Make No Mistake: Everyone’s Dying to Crack a Money-Making Secret
Make no mistake about it:
Everybody loves a good secret—especially when it’s the key to a fatter bank account.
As a financial copywriter, I learned this early in the game.
My trick? Selling the idea of a “secret stock that’ll make you rich.”
Over the years, I wrote hundreds—if not thousands—of subscription promotions. While the stocks were different, it was always the same hook: the secret stock that could turn a few bucks into a
fortune.
It was so easy. My client would toss me a stock pick—could be some tiny outfit nobody’d heard of or a beaten-down name ready for a comeback.
Now, my job wasn’t to analyze it or play stockbroker.
I just had to make it sound like the golden ticket. I’d write something
like, “This is the one stock the big shots don’t want you to hear about.” I’d sprinkle in a few hints—maybe a whisper of insider buying or a trend screaming “payday”—then pull the curtain down:
With each promotion, the name of the stock stayed locked behind the paywall.
People didn’t just sign up—they practically raced to do it. And I got paid for every one of them.
Take one campaign I wrote: an email series hyping “The Only Stock That’ll Make You a Marijuana Millionaire.” We mailed it a few times, and soon enough, thousands of subscribers were piling in, all itching to snag that ticker before it took off.
My client couldn’t stop smiling—I’d made him well over $100,000 in royalties off that one alone.
The secret sauce wasn’t the stocks themselves. It was the tease.
I learned fast that nobody’s buying a newsletter for dull charts or safe advice. They want that spark—the feeling they’re about to get the drop on something exclusive, something that could change their life while everyone else misses out.
So I’d dangle it just out of reach. A new “secret stock” every campaign, same approach, same result. My client’s subscriber list grew, and my checks kept coming.
I’m not saying I invented this. I just got good at it. (Really good!)
Let me explain…
People are wired to chase what’s hidden—give them a taste, then make ‘em pay for the rest. That’s what I did. The stocks were legit, the opportunity was real, but my words? They turned curiosity into cash. I didn’t need to be a Wall Street whiz—just a guy who knew how to tell a story that hit the right buttons.
Here’s the lesson if you’re selling anything:
Don’t just pitch the product. Pitch the secret behind it. Make ‘em feel like they’re one step away from something huge—and that waiting means losing out. That’s how I turned a writing gig into a steady paycheck—and had a little fun along the way.
As a seasoned direct response copywriter, Doug has created hundreds of profitable
direct mail packages, emails, and video sales letters for the world's largest specialized information
publishers—generating over $100 million in direct sales.
