CCR316: How Tom became Rich Schefren’s new copywriter

In this powerful episode of Copy Chief Radio, Kevin Rogers sits down with mindset master Jeremy Bellotti, founder of Personal Mastery®, to discuss the deeper levels of personal growth, high performance, and mastery. Jeremy takes listeners through the stages of personal development and how to move beyond survival-mode thinking to achieve sustainable growth, both as a freelancer and as a human being. The two discuss the importance of rewriting your "internal code," the concept of mastery as an infinite game, and the critical role of relationships in success. Kevin and Jeremy share personal stories and insights from their journeys, exploring concepts like the courage required to be a freelancer, how to recognize the roles people play in your life, and the critical nature of embracing curiosity and truth as guiding principles for growth. If you're ready to break free from old patterns, create real transformation, and step into your full potential as a copywriter, entrepreneur, or human being, this episode will leave you fired up to take action.  

Being a writer is so much more than the words.   John Carlton and I did a 25 episode podcast series together and the actual “writing of words” accounted for maybe a third of the conversation. The majority of the episodes were about the “living and thinking” behind the words.    I’ve been pondering this more than ever since large language models came into the craft.    Where exactly does the writer belong in this evolving process?   Of course, for established writers, its use will vary greatly. They know what they need from it and when it’s in the way.   Soon, though, there will be a new generation of writers who never knew life without it.    For them, I believe, just like today, their advantage will come from how they live and experience life.    So, I offer this framework: W.R.I.T.E N.O.W. I lay out (almost) every step in this episode. 

Lizzie Mills was just 20-yrs-old and a new mom when she joined Copy Chief as one of the first members through the door in 2014. She felt like the greenest copywriter in the place, but not for long.  The veteran copywriters were more than happy to guide her and show her the ropes.  Today, Lizzie, along with her husband, Steve, lead their family business and have achieved more success than “she ever dreamed.” All this, while growing their family of three to six, and homeschooling their four children. During our conversation, Lizzie shares… Her two biggest pieces of advice for new copywriters… How she and Steve survived (and actually grew!) their business through the harsh Australian lockdowns (with only two clients)...  Why going “in-house” was the best decision of her career… And… What her “empire” would look like if she decides to build one!

Tom Hammaker’s life in copywriting took a radical turn last month when he was hired to become Rich Schefren’s copywriter.  Better yet, Tom won the gig in a six-week competitive search against dozens of other copywriters – some with more than 20 years in the game.  We called it “The Goods,” and clearly Tom has them.  In this episode you’ll hear directly from Tom how he approached “The Goods,” his strategy for the final copy test, and what it’s like to work with one of the best marketing teams in the world, led by a bonafide legend of Direct Response.  

In this episode of Copy Chief Radio, we explore the captivating world of perfume and its unexpected parallels with the storytelling engineer-turned-perfumer Helida Dodd. Helida shares insights into how creating a perfume is similar to crafting a narrative.   

I recently took 25 copywriters through the process of landing a six-figure copywriting gig.  The Grand Prize was becoming the primary copywriter for Rich Schefren and being Chiefed by Mark Ford! It was a one-of-kind experience (imagine Hunger Games for copywriters). Everyone survived, but no one is the same.  Here’s what we learned, and what you need to know if you want to land the best gigs in copywriting.   

How do you build a career or a team in the Era of Large Language Models and what happens to talent development when even the lowest intern needs full-stack CMO skills?   In this episode of Copy Chief Radio, we're going on a mind-bending ride with Aaron Winter, Founder of Dig.On, and creator of multiple nine-figure promos for Motley Fool and Agora Financial. Aaron is the hidden-hand mentor behind Dan Ferrari, Julie Hassett, Jen Adams, Ning Li, Mike Abramov, Austin Lee, Sam Woods (and even... David Deutsch?!?).   

In this episode,  we're going behind the curtain with Jason Friedman, CEO of CX Formula. Today, Jason reveals how any business can direct their customer experience to not just satisfy but to dazzle and delight.   

In this episode, Sara explains how she was able to position herself as the top choice for this contract, and how they responded to her “bombshell” after offering it to her.   

Today, we're discussing how freelance copywriters can forge profit partnerships with their clients, as emphasized by Chris Mason, to attain financial stability and success in their work.