This is a rather unconventional issue of Breakthrough Marketing Secrets…
I’m faced with the most important decision I’ve had to make in the history of Breakthrough Marketing Secrets. And it could turn into an opportunity for the right fan or follower.
I could make this decision in private. To make it in public is incredibly vulnerable.
But I also think it’s the right thing to do, and can give you a bit of a heads up about what’s coming down the line.
In short: I need to do less, better.
When I started Breakthrough Marketing Secrets in April 2014, I wrote a note to a copywriter I’d been speaking with, and asked her to subscribe just so I’d have a reader. Then, I started writing. Every single day. I put in about one hour per workday into creating free content. I shared it, under the “if you build it, they will come” mentality (not-my-best-advice).
Frankly, I was doing it for myself as much as anything. The discipline would force me to think about and get better at marketing every day, to share my perspective on it.
In nearly 5 years, that’s led to…
Over 1.5 million words…
Over 1,200 emails sent to subscribers…
Over 5,500 pages of content…
Over 120,000 readers, in nearly every country on the planet…
Accolades from many of my heroes, who have become regular readers…
And many, many messages along the lines of, “Yours are the only emails I read every day and have been incredibly helpful to my professional and personal development.” So many that I’ve lost track…
All along the way, I’ve also done what I see as a bare minimum to monetize it, and for a mostly one-person operation, it’s been reasonably successful.
Now here’s the BIG BUT…
I’m having a moment I’ve thought might come ever since I started this…
I remember back on February 1, 2011, when I got Clayton Makepeace’s email, “Time for a Change.”
The Makepeace Total Package was to me, what Breakthrough Marketing Secrets has become to many readers. A window into the world of world-class copywriting and the upper echelons of direct response.
And in that email, Clayton announced his retirement.
Not totally. But from what The Makepeace Total Package had become.
In short, because of OPPORTUNITY COST.
Clayton stepped back from the marketing guru spotlight to focus on client work.
Because, plainly, there’s a TON of opportunity as a copywriter to go deep on client work, in the right niches. And I happen to work in the same niche as Clayton (and have gotten to work with him since then).
I have a huge opportunity in front of me, and I don’t want to screw it up…
Admittedly, I sometimes take on too much. I think it’s a cycle of the entrepreneurship journey. We get ambitious, and extend ourselves, and then have to find ways to pull back. It’s time for me to pull back a little.
I work hard to provide a TON of value here.
I’ve worked hard to provide a TON of value through BTMSinsiders.
And I’m working hard to provide a TON of value to my clients.
And, I aim to do this in a way that does not take away from either quantity or quality of time with my family.
Which leads to me feeling quite fractured on some days. Like I’m juggling one-too-many balls.
I’ve also just signed a contract that expands my work with junior copywriters, and have a call today regarding scheduling those projects in the new year.
That’s the biggest opportunity of them all. As suddenly I have a substantial amount of client work available to complete, essentially as fast as I can complete it. (This has been true for a while, but the work with junior copywriters built into the contract leverages my time further.)
I’m not ready to leave you hanging…
For the last few weeks, I’ve considered writing an “I’m retiring” email, akin to Clayton’s “Time for a Change.”
And that may still be in the cards.
But I want to explore an opportunity of doing things differently BEFORE I do that.
In short, if someone could help me do less, while providing even more value through Breakthrough Marketing Secrets and BTMSinsiders, I see a huge opportunity still sitting here.
I still believe it has the potential to be the single-most valuable direct response training library out there, and be a substantially successful and profitable business, too.
And I’m willing to share the success with those who help create it.
There’s a ton of little things I do (or am supposed to do) to keep this ship charging full-steam ahead. And I can’t always fit them in the day, and I can’t always prioritize them over client deadlines.
Which means, unfortunately, I occasionally drop some balls. (Yeah, that’s life, mine too.)
I still believe my training is some of the best value out there. And a BTMSinsiders member especially who uses the content stands to get at least 10X and as much as 100X ROI based on what they learn.
At $37 per month for access to the entire catalog, it’s ALWAYS been priced stupidly-low.
Now with over 60 hours of world-class marketing and business training available for instant streaming access, that’s an even more insane price.
(After December 31st, the $37 price will go away for new members. But current members keep their current price for as long as they maintain their membership. Click here if you want to lock in the $37 price.)
If I’m going to keep that up, I need help…
I think of Dean Jackson’s self-milking cow analogy. I am the self-milking cow. I’m the cow that’s trying to produce the milk, plus milk myself, plus bottle the milk and get it to market, plus run all the operations of a dairy farm. I need a farmer.
I need a publisher who can take on all the tasks associated with getting the content out and marketing it that are NOT creating content and marketing messages.
This includes but is not limited to…
— Project and process management…
— Website content management…
— Basic video production…
— Funnel creation…
— Paid ads creation and management…
— Performance reporting…
— And potentially a whole pile of other tasks…
These are things that take time, but are not the highest and best use of my time. YES, they are grunt work. But they are also grunt work on a cool project. And a huge opportunity to get schooled in online direct response.
You will work hard, and earn far less than a six-figure income from this role (at least, to start)…
I have a few important considerations here.
FIRST: I don’t want to over-promise and under-deliver.
I want to do this on a NET REVENUE SPLIT. Which is not enough to make you rich today. But if you believe in what this could become, know that I’m willing to compensate you for helping make that real.
The opportunity would be great for someone who is still really looking to establish themselves. If you’re already making six-figures from client work, this might not be the best fit for you.
It does offer substantial upside IF you earn it. But the earning it is key.
SECOND: I will always be fair.
While I expect you to work for what you earn, I will always be fair and sensitive to your time. I do contract work for a living and HATE ending up in client relationships where I feel like I’m overworked and underpaid.
If you track your time doing productive work and we agree you’re underpaid, we’ll figure it out.
THIRD: I want you to have other income streams, at least for now…
I actually have a few reasons for this. One, I don’t want to be your life raft. Two, as I said this won’t be a ton of income right away. And three, I want to be sensitive to tax considerations my accountant has brought to my attention.
It’s also helpful if you’re providing the client work through a legal corporation, as that keeps things cleaner for tax reporting.
(Note: I’m not limited to working with someone in the U.S., but I would strongly prefer that our schedules line up at least somewhat.)
I NEED integrity and extreme ownership from you…
Underlying all the hard work and technical capabilities that will be required, I need someone with character.
I can’t tell you exactly what that means. And I say this hoping I will be a decent judge of it.
But it is essential to this role. And if I get a gut feeling that you don’t have it, I will immediately exclude you from consideration. Or end our relationship.
I also want someone who will take extreme ownership of the success of this project.
This means DON’T SIGN UP UNLESS YOU ARE COMMITTED.
I don’t want you to even consider this unless you want to invest in this opportunity for all of 2019, and potentially well beyond that.
It may not work out. There may be significant issues or reason to end the arrangement before then. But if you’re going to say you’ll do the work, you better show up to do the work.
Take ownership of the process.
Take ownership of your contribution to the results.
Even take ownership of what you need from me — and demand it — despite the fact you’re not used to doing that with the people who write your paychecks.
Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to maximize the value members receive, while minimizing my time investment to only that time where I am creating the most value…
That’s what it all comes down to. I need to spend less time doing the work where I do not provide a unique advantage. But I want to deliver even more value for members, more consistently.
If I can’t do that, I may have to write that “I’m retiring” email at some point before too long.
But I think the right person could take this and run with it, even further than even my best aspirations for it today.
To help me deliver even more value, while keeping the additional time free for my client work.
And to leverage everything that’s already in place to build out an even more valuable training library for direct response copywriters, marketers, consultants, and entrepreneurs.
If you this successfully, you will be rewarded.
Here’s how this will work…
I’ve put together a short questionnaire. It asks a mix of questions I believe will help me get the best understanding of you and your fit for this position.
This is essentially your first part of the interview — show your best self, with integrity.
I don’t want (and will ignore) resumes. I don’t want emails. I don’t want any of that. Just fill out the questionnaire.
I’ll continue to accept new submissions on this questionnaire through December 31st.
Then, in early January, I’ll schedule calls with anyone I see as qualified, based on the questionnaire.
Click here to fill out the questionnaire.
Yours for bigger breakthroughs,
Roy Furr
