly what you need, right now.
In this exclusive mastermind group we provide custom coaching and accountability from Copy Chief Kevin Rogers to help you move through all 7 phases of The Freelancer’s Journey.
Here’s what’s new inside the Accelerator Mastermind:
- First dibs on top projects and jobs with high-level clients before they hit the general job board
- Quarterly “Phase Forward” Assessments and Tactical Action Plans to help you constantly move forward and meet your goals
- Access to exclusive in-person “Accelerator Only” mastermind meetups and workshops where you’ll meet with fellow entrepreneurs and business owners.
- A private “Copy Buddies” forum where you can get dedicated “Accelerator Only” high-level copy critiques so you’ll always have the motivation and accountability you need to succeed. (Including a monthly copy call with a dedicated copy coach!)
- Freelancer biz building tools and resources like the Freelancing Profit Pie and “Phase Forward” Checklists so you’re always measuring and adjusting your course properly.
- Access to The Escape Velocity Training Program AND The Real Free Life Training Program ($5,000 in total value)
- And of course, all of the coaching and resources that you need to get to the next phase in your Freelancer’s Journey and beyond
>>> Click here now to apply to join Accelerator Mastermind
