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.

Happy Little Addicts

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What was your initial reaction to the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma — or even just discussions about it?

(I’m assuming you’ve had at least one discussion about it. Seems like everyone was talking about it a few weeks ago.)

Here’s a review I saw that captures a snippet of the conversations I had after the film was released:

“This exposes truths about big data, manipulation, & warnings from the people who designed Facebook, Google, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Everyone should definitely watch this to understand how these social media platforms are using us and how Humanity will be destroyed by Technology in the near future.”

A lot of people are “mad” at the social media companies, which Netflix should be counted amongst.

As a marketer, what was YOUR reaction?

The proper response should have been inspiration.

Because the film is practically a field guide illustrating how to build an army of happy little addicts…  

And we marketers should be taking notes.

Do you want your own army of happy addicts?

You can start taking notes right here, right now.

(BTW, I’m curious to know what your reaction to THAT statement was. Leave a comment and let me know.)

I’ll just briefly hit on a few points that are especially important.

What’s Wrong with an Echo Chamber?

One of the big criticisms leveled by the producers of The Social Dilemma is that Facebook and others feed you more and more stories to reinforce a particular opinion… one that you hold already.

News flash: humans already do this automatically. It’s called confirmation bias.

People enjoy the feeling of being right, smart, and on the right side. The crave it.

You should harness that reality.

When planning out your messaging, you must use your ideal customer’s view of reality as the starting point.   

Don’t fight your prospect’s brain.

Stake Your Claim

To a certain extent, you have to own real estate in your prospect’s mind.

How do you do that? Through regular, consistent, engaging communication.

Our brains are biased towards information we’ve heard recently and repeatedly.

You’ve heard that a lie told often enough is believed. But it’s not about the lie. It’s about the repetition.

A few things you can do to claim more real estate between your prospect’s ears:

  • Frequent communication via email, YouTube, social channels. You don’t have to use them all, but the more you use, the more you can dominate your prospect’s time and the more opportunities you’ll have to reinforce your ideas.
  • If possible, be present in the physical environment. Get a book, a t-shirt, a printed checklist, something physical into homes or offices. When you can do that, you’re in a rare group — and as a result, people convince themselves you’re more important.   

    Studies also show there’s a stronger and longer-lasting neurological response to physical marketing (e.g. direct mail) over digital version of the same ads.
  • Impact ONE THING that’s part of your prospect’s daily routine. Now you own part of his day.

    A recent poll found that 80% of people check their phones before doing anything else in the morning. It’s a routine set by social media (and email).

    What part of the day can you own?

By the Power Vested in Me

A huge reason The Social Dilemma is so hard-hitting is that it’s filled with admissions from THE experts on this topic: the people who designed these addictive apps.

People are eager to defer to authorities and experts, sometimes without even realizing it.

I’ve talked about authority several times in the past, so I’ll just mention one important point.

Your personal story — how you came to experience and understand the idea you’re trying to share — is likely to carry more weight than scientific studies (which make fantastic supporting arguments).

Your story makes you an authority, whether or not you have credentials or position.

Now listen…

This topic can make some people squeamish. I get it. Most people don’t want to feel manipulative.

But let me remind you of what we said last week.

When you’re selling something that helps people, you make the world a better place by promoting it aggressively.

Arguably, your prospects are struggling because they haven’t bought from you yet.

You can to lead them to freedom.

I encourage you to embrace the task.

Free Will vs. Email Marketing (No Contest)

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Has anyone ever told you how evil you are?

Oops.

I mean how evil they THINK you are?

As a marketer, it probably happens more than you think.

(Civilians don’t really understand what we do.)

I remember sitting in church with my family a few years ago… when the preacher — who happened to be my father-in-law — started railing on the vile schemes of marketers.

Free trials, for example.

Marketers know some people won’t cancel before the free trial is over, so why do we “trick” people into spending money that way?

That part of the sermon probably only lasted 2 or 3 minutes… but it seemed much longer.

I know marketing isn’t evil — I dealt with that false belief long ago.

But it was still uncomfortable.

Good thing the preacher didn’t call me out by name.

The church is full of civilians who don’t understand what I do, so I’m pretty sure no one knew he was talking about me.

He probably didn’t even know he was talking about me!

Has anything like that happened to you?

(If you have a good story, please reply to this email and share. I’d love to hear it.)

Let me clear up a few things.

Copywriting and marketing are NOT evil.

You probably already know that or you wouldn’t have signed up to hear from me.

Marketing is leadership… and I know you’re using it to improve people’s lives

Better marketing = more lives transformed for the better.

If you’re selling something that helps people, promoting it aggressively makes the world a better place.

Free will always wins.

We marketers can’t force anyone to act against their own best interests.

We can’t make them do what they don’t want to do.

All we can do is paint a clear picture of a specific outcome our should-be buyer already wants… and make it as easy as possible for him to say “yes”

Jonathan Edwards, an 18th century preacher (which makes him a little older than my father-in-law), wrote that people…

“…always act according to the strongest inclination they have at the moment of choice.“

You make the big bucks when you can create moments of choice where the reader’s strongest inclination is to buy your offer.

Email gives you the best opportunity to create moments strong inclination… over and over

I recorded a video describing a few of my best techniques for doing exactly that.

One of the strategies is what I call intense opportunity curiosity…

Which was the real secret behind the $218,337 5-email campaign I told you about last week.

This video training will be exclusively available to Inbox X-Factor members.

No big sales pitch. I still haven’t written the sales page.

But if you’d like to learn more about how I’ve been making MORE money with email instead of less (which so many people are complaining about these days)…

You’ll want to see the video I’m uploading tomorrow.

Plus, you get weekly email plans… winning subject line templates… and more.

$99 a month (no contracts) is a small investment to help you make your email list significantly more profitable — and to spend less time doing it.

Just one of the ways I’m striving to make the world a better place. 

The Best Way to Spread a Virus

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We have a tendency to make copywriting (and persuasion in general) more complicated than it needs to be.

A lot of the blame can be placed on the countless “experts” who make it seem complicated…

I fear I’ve fallen into that category at times.

Today, we’re going to simplify things.

At it’s core, copywriting is helping someone make a decision that will improve his life in a specific way.

Humans make most of their decisions — not counting habitual “autopilot” programs we run for so many parts of our lives — based on emotion.

You already knew that.

One of the most effective ways to make another human feel emotion is to feel it yourself.

Emotions are contagious like a virus — and symptoms start showing up FAST.

When you sit down to write, start out by feeling the feeling you want you reader to experience.

Excitement…
Fear…
Hope…

Let those feelings bleed into your copy.

You already do this in face-to-face conversation — and even more so when it’s someone you care about.

Your emotions are transferred to the audience to some extent.

And when he’s feeling the way you feel, you have the opportunity to lead him where he needs to go to improve his life in the specific way only you can deliver.

Make sense?

Have a heart-to-heart conversation (through your copy) with your readers this week.

It will make all the difference in the world.

I Believe… Help My Unbelief

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The odds are stacked against you as a marketer.

Your should-be customer or client has developed a sophisticated system for NOT buying from you.

(The system is deadly effective, even though he was hardly aware that he was building it.)

One of the main components of this system is disbelief. No surprise, right?

But what most marketers don’t consider is that disbelief comes in two flavors:

1. Disbelief about your or your product/service

and

2. Disbelief about his own ability or worthiness to experience the transformation you promise.  

In other words…

Your prospect can believe that you help save marriages… and disbelieve you can save HIS marriage.

To neutralize this part of the anti-buying system, you have to

1. Prove that you can deliver a result

and

2. Prove that you can deliver a result FOR HIM.

I want to talk about #2

How do you do it?

Identify the B.S. stories he tells himself… about himself.

A significant percentage of your prospects will never buy from you — not because they don’t want what you’re selling or because they don’t believe you’re good at what you do…

… but because of their limiting (dis)beliefs.

A Prospect's reason for not buying is the B.S. stories he tell himself 57.1% of the time.
*All figures are estimates

Some generic B.S. stories include

  • “I’ve failed before, so trying again is pointless”
  • “I’m not smart/handsome/wealthy enough”
  • “People who look like me don’t/can’t do that”
  • “I haven’t paid my dues yet”
  • “I don’t deserve to be rich/happy because I did XYZ in the past”

You can uncover more specific crippling B.S. stories by talking (or having your team talk) with people in your target audience.

Get on the phone.
Send surveys (but take responses with a grain of salt).
Spy on them online (social media, Reddit, Amazon reviews, etc.).

You’ll gain fascinating insight you can to overcome objections in your copy.

Showcase People Like Him Who Got the Result

Once you know some of the B.S. stories, find examples about people who contradict those stories.

The more unbelieving prospect see himself reflected in your marketing messages — including his dreams, challenges, and B.S. stories — the more your message will resonate…

And the weaker his disbelief will become.

Leverage A Unique Mechanism

Position your offer as a special, proven approach your prospect has never seen before.

Show him why it’s different — and why other solutions fail.

Your unique solution helps him understand why he may have struggled in the past. And it can give him hope for future success.

Make it Ridiculously Easy to Take the First Step…

Offer a sample. A free or low cost trial. A 7-day challenge.

One of the main reasons people fail is because they never MOVE. Get them to take the first step and you unlock optimism and even confidence by default.

That confidence can force your prospect to re-examine his disbelief — especially if you…

Give Him a Quick Win

Provide information or action steps that will give him some forward momentum.

It only takes a little… and you can deliver it right inside your marketing copy if you like.

This give the prospect more confidence and trust in you. More importantly, it builds confidence and trust in his own ability to reach his goal.

An obviously you’re the person best equipped to help him do it.

Now, there’s something to be said for not convincing anyone who’s not already sure he wants to work with you.

But no matter how you approach your own business growth, it’s helpful to identify the disbelief and B.S. stories that hold your prospects (and customers) back.

You can work that knowledge into your marketing or use it to improve results inside your paid offers.

I hope this helps you grow in one way or the other.

Have a productive day.

P.S. Overcoming a prospect’s disbelief in this way is part of  “killing them softly” with their own song.

This Weird Halloween Ritual Made Me Famous

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Every Halloween, my family freaks out trick-or-treaters with an unusual ritual.

Some people think we’re crazy.

Others love to play along.

Either way, it’s a tradition that’s made us semi-famous in each neighborhood we’ve lived in over the years.

(Actually, it goes back further. My wife’s been doing this since she was a child.)

On the morning of October 31st, we start putting up Christmas decorations.

As you can imagine, kiddies in their costumes are confused and delighted.

Teenagers and parents snap pics and stop for conversations.

We love it.

But we do get some pushback, though. A good percentage of people tell us…

“It’s too early to start thinking about Christmas.”

Which brings us to today’s marketing lesson.

How early is too early to ask for the sale?

This is a question that comes up a lot when I speak with entrepreneurs and budding marketers.

The answer is… probably sooner than you think.

So often, we’re conditioned to believe you have to get someone to “know, like and trust” you before you’ve earned the right to ask for the sale.

Or we’ve been told that we have to GIVE before we ASK.

Something about jabbing… jabbing… and more jabbing before anything else.

There is some truth to those concepts.

But people don’t buy just because they know, like, or trust you. Otherwise most of us would give all our money to our mothers.

No, people buy what they desire.

If you’re selling a product or service that:

  • relieves their fears and frustrations…
  • solves their pains and problems…
  • helps them reach their dreams and desires…

You don’t have to wait long to give them an opportunity to buy.

It can happen in the first email in a welcome sequence.

It can happen directly in a Facebook ad.

Don’t be fooled.

When you make the right offer to the right person, the right time is probably now.

Keep this in mind…

The classic AIDA formula still applies.

You have to get attention and interest before you can direct desire toward your offer. (That can happen faster than you may think, too.)

In the same way that you can start decorating for Christmas much earlier than many people think… You can start selling before you’re done throwing Gary Vee-style jabs.

After you’ve grabbed your should-be buyer’s attention and started generating interest in what you’re talking about, it’s safe to start moving toward the sale.

Let’s get it!

P.S. I just recorded a video diving deeper into this in the Inbox X-Factor membership.

I honestly believe it’s one of the most valuable trainings I can share right now. 

If you’re aggressively growing your email list, these insights could be worth millions of dollars for you.

You can check it out inside Inbox X-Factor.

… and they left the cocaine

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This crazy story happened 101 years ago, almost to the day.

On October 20, 1909, a team of federal agents sat on a stakeout on the Tennessee-Georgia border  

Their target: a truck headed north from Atlanta.

As soon as it crossed the border into Tennessee, the agents intercepted the truck and took possession of its cargo.

40 barrels and 20 kegs of Coca-Cola syrup.

The government decided to bring a sue Coca-Cola for adding “poison” to their popular beverage…

Caffeine.

At the time, a high-ranking guy at the Department of Agriculture was on a tear, enforcing the newly-passed Pure Food and Drug Act.

This guy was appalled by the “thousands of Coca-Cola fiends” he saw during a tour of the country.

This is where this story gets even crazier.

Because while the government began prosecuting Coca-Cola for over caffeine…

Coke still included trace amounts of cocaine!

But caffeine had to have it’s day in court.

(Incidentally, this court case actually generated MORE demand for caffeine by consumers. The opposite of what the lawsuit was supposed to do.)

In the end, the case was dismissed on a technicality. And in 1929, Coca-Cola stopped putting cocaine in its drink.

But not after creating millions of coke fiends.

This story has a few interesting takeaways, but we’ll just talk about two of them today.

Number 1: Never count on the government to know what’s best for you… or to do what’s right for you.

You’re going to have to control your own destiny, my friend.

Number 2: It’s easy for anyone to focus on the wrong things. Too easy.

That tendency slows down your progress and can even sabotage you.

When it comes to marketing your business, it’s insanely easy to focus on the wrong things.

Or at least suboptimal ones.

You probably already know email is the highest-ROI marketing channel there is.

So here’s the question: are you focusing on maximizing that channel in your business?

Or are you focusing on another, less leveraged activity?

Email is the cocaine in this analogy.

I believe it’s a mistake for you to focus on marketing “caffeine.”

If writing consistent, high-converting emails is something you struggle with (or don’t have the time for), this may be helpful for you.

The Anatomy of an Irresistible Offer

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The moment I saw it…

I knew I had to have it.

And I wasn’t the only one. (We’ll talk more about that in a minute.)

This instant obsession makes for a good case study of what it really means to create an irresistible offer.

Because…

1) a lot of entrepreneurs aren’t sure how to make a compelling offer

and

2) there’s a lot of information about offer-making out there that’s flat-out wrong.

Most of the bad information I’ve seen is bad because it places too much emphasis on “value stacking.”

Adding bonus on top of bonus…

Slashing prices…

Creating free Facebook groups for buyers to hang out with like-minded folks.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with piling on value. And there’s nothing wrong with bonuses or FB groups.

But people do not buy because of value. Not in the traditional sense.

They buy because of DESIRE.

So an irresistible offer should be driven by “desire stacking.”

Which brings me back the offer I mentioned at the beginning of this email.

One of the most attractive, no-brainer offers I’ve ever seen.

A chance to rent out the mansion from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

You may have seen this. Airbnb posted the link about a week ago, and Will Smith gave a video tour on YouTube on Monday.

When you see this, what’s your instant reaction?

For me — and countless people like me — the response is…

1st: WHERE DO I SIGN UP?

2nd: Please, God. Let me get a spot before they’re sold out.

I did not wonder how much it costs (and I definitely didn’t try to compare price vs. other lodging in the area).

Flying cross-country in a pandemic didn’t dampen my excitement.

If I could have grabbed a spot, nothing would have stopped me from booking a night.

Of course, different people have different responses. But for the right people, this offer is totally irresistible.

And the core reasons the Fresh Prince mansion is a no-brainer… are the same reasons behind most offers that are too sweet to ignore.

Let’s quickly break down 4 of them.

1. Status

Your offer should raise your prospect’s status — in his own eyes or the eyes of others.

When he says “yes,” what does he get that instantly makes him feel better about himself… like he’s just jumped to the next level (or at least finally discovered the elevator)?

How will he look to his (future) wife? His kids? His golf buddies. His competitors?

What will he have that others WISH they had?

A few bonus ebooks ain’t gonna get it.

2. Story Factor

Does buying from you give the customer an exciting, envy-inducing story to share at his next dinner party or networking event?

Does it change the story he tells himself about himself?

Or the story his parents tell to brag to their friends about their son?

Does it give him content that will get tons of likes on social media?

You might be shocked how much people will spend or suffer through to have a good story to share.

Think of all the great stories you could tell after staying at the Bel-Air mansion! And unlike a lot of business stories, you can share this one with just about everyone.

3. (Aspirational) Identity

Every conscious decision we make is influenced by the way they see ourselves and our place in the world.

If your offer connects to your should-be buyer’s identity in a unique way…

Helps him express externally how he sees himself internally…

Or moves him closer to being the person he wishes he was, letting Clark Kent be Superman, as it were…

It taps the deep-rooted desire.

How can your offer link your buyer to that identity?

4. Exclusivity

You don’t have to convince anyone there’s a limited amount of nights to book a stay in a mansion.

And you don’t have to convince anyone there’s high demand for the available slots.

But only about 365 people will have the privilege of securing one in the next year — if Airbnb keeps it open that long.

That kind of exclusivity and scarcity amplifies desire that’s hard to replicate in any other way — as long as you’re offering something people want in the first place.

It multiplies the status and story factor. Being part of such a small group boosts the impact to identity.

Leveraging exclusivity makes your offer significantly harder to resist. Use it to your advantage.

So there you have it.

When you’re thinking about how to make your offer as compelling as possible, remember…

Put value on the back burner. It’s all about stacking desire.

***UPDATE***

When I sent this article out as an

I sent my broadcast email newsletter earlier this week, I tested two very different subject lines.

One promises a valuable lesson about a topic I hear a lot of questions about…

The other seems to offer a voyeuristic peek into the lifestyles of the rich and famous.

I have to admit, the split test results surprised me:

surprising email subject line split test results

If you’ve read my emails before, you may assume the mansion I promise a tour of is my own home.

(That’s kinda deceptive, but not maliciously so).

After the first hour, the voyeuristic subject line was opened TWICE as many times as the benefit subject line. Honestly, I thought the “Anatomy” subject line would win.And I definitely didn’t think either version would double the open rate of the other. There are a few takeaways here:

  1. TEST. You really never know what will work until you get it out to the market
  2. I’ve said it a thousand times, but must have forgot when I sent this test..

    Sometimes entertainment is the most valuable benefit you can provide. That subject line brought MTV Cribs to my readers’ inbox.

    If you want to keep your open rates from dropping over time, entertainment value is practically nonnegotiable.
  3. People really do want to go behind-the-scenes, especially if your business has a personality component. They’re curious about the non-business stuff going on with you and others in your industry.

One of the top copy rules is that the copy must be about the reader. And while the “mansion” subject line doesn’t seem to be about the reader, it really is. It’s providing something they want: entertainment… escape… scratching the curiosity itch… aspiration… connection.

Never Waste A Good Crisis

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This week, disaster struck the Bryant castle with swift fury.

I got this weather alert at 3:27 Monday afternoon…

Within 3 minutes, the sun was swallowed by dark clouds and the wind got stronger and stronger.

I ran outside to try to secure what I could… but in less than 2 minutes, those clouds began hurling rain and the wind started moving things around the yard.

I hid under the gazebo to stay dry while I strategized.

My wife (being far smarter than me) told me to get in the house, and it only took a few seconds for me to see the wisdom in taking shelter.

And by the time I got into the house and looked out the kitchen window, the top of the gazebo collapsed.

Here’s what it looked like after the storm:

Obviously we weren’t the only ones.

This storm caused a ruckus all around the Midwest.

And actually, with 90 mile an hour winds, marble-sized hail and lightning strikes around our neighborhood, we were very lucky.

Here’s another silver lining:

The storm gave me a great excuse to send my list a dramatic email.

Disasters, accidents, failures and hardship make for GREAT emails (and sales letters, ads, etc.)

The kinds of emails your readers WISH you’d send.  

That’s why today’s subject line is “Never let a crisis go to waste.”

In politics, it’s about using tragedy and fear to push an agenda.

For entrepreneurs and marketers, it’s a different kind of opportunism.

Your personal story gives you authority to speak into someone else’s life… to show them how to handle situations they’re struggling with.

It’s better than any degree or certification you could study for (in most cases).

Plus, once again, the difficulties in your life give you an entertaining reason to get in touch with your readers.

To connect with them.

And to show them what you’re made of.

In my experience, the more of that you do, the more money you’ll make in your business.

P.S. Chances are, you’re already sharing some of your “crises” on social media. Why not turn them into money-making emails?

I still haven’t written the sales page for Inbox X-Factor, but you can get in here.

You’ll get a plan for what to write about every day of the week (if you want to email daily). If you’d like to write more emails and make more money in LESS time, I think this will be insanely valuable for you.

Need Help Sending More Emails (and Making More Sales)?

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Inbox X-Factor email marketing

I’ve had more conversations than I can count with entrepreneurs and marketers who struggle to email their lists as often as they know they should.

Many of them really aren’t sure how to make money with email.

As a result of those conversations, I launched Inbox X-Factor earlier this week.

Inbox X-Factor is designed to

  1. make it as easy as possible for you to send more emails to your list (and spend less time doing it), and…
  2. showcase effective tactics and strategies that are working RIGHT NOW to help you make more money from each email.

In short, Inbox X-Factor gives you access to:

  • Live email clinics, where we’ll write an email from scratch on video. Watching the process can help you find your own rhythm and gain confidence
  • Timely email ideas and inspiration, so you never run out of reasons to email your list
  • Unique subject line templates and examples
  • In-depth training to help you unlock the money-making power of email. Studies show email produces 40X ROI. These lessons will help you get there.

For THIS WEEK ONLY, you can become one of first members of Inbox X-Factor for $47/month.

On Friday night (July 10), the price goes up to $97/month.

If you have a list and an offer (or clients who have them)…I believe Inbox X-Factor can help you making MORE money with email in LESS time — starting as soon as today. If you’re interested, click the link in the first comment.

>>> Click here to lock the discounted price of $47/month for Inbox X-Factor.

The Evils of “Salesmanship in Print”

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“Salesmanship in print” is an outdated description of copywriting.

And not because everything is digital now…

If you saw my interview on John Forde’s Copywriter’s Roundtable, you know where I’m going with this.

I decreed that copywriting needs a new definition for this new decade.

Think about it…

Why do we constantly have to justify our use of the word “salespeople?”

Because the word conjures images of the sleazy guy hawking barely-functional cars off the New Jersey turnpike…

Or the fast-talking pitchman pressuring Grandma Sarah to buy penny stocks with her Social Security check.

Those negative associations can be tough to overcome.

The other risk is that a copywriter-in-training may assume those are characteristics to aspire to.

High pressure.

Deception.

Exploiting grandmothers.

Which is the opposite of how a copywriter (or any other human being) should act.

When we stop saying “salesmanship in print,” we can avoid some of that blowback.

So…

How should we define copywriting today?

“Showmanship in print.”

Showmanship adds storytelling, demonstration and drama to the mix.

You know, stuff that people enjoy.

Moving forward, showmanship will be more and more essential for grabbing attention, building interest, inflaming desire and producing action.

I’ll this cover this topic in future newsletters, so stay tuned.

But you may want to go deeper, sooner.

Today I’m opening Inbox X-Factor, which is designed to

  1. make it as easy as possible to send more emails to your list (and spend less time doing it), and
  2. showcase effective tactics and strategies that are working RIGHT NOW to help you make more money from each email.

I’ve had more conversations than I can count with entrepreneurs and marketers who struggle to email their lists as often as they know they should.

Many really aren’t sure how to make money with email.

In short, Inbox X-Factor gives you access to:

  • Timely email ideas and inspiration, so you never run out of reasons to email your list
  • Unique subject line templates and examples
  • In-depth training to help you unlock the money-making power of email. Studies show email produces 40X ROI. These lessons will help you get there.

And more.

For this week only, you can become one of first members of Inbox X-Factor for $47/month.

On Sunday July 5, the price goes up to $97/month.

If you have a list and an offer (or clients who have them)…

I believe Inbox X-Factor can help you making MORE money with email in LESS time — starting today.

Have a productive day,