Start your Back Room Membership today

Nope. Stay as long as you like or feel free to leave at any time if you decide to go in a different direction. Most members stay for a few years, and many have been here since we started in 2015. I’d love to have you join us.

The Back Room is for freelancers, copywriters, writers, and solo business operators who want to build a more successful business. It’s not so much about a certain income level as it is about creating a profitable, sustainable, and peaceful business. We have Members who are early in their journey, and those who’ve been doing this for 15-20 years. My aim is to help you get further ahead than you would on your own.

I guarantee you’ll regularly get good ideas that will pay for your membership many times over. If at any point you decide to change course and this doesn’t fit your needs anymore, you can leave and I’ll cancel your payments immediately.

The Back Room is a private community of sharp business people who care about each other. I’ll help you figure out exactly what you should be doing, I’ll help you get good clients you love, and I’ll help you build a profitable, sustainable, and peaceful business. We have fun, we talk about business, and sometimes we talk about life. I think you’ll like the vibe, and I think it’ll be a good investment for you.

The Back Room is not another copywriting group. We don’t talk ad nauseum about the minutiae of copy (yawn), and we don’t do copy critique Zoom calls. (We do include written copy critiques inside the Back Room, I just think group copy critiques on Zoom are really boring.) It’s not a magic vault full of swipe files and templates (you can get that beginner level stuff elsewhere), and we don’t worship at the altar of copywriting gurus, dead or alive.

Oh, and we’re also not some kind of job listing or match-making service. In fact, I teach you how to get clients without ever having to cruise Job Boards, without having to hobnob with so-called A-listers, and without becoming some kind of copywriting celebrity. Copywriting “jobs” or “gigs” are the antithesis of what we do here.

The Back Room is about Business Beyond Copywriting™. I was talking about it (and doing it) back in the 90s, and I’ll be doing it ‘til the day I die.

If you’re just starting out or have never had a client of any kind, hold off for now. If you’ve never worked for yourself and you’re running away from a job you hate, skip this.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re making half a million or more a year, there’s probably not a lot you’d get here that you don’t already know.

If you’re in between, maybe making $100-250k or aiming to get there (and beyond) the next few years? You should join us. We’ll help you shorten your learning curve.

Yes! This is probably the biggest thing I can help you with — getting good clients you love. Not because of your writing prowess, but because you’re going to learn how to have effective Client Conversations here.

Again, you don’t have to be an A-lister, you don’t need to have a well-known personal brand, and you don’t need well-connected friends to introduce you to clients. All you need is my Hot 150™ method, a client acquisition and retention system you can use for the rest of your life. It’s an evergreen topic and main theme of the Back Room.

In the near future I will be, and until then, you’re welcome to throw more money my way if you’d like. Ha. But seriously, I’ve priced it at a reasonable level because I always want to over-deliver. You’ll see from the testimonials sprinkled throughout my site that I do. When that happens, people stay, and I’m building a lucrative long-term business.

As a reminder, when you join you’re grandfathered in at that rate. When I raise the rates in the future for new Members, yours will never go up.

Yes, I do. I talk to Back Room Members 1-on-1 on a regular basis, whenever someone requests it. I enjoy talking to Members, it helps me keep my finger on the pulse of what’s going on, and it’s the most effective way I know to help people.

One of my current Members asked me this before she joined. My answer: Yes. Not everyone participates in the group discussions on Circle or hops on our weekly Zoom calls. Most don’t, actually.

A lot of people join because they want just one of the benefits I offer. Some people only read The Roller Report print monthly newsletter, others only tap into the Cafe Confidential calls and nothing else. And we have many Members who don’t participate in any group aspects of the community. They joined for one purpose only: to get 1-on-1 coaching from me. If that’s all you take advantage of with your Back Room membership, I guarantee you’ll feel like you’re getting the better end of the deal.

Yes. I work mostly from home, a restored farmhouse built in 1720 in the Quiet Corner of Connecticut. Emida operates her mural painting business here, too. We’ve had Back Room Members visit us, and if you’re ever in our neck of the woods, we’d love to see you. My official business address is nearby: 626 School Street, Putnam, CT 06260

Most definitely. That’s why we’re all about Business Beyond Copywriting™ (and I was banging that drum long before everyone else got on the bandwagon). The Back Room has always been focused on building a business, not necessarily being a freelancer-for-hire, or even a highly paid copywriter going from gig to gig. The game has changed. I wrote about it in my book, The Freelancer Manifesto, back in 2017, and I predicted it even earlier.

Guess what? You don’t have to. So many coaches teach that you have to create some magical magnetic brand and attract people to you, an “It” factor of sorts. Who has time (or the celebrity charisma) to pull that off? Go for it if that’s your style.

Or…follow my methods in the Back Room. They’re for anyone who’s willing to work hard, use their talents, and spend more time creating and delivering good work instead of posing and posturing on social media.

The Hot 150™ is a proprietary client acquisition and retention system I developed and fine-tuned in the trenches, starting in my 17-year sales career in Corporate America and continuing with my copywriting business. Without ever using paid traffic, mass marketing, or becoming any kind of “influencer” (in the parlance of 2022), I’ve built a very successful business. It’s worked well for me and I’ve taught it to many others in the Back Room.

No, I don’t teach copywriting per se. I never have and never will. I’m good at it, I just don’t know how to teach the craft of copywriting. There are hundreds of copywriting courses out there to learn from, including probably a dozen or so good ones. (I am really good at critiquing copy, though, and that’s something included inside the Back Room membership.)

I teach how to get good clients and keep clients. I teach how to read people and situations and have good Client Conversations. I teach how to sell. I teach how to build a business, a solid business you can ride for the next 5-10 years or more.

Maybe, maybe not. Selling is a learned skill, so if you’re willing to learn, I’ll do everything I can to help you get good at it. I believe the missing link to becoming a successful solo business operator is getting good at talking to clients. There’s just no way around it. If you want a business that doesn’t require it, you’re back in the land of Copywriting as a Commodity. I recommend figuring out the Art of the Client Conversation. We do it better in the Back Room than any other copywriting-related group, hands down.

If you’re looking for a free mentor, I don’t do that. This is a question I get quite often from people who aren’t Back Room Members yet. If you join the Back Room, I’ll mentor you, for sure, in any number of different ways.

I’ll hop on an occasional 1-on-1 call with you, I’ll direct you to the right resources, including other Back Room Members who might be able to help you, and I’ll help you figure out a path forward. Whether it’s with me and the Back Room or someone else, you shouldn’t try to do it alone, no matter what level you’re at.

For sure. If you don’t want to join an ongoing monthly membership, I do offer one-time coaching calls (under Services) for $300. The best way for us to connect, though, and your best option price-wise, would be to join the Back Room for only $75/month.

Yes, I do. In addition to the Back Room, I have a high-level year-long mastermind called the Cafe Roundtable. It’s by invitation only, but let me know if you’d like details. (It’s $8,000 and that may increase in the future.) I also offer my Business Beyond Freelancing™ (BBF) course for $1,500, and my two-day immersive live workshop, BBF Live™!, for $1,250. If you join the Back Room, you get a $750 voucher which you can apply to any of these three things.

I don’t currently offer ongoing 1-on-1 coaching outside of the Back Room or Roundtable.

No, it’s not. I actually thought seriously about pricing my 16-page newsletter a la carte at $75 or $97/month (the price of some other print newsletters I’m familiar with, and one that I subscribe to myself), but I decided to include it to make the Back Room the absolute best value of its kind.

I started it in April of 2022, and early feedback tells me it was a good decision. Members love it! You will, too. From Alan Steacy:

“Hey, Steve, guess what just landed in my mailbox! Yup…the inaugural issue of The Roller Report. It’s brilliant. I love it.

It’s a masterful blend of business ideas and personal reflections that inform, encourage, and challenge us, your readers, to keep moving the needle forward in our areas of expertise.

Often something long-awaited, upon arrival, leaves one disappointed. Not The Roller Report. It did not disappoint. In fact, it ticked every box from consummate content to compelling composition. Congratulations on the debut issue. Clearly, you knocked it out of the park on your first swing! Can’t wait to see what you do in your next ‘at bat.’”

I plan to operate the Back Room until 2030, maybe longer, but who knows? The world could end next year. We’ve had a good run since 2015 and I have no plans to stop. I love what I’m doing.

In general, I commit to things for the long haul. Before we moved from Wisconsin to Connecticut, I was a member of the same health club for 23 years. I’ve been married since 1998 and will be for life. I’ve been a full-time copywriter since 2009, head of the Copywriter Cafe since 2012, and we’re just getting warmed up with the Back Room chapter, seven years in. This is fun and I’d love for you to be a part of it.

Beyond that? Emida and I have plans to create a sustainable living compound down South, inspired by the 2018 documentary The Biggest Little Farm. Ours will have more of a creative bent, and we plan to host writers-in-residence and artists-in-residence, along with workshops and retreats.

Ultimately, I plan to write a novel series and get it picked up by Netflix or Hulu. The first book is in progress.

We’re focused on Business Beyond Copywriting™, getting good clients you love, bringing people into your world (not going into theirs), commodity-proofing your business, mastering the art of the Client Conversation (which includes getting good at reading people and situations), playing the long game, getting paid more for your ideas and advice than for what you actually deliver copywriting-wise, predicting and guiding the client (what I call copywriting3 or Copywriting 3.0), and building relationships.

That last one — building relationships — is paramount. Develop and nurture good relationships and the business will follow. It’s worked well for me.

Today! Seriously, there’s no time like the present. We can’t do this alone, and we shouldn’t. I can help you get further ahead, quicker, than trying to do it by yourself.

Also, once you join you lock into that monthly rate, and it will never go up. When I raise the price for new members (every 6-12 months or so), yours will stay the same.

Last thing — The Roller Report monthly newsletter is only available in print. I don’t put it out in any digital format and Members can’t access back issues from before they joined. So if you see me promoting an upcoming issue, the only way to get it is to join the Back Room before that issue goes to print on the 1st of each month. Occasionally I sell back issues, but only to Members.

All that being said, your best bet is to join now. You’ll get $1,550 in bonuses and you’ll get in at the lowest price you’ll ever see.

No. I never discount the Back Room, and as I mentioned in the answer above, I regularly raise the price.

For sure. No need to interact with anyone unless you want to. In fact, I’d say the majority of Back Room Members actually don’t participate in any of the group activities. They don’t join the Cafe Confidential weekly Zoom calls and they don’t participate in the discussions in Circle. They do read my emails, read the newsletter, and connect with me once or twice a year for a 1-on-1 call. Then they put it into action and watch their business grow. As much as I like group engagement, if your preference is to soak it all up on your own, and you’re getting what you want out of it, I’m happy.

Sharp, fun, interesting people! I’ve never been a part of any group with so many talented, likable, and genuinely caring people. You’ll see.

Professionally, we have people of all levels, from beginners to 30-year pros. In addition to writers and copywriters, we have a lot of people who run ecommerce businesses or brick and mortar businesses. We have in-house writers and agency writers. Many published authors. We have a couple financial advisors, an attorney, a cycling coach, and some professional speakers. We’ve had an architect, a photographer, and a few psychologists. A lot of our Members have colorful backgrounds and stories from previous professions they were involved in.

About 85% of our Members are in the States, a smattering in Canada and the UK, and others scattered across the globe, everywhere from Poland to South Africa to New Zealand to Japan and places in between.

The common denominator among all of us is this — we want to build a successful solo business on our terms. We want to create something that fulfills us, does good in the world, and maybe, if we’re lucky, even leaves something behind after we’re gone.

Yes, of course. Two things I’ve never regretted spending money on — travel and self-improvement. Early on in my copywriting journey I probably invested around $30,000 on copywriting courses, masterminds, conferences, and coaches. It was all worthwhile, and paid off for me in spades.

From 2013-2020 I was a part of Dan Kennedy’s GKIC Gold membership. Great stuff. Off and on I’ve subscribed to other paid memberships and newsletters. Currently I subscribe to Ben Settle’s Email Players newsletter for $97/month, and I’ve purchased two of his other big books so far (at $400 and $700 a pop, not his little Kindle books or Amazon paperbacks). I’m a member of another paid group right now, and I have two people who coach and mentor me.

I love going to live events, too. At the end of July 2022 I’m going to a small retreat in Breckenridge, Colorado, hosted by Erin Pheil. I’m always looking for ways to interact with sharp people outside of my own Back Room group to expand my thinking and grow my business.

If you like being around friendly, fun, generous, motivated people, you probably will. Our members are genuinely nice, too. There’s no posturing going on, no Bro Marketers or Boss Babes with attitude. We’re real, and I like that.

My main hope is that you and I will get to know each other. Whether you engage with the group a little, a lot, or not at all, I want to help you build your business, so you and I will definitely connect to whatever extent you’d like.

Well, if you’re ever in my neck of the woods (the Quiet Corner of Connecticut, near Putnam), Emida and I would love to have you! We’ve had two Back Room Members come to our house, and I’ve had people drive up (or down) and meet me at the Sawdust Cafe, my local hangout.

I’ll also be hosting the very first Business Beyond Freelancing workshop, BBF Live!™, a 2-day event in Newport, Rhode Island, September 29-30, 2022. I can give you details if you’re interested.

Emida and I travel a lot, too. I’ve had Back Room Meetups in New York City a number of times (we’re only a 3-hour drive away), Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, Atlanta, and everywhere in between. We’ve even had get-togethers when we traveled to Ecuador, Argentina, and Israel. One of my long-term goals is to eventually meet at least half of my Back Room Members in person.

Most definitely, yes! I’m biased, of course, since it’s my group and you’ll be paying me. 🙂

The ball’s in your court.