It was morning, around 8 or so:

Me and Kels were in the kitchen, standing around the island, waiting for the coffee to brew. 

“What time is your call today?” she said. “It’s with Kim, right?”

Kim Krause Schwalm is one of the top direct-response copywriters in the world. 

“Uh-huh,” I said. “It’s at one.” The machine beeped. “Wish me luck.” 

In hindsight, I dunno why I asked for luck. Just something I say when I’m nervous, I guess. I’ve been studying Kim’s work for years, after all — transcribing her words, analyzing her logic — and now I had a chance to speak with her one-on-one. 

“Are you nervous?” said Kels. “Didn’t she ask you for the call?”

Kim had reached out a few days prior. She was interested in my marketing process, how I spread my content around the internet. 

“She did, yeh,” I poured my wife some coffee. “I dunno,” I said, “I mean… it’s KIM KRAUSE SCHWALM!”

Kels sipped and blinked. “Well,” she smiled, “good luck.”

“Hi, Eddie,” Kim said. 

“Hey, Kim.” 

“Oh,” she said, “you look just like your picture… same hat.” We laughed. 

The conversation was easy with Kim, comfortable. On that first call we talked about our goals, where we wanted to be in a year, two, five. We talked about copywriting. We talked about content marketing, growth. 

It was very productive. 

“Maybe it makes sense to do this again?” Kim said. “We can meet on an ongoing basis, if you like? You’ll help me get my writing out there and I’ll help you get even better at direct-response copywriting.” 

“Yes, please,” I said. “That would be… incredible.” 

And so started our mutual mentorship. 

Now, every week, Kim and I jump on a call to share knowledge, trading stories and “secrets” and being completely transparent. 

“Do you wanna focus on anything specific today?” Kim asked me last month. 

“Actually, yeh,” I said. “I’m writing an article about the 40/40/20 Rule of Direct Marketing — ever heard of it?” (We laughed. Of course, she had.) “Maybe you can give me your take on the fundamentals?”

“Sure!” Kim said. “I mean, do you want me to just speak extemporaneously about it?”

“Sure,” I said — and so started a masterclass on one of the most important principles in direct marketing (one that will help you actually predict the success of any ad campaign you run from this day forward). 

And now, I want to share everything we discussed on that call with you:

I’ve done my best to condense a 55-minute conversation into a clear, concise, digestible breakdown article — basically, a look inside a mentorship session with an A-List copywriter — complete with quotes, color, and context from Kim Krause Schwalm herself. 

(With her expressed permission, of course.)

Please enjoy: