Donnie Bryant

Donnie Bryant is a direct response copywriter and marketing consultant. He helps small businesses and solo professionals connect with and convert their “should-be” clients with unusually effective marketing messages and systems.

TGIF

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“Thank God it’s Friday” is the victory cry of a weary worker.

After a harsh week, you may even catch an atheist saying it.

And we all get it, right? Friday symbolizes freedom… the chance to do what you want to do instead of what you have to do.

It’s escape. A sizable chunk of the population lives for that escape, even if it’s only temporary.

Are you selling Fridays in your business?

I mentioned in a recent email that entertainment, experiences and escape are priorities for pretty much everybody.

If you find something people want to get away from, you’ve found a potentially lucrative business opportunity.

The other side of that coin is this: you can position your product as an escape from whatever “grind” your customers are sick and tired of.

You can (and probably should) write copy that paints a picture of escape.

Not “follow this 37-step process to become a better [fill in the blank]…” (37 steps sounds like selling a Monday)

But “take two pills and you’ll never struggle with [fill in the blank] again.”

Now, these are extreme example, but I hope you get the point. Make the strongest, escapiest claims you can make without becoming dishonest.

Your customers are waiting on their Friday.

13 Ways to Be Entertaining In Copy

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In my previous article, I mentioned that entertainment, experiences and escape are a priority for pretty much everybody…

And I kinda proved it’s true… but I didn’t really show you how to do it.

I’m not going to show you today, either. I just pulled an all-nighter finishing up a 68-page sales letter…

So I’m barely typing these words right now.

Here’s what I will do, though.

Let’s discuss what it means to “entertain” your readers with your copy – because it’s almost certainly different than you think…

And probably simpler than you think.

“Entertainment” in copy doesn’t necessarily mean trying to be funny, although that’s one option.

Entertainment, as I define it, is generating a desirable emotional reaction in your reader at some point in the copy.

So it can be humor, but it can also be:

  • Excitement – Most people are painfully bored all the time. Give them a jolt!
  • Connection – Reveal something you likely have in common with your reader. Growing affinity is a great thing.
  • Inspiration – Who doesn’t like feeling inspired?
  • Validation – People love finding out they’re right and/or that the right people agree with them.
  • Discovery – Education can go too far, but you want to help your reader feel like he’s stumbled across something valuable (especially something others haven’t discovered yet) when he reads your copy.
  • Nostalgia – I think everyone over 18 years old has fond memories of the “good old days.” Bring those memories to mind and your reader will associate you with those good feelings.
  • Curiosity – Curiosity creates its own discovery and positive emotional payoff when discover happens. Plus, once it’s sparked, curiosity is one of the hardest feelings to ignore.
  • Desire – Gets your heart pumping. Desire feels good, even before it’s satisfied.
  • Anger – Admit it, sometimes you WANT to be angry. And it feels good to be angry together.
  • Relief – If you can take away anxiety, pain or frustration, your reader will love you.
  • Story – An engaging story is an experience people gladly join along.
  • Hope – Help your reader believe his (immediate) future looks bright.

And the idea is to generate these desirable emotions consistently in your messaging over time that the reader WANTS to read before he even knows what your message is about.

He just knows he enjoys the experience of hearing from you, even if during those times he doesn’t buy from you.

Like Pavlov’s dog… ready for his tasty snack.

The good thing is, he’ll increasingly believe (partially unconsciously) buying from you or working with you will be even more emotionally fulfilling.

So that’s a quick overview of how I define entertainment in copy. Want more details? Check out this livestream recording:

See? There are lots of ways you can work it into your copy.

Now, have a productive and entertaining day!

P.S.

Next month, I’ll be speaking at Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever’s Black Millionaire Coach Live event in Washington DC.

It’s going to be an incredible 3-day event.

During my presentation, I’ll reveal the secrets to writing copy that attracts and converts high-ticket buyers.

(Previous copywriting experiences not required)

I’m excited to see lives and businesses TRANSFORMED and to be in the room with expert entrepreneurs on the verge of realizing their dreams.

Plus, I haven’t been on a physical stage since just before the pandemic. It’s good to be back!

If you’re a coach, consultant or service provider in the knowledge economy… and you’d like to add another zero to the end of your revenue number…

I encourage you to be there October 14-16.

It will be one of the best investments you ever make.

Anti-Inflation Inspiration from Disneyworld

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Is inflation hurting your business, Donnie…

… or is it making your business better?

Here’s a few ideas that can move you in a positive direction:

1) Entertainment, Experiences and Escape are still a priority for virtually every segment… regardless of financial difficulties.

In case you hadn’t heard, Disney just had its best quarter ever. Its theme parks are making more money even though there are fewer visitors than there were pre-pandemic.

Revenue from legal gambling (which I guess is a form of entertainment and escapism) in American casinos and other legal gambling outlets “smashed all-time records.”

CEO of sports betting platform DraftKings said he sees zero impact from inflation. Revenue is up 68% year-over-year.

If you can offer the 3 Es as part of your product or service, great.

But if nothing else, add entertainment value to your marketing and make it an experience!

2) Your clients need you MORE now, not less.

You can help them make more money… save their relationship (which is strained by financial concerns)… get healthier (which is hard when you’re stress-eating)…

And you can come up with a way to give them the entertainment, experiences and escape they’re desperately looking for.

In good times, your ideal clients didn’t need help as badly. But now, even though they may be anxious about the economy, they really need to get results.

Position your business as THE solution your should-be client needs (including entertainment, experience and/or escape) – and promote your offers confidently and consistently.

People ARE spending money. They’re just being choosy about where and with whom.

3) Raise your prices – or at least add a premium version of your offer.

Once you implement Idea 2 above, it’s clear you have something people gotta have… and they’ll be willing to pay

Disney theme parks KEEP raising prices. It’s a major reason why they’re bringing in so much cash even with fewer guests. (Maybe fewer guests is a good thing.)

Keep in mind, it’s not just marketing. Disney delivers a memorable, share-worthy, braggable experience. You need to do the same.

Also, higher prices are attractive to clients who are less price-sensitive. Clients who make decisions primarily based on price (in your industry at least) are probably not the best clients for you.

Oh, and boosting your prices helps you fight off inflation, too.

Here’s to putting more dollars in your pocket!

P.S. You can’t control the economy. But you can control your response to it. It’s time to be proactive and aggressive. Let’s get it!

David Deutsch Learned This From Me

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Maybe you’ve already seen this…

But just in case you haven’t, I want to make sure you don’t miss it.

I gave a mini-training for Agora Financial on creating intense curiosity in your emails.

Lots of great feedback, including this from copywriting legend David Deutsch:

We talked about neurology and clinical studies, but we weren’t just bookworming. We had some fun, too.

At least David Garfinkel (the self-proclaimed “world’s greatest copy coach”) thought so…

Check out the mini-training the Davids were talking about below.

Enjoy and learn. And hopefully laugh out loud.

P.S. You don’t have to be a professional copywriter to get ton of value from this video!

I Only Need One Million

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“I’m not greedy. I only need one million dollars and I’ll be satisfied.”

I can’t tell you how many times I heard my mother recite this exact refrain.

The underlying psychology/philosophy set a course for my life…

And based on a number of conversations I’ve had recently, I feel like it’s really important for me to talk about this today.

Because maybe you’ve experienced something similar.

I want you to be EMPOWERED. Hopefully this can give you at least a little boost.

Before I talk about the distant past, though, let me share a recent development.

This month, I gave away my car.

It’s not as generous as it sounds, and it wasn’t a marketing gimmick.

Not many people know this yet, but one of my teenaged nephews came to live with us in June. His parents kicked him out with little more than the clothes on his back.

We’ve gone to work getting him right. The boy needs a car to get to school and work.

I’m not saying this for applause. I’m trying to tell you a story.

Thank God we’ve been able to help my nephew.

And thank God my mother’s “I only need a million” mindset didn’t sabotage our ability to get to this point.

Mom had a (relatively) pure heart and the best intentions…

But take a look beneath the surface of that mentality.

It’s deceiving. It sounds humble and altruistic.

In truth, it’s packed with passivity – and it’s actually a little selfish.

Read it one more time: “All I need is one million dollars and I’ll be satisfied.”

Yes, one million dollars could have afforded us a lifestyle I could only dream of as a kid, and we could have helped a few people.

But there would have been a limit to the good we could have done in the world.

Here’s the point:

Your success isn’t just for you.

Contentment is a great thing. And you can surely be “satisfied” (in many ways) with one million dollars or less.

But what if you had ten million? Who else would you help? What other benefits could your generosity produce?

I encourage you to think bigger about your own success today. You never know who will need you.

You’ll be glad you did.

P.S. I’m obviously not saying you have to have a million dollars to be generous. I encourage you to be as giving as you can be, no matter how much money you have.

You can give a little like the poor woman in the Gospel of Luke who gave two mites. You can also give in ways that have nothing to do with money.

Point is, be generous!

Is This the Ultimate Copywriting Secret?

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“How’s your 401(k) doing?” my neighbor bellowed from across the street.

He just assumes I have a 401(k).

And he assumes the stock market is putting the hurt on me and I’m freaking out like he is.

He’s wrong on all counts… but I understood where he was coming from.

“Don’t get too worked up, Dave” I responded as I walked over to shake his hand.

“My client just told me his research shows the downturn is almost over. He expects the market bounce back any day.”

Dave seemed relieved. More importantly, I avoided talking about my lack of appropriate retirement planning.

That conversation reminded me about something I want to tell you.

It’s the ultimate copywriting secret if you do it right.

Incredibly simple… not always easy to pull off… but always worth using as a launch pad for persuasion.

In fact, it’s so simple, you may be tempted to dismiss it (or dismiss ME as a simpleton).

Don’t.

Let this sentence soak into your bones:

“Tell people what they want to hear.”

People want to hear the stock market is going to go up.

They want to hear they can finally have six-pack abs.

They want to hear they can finally get off Tinder and build a future with the person of their dreams.

(Or maybe they can consistently get quality dates on Tinder. I don’t really know how that works.)

Selling to people starts with understanding what they want and making sure they KNOW you can help them get it.

Leadership starts with understanding where your people want to go and making them believe you can help them get there.

Giving them hope this time can be different.

Especially when times are rough.

That doesn’t mean lying. It’s sparking emotional excitement and intellectual certainty that leads to action.

This is how we get things done, for real.

There are obviously more layers, but this is where you start.

What does your audience want you to tell them today?

The 2nd Fastest Way to Make People Care

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My friend Golibe made a great video this week exploring the power of a compelling story.

He briefly highlighted a point I haven’t heard too many gurus talk about:

How “unfair injury” connects you to a story character.

Golibe’s video just touched on the concept briefly, and it inspired me to expand on the idea a little more.

Because it’s a subtle but hard-hitting persuasion tactic.

It’s a key reason we form emotional bonds with characters (even if we don’t realize it) in countless books, movies and even marketing material.

In The Story Solution, Eric Edson says:

“After courage, the second quickest way to bond an audience to your hero is to place that character in a situation where blatant injustice is inflicted upon her.”

This isn’t necessarily the same thing as the “rags to riches” story arc. There are levels to this.

Let me share an example.

I worked with a few years ago who was paralyzed from the waist down as a teenager.

We occasionally mentioned that fact in sales copy. It was the catalyst that drove him to learn the skill he turned into 3 multimillion-dollar business.

One day, the client had the idea to take the story to another level.

He talked about how a group of older teens beat him so badly that he’d never walk again. Then the medical bills crushed his family financially. And that series of events forced him to do something different…  

Fleshing out the unfair injury kept people glued to their screens and practically forced viewers to root for my client.

Sales on that webinar were off the charts. (I don’t remember the stats, but I get there were fewer returns, too.

You can use unfair injury to draw readers/viewers into your copy and keep them emotionally engaged.

Share painful stories — and especially of injustices — against your main character. The more vivid the better.

Maybe your boss gave the promotion you deserved to someone else. Better yet, she gave it to the new guy the one who always wears tight shirts — the guy YOU TRAINED.

There are a thousand variations.

As long as the story is believable, your reader/viewer’s heart will go out to your character, which advances the sale.

That’s your homework: Spend some time thinking about how you can use unfair injury in your own marketing.

It’s not the only trick you’ll use. But it’s a good one to have in your repertoire.

Have a productive day!

P.S. Presenting a perfect picture of yourself in your promotions is less persuasive than you probably think.

I know, it’s a little scary to tell your darker stories.

But it works. It can help you with sales now and retention/ascension over time.

Your ideal clients will feel even more connected to you. They’ll be even more excited to hear from you.

Isn’t that worth a little discomfort?

(Guess that’s up to you to decide.)

40 Days to Destruction: Urgency on a New Level

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Man in cloak looking at desert city from a distance

“Forty more days and Ninevah will be destroyed!”

After spending 3 days in the belly of a big fish, Jonah marched to the Assyrian capital to deliver a message.

And it worked. The entire city heard the message and repented. No fire or brimstone needed.

It’s fascinating illustration of how effective urgency can be.

I mean, “do X or die” gets right to the point, doesn’t it?

(Makes you wonder: Did Jim Rutz swipe the Jonah when coming up with his famous headline?)

copywriting tip clarity rutz

Of course, Jonah was coming out away from a very urgent situation himself. You know, the whole fish thing.

We talked about that the kind of urgency in the previous post.

I promised this post would explore a kind of urgency that goes deeper than deadlines and emergency situations and cuts to the emotional core of your ideal customer.

Let’s go back to Jonah.

His attitudes and actions are also fascinating illustrations of urgency’s other side.

As you remember, your boy did NOT want to go to Ninevah.

He was happy about its coming destruction. And he knew if he did his job as a prophet, the LORD might spare the city.

You know the story. Jonah hopped on a boat to get as far away from Ninevah as possible… but he couldn’t avoid delivering the warning forever. 

And his fear came to pass. The people repented and God was merciful.

Throughout this story, there’s an intense battle of urgency going on in Jonah’s mind.

On one hand, he was convinced if he did what he was put on earth to do… the outcome would be transformational.

He even complained to God after the fact: “I knew this was going to happen. That’s why I got on that boat in the first place!”

On the other hand, Jonah’s actions were driven by his (cultural and spiritual) identity and his attachment to it.

Why didn’t he want the people of Ninevah to “turn from their evil ways”?

As he saw it, God was on his side, not theirs. Mercy for them was a threat to his identity.

So when God spared the city, Jonah expressed it’d better for him to die than to accept a different perspective.

Like Jonah, we’re all attached to our identities.

We’ll go to extreme lengths to protect ourselves from threats and to take actions that line up with how we perceive ourselves (or a future version of ourselves we desperately want).

It’s an urgent need.

Here’s the lesson:

1. When you pursue your purpose so intently… when you become so convinced of the transformation that’s possible when you share your message, product or service…

The urgency of who you are and why you do what you do comes through in your communications in a way that’s impossible to fake.

Every interaction and all your communications resonate with it. Your Ninevah, the people you’re here to help, will feel that urgency and respond.

2. Get familiar with your ideal customer so that you have a solid understanding of how he sees himself and his place in the world.

That identity is a key driver of many of decisions, including the content he consumes, the products and services he buys, and how he connects with experts like you.

What’s the future version he urgently wants to grow into? What role can you play in helping him get there?

That’s a different, deeper way to leverage urgency in your sales copy and marketing.

P.S. If your business is related to the reason you were put on this planet, don’t run away from your “Ninevah.”

Believe in the transformation that you can help create and move boldly forward.

A Different Way to Leverage Urgency in Sales Copy

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Selling with urgency is effective.

Selling TO urgency is almost unstoppable.

Here’s a real-life example.

[Warning: If you have a sensitive stomach, you might want to skip this article.]

On Saturday night, I bit into a piece of caramel… and pulled the crown right off one of my teeth.

It didn’t hurt, but MAN it freaked me out!

copywriter's dental crown laying on teal tabletop

I instantly swore I’d never eat candy again. (I meant it in the moment. We’ll see how long my resolve lasts.)

Then within 2 seconds, I started trying to figure out how I’d find a dentist who could patch me up on a Saturday night.

My situation was urgent. This kind of urgency creates a selling environment with:

Kind of a dream scenario.

So here’s a question for you:

Can you market and sell your offer to an urgent situation your ideal client is freaking out about right now?

If your offer doesn’t speak to an inherently urgent desire or need, how close can you get?

It’s a powerful way to simplify and accelerate your sales.

There’s also a way you can speak to urgency that goes deeper than emergency situations and cuts to the emotional core of your ideal customer. 

We’ll get into that next time.

Wrong Price Strategy Will RUIN Your Business (Lesson for Entrepreneurs)

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I believe 100% in treating prospects with honesty and respect.

So I’m curious to know what you think about this…

It’s one of the worst mistakes in the history of modern retail.

Back in 2012, JCPenney’s CEO Ron Johnson decided to eliminate coupons from the department store’s business.  

Up until that point, Penney put coupons in newspapers, credit card statements in the mail and online. They were a major driver of sales.

Johnson slashed prices 20-25% on most products companywide to make up the difference. He figured customers would appreciate the built-in savings.

If you’ve studied marketing you can guess what happened — which means you’re more insightful than at least one Fortune 500 CEO.

The strategy flopped hard.

Sales dropped almost 25% ($4.3 billion) and Johnson left the company to “look for other opportunities.”

I remember it like it was yesterday.

At the time, I worked in the stockroom at JCPenney, unloading trucks full of clothing at 3am (I haven’t always been able to survive purely on copywriting income).

My stockroom job got whole lot easier because we sold through much less product.

I also remember JCPenney hiring a mob of temporary employees to remove the price tags from all the merchandise in the stores…

Marking prices BACK UP to their pre-Johnson levels…

And starting to send out coupons again.

Revenue popped. Customers came back, happier. And the company tried to forget what happened.

Lots of Lessons. But here’s the main point

Decision-making is not a rational process.

In this instance, customers preferred cutting out a coupon to save $20 on a $60 sweater over walking into a store and picking up the same sweater for $40.

They were happier because they FELT the savings.

So they bought more frequently. And JCPenney raked in more cash.

Everyone wins.

This is not me telling you to add coupons to your business (I’ve found that credits often work better than coupons, anyway) or lower your prices.

I’m suggesting that skillful, effective marketing figures out why your people make their emotional decisions…

And works to elicit the right motivating emotions with respect, honesty and in your buyer’s best interest.