What?! Roy Furr has a Substack now?

Roy Furr here — and I’m ready to announce a huge change.

Whether you’re brand new... Or you subscribed to Breakthrough Marketing Secrets or BTMSinsiders... Or followed me as TheAdvisorCMO... Or have read my books... Or know me through my other work...

This intro post is for you.

... To fill you in on what’s coming next... And to fill you in on why you should immediately subscribe to this FREE Substack... At least, if you want to hear from me in the future.

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The winds of change are blowing.

For the last 20+ years, I’ve been largely doing my own thing. Being an entrepreneur. Running my business. Getting paid for the value I was creating for a mix of clients and customers.

I’ve been: Freelance copywriter. Copy chief. Marketing consultant and strategist. Fractional CMO. Publisher. Copywriting coach and trainer. YouTuber. Podcaster. Email newsletter writer. Senior creative and marketing strategist through a client agency.

I’ve worked with financial advisors. Financial publishers. Real estate investment experts. The Titans of Direct Response (as both proper and common noun). Copywriting experts. Marketing and Entrepreneurship leaders. Some of the best marketers in the world.

I haven’t just worked with the best of the best — I’m now fortunate to count many as professional friends.

Along the way, here’s some of what I’ve managed to do:

• Helped generate over $2 BILLION in new client assets onboarded... Via 5,000+ appointment requests... For a handful of financial advisor clients... All in a single calendar year.

• Launched and published Breakthrough Marketing Secrets from 2014-2023. Influenced 10,000s of copywriters, marketers, and entrepreneurs. Shared daily content via email, YouTube, and podcasts. Launched BTMSinsiders training library, with over 200 hours of training on effective marketing.

• Personally trained and mentored a small cadre of entrepreneurs, marketers, and copywriters... Many of whom rose to A-list status... And built (or helped build) wildly-successful businesses.

• Worked on marketing with many of my heroes. Gary Bencivenga. Dan Kennedy. Clayton Makepeace. Brian Kurtz. Perry Marshall. Ken McCarthy. Mark Ford. And many more.

• Authored The Copywriter’s Guide to Getting Paid and The Ultimate Selling Story. Two short but power-packed books for copywriters and marketers.

• Broke sales records with clients. Helped them earn spots on the Inc Magazine list of fastest-growing companies. Redefined entire businesses and their marketing approaches. Helped Brian Kurtz launch The Titans of Direct Response. Created win after win for my copywriting and consulting clients. And on, and on.

Also along the way, I grew an audience of thousands of fans, followers, clients, and customers. Who improved their lives and businesses through my marketing and teaching.

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Now it’s time for something different.

Starting January 1st, 2026, I’m taking on a new role — a role I created (a story for another day).

I’ll be the Director of Communications for a Nebraska-based financial advisory firm.

Don’t let the fancy title trick you. I’m still getting my hands dirty. I’ll be in the trenches of results-accountable direct response marketing every single day.

The “Director” title simply reflects my experience and the responsibility I’m taking on.

I’m stepping into a business that’s thrived without much marketing. And I’ll be building marketing and lead generation programs from the ground up. Leveraging all my experience, strategies, and skills built over 20+ years in the biz.

This is a full-time job, in both spirit and function.

And so as I’m starting this role, I’m looking at all I’ve done in the last 20+ years. And any loose threads and not-dead-yet projects still lingering out there.

Plus I’m thinking about all the people who have followed me. And who may still want to do so. To get at least occasional insights and perspectives from me, on marketing and more.

And I’m realizing I need to do something drastic...

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I’m burning the boats... But...

There’s a famous story of Alexander the Great. In 334 B.C., he landed 100 military boats in Persia, to invade. Stepping off the boats, he was asking his army to march toward the most feared army in the world — the Persians. And he worried his troops would retreat, rather than face them.

So he ordered the ships burned.

“We either return home in Persian ships or we die here.”

It was a total commitment. There was no alternative but success.

There’s a reason we still tell this story, over 2300 years later. Because there is something special to committing like this.

I’m choosing to bring this level of commitment to this new role.

I may even spend the rest of my career here.

So I’m burning the boats.

I’m shutting down my main business, Fresh Look, Inc.. The corporation I’ve had since 2007, that’s been a holding company for all my work. My freelance and contract services. My publishing.

With that, I’m closing down websites and other projects I’m not planning to go back to. Even long-running websites like Breakthrough Marketing Secrets will be gone soon.

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Now here’s my big BUT...

I’m shutting it all down... BUT starting this Substack.

I’ve got a mix of reasons for starting this now.

But what it all comes down to is that I’m a writer. I get a lot of fulfillment and value from writing. From capturing my thoughts on marketing, sales, business, and beyond. And sharing them with the world.

This is not my job. It’s not my business. It’s not a full-time thing.

Heck, it’s barely a part-time thing. I don’t plan to keep a publishing schedule, and it certainly won’t be daily like I’ve done in the past. As I’m launching this, I’m not planning to monetize it. I’m not trying to sell you anything. (Okay, I might write some more books. But that hardly counts.)

It truly is just a place for me to write, and for you to read.

When I have something to write about, I’ll put it here. And when I put it here, you can read it. And if you’re subscribed, you’ll get a notification or email to make sure you don’t miss it.

Why Substack?

I evaluated a few different options. Each with pros and cons. But for me, the simplicity of Substack is ideal. I write a post and share it. And you can easily subscribe to get those posts by email.

No blog software to install and update. No email service provider or list to maintain. (Although technically I own the subscriber list and could take it elsewhere.) Yes, the capabilities are limited. And building on someone else’s platform isn’t ideal. But it’s a trade-off I’ll make for simplicity.

So here we are!

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What can you expect from this Substack?

At the most basic level, you can expect me, Roy Furr.

I’m purposefully not branding this as a marketing publication. Because I don’t want to limit myself.

Yes, I’m a copywriter, marketer, and entrepreneur. But I’ve also been fascinated with psychology, the mind, and human behavior for even longer. I’m into personal growth, meditation, and the further reaches of human nature. I’m also an artist, a writer and a musician. I’ve long been interested in money, wealth-building, and more. There’s so much more to life than marketing and business, and I don’t want to limit myself.

And while I may have other reasons to limit these topics (addressed below)...

This is my Song of Myself...

“I am large, I contain multitudes.”

And if you come along for the ride, I hope you’ll get value from it, too.

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What about those limits on content?

The first limitation is compliance.

My new full-time role is in financial services. It’s high-regulation, high-compliance. Like, 3-letter government agency regulation. I’m intentionally keeping this Substack separate. I don’t plan to mention the firm name at all. This Substack is my personal opinion. It doesn’t reflect the opinion of the firm I’m working with, the owners, or their employees. I’m sharing my own perspective, not making personalized recommendations for you. Please do your own independent research. And consult qualified advisors for how anything you read here applies to you.

But I still want to treat this Substack as if it requires compliance approval. There’s a very real chance this will at least color the way I approach content here.

The second limitation is competitive advantage.

I’m actually not too worried about this. Because even if I gave away the farm, the way you’d do it wouldn’t match the way I do it. And there’s very little chance that you’re a direct competitor. But I also want to be respectful of the firm and the team I’m working with. And protect anything proprietary and exclusive we are building.

So while I’m likely to share principles and strategies and concepts that work... I won’t necessarily show tactical implementation. And I’m certainly not going to share confidential details of their business.

The third limitation is choice.

There are certain topics I became known for that I don’t necessarily want to write about anymore. The biggest one is what I call “copywriting as a business opportunity.” It’s just not a market I’m eager to speak to anymore.

At this point, I’m speaking to marketers like me. I’m building a sophisticated marketing and lead generation program. For an established business. With a high-value service offering. So that’s what I want to focus on, and talk about — at least on the marketing front.

Call me selfish, but I’m not writing this for you. I’m doing it for me. And if you want to come along for the ride, great.

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Okay, so what can you expect next?

Right now, my thinking is split.

On one hand, I’m very focused on specific, tactical, actionable marketing plans. This is what I want to execute to get fast results in this new role.

But a lot of my thinking also falls under the category of Marketing Principles That Get Results.

As I’m entering into this new role, I’m joining a team full of non-marketers. Or at least, they’re not the kind of direct response marketers I’m used to working with.

And I’m realizing it would be good to codify and share my deeper level foundational thinking. Not just what I want to do. But why I’m making the decisions I’m making. The thinking behind it. The foundational rules that guide my work.

If you’re familiar with my Architecture of a Skill framework, you know this is the good stuff. This is the deepest level thinking, required for mastery.

Here’s how thinking flows:

Principles → Strategy → Techniques → Tactics

Many people start with tactics and end up disappointed in their results. Or a win in one context isn’t repeatable. When you work without principles, success is haphazard at best. Same if you’re working from wrong or broken principles.

But better principles produce better results, all the way down. It’s been my secret to success. How I can go into a new business or even a new industry, and rapidly start creating wins.

And these principles... Well, they seem like a perfect starting place for this Substack.

So even though I reserve the right to write about whatever the heck I please here... If you’re subscribe here at launch... As the calendar turns from 2025 to 2026... That’s what you’re likely to see next.

Marketing Principles That Gets Results.

Until then...

Best wishes,

Roy Furr