Sean MacIntyre on Why Copywriting Is More Than Just Paying Off Your Student Loans & House with a Single Check Classroom to Copy by Tania Yeo

here’s Part 2 of the priceless interview I did with Sean — the first teacher-turned-copywriter AND financial copywriter I ever met:
[00:23] Why Sean is of two minds about niching down as a copywriter… and why having a niche could make you struggle MORE in the beginning…
[02:40] What makes financial copy “a WEIRD freaking world” that’s different from any other type of copy… and what you need to be prepared for if you want to break into this industry…
[03:19] Why a few of us IGNORED Sean’s advice about niching down and went for it anyway 
[03:39] Sean: “Approach it with a monomaniacal singularity of purpose. Just go after it. But most people are not like that… Most of those people don’t make it.”
[04:00] His secrets for succeeding at a generalist copywriting career… getting really good at copy… and becoming known for your quality of work, NOT your niche (be warned, there’s a lot of talk about candles here)…
[06:29] Sean: “If you’re not passionate about something, if there’s not a particular niche or topic that you’re just like, ‘Oh my God, I want to live, breathe, eat, shit, consume financial copy every single day of my life for the next 18 years…’ If you’re not that person, man, just let yourself become the candle guy.”
[08:00] His 3 steps to a BETTER, less stressful, faster-to-monetize copywriting path…
[08:06] Sean TURNS the tables on me and asks: “As you were learning copy, were you trying to go the broad route or were you trying to hyper-specialize at first?”
[11:16] What you could miss out on if you ONLY hyper-focus on the most financially profitable niche…
[13:55] Sean’s journey from having a strong distaste of the financial industry DESPITE growing up around stockbrokers and Bloomberg terminals… to finding REAL meaning in financial copywriting…
[16:23] How it’s possible to write ethical, evocative, emotionally compelling copy that STILL makes sales…
[19:14] Why being a copywriter is like being in the MAFIA… and how it can get surprisingly lonely…
[21:13] Sean: “You know, my job is to show up and teach people and get paid… Switching from that mindset to being like, ‘Oh my God, my pay is directly connected to how much work I do and the quality of the work that I do.’ Most people never experience that.”
[23:33] What he would say to himself if he could go BACK in time… and how he would approach his career and mindset differently…
[25:43] Sean: “I was able to pay off all my student loans with a single check. I was able to buy a house with a single check.”
[29:11] Sean: “Teachers are horrifically mistreated and underpaid. But, unfortunately, you know, we don’t get to live in the world we want. We have to live in the world that we’re in.”
[31:42] His advice for anyone transitioning from teaching to copywriting, why you DON’T have to quit your job, and how this could be a FAR more fulfilling career for you.
If you want to check out more of Sean’s work… He’s the chief editor and analyst at diywealth.com (which I used to write for back in the day), which also has a very entertaining YouTube channel. Also, check out his copy YouTube channel, Copy That! You’ll find lots of fantastic free tutorials to get you started in copywriting there.


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