How I quit my job (part 3)

Where is the money made? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ In the first 2 parts of this long ass story about quitting my "real" job I kinda unintentionally went all the way back to the beginning. I explained how I broke into the music industry post-college because I think it holds some very applicable lessons to breaking into a copywriting career. To recap: - After UCLA I started my first real job at a music publishing company in Hollywood. - A few weeks before I quit that job I submitted a song I'd co-written called "Make You Wanna Dance". - You also learned the first 2 lessons. Lesson #1: Know how the industry hires. I knew that the entry point to a music industry career was as an intern. So that's what I did. I had 5 internships (the most hilarious being Myspace's music department 😂) under my belt before I was even out of college. - Lesson #2: Know the people. I was able to interview for 6 different jobs after school based on referrals from my internship bosses. Now for Lesson #3: Know how money is made in the industry. And Lesson #4 is going to be: Know where you fit into this model. I've been out of the music industry for so long and I don't care to dive back into the intricacies... but I used to know how it all broke down (who got paid what and basically how much). Even in 2008, it was clear that selling records (or mp3s) and touring were not the best ways to make a lot of money in the music industry. From working in music publishing it was pretty clear to me (and everyone else) that licensing for film & TV was the easy ticket. That was our main job as the publishers -- to get our client's songs into film and TV. And this was before the explosion of Netflix and other streaming services. So again, I understood where the money was being made. I've written about this previously, but generally in copywriting, the closer you can be in the funnel to where the sale is the made, the more money you will make. And not-so-coincidentally, AI is replacing the stuff that's farthest away, first. For example: Things like content, blogs, or social media are farther from the sale. They're the first step. Then there's... Ad > Landing Page > Email > Sales Letter or Webinar > Sale You can and should make more money for writing sales letters or webinar copy because they're closer to the sale. However... like the music industry, not everything is valued completely objectively. A touring musician might be insanely skilled and make the best music... but they won't always make the most money. Certain types of copy hold more value in the eyes of businesses... and other types of copy are straight up easier to write... meaning you can produce more volume with less effort. Like email copywriting vs long form sales letter writing for example. Also... it's important to know that in copywriting, if you're writing long form sales letters it's EXPENSIVE/RISKY or time consuming for a business to test your copy. With email copy, they already have the email list and the ESP, they can just shoot off emails for free. If they don't work, maybe they get a few unsubscribes. Less expensive, less risk. From my quick analysis, I realized there was a sweet spot to be in the "new world" of the music industry in the early 2000's: A songwriter. When songs got licensed for film & TV, the songwriter was one of the main beneficiaries. This also tied in nicely with Lesson #4: know where you fit into the model. When I was in music publishing, our A&R team would have artists (the actual performing musician) come in and work on songs with our songwriters. They'd use the spare room in our office and have sessions where a songwriter would bring some music or a beat in, and they'd work together. I always liked those songwriters specifically. They seemed chill and to me, they had the better job. Be creative all day writing songs and melodies, let the more talented performer sing them. Make a boat load of cash behind the scenes. I liked writing songs and worked hard, but I was never a "star in the making". I didn't have phenomenal live playing chops. (I'm not saying you can't work at, or work around, ANY of these things. I try to not have a fixed mindset around creative arts). So I knew where I could fit into the model... as a songwriter. That's why I co-wrote a song called "Make You Wanna Dance". What my boss said about that song deserves a little more exploration... so I'll keep the long tease going. But, think about this: where do you fit into the copywriting industry? For most people just getting started, email copywriting is the answer. - Quick and easy to learn. - Millions of different businesses need email marketing help (not just the big direct response companies most guru copywriters work for). Meaning: competition with other copywriters isn't really a big issue at the moment. - It's closer to the sale than content, so it means you'll get paid more. - You can bump your volume up -- write a lot of emails that can be tested for nothing. Sales letters are low volume, take a long time, and cost a lot more, or are a lot riskier to test. Anyway, hope that's helpful. More is coming on this topic... including actually quitting my job and what came next! Haha. Cheers! - Derek ---- Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( ) CopyHour.com, 340 S LEMON AVE 5007, WALNUT, CA 91789,