Painful personal confession:
I went to high school right up the street from the offices of various Agora companies.
Unfortunately, this was long ago, at a time when I had never heard of copywriting. So when school would get out, I’d spend my afternoons identifying local trees and kicking cans around the abandoned cement factory.
Had I been smarter, I would have gotten a job cleaning ashtrays at Agora HQ. And bit by bit, I probably would have learned enough about copywriting to be a multimillionaire today.
I bring this up because I recently applied for a copywriting job. Not a freelance project. A proper job.
I tell myself there are lots of good reasons why I applied.
My reasons are all the stuff you can put in a cover letter:
I could learn a lot. It could be a step forward in my career. I like the people I might be working with.
In other words, it’s a great opportunity. And I don’t wanna miss out. Except…
Would any of this really count had I not missed out already, in a much bigger way, back in high school?
I recently heard Dan Kennedy talk about writing for the opportunity market. You know, business opportunities and get rich quick stuff. Like copywriting.
And Dan said something that matches my experience above:
Lots of times, the real motivator is not the opportunity in front of us now, which we don’t want to miss.
Rather, it’s the opportunities dead and gone, which we have missed already.
The guilt and regret over having missed out yesterday (GROHMO) is really the underlying cause that makes us susceptible to FOMO today.
And if you’re a smart marketer or copywriter, you can exploit this. You can put up a bunch of pictures of smiling and satisfied men and women and say,
“Look at them. That could’ve been you. These men and women acted when you didn’t. And look at them now. Look at how happy they are. And as for you… well… don’t feel too bad. Because I have some good news. A new opportunity just opened up…”
And it’s true:
I’ve been promoting my email newsletter for a long while. Over time, I’ve had many people sign up. They have been amused and sometimes moved along the way.
More importantly, they’ve learned a lot and they’ve been exposed to copywriting and marketing ideas, like the one above.
These ideas I share have helped my subscribers make more money, enjoy their businesses more, all while working much less.
In other words, my email newsletter is quite the opportunity. Not to be missed out on. Especially since it’s not clear how long it will go for, in case I get a proper job.
In case you want to join before the opportunity disappears, here’s where to go.