At Strategic Profits, we teach people how to grow their businesses online with courses, memberships, ebooks, whitepapers, and coaching.

In other words…

We sell information.

And as a result, there’s one asset that’s more critical to our success than anything else.

It’s not the website.

…My gigabit Internet connection.

…Or even our products.

Sure those are important. And it would be pretty darn hard to succeed without them.

But even more critical are the components that create those assets, leverage them, and turn them into profits.

I’m talking about people.

They’re the most valuable part of our business.

But here’s the problem…

Hiring the right people is waaaayyy more difficult than it looks.

“Hire slow, fire fast,” the maxim goes.

And it’s 1,000% true.

But you also have to consider the order that you fill positions.

Is it the right time to hire a copywriter? An executive assistant? A media buyer?

It all depends.

So to help me make these decisions, I look to a VERY different business for advice:

The National Football League.

Because just like my business, a football team is only as good as its staff.

It’s the ultimate people business.

And what you’ll notice about championship-caliber organizations that seemingly go to the playoffs every year, is that they have a very similar process for building their teams.

Usually they follow these 2 rules:

RULE #1: Build Through The Draft

Great organizations are very selective about spending big money on free agent players who’re already established. Instead, their top players are often drafted straight out of college and groomed within the organization.

Not only does this allow the team to save money with rookie contracts, but their players start as blank slates that can be easily molded, taught their system, and indoctrinated into the culture of the organization.

RULE #2: Draft The Best Player Available

The other thing that top football teams do when building through the draft, is that they don’t draft players according to their needs. Instead, they draft the best player available.

So even if they’re stacked at wide receiver, they’ll still draft another one if that’s the best player on the board when it’s time to make their pick.

Now here’s what these two approaches look like when hiring at an info business…

Take Agora for example.

For many years, they’ve done these 2 things really well with copywriters:

1. The best businesses within Agora built their copy teams by training rookie writers with potential, not by hiring top-tier freelancers (they do that on occasion, but most Agora copywriters start in-house).
   
2. If a talented Agora copywriter decided to leave their company, the competing Agora businesses would quickly make them an offer — even if their copy team was already loaded with rockstars.

Point being…

Great talent is hard to retain.

But it’s even harder to find.

So if you can groom talent in-house, you’ve got a strong competitive advantage.

And if you’ve found someone who’s excellent at their job and understands your business, do whatever it takes to keep them.

They’re your #1 asset.

Your pen pal,

Matt Rizvi

When I was in high school (and even in college), writing wasn’t fun for me.

In fact, I’d even say I HATED it.

It’s not that I wasn’t good at writing. I’ve always written half-decent papers.

The problem was that it took me sooooo long to do the work.

I was a slow writer.

And it made me dread writing.

I’d sit at the keyboard and struggle to put words on the screen as 14,324 thoughts bounced around my mind.

Know the feeling?

Steven Pressfield calls this force Resistance and it’s not a creature you’d want to poke in the eye.

But eventually, I learned to overcome it (on most days at least).

And I my love of writing grew.

…Along with my ability and quickness at the keyboard.

So how did I make this transformation?

And how can you do the same with any skill you currently despise (yet dream of mastering)?

I’ll tell you my disappointingly boring strategy in a minute.

But first, I gotta give credit where credit is overdue…

You see, I was reminded of this story the other night when I started reading So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport (who’s one of my fave authors).

And in the book, Cal lays forth a simple yet controversial hypothesis (in my own words):

If you want to enjoy the work that you do, don’t start by pursuing a passion. Instead, identify a valuable skill, work tirelessly to master it, and by doing so, you’ll develop passion for it over time.

He described this as the mindset of a craftsman.

And to me, it intuitively made sense.

I had the exact same experience in my career.

As I mentioned, I didn’t pursue copywriting because I LOVED writing. I did it because I knew that it was a valuable skill that I could use to help achieve my long-term goals (like building a successful business).

Then, the more I learned about copywriting… the more I practiced the craft… and the more I experienced success as a copywriter…

The more I enjoyed my work.

And as a result, I’ve gone from a lowly intern of a financial blog who could barely eek out a paragraph every 30 minutes…

To the managing partner of a business education company who loves writing copy, reviewing copy, and teaching copywriting to anyone who’ll endure my rants about the craft.

Point being…

If there’s a task in your business that you absolutely hate (yet requires a valuable skill), don’t give up hope.

Practice not only makes perfect.

But it makes passion as well.

Your pen pal,

Matt Rizvi

P.S. If you’ve yet to read any of Cal Newport’s books, there’s 3 you should definitely check out:

1. So Good They Can’t Ignore You
2. Deep Work
3. Digital Minimalism

It’s shocking but true… It’s also timeless, yet very timely right now.

It’s one of the most influential books on marketing I’ve ever read.

Yet it isn’t on marketing whatsoever.

In fact, the book never even mentions it.

What is this timeless classic that’s relevant to current events that teaches profound marketing lessons without teaching marketing?

The True Believer by Eric Hoffer.

The insights it provides on the human mind are incredibly potent in the hands of any marketer. Former President of the USA, Dwight Eisenhower recommended it as an essential book.

Here are some quotes from the book…

—

“…mass movements grow out of frustration and boredom.”

“A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people’s business.”

“Mass movement primarily seem to happen in wealthier countries where people have higher incomes and more leisure.”

“Freedom aggravates at least as much as it alleviates frustration. Freedom of choice places the whole blame of failure on the shoulders of the individual.”

“People turn to mass movements when they perceive a lack of opportunity.”

—

There is in us a tendency to locate the shaping forces of our existence outside ourselves.

Success and failure are unavoidably related in our minds with the state of things around us.

So, on today’s livestream, I am opening up my notes to review the timeless and yet strangely very timely lessons we can learn from Eric Hoffer in his book The True Believer.

Here are the details…

• WHAT: Mass Movements & The Nature of Marketing
• WHO: Rich Schefren
• WHERE: Facebook Live
• WHEN: 2:00pm ET (11:00am PT)

And as always…

I’ll stick around afterwards to answer any follow-up questions, business questions, or even personal questions you might have.

Click Here To Watch My Facebook Livestream

To higher profits,

Rich Schefren

P.S. If you missed any of my previous livestreams, you can watch them right here.

Many years ago, I learned an incredibly powerful concept from Jay Abraham called “Capitalizing on Capitalism.”

And the premise is very simple:

You make money for your business by leveraging the assets of OTHER businesses.

For example…

One time Jay found a struggling brokerage house that was only doing $300,000 in annual commissions by selling and marketing the conventional way.

He quickly shifted their entire marketing approach from one of paid ads to a pure, performance-based revenue sharing deal with a large group of financial advertising channels.

The result? Sales skyrocketed to $500 million and Jay’s investment of effort (and zero risk) made him $2,000,000.00 in just an 18 month period.

Another example:

Jay found a seminar company that only offered entry-level low-priced seminars. So he created the first and only advanced seminar they’d ever offered.

It made them two million dollars in 30 days.

Jay’s share? A whopping $200,000 for a few days work.

Of course, these are not promises that you’ll earn that kind of money so quickly. But it does show you the amazing POSSIBILITIES that this strategy offers to put a bulging wad of cash in your pockets.

In fact, consistent 4- or 5-figure profit shares for yourself is actually quite doable.

And here’s 7 easy ways you can implement this strategy right now:

• Strategy #1: Re-Engage Forgotten Customers — Go to any company who has lost customers, clients or patients. Offer to reactivate old buyers and turn them into new ones. Even in a recession, it’s possible to restart up to 40% of the people who stopped buying in the past.
  
• Strategy #2: Increase Their Average Order Value — Show companies how to increase the size of each sale by adding other products or services to the purchase mix. They could even offer bigger financial incentives for people making larger purchases. This tactic has been proven to increase sales (and most importantly profits to the business owner), by as much as 50%.
  
• Strategy #3: Monetize Old Customers With New Offers — Find other related/complementary products or services that you can offer to the past buyers of a business (that will add 50 to 75% net profit to the owner’s bottom line). They are far more available than you possibly think.
  
• Strategy #4: Slash Their Expenses — Show business owners how, instead of adding more products to increase profits, they can cut up to 40% out of their current overhead and get the same effect. This can be attained by utilizing joint ventures, strategic alliances, and host beneficiary relationships–resulting in HUGE savings.
  
• Strategy #5: Get New Customers At A Discount — Use a discount media service to cut their advertising costs by 40%. Few business owners know they exist and that this is easily done. Once, Jay took over the rights to acquire full page newspaper ads for a company. He negotiated to keep 80% of all ad savings he generated for them over a certain period. On average, Jay saved them $25,000 a month just by pairing the newspapers together and buying those same ads from a discount media source.
  
• Strategy #6: Optimize Their Ads — If your talents lie in the creative areas, you can always step in and help make all their ads, sales approaches, promotions, and marketing activities perform better just by tweaking the copy or design–for a nice percentage of the increase. Even something as simple as a headline change can easily increase responses, leads, sales and profits up to 21 times.
  
• Strategy #7: Revamp Their Pitch — If the sales force consists of person-to-person contact (either face-to-face, on the phone, or in email), some small changes in what they say, how they say it, the way the sale is generated, or even the bonuses that are offered can double, redouble, even redouble again the results a business produces–even in a recession.

Amazing, aren’t they? And that’s just seven.

But Jay’s got a LOT more ideas.

And starting tomorrow at 8AM ET, he’s sharing them with folks who watch the 12-hour high-end mastermind marathon he’s hosting called: “LOCK IN 2021.”

Here’s the premise:

You’ll spend a full day watching America’s #1 life and business strategist, Tony Robbins AND the world’s preeminent business growth consultant, Jay Abraham, show 63 entrepreneurs how to multiply their sales WITHOUT increasing expenses or risks.

Before now, this information was only accessible by Tony’s $85k-a-year Platinum Partners and $150k Lions members.

But on starting tomorrow morning, Jay and his team are broadcasting a private showing of THE BEST of these video segments from the last decade and you’re invited to be a fly on the wall for the entire 12-hour long private pre-recorded anthology — or any portion you choose — WITHOUT having to spend six-figures.

Instead, you can attend and discover new levels of business strategy for just $97.

No matter where in the world you live or operate your business, there’s a segment of this broadcast you can watch.

Here are the details…

REGISTRATION: Open Now Until TOMORROW @ 8AM ET
DATE: January 16th, 2021
TIME: 8AM – 8PM ET

Click Here To Claim YOUR Spot to join Jay and Tony for this transformational 12-hour high-end mastermind marathon.

To higher profits,

Rich Schefren

PS. If you can’t watch all 12 hours live tomorrow, don’t worry. When you reserve your ticket, you’ll also get access to the complete video recordings and transcripts of ALL 12-hours (which will be made available shortly after the event)… PLUS Jay’s 2021 Lock-In Library (a 4 Volume nearly 1200 page Lifetime Resource “Reference Library” Collection) and a Special 3-Hour BONUS Cram-School Accelerator Mastery Course.

Click Here To Lock In Your Day With Tony & Jay

Note: Jay Abraham is sponsoring this broadcast and will appear LIVE at the breaks to discuss the drivers behind the makeovers you watched. Tony or Daymond will not be there in person.

Shocking but true…

Timeless but very timely right now.

One of the most influential books on marketing I’ve ever read, The True Believer, isn’t on marketing.

In fact, it never even mentions it.

Yet, the insights it provides on the human mind are incredibly potent in the hands of any marketer.

So on tonight’s livestream, I am opening up my notes to review the timeless and yet strangely very timely lessons we can learn from Eric Hoffer in his book, The True Believer.

PLUS – JAY ABRAHAM is going to swing by and share his most recent project and give us more details on it.

Here are the details…

• WHAT: Mass Markets & The Nature of Movements
• WHO: Rich Schefren & Jay Abraham
• WHERE: Facebook Live
• WHEN: 6:00pm ET (3:00pm PT)

And as always…

I’ll stick around afterwards to answer any follow-up questions, business questions, or even personal questions you might have.

Click Here To Watch My Facebook Livestream

To higher profits,

Rich Schefren

P.S. If you missed any of my previous livestreams, you can watch them right here.

I’ve got a new concept to share with you today…

Some people refer to it as the 5th cannon of rhetoric.

It’s the most persuasive element of communication.

So powerful in fact, it was kept secret from the masses.

And in today’s livestream, I am going to show you where I found it, why it’s so powerful, and most importantly…

how you can leverage it to be a better entrepreneur and marketer faster than you might think possible.

Here are the details…

• WHAT: The Terministic Screen
• WHO: Rich Schefren
• WHERE: Facebook Live
• WHEN: 2:00pm ET (11:00am PT)

And as always…

I’ll stick around afterwards to answer any follow-up questions, business questions, or even personal questions you might have.

Click Here To Watch My Facebook Livestream

To higher profits,

Rich Schefren

P.S. If you missed any of my previous livestreams, you can watch them right here.

If you want to grow a successful online business, there’s one skill you need above all others.

It’s not accounting.

…Or project management.

…Or even leadership.

Instead, it’s a coveted skill that’ll help you increase sales no matter what you sell or who you sell it to — despite the fact that few have ever mastered it.

Personally, I first learned about this ability in 2011 while I was attending an entrepreneurship camp hosted in a remote area of Lithuania with 49 other young, aspiring business owners.

It was there that I met Matt Smith, who became one of my long-time mentors and was the former CEO of Stansberry Research.

Well, during a training session at the camp he told us:

“If you want to grow a successful online business, the one skill you need is copywriting.”

I was shocked.

I had never heard of copywriting before.

But Matt explained that even if you weren’t writing ads for your own business, successful CEOs still need to have the gut instincts and experience to know which marketing ideas are likely to work… and which are doomed from the get-go.

It was a powerful lesson.

And I was reminded of it earlier today when I was reading Mark Ford’s daily e-letter.

(Mark btw, is the co-founder of Agora and is one of the few people Rich turns to when he needs advice on growing Strategic Profits.)

In the email, Mark was sharing a story from 2009 about when he was consulting for an online info-publishing business that suddenly transformed from a cash cow into a cash bonfire.

They had a promotion that was CRUSHING but stopped working when the recession hit and after testing a ton of other promos against it, they still couldn’t beat their previous control.

The solution?

Well, according to Mark:

“To achieve sales success in competitive markets, you have to target the right media and present the proven offers, but you must also use A or A+ copy. B copy won’t do it. The advertising piece that had created that three-year sprint of growth was A-level copywriting. Everything else afterwards was B or B+ at best. Not good enough. Not nearly good enough.

That was one problem. But the even bigger problem was this: The CEO couldn’t tell the difference.”

Point being:

If you want to rapidly scale an online business, you’ve gotta have the copywriting know-how to distinguish between good copy and great copy.

And if you still need help in that regard, here’s what I recommend…

Sign up for Justin Goff’s 1000 Buyers A Day course.

Inside you’ll discover how to optimize the 4 key elements of every promotion including the offer, the lead, the big idea, and the upsells.

In other words…

It’s a step-by-step blueprint for creating blockbuster promotions that convert on ice-cold traffic and generate 1,000+ new customers a day for your (or your client’s) business.

And if you sign up by midnight tomorrow, you can get it for FREE.

Just click here for all the details before this offer disappears.

Your pen pal,

Matt Rizvi

P.S. If you sign up for Justin’s course using my affiliate link, I’ll also send you 3 bonuses that you can’t get anywhere else:

EXCLUSIVE BONUS #1: Copywriter Conditioning

This is the flagship course I launched before I started working with Rich. It contains over 20 hours of audio recordings, videos, transcripts, and fill-in-the-blank templates that you can use right away to write high-converting copy (fast), boost your sales, and get a boatload of high-paying, low-stress clients.

I no longer sell it. But I’ll give it to you as a free bonus.

EXCLUSIVE BONUS #2: The Lost Podcast Interview With Justin Goff

Back when I was writing copy for clients, selling courses on copywriting, and coaching copywriters, I also hosted a copywriting podcast. And Justin was one of my first guests!

On our call we talked about how he got into online marketing… the struggles he faced… and how he grew his health supplement company from 0 to $23 million in less than three years. (FYI, just like Copywriter Conditioning, this interview is no longer online. So you can’t find it anywhere else.)

EXCLUSIVE BONUS #3: An In-Depth Copy Review With Actionable Feedback

As you can probably tell, copywriting is my passion. And I love few things more than sitting down with a stack of promos fresh off the printer and coming up with every possible way to make them better.

So when you sign up for Justin’s course using my affiliate link, I’ll also send you an invite to an exclusive group copy review where I’ll analyze your copy (for whatever medium you choose) and give you specific ideas that you can implement that day… and start seeing results the next.

But don’t forget…

You gotta act by tomorrow at midnight to get the goods.

Get the full details here.

Here’s the truth…

The key to winning online is to create a promotion that scales on cold traffic and generates 1,000+ new customers a day.

And it ain’t easy.

But too often, marketers make it harder than it needs to be.

How?

By focusing on the elements that aren’t critical to the conversion.

I’m talking about things like high-production video with 4K cameras… immaculate graphics + copy formatting… and uber-fast landing page load speeds.

Sure, those things can help (and in some cases even hurt) conversions.

But they’re not gonna move the needle with the strength of an Acme-sized magnet.

That’s why, whenever crafting a new promotion, you should spend 95% of your time on these 4 key ingredients first…

#1: The Offer

Don’t get it twisted, the offer is way more than just your product. The offer encapsulates each facet of what you’re selling. It’s the results you’re promising. It’s the price. The refund policy. The guarantee. And all the deliverables someone gets when they buy (whether they’re digital, physical, or services).

Put it all together and you get your offer. And without a doubt, it’s the most important piece of the promo.

#2: The Big Idea

Next up, we’ve got our “big idea.” Joe Schriefer — a mentor of mine and one of the most successful info publishers in the universe– thinks of the big idea as the combination of the 3 P’s: the prospect, your product, and the planet (i.e. what’s going on in the world right now).

And when you’re able to bridge the gap between your potential buyers, the thing you’re selling, and show why it’s relevant/topical/important right now, you know you’ve got a big idea on your hands.

#3: The Lead

It’s been said before and I’ll say it again: 80% of people on average don’t make it past the lead of your promotion. So if you want to stack the odds in your favor and get more eyeballs to stick around to the end, it all starts by writing a killer headline and lead than can hook the prospect’s attention for 30… 60… for even 120 minutes straight!

#4: The Upsells

Lastly, it takes more than high conversion rates to scale an offer on cold traffic. You don’t just need conversions. You need a big wheelbarrow full of dollhairs for every customer you acquire. And the best way to do that is by selling each buyer more than one product (i.e. upsells).

Do it right and you’ll boost your average order value, allowing you to spend big buckeroos on the ad networks, outbid your competition, and scale all the way to Mars and back.

So there you have it folks…

The 4 key ingredients you need to cook up a promotion that scales on cold traffic and generates 1,000+ new customers per day.

Now you know what to do.

But if you want to learn how to do it and execute these 4 elements to perfection, here’s what I recommend…

Sign up for Justin Goff’s new course: 1000 Buyers A Day.

It’s a 132-page PDF blueprint that details exactly how to optimize each of those 4 elements inside your promotion by leveraging proven strategies that Justin uses to help himself — and his clients — do exactly that.

Plus, right now he’s making an insane offer where you can get access for FREE.

You can check it out here.

Your pen pal,

Matt Rizvi

P.S. If you sign up for Justin’s course using my affiliate link, I’ll also send you 3 bonuses that you can’t get anywhere else:

EXCLUSIVE BONUS #1: Copywriter Conditioning

This is the flagship course I launched before I started working with Rich. It contains over 20 hours of audio recordings, videos, transcripts, and fill-in-the-blank templates that you can use right away to write high-converting copy (fast), boost your sales, and get a boatload of high-paying, low-stress clients.

I no longer sell it. But I’ll give it to you as a free bonus.

EXCLUSIVE BONUS #2: The Lost Podcast Interview With Justin Goff

Back when I was writing copy for clients, selling courses on copywriting, and coaching copywriters, I also hosted a copywriting podcast. And Justin was one of my first guests!

On our call we talked about how he got into online marketing… the struggles he faced… and how he grew his health supplement company from 0 to $23 million in less than three years. (FYI, just like Copywriter Conditioning, this interview is no longer online. So you can’t find it anywhere else.)

EXCLUSIVE BONUS #3: An In-Depth Copy Review With Actionable Feedback

As you can probably tell, copywriting is my passion. And I love few things more than sitting down with a stack of promos fresh off the printer and coming up with every possible way to make them better.

So when you sign up for Justin’s course using my affiliate link, I’ll also send you an invite to an exclusive group copy review where I’ll analyze your copy (for whatever medium you choose) and give you specific ideas that you can implement that day… and start seeing results the next.

Holy schnikes!

I can’t believe I just gave all that away for an affiliate promo (shows you how much I trust Justin).

So you better jump on this gravy train while it lasts.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Since I wasn’t able to answer all the great questions asked during Tuesday’s livestream (and several folks were disappointed that they couldn’t attend), we’re going to do it again.]

Got a question, obstacle, challenge, or difficulty starting, building or growing your business?

If so, bring them to this livestream, because today is going to be completely dedicated to you – answering your questions – removing all roadblocks – smashing all obstacles to get you on the right track.

Bring your toughest questions – I’ll answer them – I’m working without a net, so this should be fun, informative, and if you ask a question, it very well likely could alter your financial destiny…

I’ve helped tens of thousands of entrepreneurs – many of them you probably follow and study…

So why not come straight to the SOURCE?

Here are the details…

• WHAT: Ask Me Anything
• WHO: Rich Schefren
• WHERE: Facebook Live
• WHEN: 6:00pm ET (3:00pm PT)

Click Here To Watch My Facebook Livestream

To higher profits,

Rich Schefren

P.S. If you missed any of my previous livestreams, you can watch them right here.

It’s official…

Today marks my 1-year anniversary since I started working with Rich as the publisher of Strategic Profits.

It’s been a crazy ride so far.

But one thing hasn’t changed:

It’s still my dream job.

Every day I get to work with many of the world’s smartest online marketers and copywriters. I get to grow a team of ambitious and talented contributors. And I get to make a major impact with every project I take on.

And while it’s taken me my entire career in direct response to get to this point (about 8 years, not including my entrepreneurial misadventures as a teen)…

Many people don’t realize that I wouldn’t have this job if it wasn’t for one man:

Justin Goff.

(For those of you who don’t know, Justin is the guy you go to when you need help converting your offer on cold traffic. In fact, he grew his own supplement company from 0->$23 million in sales in just under three years. And now he helps some of the biggest names with their marketing including Golden Hippo, Dan Lok, Agora Financial, V-Shred, 4Patriots and more.)

But it all started for me when I joined his email list several years ago.

Then in the summer of 2019, I heard that he was hosting a live event in Austin, Texas with his business partner (and A-list copywriter) Stefan Georgi.

The event was all about teaching the specific secrets that Justin uses to do what he’s known for:

Create frontend offers that convert ice-cold prospects into buyers and generate 1,000+ new customers per day.

So I applied to attend… got accepted… spent several thousand on the ticket + travel expenses… then flew to Austin for the event.

And it was 1,000% worth it.

By the end of the 3-day affair, I walked away with a notebook stuffed full of ideas for funnel split tests, upsell tweaks, copywriting tactics, new offers, media-buying best practices, and the latest rules and regulations for advertising in a compliant way on the major platforms.

But more importantly, getting in the room not only showed that I was a serious copywriter, but it’s where I met (and made a solid impression on) two of the former editors of this e-letter: Peter Coyne and Evaldo Albuqurque.

They told me about the work they were doing with Rich.

So I joined their email list (the same one you’re reading now). And a few short weeks later, they announced that they were hiring a new publisher.

It seemed like a perfect fit.

So I applied.

And the rest, as the cliche goes, is history.

But none of it would have happened if I didn’t attend Justin’s killer event.

Which brings me to the 2 important tips tucked inside this story…

If you want to profit from the mystical powers of serendipity:

1. Identify the go-to authorities in your space (the ones that all the other authorities pay for advice) and learn everything you can from them
   
2. Look for opportunities to infiltrate their circle and make connections with the people they know

Do those two things and amazing opportunities will seemingly fall from the sky.

And who knows?

You might even land your dream job.

Your pen pal,

Matt Rizvi

P.S. I hope you can tell from this email that Justin is legit. He’s transformed the lives of dozens of copywriters, marketers, and entrepreneurs (including my own).

And while his live events — where he teaches how to create blockbuster promotions — may not be in the cards (or the budget) for you right now, he’s currently offering folks the chance to get the next best thing for FREE.

Click here to check it out.

It’s one of the strongest endorsements I can make.