I'll try to keep this as simple as possible
If you're considering creating a blockbuster product
One that does 8 or 9 figures yearly
One critical question you want to ask...
After you've confirmed there's an existing market dying for a specific solution to a particular problem, is...
What's the solution no one is offering?
Or said differently...
What's the gap no one is filling?
Or even better
What's that big idea no one is promoting?
Before I launched the F.C.I in April 2020
There were other Copywriting courses in my target market
But none was talking about working primarily with Clients in the Direct response market (which is where freelance writers find the highest-paying clients...)
So I wasn't saying I will teach you Copywriting
What I was saying in effect, was...
"If you want to earn really good money consistently... as a freelance writer... there's a little-known writing industry where you'll find well-paying clients who pay thousands of dollars per project.... and you're not working any harder than you do when you take those $50 gigs on Upwork or Fiverr"
At the time, no one was talking about this
No one was talking about why freelance writers should focus more on writing for ....
Direct response business owners (who consistently have need — and pay good money— for ad copy, sales letters, emails, VSLs, landing pages, upsell copy etc...)
These guys are not looking for blog posts and articles
They're not doing content marketing
They're looking for writers who can sell stuff (ie: writers who understand the power of Copywriting...)
As such, you don't need to sell them Copywriting
And they're wayyyy easier to work with
Compared to other business owners who don't even understand what direct response Copywriting is...
Plus...
The potential in the direct response space for partnerships, royalties and equities (even creating your own offers...)
Means you can actually reach your desired level of personal income much quicker...
Than if you were doing any other kind of writing...
And in any other industry for that matter
Back then, no one was saying this
Most freelance writers were simply stuck in a world of low-paying writing gigs on Upwork and Fiverr...
And the experience for most of them was that they had to take on a lot of gigs (and do a LOT of writing) .. to hit $1,000
Overworked and underpaid
They secretly wished there was a better way
And they were ready to pay money if they found someone who came along with a solution to their problem
And the F.C.I filled that gap.
Note: The operative word here is gap
And another thing to keep in mind is
My target demographic was somewhat 3-fold
Those who were already doing freelance writing,
But were fed up of slaving for hours and earning peanuts
Then...
Those who were interested in getting paid to write from anywhere... (but didn't know how to go about it... )
This group had probably tried and didn't get any results
And there's another group...
Those ones who probably hadn't heard of freelance writing yet...
But because they're at a point in their lives where they will do anything to make their own money independently...
They 'd be open to an interesting idea and promising message... the likes of which the F.C.I was promoting.
And as you might guess...
Because each group was on a slightly different level of awareness from the others...
My message to each group was carefully tailored to first meet them at their level of awareness...
And then from there...
Lead them (by hand) ... to the solution they wanted.
I think we had like 2 different sales letters for the 3 groups (which we later segmented into 2)
One group, the unaware
And the other group, the problem aware
The strategy worked
And the timing also played a role too
Because we launched at a time (April 2020... start of COVID-19 Lockdown) ... when majority of our target prospects were stuck at home and unsure what the future held for them
And the big idea(s) for the 2 sales letters were wrapped around what was happening at the time:
COVID-19 Lockdown, social distancing, economic depression, the current social mood, stuff at CBN etc...
It's called Zeitgeist Copywriting
And in simple terms...
It means wrapping the big idea for your marketing message around something that is either happening now...
Or is about to happen ...
And then revealing what your prospect can do to put themselves in a position to survive... and thrive.
This is how AGORA does an estimated $1billion in sales every year
Selling information, only information
Anyway let's not digress
There's one more thing I should point out
The F.C.I isn't really a course that teaches you Copywriting
Sure, I take the pain to walk you through the important stuff you need to know ... if you're going to be getting great results
But the core, central idea ....
Can be expressed in one simple paragraph:
"The financial autonomy and lifestyle freedom you seek can be achieved through freelance writing.... But the overwhelming majority of writers you hear of making thousands... tens of thousands of dollars in writing fees... are direct response Copywriters writing for direct response business owners... and The F.C.I is a proven roadmap that shows you how to succeed in this lucrative industry..."
That's it... nothing more
And if you dig deep
You'll see that long before I came onboard...
This burning need was hidden in plain sight
It was there and no one was offering that solution
And so when I was thinking of what to create at the time...
It literally was right in front of me...
And the rest is what you've come to know as The F.C.I
So by now... you've probably noticed one thing:
It is not the product
Yes, you need to create a great product that actually helps people achieve their desired outcome
And you want to ensure your marketing is solid
But before the creation process
Before strategizing about offers and all what not
You want to be sure that the juice is worth squeezing
That is...
This product you want to create... is it built upon a unique idea and solution that no one seems to be talking about in that market?
Yet... your target prospect has a burning need for?
If you start from there...
If you put a LOT of thought into it
You'll see why you can't just come out and say you want to teach something that people have heard before
Eg: You can't just wake up one day and say you want to teach people how to make money online
Nothing new there
That idea has been bastardized
And if you ponder a little further
You'll also see why most courses never make 7 figures
Talk more of a consistent 8 or 9 figures year after year
Hopefully, we can continue this talk in my next email
Or the one after that
Until then, stay frosty
A
P.S: A very good example of the core idea in today's email is Toyin Omotoso's 72-hour Income Generator (72-IG)...
I don't have all the numbers
But if you think back to when it launched...
You'll see that a major reason that product scaled massively...
Is not primarily because of the offer or even the copy
Sure, the offer is solid
And the copy is compelling
But in my opinion...
The major reason it scaled is because it filled a gap in the market.
T was promoting a unique and interesting idea that... at the time... no one else in his target market was talking about
Want more examples?
Well, I don't have a problem sharing more
But you're going to have to get me drunk first.
And at this point, the question is...
Do you have the courage to get me drunk?
Bonjour.