Growing up, I never dreamed of being a copywriter (I also didn't even know what one was).After I lost my job - I had two small children at home and I needed to get back on the horse. Any horse.
It was time to put the hard work back in again.
Somewhere in my search for a new dream, I came across a few posts about content writing. I found a few random content article jobs and completed those to the satisfaction of my clients. Despite that success, I felt myself going through the motions. No real passion.
Enter You. Kevin f'in Rogers.
Right about the time I realized that marketing was super cool and I would stay up till the early hours of the morning reading about it, I discovered "The Truth About Marketing."
Blew. Me. Away.
I couldn't get enough of it. I would go on long drives to nowhere just so I could listen to your sultry radio voice filling my ears with delicious tips on marketing.
Imagine my shock when I got to the most recent episode and heard you say that the podcast was being discontinued...
...for Copy Chief Radio!
I shifted from content pieces to copy pieces. I did a few websites (in hindsight they were awful), wrote some emails, and even tried my hand at some Facebook ads.
Once I had enough free capital, I joined Copy Chief.
Now, if the video training in Copy Chief were actual physical books, all of mine would be dog-eared until the pages were worn out, scuffed to hell and covered in highlighter.
That's when my first copy break came along in the form of a friend recommending me to a business associate clear across the country.
That guy ran a small business that needed to get it's big-boy marketing pants on.
I told him what I knew, we hammered out a contract and I started (by 'started' I mean I locked myself in my office and watched training videos for like, two straight days, before I even struck the first letter).
His. Revenue. Soared.
At his request, I took over his email campaigns and rebranded his voice to one that more closely fit his target audience (thank you Avatar training!)
Complete sidebar, I love writing for his brand. I took Chris Orzechowski's advice to heart and just went for straight humor and authenticity. His audience is all cops, firefighters and emergency rescue divers, which are 100% my people, so I get to send emails that are riddled with gems like this:
"And now this dumbass is clenching his cheeks like his soul is trying to escape, desperately searching for his bag, which contains the blessed TP."
His audience can't get their wallets out fast enough... (I sent some nuggets to Chris with a 'thank you' email.) We get at least a dozen reply emails a week from customers saying that these are the funniest emails they've ever received, and they can't wait to buy more stuff just to get more emails.
Anyway, from that point forward, I climbed the same dream ladder I did to become a cop.
Bring success to one client, they refer me to another slightly bigger client. So forth and so on.
Every step I learned something new.
Email strategy. SEO. Web design. Server arrays. Story mapping. Avatars. USP. UTM parameters. Analytics. Pixels. Facebook audiences.
Lately I've been deep in Ecommerce email automation sequences, and setting up clients who have never sent so much as a single automated email before.
My latest adventure is into backend reasons behind email deliverability, so I can engineer my client's emails to dodge overzealous spam filters and GMail filters.
Through it all, I've been wired to Copy Chief, and have a lot to thank that community for.
I applied to a job through the marketplace that I didn't feel qualified for in the least. The application was an email that basically said "here's my long job posting, send me an email that tells me who you are, and that you understand who I am, all wrapped up in a story."
So I did. The guy responded back inside of a half hour saying I brought him to tears. Ultimately that didn't work out (someone with more experience applied) but that was a huge boost.
I applied to another job through Copy Chief. Filled out the application part and promptly forgot about it because, again, I didn't feel remotely qualified.
Imagine my surprise when I was offered to move forward. This time, I had to write the headline, hook and first 400 words of an advertorial around a household service. I did my best, and sent it along (I'd never written an advertorial in my life).
Not only did I get another response, but I got scheduled for an interview with none other than Abbey Woodcock!
I'll never forget this...during that interview Abbey said that out of all the application advertorials they reviewed, mine was the one that not only got her to lean in, but she wanted me to finish the advertorial so she could buy the product! I played it cool but I was dumbstruck.
(I was also immediately reminded of your story about writing Gary to tell him he sold you a ham...)
Unfortunately, Abbey was playing headhunter and the hiring client opted to go in another direction.
Phew! So that's been the last two years of my life right there...
I'll be completely honest in telling you that I was in a super dark place when I was let go from being a cop. I actually believed my life was over and I was destined to be a box boy at Walmart. No amount of therapy or anti-depressants cracked that feeling...
But writing did.
Discovering and pursuing copywriting has given me hope I didn't think existed anymore.
For that, I need to thank you.
The community you have created, and the resources you so willingly put out there for people who just want to learn...man I don't even care what your motivations are.
You saved my life.
Copy Chief gave me what I needed to look in the mirror and go "yeah. I can do this. This is my path."
So I've been following it.
To answer your original questions: you can share anything you want about my post. I am deeply proud to be a firefighter and some of the most profound and shaping moments of my life happened in that role.
That is also how I am crafting my bat signal... I help first-responder companies connect with their customers on the level that only someone who has been there and done that can do. I know all their fears, struggles, and core desires because I am in that target audience. And first responders are deeply suspicious of any non-first responders trying to tell them a better way to do something.
Not sure if that's an actual bat signal...but it's working for now. I still struggle for clients every day, but it's getting easier.
Anyway, you wanted to know more about me... There ya go!
I really appreciate you reaching out, it was a welcome boost.
Again,
Kevin, thank you.