The Donnie Bryant Method for Research

daily profit podcast on copywriting research

I recently had the good fortune to appear on Jason Wellington Strachan’s new show, the Daily Profit Podcast.

Jason, also known as the Copywriting Prince, reached out to me to talk about “the Donnie Bryant Method” for creating/discovering big ideas for your copy projects. According to me (and pretty much any other big name copywriter you can think of), the Big Idea is the most important part of any marketing message.

For example, here’s what David Ogilvy has to say on the subject:

“You will never win fame and fortune unless you invent big ideas. It takes a big idea to attract the attention of consumers and get them to buy your product. Unless your advertising contains a big idea, it will pass like a ship in the night.”

More than “power words,” magic persuasive templates or fancy graphics, your marketing needs to be built on the foundation of a compelling big idea.

I hate to spoil the interview — which you can listen to on the below — but there’s no real “method” to big idea hunt.

What I do is…

  • read a lot, every day
  • research like I’m working on a Ph.D. dissertation
  • and try to form unique connections that will hit home for a particular audience.

By my most recent calculations, I spend about 6 hours a day reading. (Most days, I spend about 2-3 hours writing.)

Books, competitive intelligence, product knowledge stuff, news, copywriting and marketing stuff, etc.

Why? Because I very rarely come up with good ideas – I find them.

That’s true of every great copywriter, by the way. 

Reading and researching is how I make sure my brain has the raw material to make those big idea connections. To quote Ogilvy again:

“Big ideas come from the unconscious. This is true in art, in science, and in advertising. But your unconscious has to be well informed, or your idea will be irrelevant. Stuff your conscious mind with information, then unhook your rational thought process.”

Even though I’ve let the cat out of the proverbial bag regarding the podcast, there’s still some valuable content in there. Give it a listen today. 

I also have recorded a quick overview of my research method as part of an expert roundup on effective copywriting. Check it out below.

Love + Active Verbs = The Start of Strong Copy

Donnie Bryant on direct response copywriting

“Make the verbs do the work.”

Writing “The new sales letter pummeled the previous version,” paints a more vivid picture than “the new sales letter is better than the previous version.”

“Pummel” paints a powerful picture. That’s what verbs do for writers.

I adore adjectives, but overusing them usually ends up sounding like hype. Hyperbole causes allergic reactions for many would-be buyers.

Anyway…

A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being Adam Franklin’s guest on the Web Marketing that Works podcast. I’ve come to admire Adam quite a bit over the past few months, and I was honored to be on his show.

We talked for about half an hour, discussing what I believe are the most important elements of direct response copywriting and marketing:

  • a desire to understand, empathize with and provide value for your customers (which I refer to as “falling in love” with them)
  • communicating clearly and directly, rather than trying to be cute or clever
  • watching out for hype, without undercutting the strength of your promises and big ideas
  • etc.

It was a lot of fun. Have a listen over on the Bluewire Media site.

While you’re over there, check out all the other helpful resources and information Adam and his partner Toby give away. They give away 33 marketing templates from their book Web Marketing that Works. I highly recommend that you pick them up (opt-in required) and put them to use.

Struggles and Success as a Marketing Copywriter

Michael Zipursky interviewed me the other day about the struggles and successes I’ve experienced as a copywriter and consultant for his Business Consulting Buzz podcast.

We talked about:

  • the power of guest posting to build credibility and find an audience (instead of having to build one from scratch)
  • the crucial mindset you must have to sell anything, in any medium — it’s a simple switch, but human nature makes it a perpetual struggle
  • some of my early inspirations as a copywriter (I still love all of ’em)
  • how I got my first clients
  • one thing anyone can do to automatically boost the persuasiveness of their sales copy.

The recording has vanished, but here’s where you can check out the transcript of the interview to Direct Response Copywriter and Consultant: Interview with Donnie Bryant (thanks to the Wayback Machine).

Thanks!