In Episode 2 of The Copywriter Club Podcast, Kira and Rob interview "Copywriter to the Stars" Ry Schwartz about becoming a copywriter (a funny story that shows how long he's come), how he landed gigs writing for people like Amy Porterfield, his process for working with clients and understanding customers and much more. Ry even drops his phone number on the show, so listen to the end if you want to chat with him in person. British accent required (you have to listen).

Ry is a genuinely nice guy and easy to talk to—which is why this show runs a little long. But the advice he drops is worth the extra time. Check it out by clicking the play button below, or scroll down for a full transcript.

The people and stuff we mentioned on the show:

Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz

Shawshank

Benjamin Button

Copyhackers

Danny Iny (Mirasee, formerly Firepole Marketing)

Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankel

Clip-on Man Buns

Amy Porterfield

Jeff Walker's Product Launch Intensive

Ryan Levesque's Ask Method Masterclass

Kira’s website

Rob’s website

The Copywriter Club Facebook Group

Intro: Content (for now)

Outro: Gravity

Full Transcript:

KH: What if you could hang out with really 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 try to do every week at The Copywriter Club Podcast.

RM: You're invited to join the club for episode two as we chat with copywriter to the stars Ry Schwartz about writing for big-name clients, being un-Googlelable and his process for putting himself in the shoes of the people he writes to and for.

KH: Hey, Rob and Ry.

RM: Hey, Kira, Ry.

RS: Copywriter to the stars, like how much do I owe you for that new branding slogan?

RM: I wondered what you would think about that, Ry.

KH: That was incredible.

RS: It's so good.

RM: So true. Hey Ry, maybe other than the introduction that I've given, you're sort of this hidden-away copywriter nobody can find. Maybe talk about that in a minute, but I would love to hear the Ry story. How you became a copywriter? Because I'm imagining that when you're seven years old you weren't thinking, "I am going to be a copywriter. I'm going to write emails for a living." Right? What's the story?

RS: Yeah. I had it coming. No, I am not related to Gene Schwartz. Sometimes I referred to him as my uncle just for fun. I actually got started pretty late-ish, I guess. I do have a business-ish background. I did my undergrad in marketing for whatever that was worth which turned out to be pretty much nothing. Right out of college got a corporate job, the typical cubicle hell kind of thing and for those two years it was all about us keeping that. Literally, I used to refer to that as 'Shawshank," I was digging my way out with the plastic spoon every day. This right around 2007-2008 which was a perfect time to jump ship, if you weren't being forced off the ship.

RS: I remember I wasn't being forced off the ship which is really alarming and people are getting laid off every day and people are disappearing. I remember like, "This is my perfect opportunity to try to get laid off and try to at least make an exit with a bit of a severance package."

RS: Ultimately I didn't get laid off, but I ended up having to quit and then from there, I actually pursued screenwriting full-time for about the three years and really flirted with success right out of the gates, which is both an amazing thing and a bit of a curse. Because it just strung me along long enough for literally three years, thinking that that break is coming. I had projects that got attraction and picked up and various people attached. It was promising and promising enough to make me remain in there without being deluded or at least thinking that I was being deluded. That's an interesting process but meanwhile, money wasn't coming in.