URGENT DEADLINE: Join some of the world’s most successful financial copywriters in London and discover the single best way to land a job in the financial publishing industry

Dear Fellow Copywriter,

So you want to make it as a financial copywriter.

I get it.

Everyone knows: writing copy for a big financial publisher is one of THE lucrative gigs in the industry.

(It’s also the most intellectually stimulating, interesting, and genuinely enjoyable fields of copywriting, which to me is far more important. But I’m not sure “everyone knows” that.)

That’s why there are literally thousands of writers trying to pitch their work and break in to the industry – I know, because I get 2-3 messages a day from people asking for advice.

But if you’re really serious about making it… then here’s what you need to do.

Cancel your plans on the 19^th and 20^th March and come to London

That’s when I’m hosting an intensive, two-day training event with several of the world’s best financial copywriters – people who are actually actively looking to hire new writers…

And I’m bringing them together with one simple, profound goal:

To show you the one secret that’ll give you a real shot at making it as a financial copywriter.

In fact, this secret is what separates the great copywriters from the merely “good” ones.

It’s the reason elite financial copywriters regularly even £250,000… £500,000… or even more a year.

Never mind the old “earn six figures” cliché.

Believe me, that’s small fry once you understand how this industry REALLY works.

But enough about the money. You’ve probably heard all this before, from the seemingly endless number of copywriting gurus out there on the internet. Chances are, you’ve come across them already.

Be honest: is this you?

You’re trying to break into financial copywriting.

You’re determined.

You’ll do whatever it takes.

So you attend every conference you can.

You buy every new course… join as many copywriting communities as you can find… stack your shelves with copywriting books.

Maybe you’re working through the exercises those products lay out for you.

You know the stuff…

Writing out copy by hand.

Reading a promotion a day.

Writing email and lift note copy, to send to various copy chiefs or financial publishers.

It all sounds like good advice, doesn’t it? There’s only one problem with it.

NONE OF THAT STUFF WORKS

Sorry to break it to you.

But deep down, you know this already. (Otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this, would you?)

So I’ll confirm it for you: in all my years as a financial copywriter and Agora publisher, I never met a single copywriter that had ‘made it’ thanks to any of that stuff.

It might not all be a complete waste of time.

There are good copywriting books out there. There might even be one or two coaches worth your time. But none of it will get you where you want to go.

It gets worse…

Often, when we hired people who’d gone too far down the books/courses rabbit hole, we had to force them to FORGET everything they’d learned.

(You know that bit in A Clockwork Orange, where they force him to watch a re-education film to ‘deprogram’ him? Yeah. It wasn’t like that. But only because HR wouldn’t let me.)

I’m not kidding here.

A lot of that stuff isn’t just no good… it’s the exact opposite of what you need to know.

It’s all marketing gimmickry and voodoo copywriting bullshit.

And all too often, it’s pushed out by people who are massively inflating their credentials as a copywriter.

Maybe they got lucky with one promotion ten years ago and now they dine out on that success.

Or maybe they’ve just been ‘around’ the industry for years, hanging out with lots of copywriters but never actually writing a control promotion.

The point is – most of that stuff won’t do you any good.

But there IS one thing that will make a difference…

Before I tell you what it is, I should properly introduce myself.

My name is Nick O’Connor.

I’ve never had a ‘real’ job.

But I have been a financial copywriter and publisher for the last 14 years.

I started my career as a trainee copywriter at Agora’s offices in London.

I ended up not just running the copywriting team, but running the entire business.

At one point I had 25 writers and editors working for me.

Then I quit, to pursue my first love: writing copy.

(Remind me to tell you the story of exactly how and why I quit, over a beer, in London this March.)

Now I’m a full time freelance copywriter. I write for two of the biggest financial publishers in America, as well as Agora businesses around the world.

(I refuse to brag about this, but I did ask the publishers I work with what they think of me. You can see what they said below.)

Doug Hill, Paradigm Press

“Nick is the rare find who understands the idea fully, applies creativity to the project that adds value to readers and the publisher… and gets the job done fast. But what makes his work most valuable is that it converts. In short, Nick delivers.”

Paolo Cabrelli, Southbank Investment Research

“Any time I have a new campaign brewing, my first phone call is always to Nick. Fresh ideas, copy that converts, mentoring my junior copywriters… Nick’s input into our business is priceless.”

Kelly Brown, Stansberry Research

“In 10 years, Nick O’Connor is the only financial freelance writer I’ve worked with who not only works seamlessly with multiple teams, but also churns out successful promotions. He’s an idea machine and always goes above and beyond to make everyone’s job a little easier.”

I also run The Fix, a community of copywriters from all over the world drawn together by a shared desire to improve… and a shared joy of all things copy (the weirder the better).

Here I am onstage at our annual Fix Fest event in September (cram 200 copywriters into the crypt of an ancient Church in Clerkenwell and you get… this):

I also run my own boutique Investor Relations agency for a handful of publicly listed companies… and I’ve just launched my first Fintech business here in London.

Conservatively, I’d say the copy I’ve either directly written, co-written or published has generated £50 million over the course of my career. (Let’s call that $70m, if you want to quibble over currency.)

So – how do I do it?

That’s what I want to show you in London in March

See, there’s only one thing that really matters when it comes to writing successful financial copy…

And that’s developing a BIG, BOLD IDEA that’s strong enough to get your prospects’ attention… compel them to read on… and powerful enough to get them to pay for what you’re selling.

You’ve probably heard this before.

You may even have read about it in a book or course, or heard it at a conference.

The problem is, no one ever seems to teach HOW to come up with a big idea.

It’s either not covered…

Or it’s covered in such a generic, formulaic way as to be useless.

Now, it’s not easy to learn…

(I mean, if it was easy… financial copywriting wouldn’t pay half as well as it does.)

But I can tell you with complete certainty that if you can master this one key skill, you’ll make it.

And I want you to join me in London so I can show you how.

Think about it like this…

Your job as a financial copywriter is to ‘catch the lightning in the bottle’.

To do that, you have to know what the lightning is – and where to find it…

And you need to know how to wrestle it into a bottle.

Put far more plainly (and less poetically), you need to know what a good idea looks like… how to go out and find it… and how to get that idea down onto the page in a way that feels new and fresh.

Again: really hard to do.

Which is why most copywriting advice out there totally ducks teaching people about this side of the industry, in favour of teaching much lower value, but much more straightforward skills.

I don’t see the point in that.

To be honest, it doesn’t matter how specific your subject lines are, or how many hundreds of promotions you have tucked away in that secret swipe file…

If you can’t develop ideas, you’re dead in the water.

This is the skill all publishers want from their copywriters.

Yes, if you can write the odd lift note or put an order form together, you’re valuable.

Up to a point, anyway.

But those skills will only take you so far. The real thing publishers and copy chiefs want – and will pay good money for –  is ideas.

They want you to bring them the lightning in the bottle

So, that’s what I’m going to teach you.

Together with my mate Glenn Fisher – who also happens to be a former $50m Agora copy chief – I’m organising The Fix’s first-ever Financial Copywriting Bootcamp.

During this two-day event in London – on 19^th and 20^th March, 2024 – we’ll be teaching you the frameworks and techniques you REALLY need to succeed as a financial copywriter.

You’ll learn stuff like:

• The proven framework I use to spot and capture blockbuster frontend ideas that generate thousands of sales.

• How to research your big idea so that it stands out and doesn’t just read like a Frankenstein mashed together from other people’s swipe files.

• What financial publishers and copy chiefs are REALLY looking for in new copywriters (it’s not what you’ve been told).

• How to write a webinar or interview-style promotion that’s perfect for trading services and high-price backends (you’ll be learning directly from THE BEST writer I know at doing this).

• What kind of ideas are working today and how to find the next one likely to

• How to find 10 new, compelling ways to tell your story, even if you’ve got writers’ block.

• How much to charge, how royalties work, and what you need to do to get a full-time job as an in-house copywriter.

And you’ll learn it in a small, intimate (but definitely not weirdly so) environment, with 10-15 other writers just like you.

You’ll get direct coaching and presentations from Glenn and me, as well as some of the best copywriters in the world today (more on this in a second).

But we won’t just be talking at you, lecture style.

You’ll be expected to write… think… and rewrite as you work on your own copy project.

And you’ll get real-time feedback, edits, and suggestions from a whole team of top copywriters.

I don’t want to over-stress this, but it bears repeating…

THIS IS HOW ALL GREAT COPYWRITERS LEARN THEIR CRAFT.

Not through books and courses… but through spending time with experienced copywriters who taught them and reviewed their work.

It’s how I learnt to write copy.

It’s how Glenn learnt.

It’s how EVERYONE learns.

And now it’s your turn. Here’s how it’ll work:

I’m inviting you to grab one of the places for March’s Financial Copywriting Bootcamp.

Right now, there are only 10 on offer.

After that, there are no guarantees we’ll have space for you.

Soon as you let me know you’re coming, I’ll be in touch directly to talk to you about your goals and to get to know you.

You might have a copy project you’re already working on, perhaps a spec assignment for a publisher, or some other idea you’re pursuing.

If you don’t, I’ll get you a copy assignment directly from one of the publishers or copy chiefs who’ll be at the event.

That’ll give you something to start working on and researching.

Then, likely in late January, I’ll unlock a treasure trove of copywriting video masterclasses for you…

These will cover everything from how to research your idea… how to sharpen your headline… how to pace your writing… how to structure your pitch… There’ll be 20+ training videos for you to work through. I won’t list them all out here.

But there are a few worth flagging up:

You’ll get all this delivered to you at the end of January, to help you start learning from the best right away.

The goal, of course, is to get you up to speed with the ideas and techniques we’re going to be talking about at the bootcamp ahead of time.

We want the two days we actually spend together to be as valuable as possible. So we’ll cover as much of the basics as possible ahead of time.

With that in mind…

You’ll also get two one-on-one calls with Glenn and me before the bootcamp even starts, to discuss what you’re working on and answer any questions you have.

Again, these calls are designed to help get you up to speed with what you’re learning…

…and so that you can start getting feedback on your copy from Glenn and me right away.

Then, of course, you have the main event:

You’ll spend two days in London with Glenn, me, and some of the best financial copywriters in the world…

Here’s what we’ll cover:

Tuesday (19th)

Session One: The “Four Point Diamond” Technique For Developing Big Ideas

After some quick introductions, we’ll dive straight in. I’ll talk you through the “Four Point Diamond” framework I use when I’m developing big ideas. This isn’t a system or template… stuff like that doesn’t work. But it will show you the four things all great Big Idea financial promotions have… and how you can find them.

Session Two: How Build Urgent Ideas That Sell High Price Backend Products

You’ve probably watched a hundred different webinars selling trading, crypto or other high priced stock market systems. These promotions are responsible for millions of dollars in sales every year. In session two – you’ll find out how it’s done, from someone I consider THE best backend copywriter in the world today.

Session Three: Powering Up Your Research

Research is, by far and away, the top copywriter’s secret weapon. Most people just don’t do enough… or do entirely the wrong kind of research. We’ll show you how it’s really done… and how to do the kind of research that’ll actually help you unearth a hidden gem to use in your copy.

Session Four: Live Copy Reviews

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Nothing improves your copy like having it reviewed, in person, by a group of top copywriters. And that’s exactly what we’ll do in session four. We’ll put your work up onscreen for everyone to see… and figure out how to strengthen it. If that’s daunting… good! It should be. It’s also the single fastest way of improving your work.

Session Five: Guided Writing Time & One On Ones

We’ll break out to give you time to write, rewrite and improve your copy after the review session. There’ll be experienced financial copywriters on hand to bounce ideas off… to talk things over with… and help you find the right way forward in your work.

Tuesday Night

Cocktail Hour, Sponsored by Agora’s London Office

Believe me, you’ll be knackered by this point – and ready to unwind over a few drinks. We’ll head out for a few drinks and chance to hang out and socialise with me, Glenn, and other top financial copywriters.

It’s all sponsored by Agora’s London operation, Southbank Investment Research, so you might even get the chance to rub elbows with some of their in-house writers.

Wednesday (20th)

Session Six: How To Get A Job As A Financial Copywriter

We’ll kick off day two with some insider tricks and tips on landing clients – from the people actually doing the hiring. In my experience, publishers are ALWAYS looking for quality new writers. We’ll tell you how to be one of the people they actually want to talk to.

Session Seven: Group Copy Reviews

We’ll break into smaller groups, each lead by an experienced financial copywriter, and work on your copy together. By this point, the copy you’re working on will be really coming together. 

Session Eight: Writing Time & And One On Ones

You’ll get the chance to make more changes to your copy, take onboard more feedback and work one on one with our guests.

Session Nine: Ask Me Anything (with special guests)

If there’s anything we haven’t covered… anything you’re curious about… anything you want us to tackle… this is your chance to ask us. You’ll hear about how we select and develop ideas… how we frame them… how we present them to the market…You’ll hear about what’s working… what isn’t… what we’re writing next…

Session Ten: Interviews

We’ll wrap up with your chance to interview with the copy chiefs and publishers who’re at the bootcamp. You’re not guaranteed a job (of course not!): but you are guaranteed a fair shot with people who need and want to hire new writers.

Wednesday Night

Dinner and Drinks

We’ll wrap the bootcamp with a celebratory dinner together – and a few well-earned drinks somewhere in London (more details nearer the time).

Nothing accelerates your improvement quite like this kind of intensive, one-on-one learning.

Yeah, getting comments over email will help.

And jumping on a Zoom call will get your copy moving forward way quicker.

But being in the same place… at the same time… to really knock ideas around and find new ideas…

That’s what learning to write copy is all about.

Being there.

In person.

In the writers’ room.

That’s what it’s all about. And it’s what you’ll get on March 19 and 20.

Real, quality time with world-class copywriters who’ll dig into your copy with you.

But that’s STILL NOT ALL…

You’ll head away from London with your mind buzzing with new ideas, new techniques, and new energy.

Glenn and I will help you capitalise on that, in another one-on-one call after the event itself, designed to keep your copy moving forward.

We’ll likely arrange this for a week or so after the Bootcamp, to give you time to work on your copy and apply what you’ve learnt.

In short, by the end of it all, you’ll:

• Understand how successful copywriters develop ideas and capture them on the page.

• Know what kind of copy publishers and copy chiefs really want to see – so you can pitch it to them.

• Have a great piece of copy that’s been developed and polished with working copywriters with millions of dollars in sales.

• Know some of the best copywriters, copy chiefs, and publishers in the world personally – a potential route into the industry.

• And most importantly, you’ll feel more confident and energised in your writing. You’ll doubt yourself less… and have a real, clear, and credible understanding how what it takes to succeed as a financial copywriter.

Of course, as I say, this isn’t the first time Glenn and I have trained copywriters to get them where they need to be.

You can hear what some of the copywriters we’ve helped think about us here…

Tom Render, Copywriter

“Working with Nick and Glenn has been great. In my opinion, there’s no quicker way to improve your copywriting than getting feedback on your work. I’ve tried a bunch of different copy ‘review’ and coaching programs and most rush through the critiques and push you to watch a video. Nick and Glenn take the time to review your copy line by line. They break it down and really work with you to improve. I feel like I get better with every round of reviews. As a freelancer, having this level of feedback gives me the confidence to defend my copy when presenting to clients. And it means I can constantly pitch new projects with conviction.”

Alex Boulter, Copywriter

“Nick and Glenn, between them, have an extremely deep knowledge of all things copywriting, and if you’re looking to quickly improve your writing, I don’t know of a better way than working with Nick and Glenn. If you’re trying to break into financial copywriting, working with Nick and Glenn will give you the full experience of working with a copy chief to take your copy from the initial research and idea stage to the point where it could be sent to a publisher… but only if you put in the work.”

Filip Stojanovic, Copywriter

“Glenn and Nick don’t only teach you how to write copy – they teach you how to think about copy. Sentence by sentence, line by line. They make sure each word in your copy has a purpose. Nothing goes to waste. What’s more, they answered everything I wanted to know about pitching prospects, sticking out with your cold outreach, finding who to target… This puts you ahead of 99% of freelancers who rely on “spray and pray” acquisition methods. These guys have been in direct response trenches for decades. Having even a decent copywriter give you feedback accelerates your progress… imagine what it’s like with two Agora powerhouses.“

Daryl Bennett, Copywriter

“Nick and Glenn have made me a better copywriter. Every piece of copy I get reviewed is improved. I understand the industry more thanks to Nick and Glenn’s advice. And my confidence as a writer is growing. I wouldn’t have got so far, so quickly without them.”

Duncan Moreland, Copywriter

“Since being mentored by both Glenn and Nick – I’ve landed two big financial copy gigs and essentially increased my income by a third, as a direct consequence of their help. And all within the first two months of working with them. Specifically, they’ve helped me with who to approach for work, how to better price myself, and the writing process itself. Especially helpful are Nick’s models and frameworks for understanding – and writing – copy that converts and Glenn’s ability to go through copy and improve it line by line. I’m not new to this – I’ve been writing copy for 10+ years, but I’ve learned A LOT from them.”

So look, the only question is…

What does it cost to join us?

Well, you tell me…

What do YOU think it costs to bring together some of the world’s best financial copywriters for two days of high-level idea sharing?

I’ll tell you: not cheap.

It’s taken me the best part of 14 years to build up the “black book” of copywriters I’m going to call on for this project.

I’ve persuaded them all to take time out of their schedules and come and work closely with you for two days.

That kind of quality training time doesn’t come cheap.

I ran an in-house training event for an Agora business last year which cost £15,000.

And that was just me!

So don’t expect an event like this to be cheap.

You’ll get everything I just told you about for a one-off fee of £3,000 (roughly $4,000).

That’s a serious investment, I know.

But it’s just that: an investment in your copywriting skills. In yourself. In your future.

And I’ll sweeten it a little for you.

If you grab one of the first five places on offer, I’ll knock £1,000 off the price for you.

So you’ll pay just £2,000 (+VAT).

But I must stress: that deal is only on the table for the first five people I hear back from today.

After that, I’m putting the price up.

Decision time

So…

Are you in or out?

Only you can make that decision.

And frankly, it depends on how serious you are about really making it as a financial copywriter.

Maybe you’re happy buying books and courses and staying on the outside of the industry forever.

Or maybe you’re curious about how people inside really do it…

…and whether you have what it takes to join them?

If that’s you, clear your schedule for the 19^th and 20^th March…

And grab one of the few spaces at our Financial Copywriting Bootcamp right here.

Still undecided?

Well, let’s look at it from another angle completely…

10 reasons to NOT come

1. You want to pretend your current plan for breaking into the financial copywriting industry is working

(Even though you keep getting rejected or ignored entirely.)

2.You would rather spend your money on loads of different courses that make it look like you’re doing something

(Even though you’re just wasting money on the same old ideas.)

3. You think asking for help is dumb and makes you look weak

(Even though it’s the smartest thing you can do.)

4. You want to waste your time posting carousels on LinkedIn in the hope of alerting a financial publisher to your work

(Even though no serious financial publisher has ever hired someone that way.)

5. You think £3k for two days in-person learning with some of the best copywriters in the world and interviews with actual publishers is too expensive

(Even though you might make a royalty ten times that in your first year.)

6. You love receiving rejection emails

(Even though it sucks.)

7. You already earn over £100k a year and you’re happy with that

(Even though you’ll probably discover a way of thinking that could help you earn more.)

8. You think you know everything about financial copywriting already and think you should be teaching the course instead

(Even though… actually, that’s fair enough.)

9. You write the perfect headline first time every time and you don’t need any feedback on your ideas

(Even though the best, most successful copywriters in the world still share their work with other copywriters to improve it.)

10. You ignore all feedback

(In which case… seriously, don’t come.)

Those are the reasons you shouldn’t come.

But if you want to discover the most direct route into the industry…

If you want to save a load of cash in the long run and start earning even more…

If you want help from the best in the business…

If you stop wasting time on social media, meet the people in person who you’re trying to impress and put an end to all the rejection…

If you want to work smarter than 99% of financial copywriters out there… discover how the top 1% write breakthrough promotions (and pocket breath-taking royalties)… and get to share ideas and rub shoulders with the best of the best…

Cancel your plans for the 19^th and 20^th March and reserve one of the few available places today.

Best wishes,

Nick O’Connor
Co-founder, The Fix

P.S. One more thing…

If you do manage to secure one of the limited spaces, I’m going to send you my personal swipe file that contains some of the most successful financial copy in the industry.

I want you to read through it before March as it contains examples that you’ll be able to use in your own copy to write promotions that have the potential to earn you thousands in royalties.

But I also want you to keep it to yourself. I’ve spent more than a decade building this swipe file up and it’s one of my most valuable secret weapons when it comes to thinking up new ideas and writing financial copy.

I’ll be in touch with details of how to access the swipe file soon after you’ve secured one of the spaces.

Remember, because this bootcamp will be so intensive, we can only accept a very small number of students to join us. We’ve already had a number of our subscribers request advance notice to book a spot, so if you are interested, don’t hesitate to reserve your spot today.

I’m confident this will be the best investment you make in your entire career as a financial copywriter.

Reserve your place.