To: Anyone looking for direct response copy in finance

From: The desk of Brian Lenney

Coordinates: A few miles west of Boise, Idaho

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Dear Friend,

If you want to hire the best copywriter, there are two ways to do it:

(1) ... pay a copywriter $60,000 for a single project. Yes, really! Assuming you can get in touch with one of these living legends in the first place (there are only a few). Then, you have to get them interested in your project (you can't) and find space on their calendar (you won't)...

OR

(2) ... you can resurrect David Ogilvy (even Gary Halbert).

If you can do one or both of those, then yes - you can find (and hire) "the best copywriter."

If not... don't fret.

Because you can still find a great one.

You're free not to of course...

But if you're okay with NOT shelling out $60k up-front (plus royalties) and you'd like to learn more about finding a great copywriter keep reading.

^^ THOSE TWO sentences employ the "BYAF" ("but you are free") copywriting technique.

They make you think the decision to go on is YOURS (e.g. "Why yes, I WOULD like to keep reading thank you very much") even though it was me nudging you forward.

Inception.

Anyways, I digress.

About me...

I got started in 2014.

I hated working a normal job.

"I'm virtually unemployable, really..."

That's why in my pre-copywriting life I think I had about 30 jobs. Because I could never find something I was good at AND liked.

Enter my sibling.

One day, during an angst-ridden rant about how college is a scam and 9 to 5 jobs suck, my brother Jeff Lenney (an SEO badass) told me that since I was already a good writer, I should look into becoming a "copywriter."

WTF?

I had no clue what that was.

True story:

I gave my two weeks, quit my job (I don't recommend jumping in so brashly for most people) and got my first gig the very first day I was "on my own."

How?

I cold emailed an agency on the East Coast and told them I'm looking to break into the industry.

The guy liked my email and hired me to do some SEO copy for them (nobody ever paid me to "just write" before).

The result?

I got paid $1,800.00 for my very first copywriting project (without a portfolio or any "official" experience)!

I was stoked.

Then... they hired me AGAIN for a similar one!

After that, I knew it could only get better.

So... I joined some masterminds and read everything I could about marketing, copy, and psychology. As I got better, I found myself landing more and more projects - mostly from the Cult of Copy Job Board (and then, referrals).

And kind of on accident, I landed in the SaaS world.

That's where I cut my teeth.

And it paid off.

I ended up working with the founders of HubSpot and Hotjar, agencies all over the world, won a copywriting contest put on by Unbounce... and I even got certified as a "Conversion Copywriter" by Copyhackers (thanks Jo).

"But, after a few years in the SaaS copywriting game... I discovered that the biggest opportunities for copywriters are in health & wealth..."

So... I switched gears.

I focused on writing about:

• Stocks...

• Investing...

• Bitcoin...

• Supplements...

• Real Estate...

Anything that fit the bill.

No more writing on-boarding sequences, SEO blogs, or product copy.

It was time to go straight for the kill.

And I did.

"It's been an amazing journey..."

I've worked with Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad companies, collaborated with financial copywriting giants, MIT professors, Harvard Business School instructors, and the world's most sought after stock trader, Tim Sykes.

I've been through the Agora Financial Copy School as well as the 7-Figure Copy Camp put out by Paradigm Press... and, I'm one of the few who went through John Carlton's "Simple Writing System" and finished with flying colors.

Since 2014 I've written 6 and 7-figure financial promos, launched courses, and written copy that's generated (and is STILL GENERATING) tens of thousands of leads.

No, I'm not "the best"...

... but I'm pretty okay (here's some social proof):

Here's how financial publishers can generate tens of thousands of leads and open up 6 to 7-figure revenue streams...

... without onboarding a snobby copywriter, paying for an A-Lister, or rolling the dice on a new guy!

Here's what I write:

• Webinars

• Landing Pages

• Squeeze Pages

• Sales Copy

• Product Launch Copy

• Copy for the Entire Funnel

• Long form copy

• Emails

• Autoresponders

• Display ads

• Native Ads & Advertorials

• AdWords

• AdWords landing pages

• Video sales letters (VSLs)

• YouTube video ads

Over to you...

If you want to talk shop, shoot me an email.

I gotta go (my kid just ate a crayon),

* The Big Thirteen *

(Or, what it's like to work with me)

(1) I've already written 6 and 7-figure copy for my clients. If you bring me on, you won't be "testing out" a new copywriter or having to educate me in the ways of direct response marketing. I've already done (and I'm doing) it."

(2) Deadlines matter. I deliver on time or early every time. No sitting around wondering - "Hey, what ever happened to that copywriter guy?"

(3) I'm part of your team. I'm not a one-off hotshot or a guy who sees himself as above or separate from you. When you bring me on board, I'm literally on board (I'll even join your Slack channel). Why? Because we're partners together with the same goal: more leads & more revenue.

(4) "Let's test it!" I’m all about testing. Maybe even annoyingly so. Headlines, bullets, images, page layout, subject lines, hooks, angles, VSL scripts. Whatever. If it's an area of interest let's test it.

(5) I don't take forever. I've been doing this full-time since 2014 so I know how to turn a project around quickly. If you do your part, I'll do mine. By the way, if I work "too quickly" it's okay. It doesn't mean I don't take the work seriously. It means that I've been doing this for a minute and know how to produce copy in a timely fashion.

(6) I'm a marketer who specializes in copy. Let me explain. I’ve written for everything from real estate house flipping to penny stocks all the way over to autoimmune disease promos, pot-farm lead gen campaigns, and health supplement "A-Pile" mailers. Sales is sales, no matter what niche it's in. This is why I'm 100% convinced that a good copywriter is a good marketer FIRST (you can't be good at copy and not understand marketing).

(7) "The No-Ghost Guarantee." I get back to you ASAP, usually in a few hours. At least same-day. I try to hit inbox zero daily, I track projects religiously, and I make sure you always know where I'm at and what I'm doing as far as your project goes.

(8) "Semper Reformanda" Yeah, I stole this phrase from the 17th-century Protestant reformers. It means "always reforming." As a copywriter and direct response marketer, I try to be in a constant state of learning. New channels, new methods, "what worked in 1997 might not work in 2020," etc. I'm always reading, studying, masterminding, and learning the craft.

(9) Stacking paper. If you're sitting on a goldmine of an offer/product and have the right audience lined up, you're already 80% (ish) of the way to big money. The copy is the last 20%. If I NAIL that you'll be laughing all the way to the bank (oh yeah, so will I).

(10) Save time. Yes, it's true! You won't need to edit, update, or revise my copy in any major way. What you get is usually damn-near close to what you'll run. Why? Because I do my homework and research BEFORE I write (Abe said it best - "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe").

(11) No snobbery. If you have traffic, a decent budget, and a great offer, we're probably a fit. I don't pretend to have a 3-month waitlist (most Copywriters don't and most who say they do aren't being honest with you).

(12) Rates. I don't charge more than a lawyer does (most copywriters aren't A-Listers but they sure act and want to charge like they are). Not me. If we can both make money together, let's do it. I'll always ask you for your budget up-front, but it's not so I can max it out. It's to get an idea of what we're working with. Your budget should be around $10k+ for a project or a month of work. If it's a promo, we're also talking likely talking royalties. For example, a recent financial promo I wrote is bringing in $10-$20k a day in revenue. With numbers like that, $10k up front plus a 3% royalty doesn't sound like such a big fee does it? BUT... there's always a but. I sometimes take on smaller projects with a subcontractor who I oversee closely. Or I could refer someone. Or, we could reduce the scope of work (which would reduce your cost). If we both want it to work usually there's a way.

(13) The internet. I live in the Boise, Idaho area, and I've worked successfully with clients from all over the world (Australia, Malta, England, China, Germany, the East Coast, West Coast, and of course - Silicon Valley).