Want to get better at copy? Copywriter and author, Glenn Fisher, joined us for the 164th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast to talk about how he became a copywriter and how he rapidly improved his skills. Today, Glenn teaches other how to start and get better at copywriting on his podcast, in speeches, and in his book. We asked Glenn about:

•  how copywriting overtook his dream of becoming a bank manager

•  pitching everyone in London before finding his first job

•  what he learned from his early mentors that helped him most

•  Glenn’s process for finding (and testing out) a great idea

•  the difference between the UK and the USA when it comes to ideas

•  the lessons he took away from his Tony Robbins experience

•  whether or not copy and advertising can change a person’s beliefs

•  the no-secret, “secrets” Glenn has used to grow his skill set

•  what his business looks like and how he spends his time

•  the catalyst for writing his book and the process he followed

•  what he would do differently if he were rewriting his book again

•  what the book has done to build his credibility and why that’s NOT enough

•  what he struggles with in his business today

•  what he would do if he lost everything and had to start over from scratch

•  why other copywriters aren’t your competition

We also asked Glenn about the future of copywriting and where marketing is headed right now. To hear this interview, click the play button below, or download the episode to your favorite podcast app. Or scroll down for a full transcript.

 

The people and stuff we mentioned on the show:

Agora

Tony Robbins

The End of America

Alex Mandossian

AWAI

Proust

The Art of the Click

Mary Ellen Tribby

Kate Toon

All Good Copy

Kira’s website

Rob’s website

The Copywriter Club Facebook Group

The Copywriter Underground

 

Full Transcript:

This episode is brought to you by The Copywriter Club, In Real Life, our live event in San Diego, March 12th through 14th. Get your tickets now at thecopywriterclub.com/tccirl.

Kira:   What if you could hang out with seriously talented copywriters and other experts, ask them about their successes and failures, their work processes, and their habits, then steal an idea or two to inspire your own work? That's what Rob and I do every week at The Copywriter Club Podcast.

Rob:   You're invited to join the Club for episode 164 as we chat with copywriter and podcaster Glenn Fisher about becoming a direct-response copywriter and writing a book about it, what it takes to write good copy, his writing processes, mistakes he's made, and what he thinks the future of copywriting looks like.

Kira:   Welcome, Glenn.

Rob:   Hi, Glenn.

Glenn:            Hello. Thanks for having me.

Kira:   So, let's kick this off with your story. How did you end up as a copywriter/author/speaker? Let's hear your story.

Glenn:            Cool. So, yeah, we'll break it down into parts. As is the case with most copywriters, I got into it completely by mistake. I think I've spoken to you about one out of a thousand copywriters who went, ‘I'm going to be a copywriter.’ I started out as an accountant, which was an obvious mistake, but I did that for a few years and so I wanted to be a bank manager. I've never met anyone else who, as a 15-year-old kid, wanted to be a bank manager, but that's what I wanted to do. And I was going along on that path for a while until something snapped in my brain and went wrong, or maybe right, depending on which way you look at it, and I figured I wanted to do writing in some form.

So, I ended up... I knew I couldn't just walk into a job and go, ‘Hey, I'm a writer now. Hope you might employ me,’ so I went back to uni. I was probably 22-ish, something around that mark. Went back to uni and did a creative writing course, a degree, here in England. I did that and then I come from a very small town in the Northeast of England where they barely can read, let alone write,