For today’s Grab Bag Friday, we’re going to look back on the first calendar year of Breakthrough Marketing Secrets.
I figure a little reflection is a nice last “official” article for 2014 (for what I’m doing between now and New Year’s day, read to the end).
For those of you who are new, it will be a bit of a history lesson in this young project and business venture.
For readers who’ve been with me since the first week of publication, it will be a nice trip down memory lane!
We’ll cover the basic history, some interesting aspects to the experience, and I’ll conclude with 5 useful lessons on starting an information marketing business today…
First issue, Monday, April 14th…
While I’ve owned this domain for a number of years, the site in its current incarnation started in mid-April, with an article titled Sophisticated Marketers Only (Darth Vader with an ecommerce shopping cart).
I definitely came out swinging against the shadier characters in internet marketing. It was just a matter of staying true to myself as a marketer, and knowing what I stood for. And thankfully, I can say confidently that I haven’t wavered from that! In fact, I think I just keep getting better with age.
Almost every weekday since then (and a few Saturdays, too!)…
This site started with me taking on just about any topic — one email, one lesson, every day.
But then I got a flood of copywriters on my list. And the business owners and other marketers on my list who were NOT copywriters started complaining.
“What ever happened to talking about anything besides copy?”
Well, it led to a little bit of an identity crisis. And by June, I announced a new format — “Theme Days.”
And ever since, I’ve featured…
– Mailbag Mondays — where I answer your questions…
– Copy Tuesdays — the business and craft of copywriting…
– Web Wednesdays — Internet marketing that works…
– Strategy Thursday — big picture view on creating bigger profits…
– Grab Bag Friday — anything I want to talk about and think you’ll value…
And while I confessed recently that Web Wednesdays are my least favorite, this format tends to work pretty well.
Now aside from the basic history…
Developed a new voice as a writer…
Writing a lot, every day, changes you.
First off, it forces you to speed up. At least for a good chunk of the day. And yes, I write most issues the day they are published. At some point, as this scales, I should pre-write. But it’s not what I do right now.
But this regular rhythm does more than change your speed. I don’t have time anymore to try to polish the raw ideas and language that comes out of me. I’m forced to be more direct, more conversational. And it comes through in all my copy now. I’m able to walk the fine line between “written” and “raw communication” that great copy must walk.
It also makes you focus on ideas. Every day, I’m challenged to identify a fresh idea worth sharing. One worthy of the “Breakthrough” name. Which can be tricky some days. But the simple act of doing so has really increased the connections in my brain, and my idea identification and generation capability.
Felt challenge of daily essays…
Admittedly, I don’t always want to sit down and write. And now, since I write essays of upwards of 1,000 words every day, I don’t want to write that much.
And so it can be a bit painful. Especially when there’s something else I should be or want to be doing.
But I do it anyway.
Frankly, that’s what great athletes do. They don’t want to show up to practice, but they do it anyway. And their play in the next game reflects it.
It’s what great meditators do. They don’t want to sit down and meditate for the next hour. But they sit anyway, and find illumination as a result.
It’s what great salespeople do. They don’t want to knock on another door, and get another no. But they knock anyway, and make the sale.
Our successes are rarely a result of doing what’s easy — rather, doing what’s hard, and what we don’t want to do. There’s a big breakthrough in there if you apply it to your life.
Launched copywriting coaching program…
I never did any major copy coaching before this year.
But I decided to offer coaching as part of what I’ve been doing here at Breakthrough Marketing Secrets.
It’s currently closed, so I’m not trying to pitch it today.
But all in all, it’s been a decent financial success, and overall very rewarding. Just about every coaching client has had impressive successes come about directly as a result of working with me.
Today, Cyndee Davis, a coaching client with me since this summer, told me…
“Wow. Your coaching is the best thing that’s happened to me in this business.”
Her experience is consistent with my other coaching clients as well. Clients writing better copy, getting better opportunities, and earning more money as a result.
Did first ever live, in-person workshop…
In November, I took the plunge into live events. Kinda scary. But totally worth it. A handful of coaching clients and workshop-only registrants attended my Advanced Direct Response Copywriting Workshop.
For three days, I did a total brain dump mostly focused on the thinking behind great copy.
I’ve written a lot about it recently, and don’t have room to rehash it all here. But the content was AMAZING, if I do say so myself! 🙂
When I’m ready to go public with the recordings, I’ll also share some video testimonials from folks who were there.
Again, I had multiple folks come away from the workshop who’ve said they got gigs from being there that they wouldn’t have otherwise — because of what I taught.
DIDN’T get book out, but have news for early 2015…
For those of you who were around when Breakthrough Marketing Secrets launched, you may have seen the page on my site that said I had a book coming out this year.
Well, the manuscript is unfinished. I overestimated the amount of time doing these daily essays would take — and how much they’d take away from finishing up that book.
And so I took the page down, for now.
I did however work with Dean Jackson’s group (I Love Marketing podcast) and have a 90-minute book on making a living as a copywriter coming out early next year. They interviewed me, and we edited the thoughts from the interview into an information-packed book on the copywriting business.
More on that to come…
5 lessons learned from starting my info-marketing business…
- Writing a lot helps writing speed…
Mentioned this before, I’ll mention it again. You want to write fast? Write a lot. Forcing the discipline increases speed.
- Deadlines create productivity…
Since April 14th, I’ve written over 200,000 words of how-to content on marketing. That’s a TON. In fact, that’s enough for a couple books in itself, edited to work in that format. Setting a system that forces productivity is the best way to be productive.
- Just do it…
None of this would’ve happened if I hadn’t started. You want to make things happen? Start — and make ‘em happen!
- Expensive offers are important…
In terms of my monetization strategy for Breakthrough Marketing Secrets this year, it’s been all about the coaching. A $5,000 offer is serious business. Add a few of those up, and pretty soon you’re making good money.
Now, I don’t want to coach full-time, so I’ve shut down new registrations for now. But without that, Breakthrough Marketing Secrets wouldn’t have made nearly as much through the year.
While you need small dollar amounts to do much volume, a limited business should be based around big dollar amounts to ensure adequate revenue.
- Be realistic about your time…
I still work part time, spending significant daytime hours during the week with my kids. Adding Breakthrough Marketing Secrets on top of everything else I do? Challenging, when it comes to prioritizing time. Sometimes, I feel like I could do better. Sometimes, I feel like I should do less. No matter what, it’s a juggling act.
If you’re going to start a side business, recognize that it will take time. And most businesses take more time than they make money in the beginning. So you have to be ready to deal with a hectic schedule for a while. Good news? Simply by being the one who survived those first few months, you’re suddenly dealing with a lot fewer competitors!
More breakthroughs next week — and next year!
Starting next Monday and every day for the next two weeks (including Christmas), I’ll be featuring the top 10 articles throughout the year… Based on web traffic.
These are the most popular ideas and lessons. If you haven’t read them, they should be eye-opening. If you have, they’ll be great reminders, read with fresh eyes.
And I look forward to sharing even more in 2015!
Yours for bigger breakthroughs,
Roy Furr
Editor, Breakthrough Marketing Secrets
