First Class Founders: Creators | Solopreneurs | Personal HoldCo - $250 Million Dollars in Sales: Colin Chung's Copywriting Secrets Revealed

$250 Million Dollars in Sales: Colin Chung's Copywriting Secrets Revealed

07/12/23 • 38 min

First Class Founders: Creators | Solopreneurs | Personal HoldCo

E39: Imagine your work has contributed to a quarter billion dollars in sales. You read that right. Quarter of a billion dollars. That’s $250 million.
Today, we’re joined by Colin Chung, a copywriter who not only knows how to write amazing direct response copy, but he knows how to get the largest clients in the business.
Over the last 15 years, Colin’s clients include: Agora, Jim Kwik, John Carlton, Brian Tracy, and Ava Jane’s Kitchen. He’s the unsung hero behind many of YOUR favorite brands. So, what are the key ingredients for amazing copywriting? And perhaps more importantly, HOW did he exactly land these big time clients?
I speak to Colin about:

Getting Into the Right Rooms
Why Funnels Aren’t Great for Freelancers
Why Harnessing a Growth Mindset Is So Critical
His 3-Step Framework to Write Copy That Converts

This episode is a gold mine for not learning to become a better writer, but how to grow your business.
***
SPONSOR:

Big thanks to Growth Tribe for sponsoring this episode! I highly recommend this free weekly newsletter for anyone looking to start, grow, and monetize a one-person business.
***
EXCERPTS:
Funnels for Freelancers: "If you're a direct response copywriter and you're looking to land those 8, 9, 10-figure clients in the direct response world, they're not reading your blog. They're not reading your Twitter. They're not reading your email newsletter. Like, there's no reason for you to be building a funnel." — Colin Chung (18:42)
Getting Into the Right Rooms: "It's not who you know. It's who knows you." — Colin Chung (22:37)
***
TOPICS:
[00:05:37] How Colin Got Laid Off and Chose Copywriting
[00:12:16] How to Find the 'Right Room' to Grow Your Business
[00:18:42] Funnels Aren't Necessary For All Freelancers
[00:26:19] 3-Step Framework for Great Copywriting
[00:32:23] Why Harnessing a Growth Mindset Is Key
***
LINKS:
Colin Chung's Website
Follow Colin on Twitter
Episode 28 - EAR$ Framework and Monet

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First Class Founders is a show for indie hackers, bootstrapped founders, CEOs, solopreneurs, content creators, startup entrepreneurs, and SaaS startups covering topics like build in public, audience growth, product marketing, scaling up, side hustles, holding company, etc.
Past guests include Arvid Kahl, Tyler Denk, Noah Kagan, Clint Murphy, Jay Abraham, Andrew Gazdecki, Matt McGarry, Nick Huber, Khe Hy, and more.
Episode you might like:
Future of Newsletters with Tyler Denk, Founder & CEO at Beehiiv
From Zero to 100K Subscribers: How to Grow Your Newsletter like a Pro with Newsletter Growth Expert Matt McGarry
...

Getting Into the Right Rooms
Why Funnels Aren’t Great for Freelancers
Why Harnessing a Growth Mindset Is So Critical
His 3-Step Framework to Write Copy That Converts

This episode is a gold mine for not learning to become a better writer, but how to grow your business.
***
SPONSOR:

Previous Episode

How the Top 0.1% of Newsletter Creators Are Skyrocketing Their Growth with Chenell Basilio of Growth in Reverse

E38: Want to know how the top 0.1% of creators grow their newsletter? Today, we’re joined by Chenell Basilio, the creator behind Growth in Reverse.
Growth in Reverse is a newsletter that deep dives into newsletter creators with over 50,000 subscribers. Chenell spends over 40 hours per week researching one creator each week.
During my conversation with Chenell, she didn’t hold anything back.
On today’s episode, you’ll learn:

What Chenell’s Research Process Looks Like
How to Build Your Tribe of Like-Minded Creators
How Chenell Has Built Her Audience Growth Flywheel
5 Types of Newsletter Formats That Chenell Recommends

Let's get down to business!

***
SPONSOR:

I love using Riverside.fm to record all guest interviews like this one with Chenell Basilio. Try it out 100% free here and when you're ready, use the code FIRSTCLASS to get 20% off any paid plan.
***
EXCERPTS:
Building Connections: "But from the outside looking in, it looks like you had them before or you got lucky or something like that. But it's really just like a consistency of showing up week after week and creating consistently that people will start to notice you and, you know, you create those relationships."
— Chenell Basilio (22:22)
Growing your Social Channels with Twitter: "The power of spending 2 to 3 hours a day on Twitter, like, constant find these people, engage with them, share their stuff, and then they're gonna return the favor eventually once they see you there enough."
— Chenell Basilio (31:51)
Maximizing Audience Reach: "Getting in front of those other audiences is really, really important."
— Chenell Basilio (34:59)
***
TOPICS:

[00:05:36] How Chenell Found Her Unique Niche
[00:13:04] How Chenell Leverages Popular Creators for Exposure on Twitter
[00:18:05] Explanation of Chenell's Deep Dive Research Process
[00:22:22] How Newsletter Creators Create Distribution
[00:27:11] 5 Categories of Newsletter Formats for Creators
[00:29:37] Creators Need: Consistency, Quality, and Niche
[00:33:00] Expand Audience with New Verticals
***
LINKS:
Chenell Basilio on Twitter

Next Episode

Lessons from 2,000+ Startup Founder Interviews with Entrepreneur Andrew Warner of Mixergy

E40: What would you learn if you had the chance to speak to over 2,000 startup entrepreneurs including the founders of Airbnb, Reddit, and Zapier?
We are talking to Andrew Warner, the serial entrepreneur, storyteller, podcast host, and author extraordinaire. After conducting over 2,000 interviews from startup founders, Andrew recently published a book called "Stop Asking Questions!" which I read from cover to cover. I invited him on the podcast so I could... ask him a LOT of questions.
During our conversation, Andrew and I spoke about his life as an entrepreneur and went into some amazing details about:

All his past ventures - including the one that failed
Why he thinks the current startup ecosystem has matured too much
His current partial-hiatus and what he plans to do next
His secret to conducting great interviews

This is an inspiring conversation that you won't want to miss!
***
SPONSOR:

Big thanks to Swell AI for sponsoring this episode. Swell AI is like having a production assistant 24/7. If you're a content creator, do yourself a favor and try Swell AI.
***
EXCERPTS:
Affiliate Marketing Growth: "What if we pay people 10¢ every time someone sends out their website?" — Andrew Warner (14:12)
How to Succeed as a Founder: "If you could live your contradiction fully and still be aware of the world around you, you win." — Andrew Warner (27:28)
***
TOPICS:
[00:06:31] How Andrew Hacked J. Crew's Return Policy to Launch His Startup
[00:07:35] Spending $2-3k on Envelopes for Software-on-a-Disc Business
[00:11:04] Building a 'Jokes and Trivia' Newsletter to $30M
[00:14:12] How Andrew Boosted Growth via Affiliates
[00:20:40] How Andrew Lost $300,000 From His Business
[00:22:30] How Andrew Pivoted Mixergy
[00:26:54] Lessons Learned From Interviewing Founders
[00:29:14] Embrace Your Weirdness to Stand Out
***
LINKS:
Andrew's Mixergy Podcast
Andrew's Book: Stop Asking Questions
Andrew on Twitter

First Class Founders: Creators | Solopreneurs | Personal HoldCo - $250 Million Dollars in Sales: Colin Chung's Copywriting Secrets Revealed

Transcript

Yong-Soo Chung [00:00:00]:
It turns out that Colin Chung and I don't just share a last name, we also share a love for board games...
Colin Chung [00:00:10]:
I've been playing designer board games since 2003, uh, back when Catan first got big.
Yong-Soo Chung [00:00:14]:
He's played ALL the expansions, just in case you're wondering..
Colin Chung [00:00:17]:
Oh, back in 2003, I played all of them. So I played, what was it? Knights and something, Knights and Barbarians. And I