TCC Podcast #70: How to Find Big Ideas with Joe Schriefer

Agora Financial Copy Chief (and copywriter) Joe Schriefer is our guest for the 70th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. Kira and Rob ask him all about what it’s like to work for Agora, how he landed his job there, how Agora’s writers are paid and a lot more. Specifically we cover: •  how he “lucked” into a job he didn’t want with Agora •  the best advice anyone ever gave him at Agora (and why he became a copywriter) •  his process for finding ideas for promotions •  how he knows when an idea is “big enough” to go with •  how much time he spends researching versus writing •  why he doesn’t ask his customers for ideas for his copy •  his 7 step-by-step system for creating a brilliant sales letter •  the most important question a copywriter should ask (but they never do) •  how Agora Financial compensates their copywriters (they can make millions) •  the three things he looks for when he hires a writer to work for Agora •  how often Agora’s best copywriters write a successful package—it’s less than 50% •  what his team does when a promotion underperforms •  how quickly Agora is growing and why Joe needs more copywriters There’s a lot of solid advice in this one. Do. Not. Miss. It. Click the play button below, or scroll down for a full transcript.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Sponsor: The Copywriter Club IRL Agora Financial Name Bank Bill Bonner Addison Wiggin Byron King Wayne Gretzky Block Chain Win Bigly by Scott Adams Top Gun Joe’s email: jschriefer@agorafinancial.com Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity   Full Transcript: Rob: Hey everybody. Before we get into today’s podcast, we just want to tell you about our event that’s being held in New York City on February 15th and 16th, and we want to make sure that you have the opportunity to join us for this awesome, fun party. Kira, let’s talk a little bit about what’s going on at TCC In Real Life. Kira: So, we’re basically taking the podcast, and a lot of people that we interviewed on the podcast, and then we’re putting them all in a room—seventy-five people—and an amazing of line-up of top copywriters like Kim Krause Schwalm, Joanna Wiebe, Ry Schwartz, Laura Belgray, Brian Kurtz, Kevin Rogers, I can go on and on and on. You can find their names and the list of speakers on the event page, which Rob will give you. But I’ve never been in a room with all of these copywriters, online marketers before. And, beyond that, we’re covering these three pillars of copywriters: what it really takes from going from a copywriter who takes orders from clients, to going to a really great consultant who knows how to run a business. So the topics are diverse, but they’re covering basically the three pillars: the offer, the list, and the marketing strategy. Rob: Yeah, this is a copywriting conference, but it’s not the typical stuff that you read about copywriting, you know: “ten new ideas for headlines that pull”, those kinds of things. The people who are speaking have incredible information to share so, Kim Krause Schwalm, for instance is going to be talking about the way that she’s beat the controls that she’s run for companies like Agora and Boardroom; real-life lessons that going to be immediately applicable to the type of writing that we all do everyday. And Jason Henderson, who’s an expert at marketing acquisition and email, the topic of his speech is, three email copywriting secrets I discovered helping porn stars get tan in 1994. Like, you’re not going to find that kind of stuff anywhere else at any marketing conference, but the takeaways are real, it’s the stuff that we can use in our businesses everyday. And really, for me, it’s a huge part of why I’m excited to be there. Kira: And beyond the content, right—like new content our presenters are bringing in, new presentations they’ve never shared before—beyond that piece, there is a whole networking aspect. We’ve built this community; we’ve all helped build this community. And now we get to actually get to hang out in real life. And so, we’re really focused on the social aspect just as we’re focused on the content, and that’s why we’re really excited about a two-hour cocktail party on Friday night... Rob: Party!! Kira: ...it’s so funny—it’s the final day, and the Agora companies are sponsoring this rooftop party. Again, open bar, for two hours. So, it’s a great way to really just meet new people in New York city with a fantastic view of Manhattan. So really the emphasis here is meeting your fellow copywriters and building some real friendships and hopefully creating some opportunities too for your business. Rob: And it’s not just the rooftop party; the first night, we’re putting together dinners where people can go to dinner together in, sort of, small groups, and chat and get to know each other. We have a killer “schwag bag” full of books and other things that our presenters have offered to share. The value or the schwag bag alone is over $200 when you start to think about, you know, all the things that you’re going to learn from the event, from the speakers, the things that you get free, you’re definitely going to want to be at this event. Kira: And beyond that, you can meet the hiring managers at the Agora companies. So they’re there, and they’re excited to meet all of you, and there’s a great opportunity if you’re interested in direct response copy, you can meet with them and figure out you know what opportunities they have and how it overlaps with your business and you goals. Rob: So we can talk about this all day but you’re probably better off just going to the page to learn more, where you can buy your ticket. Go to: bit.ly/TCCIRL19. You get all the details there, you can buy your ticket; you can even sign up for the extra event that we’re having Saturday morning. It’s just going to be a fun hangout in New York City with your fellow copywriters; it’s all there. Find out more about it, and we look forward to seeing you in New York City February 15th and 16th with the rest of The Copywriter Club. --- Kira: What if you could hang out with seriously talented copywriters, ask them about their successes and failures, their work processes and their habits, then steal an idea or two to inspire your own work? That’s what Rob and I do every week at The Copywriter Club Podcast. Rob: You’re invited to join the club for episode 70 as we chat with copy chief Joe Schriefer about working for Agora; what he looks for when he hires copywriters; how he and his team come up with big ideas that connect with potential customers; and his tips for writing better sales copy. Rob: Hey Joe! Joe: Hey guys; well thank you very much for having me on. I could talk about this stuff for hours, so you’re probably going to have to limit because this is what I’m most passionate about other than my family in life. Kira: Laughs Joe: You tell me where you want this thing to go. Rob: Yeah, let’s give it our best shot, right? Joe: Laughs. Kira: Alright Joe, a great place to start is just, you know, how did you end up at Agora; what was your squiggly path like? Joe: Yes, so I tell this story a lot, and I’m going to try to make it as brief as possible. Agora has really been the only job—the only real job—that I’ve ever had, and I got really lucky to find myself here so I’ll tell you the quick story. I worked full-time to put myself through college at a local, kind of sports retail place called Sports Authority. Many people may know it; I think it subsequently went out of business. I like to say it’s because I left… Kira: Laughs Joe: ...even though I know it’s not true. But I, you know, I got outta college and I had a shiny new marketing degree, and I was young and terribly stupid and I thought I’d earn all this money by going to work in the corporate world. So I get out of college and I say “Okay, no more retail for me”—at least I hoped no more retail for me. I wanted to stay local in Baltimore, that’s where I’d been born and raised. For some masochistic reason I wanted to stay here locally where my family and my friends were, but I interviewed at three different places in the same day here in Baltimore. One was Agora, one was a headhunter that of course would place my resume out there for many companies looking for somebody, and then the third was a doctor’s office basically to be a marketing assistant for a physician. And, for whatever reason, that was the job I wanted. That was the job that—again, I was young and dumb and I thought titles matter, and now I’m like so anti-title now in my life, but at that point I was like, “Oh that sounds like a fun title! You know I’d be a marketing assistant for a physician. That sounds prestigious and fun to tell my friends.” And that was the job I wanted. I didn’t know what the hell the headhunter was talking to me about because obviously there was no specific job I was looking for there. And then there was Agora, which was just weird. You know I went there; it was a weird office location, it’s in a cool little area of Baltimore I had never really been in in my life with this amazing building, but I really didn’t want that job because I didn’t know what the hell they were doing. Like I got there and I went through an hour-long interview, and I’m like I don’t know what this job is... Kira: Laughs Joe: I don’t....again, they didn’t have any fancy title for me to have at that point in my life, so that was the job I didn’t want out of the three of them. As fate would have it, that was the only place that offered me a job. Rob: Yeah, of course. Joe: And they offered me a job paying $25,000 a year, and I was so disappointed. Kira: Laughs Joe: Because again—young, dumb—you know I’m like, “Oh I thought I’d be making like $60,000 a year out of college” or something. But, $25,