CCR316: How Tom became Rich Schefren’s new copywriter

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.  

Today I’m sharing who’s behind the problem (yeah, I’m naming names), and how I hope to change it for copywriters who have “The Goods.”   

My guest today, Stephen Hutson is an expert at building loyalty brands and has thought a lot about buyer beliefs.