The Ultimate Plan To Break Into Financial Direct Response Copywriting

Give you a lot of credit for sticking to it, sounds like theirs some interest in your work. Continue to hone your skills and good luck ! Spend some time reading this section. Use to be a lot of good copywriters on this forum. Some still chime in from time to time.

Don't know about 'in house' but your country could be red flag to some....why not address that right out of the gate? 'Though I now live in XXX, my experience and language skills were developed....blah blah'. Bring it up before they notice - and put it to rest.

A couple tips.

First, congratulations for working at a goal, you'll get there if you keep at it.

If you're looking to work with Agora, I'd suggest you check out AWAI and the courses they offer...as well as their job fairs and things.

A lot (not all), of copywriters they use have come from AWAI. A co-founder of AWAI is a co-founder of Agora. It is believed by many that AWAI was developed to help supply copywriters to Agora. So, AWAI is just a suggestion...

You would of course probably have to move to Baltimore or Delray Beach Florida. How bad is that?

Instead of repeating a lot of things, I looked up an older article I found interesting:

https://www.breakthroughmarketingsec...iter-dead-end/

Best wishes on your goals

max5ty - great offer - would it work as a 'dual' Warrior Path thread?

This is great.

To the OP: You seem really determined but as you have
discovered, some people don't respond to emails. There
is a likelihood that your emails were never even read.

Whenever I need to make an important contact I type a
fancy letter and fax it. It gives my addressee something
tangible they need to deal with. Even if the fax goes to
a software, it will still get more attention than an email.
If faxing is not an option, I telephone.

Bear in mind that just about anything can be dropshipped;
refrigerators, jukeboxes, all types of furniture/furnishings,
outdoor items, I could go on and on. Your choice of a mug
and a cardboard box demonstrates limited thinking. Sure,
you could write copy about a coffee mug and you could
make it interesting but the food cart is a better option.
You have got to think big if you want big results.

And BTW be prepared to have your writing picked apart.

Easy there max5ty offered to help. Don't overwhelm with a hundred sites to visit.

On another note, since like the Financial side. Look at Seeking Alpha. They have different types of articles you could write. Some pay some don't. A basic blog type is free and no review by SA. Then their are reviewed posts. If accepted pay about $20.00 and then Premium posts pay a $1000.00 Keep it in the back of your mind in the future.

Looking forward to see what you and max5ty come up with.


Seeking Alpha - https://seekingalpha.com/page/become...ha-contributor

I ain't no motorsickle gal, but I jus' seen sumthin' I may one day want.

As I am tearin' out into the fyootyure all kinda REBEL ...

but also wishin' to preserve keeness of talon for that post-ride encountah.

Uh huh -- I seen the gloves I prolly might want.

But they really gonna speed me on toward a fyooture fulla immaculature?

Guess I invested the lameness of the original ad with the sparky commentary bustin' outta this (now pulsin', frankly) twixtycommuno.

Raw finance.

The wind in your hair once you toss the helmet off.

The blast of freedom hooverin' up the dollahs in a world drilled down on restraint.

Here is spray paint on a horizon looks like it grew it steada been tainted.

hey max , can you name me the best copywriting/marketing books in your opinion?

Sorry for the delay in getting back to this...

sometimes I get very busy and am just too tired to think. At times it may take a day, but I'll always answer back.

So, I looked over the things you found, and have a couple comments. I was interested to see what you would come up with...

for me, when I'm looking for something to make some some effortless money with, I'll look for something that isn't huge. Is easy to ship. Doesn't have a lot of breakable parts which can be a shipping nightmare...

and most important, I look for something with low investment and high markup (obviously)...and something that falls between $10 and $40...which is pretty much the range for impulse buying.

Anything much over $40 and it seems to leave the impulse range and causes the reader to have to consider their purchase more.

First: Coffee mug. I always like to find something that is trending up and is in demand. After looking at google trends, I see coffee mugs trend way up during the holidays...and this year around the election (Biden mugs, etc.), then dropped back down.

Bakers box...limited audience.

Motorcycle gloves...too limited...same with helmet.

Mirror, too many problems with shipping.

Desk, too big...same with dining table.

Golf clubs, too expensive.

Hair removal, too expensive.

Now, a couple of these items (like mugs), could be used if you're going for a charity type thing, where you have a good story and you're planning on donating some of the profits to a charity.

Obviously, someone is selling all the items you mentioned, and is no doubt making some money at it...but, for me, I'm looking for something without a lot of headache and something that can move quickly and easily and without a lot of complaints about broken parts, etc.

If you're set on selling one of the items you mentioned, we will work with that. I'm just telling you a couple things I've discovered that save a lot of headaches and also turns a good profit.

In finding ideas for items I'll look at Google Trends:

https://trends.google.com/trends/?geo=US

I'll also check this Google site out which is pretty nifty:

https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/feat...ds/us/month/en

I'll also check out this site:

https://ehproductfinder.com/ (this site does have a free version).

Although we'll probably focus more on the copywriting side...I think it would be more interesting to find a product to write about that you could also make some extra cash with.

Of the items you found, the coffee mug would come the closest to what I would consider ideal (just my opinion). The others are either way too expensive, too limited of an audience, or would be a shipping nightmare with too many complaints and headaches.

I like smaller items with the most markup...leaves room to advertise once you've tested your roll out and also moves quicker.

These are my quick thoughts. Others may have different ideas and I hope they give their opinion also.

So I'll leave it up to you if you want to do a little more research or go with something you've found.

Also, I mentioned Alibaba because most hot selling items can usually be found on there.

Hopefully I didn't rush through my thoughts too much

max5ty so there's something that stood out to me...

When you said:

I couldn't relate. I was thinking, "wth".

It's like telling a guy who just started learning animation that he could get so advanced where working for Disney might be a step down. He'd think you're crazy.

But when I found out you have 40years experience, I could then imagine how Agora might be a step down for such a person --they'd probably have business partenerships/offers and/or run their own businesses.

But to be honest, I still can't relate. I can only imagine.

Quite interesting, if you ask me.

max5ty So I did some research and came up with these items...

Swim goggles
https://m.alibaba.com/product/160015...t.0.uq6d79aq9s

Pool floats
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/100500...0Q90.jpg_.webp

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/100500...0Q90.jpg_.webp

Evaporative cooler
https://m.alibaba.com/product/160025...le-AC.html?s=p

Let me know which one you think is best. And if they're not good enough, I'll be happy to do more research to find the right one.

I looked over your picks...

not too excited about any of them for a couple reasons.

1. I think they're too limiting in their appeal to the group of people they appeal to

2. They're not solving a big enough problem

So, I did a quick check to find something that I thought would work.

I found this:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3297...62040013094788

More time and I would look a little harder...but this solves a problem for a lot of people (home safety and security). Virtually everyone has a place they live and virtually everyone is worried about their security.

This light works off sound and motion. If someone makes a sound or is in it's area it lights up.

Cheap home security. Imagine the ways you can promote this! You can buy them for under $2. Maybe could find something better if I took longer to research...but this will work.

We can still go with one you picked, but as we get into the copywriting further I think you'll start to see you'll be limited to a greater degree and you'll see why I say to look for something with the widest appeal and solves a worrisome problem. The choice is yours. Either way, it's time to move on to the rest of this...

Since you had said you were interested in Agora Financial, we'll use what they teach their new copywriters in their 9 week training.

It's basically 9 different sections and we'll take each one and you can do them. A couple sections we won't go into detail...like section 9 that deals with legal because we won't be writing at that level for now where we will be too worried about lawsuits.

We won't have the bell. They have a bell and if you decide they're not what you want and you may have made a bad choice in going there...you can ring the bell which signals you're walking away. They'll pay you $1000 to walk away, and wish you farewell.

I would guess though that as we get further into this, you'll have a lot of feedback (good and bad) from others.

As you know AF is mostly selling newsletter subscriptions. Every big promotion they do also has something else I'm sure you've heard of..."The Big Idea".

"Amazing Secret Discovered By One-Legged Golfer Adds 50 Yards To Your Drives, Eliminates Hooks And Slices... And Can Slash Up To 10 Strokes From Your Game Almost Overnight!"

The above is a big idea from John Carlton. The big idea is the theme for your whole promotion. It also serves another purpose...

if the headline were simply, "Add 50 yards to your drives, eliminate hooks and slices and you can slash up to 10 strokes from your game almost overnight", most people would be skeptical. When you throw in the big idea, "One legged golfer", you sneak past most skeptical reactions. We'll go into that more later when we get a little further.

Also, the big idea is almost always a noun. Person, place, thing or an idea (all nouns).

The big idea doesn't always have to be something new. Think it was Schwartz that did the beer ad where he simply talked about how they filtered their water. Every brewery did it...he was smart enough to use it as his big idea.

When you use a big idea, you can change the big idea on the same product, and still keep promoting the product for ever almost and most will think it's a new product. Happens all the time in winning promotions.

Where do you come up with your big idea? Research...

some copywriters think you need to sit around and come up with something out of the blue...the truth is most big ideas come from your research.

So, the first lesson...pick your product and do research on it. Every single thing you can imagine that has to do with the product. Everything. While you're doing your research, be open to a big idea for your product.

Here's where a lot of new copywriters fail...they fail to research. If you've done all the research you can possible do, the rest is a lot easier.

Next we'll get into your pitch...but for now work on your research. Any questions don't be afraid to throw them out here.

Happy research...

One last thing today...

AF training is done so their copywriters pump out promotions quickly. And it should always be like that. They also focus a lot on team effort and feedback.

Within a day or two you should have done extensive research on the product and have come up with some big ideas...

post your big ideas and we'll give you feedback

That sensor lamp seems pretty cool, I'm down with it.

I'm quite excited we're using the AF copy style. And I can't wait to start coming up with a big idea.

Before driving into the research, I have a few questions...

1) Will my research only be centered on the product? what about the consumers?

2) Any particular things I should look out for when researching? (of course I'm going to research any and everything I can on the product. But I was wondering if there are particular things you might want to point out)

These are the questions I have for now. As I go into the research, if any questions come up I'll post them.

@Charmingcapital13 - glad to see you've got some creativity! Good job so far.

None of those are big ideas though. They are big concepts.

A big concept relates to the product...

a big idea relates to the buyer (in simple terms).

This evening I'll try to post some stuff about the big idea

I thought I should update this thread.

I and max5ty have been working on the sales letter for the security lamp. After doing a ton of more research, I came up with a big idea. Then I started working on turning features into benefits. I and max5ty have been having back and forths, trying to flesh things out. He made me realize the importance of research.

Gotta admit, working on a sales promotion for this device has been pretty exciting. Any more development, I'll keep you guys posted on it.

As for working with Agora, I haven't gotten that yet. But I got something pretty close some days ago.

I got in the door with a big financial publisher located in Baltimore after writing an email lift for one of their promotions and sending it to the owner of the company. He loved it and said we should work together.

A little background. The owner used to be an employee of Agora a very long time ago. I've also seen their ads run in Agora Financial's emails (which is surprising because common knowledge is that AF only runs external ads from their affiliated companies. So maybe they have a partnership or something?)

Here's an interesting coincidence --The owner of the publishing house told me that after talking to his team he found out that they had hired someone from my country. The young man (he's 20 years) just finished his first promotion. He said he was impressed considering this guy is so young and a non-native speaker.

I'm currently waiting for my first project. I hear it's a big holiday in America. Once the dust settles, work begins.

I think once I work with this publisher I can leverage the experience and evidence to get into the door with Agora.

Speaking from 12-years experience as a copywriter for various Agora divisions, the only way you're going to get paid as a greenhorn is if you're willing to relocate and work in-house. Even seniors are expected to be in the office more often than not since it's better for training, brainstorming, critiquing, etc... though it's not the best environment for doing actual writing!

(I'm talking generally here, since all divisions are run slightly different).

So unless things have changed because of Covid, your best hope for getting a gig at Agora (other than relocating and working in-house), is to become a really good copywriter, first. But even then, with an in-house copy team full of killers, there's not always an incentive to hire freelancers.

But by then, you might already have a long-list of high-paying clients and working for Agora might not matter so much anymore.

Who knows... Keep at it and take advantage of Max5ty's generosity while you can! You seem to have the right attitude and work ethic, which is what matters most. Be prepared to grind for a couple of years to get good.

Cheers,
Colm

My plan was always to just do two years at Agora, get good, get winners, then get loads of freelance clients leaning on the Agora credibility... BUT, it's a very fun company to work for and it's nice not having to prospect for clients...

I started copywriting for FREE on here circa 2006, just for the experience, then started going after paid clients which meant learning marketing, management, etc. It was hard, at least for me, to execute all that stuff and write packages too (plus I was still working part-time to pay the bills).

So eliminating all that is the biggest benefit of working in-house, hence me sticking around well beyond my two-year plan!

Getting to work alongside all these copy-killers is a huge benefit, too... Happy Hour in Baltimore was lots of beers and lots of brainstorming!

Right now I work for a division called Real Estate Trend Alert, and since a lot of my colleagues travel for work, I get to work remotely too... but like I said, that's probably an exception... In Baltimore and in Florida (where I also worked) you didn't have to be in the office all day, every day, but you were expected to show your face often...

So currently I'm living the "copywriter life" other Agora copywriters might not be able to live... sitting in a camper van in Scotland in the pissing rain!

Cheers,
Colm

Hard to say about earning potential... I only know for sure what I'm earning, and have no idea what I could do as a freelancer. Generally, I wouldn't say there's going to be much difference on a pay per promo basis...

BUT, as a freelancer you have more earning freedom. For example, maybe you get paid in equity, or do what Gene Schwartz did and get paid in list access so you can build your own business, etc. Then the sky's the limit on what you can make. Though then we're talking about wearing multiple hats again and becoming a business owner, not just a copywriter.

I'm not based in the U.S. anymore so I don't keep up on all the goings on, but if you're losing copywriters then you don't have a choice but to hire noobs in my opinion!

Cheers,
Colm

Wow that was a nice step and happy you are getting back on track

Update on this...

Finally clinched my first full blown financial promo. Now it isn't with any of the Agoras, but it's a big finpub based in Baltimore.

Pretty excited! I guess it's onward and upwards from here on.

I appreciate everyone on here who have dropped kind words of encouragement.

Congratulations!

Been following this thread, just reading about your journey, and it's great to see how far you've come by persisting.

Is it Angel Publishing and why are you being coy? Bunch of those guys started at Agora but split to do their own thing.

An update on this post:

Although we never finished the campaign for the light bulb...

I've had a ton of conversations with Charmingcapital13 since this post.

He pretty much went from nothing...no laptop...only a bad cellphone...and succeeded in accomplishing great things this year...all from a country most wouldn't expect someone to be able to be successful from.

Through emails, he got a $1500 gig...then went on to a $5000 promo.

He's got great talent and he did it against a lot of odds.

I think he's probably one of the best new copywriters to come on the scene.

I'm proud of him for his determination.

He's being interviewed today on a podcast.

I hope he shares his story here...or at least gives some insights on what he did to succeed. I'll leave that up to him.

He's a great inspiration to anyone that's wanting to become a copywriter