How to Come Up with Breakthrough Copy Ideas

“Everyone is a genius at least once a year. The real geniuses simply have their bright ideas closer together.”
–George Christoph Lichtenberg

In This Issue:

Editor’s Note: Last week I had a family emergency that knocked me out of commission for several days (all is well now). So rather than give you a not-so-well thought out piece, copywriting master John Forde has graciously allowed us to reprint the following essay from his newsletter, Copywriter’s Roundtable (www.jackforde.com). I’m sure you’ll get as much from this technique for coming up with great ideas as I did. Enjoy!

How to Come Up with Breakthrough Copy Ideas
by John Forde

On a regular schedule, I get together with fellow writers — both editorial and promotional — and we chew on a few new ideas.

Invariably, I steal a few. And I walk away feeling like a genius. Here’s how it works.

"Ideas are like rabbits," John Steinbeck once said, "You get a couple and learn how to handle them and pretty soon you have a dozen."

So this is what we do.

You come to the table armed with an idea or two. In our case, ideas our subscribers would like to read about. You share. And a few hours later, everybody walks away with an armload of even newer, better ideas to use.

Some of them — gasp — not even your own!

But during this particular visit, I actually did swipe something very specific. And with you in mind.

It was a copy of a book, "A Technique for Producing Ideas," the classic 48-pager from James Webb Young.

Maybe you’ve read it.

Yes, it’s just 48 pages. And small pages too.

Really, I asked before I took it. And lucky for me, they had several copies. So I pocketed one and read it, start to finish, for you.

(Don’t get all teary eyed — it only took about an hour to do.)

Of course, I’ve read this little tome before. As I hope you have too. But just in case, we’ll revisit it again. Right here, today… just for you (aren’t I nice?)

FIVE SIMPLE STEPS TOWARD BREAKTHROUGH THINKING

First, I should warn you, if you don’t think you’re an "idea person"… well… according to Young…

There’s a possibility you might not be.

Or so says the book, first published in 1965. And to make the case, it cites the great Italian economist and sociologist Vilfredo Pareto.

It was Pareto who suggested you could divvy up the world into two kinds of people — the "rentier" and the "speculator."

The "rentier" (Pareto wrote in the then international language of French) is the kind of person that sits around, waiting for things to happen.

Ask him "Do you ever wonder what it’s all about? I mean life, the universe, and everything?" And he’ll reply, "Um, well… no, not really." Then he’ll reach for the beer pretzels. For this poor guy, facts are facts. Period. Please pass the onion dip.

He sees no web, no great ethereal connection between things. Metaphors and analogies? There are antibiotics you can take for that.

On the other hand, you’ve got the "speculator." And this is who you want to be. The speculator is preoccupied with combinations, connections, and details.

If this is you, you’re in luck.

Because, in large part, that’s what "idea-making" ends up being — the creative connection of found elements. New ways to combine old things. And this, too, is what James W. Young’s method will help you do.

As Young warns us, it’s nothing new. Rather it’s instinctive. So, like all sensible things, it sounds almost primal and obvious. Which, fortunately, also makes this very easy to do…

Step One: Gather your raw material.

Obvious, you say. But when someone has writer’s block — an all-too-common malady — what’s the surefire cure? To go out and read something. Or listen. Or pack in new information from any relevant source you can find.

It’s a common misconception that Big Ideas are born within. We’re sensory creatures. All our best ideas start on the outside. It’s then up to us to draw them in.

I used to read the front page of the Wall Street Journal every morning. I had to stop, because invariably I’d lose the next half hour desperately scribbling out a new idea for a short story or "perfect screenplay" that I just didn’t have time to write.

So… you find yourself short on brilliance? Then go out and get yourself some. Load up on insights relevant to the breakthrough you’re hoping to produce. As many books and clippings and observations as you can carry.

How easy is this? Not very.

Because first, you need raw material that’s specific to the problem you’re trying to solve. Just as I described above. But then you also need what Young calls "general" information. And this is harder to come by, because it requires a lifetime habit of insatiable curiosity.

Every mediocre copywriter I know can’t be bothered with small details. Every brilliant copywriter I know can’t resist them. Read books endlessly, like the smoker who lights his next cigarette with the last one. Get into conversations with unfamiliar people. Ask questions and then shut up and listen.

Don’t limit the subject matter. Just get interested in life. Or give up writing copy, because it probably isn’t the career for you.

Step Two: Study the puzzle.

If you’ve piled up enough raw material, you’ve got a mound. A mess. A mountain that needs to be conquered.

Ideally, you’re already starting to gather notes from your resources while you’re still in the first stage. Like a packrat, you’re jotting things down. On napkins. On your hand. On the back of your tie.

Here’s an even better option: Young suggests, as I have countless times, index cards. They still work best, even in the wonderful world of word processing.

Whatever it is, you need to know that your system of note-taking will (a) be endlessly expandable and (b) easily sorted later, after you get that feeling you’ve gathered all the facts you need (which happens about the time the resources start repeating themselves).

Now you need another stack of blank index cards or an empty notebook where you can start taking notes on your notes. Sift through them. Spread them out on the floor. Organize them. And drop in cards filled with connecting ideas where they come. You’ll be shocked, if you do this right, how things start to gel together.

This, by the way, is the part of the process where you’re unlikely to hear the doorbell ringing and where a phone call from your best friend feels like an act of violence.

But be warned. To get the most out of this stage, you have to do it until you drop. Or at least, until the point you feel like you’ve seen each and every factoid and insight you’ve gathered a half-dozen times or more.

Step Three: Step back.

It’s in this phase where you get to comb your hair, brush your teeth, and go somewhere else.

Just get out of the office or the house and do something other than what you were doing. Distract yourself, preferably with something that will stir up your imagination or emotions in some other way.

Because it’s in this stage that you get to digest what you’ve taken in. As you take your conscious mind elsewhere, your unconscious mind gurgles with gastric juices (so to speak), churning through the details.

Step Four: Have the idea.

I’d like to say this is the easy part.

You’ve done all the tedious preliminary work.

Now you get the reward — the idea appears. Pop. Just like that. One minute you didn’t know what to say or do. And the next, you’ve got a 150 watt halogen hovering over your head.

Isn’t that nice?

If you’ve ever struggled with a problem before bed and woke up with the answer… if you’ve ever suddenly had a flash of brilliance while strolling, driving, or in the shower… this is what’s happening.

Here’s the hard part.

Typically, this is going to happen — if you did everything else right — when you least expect it. For instance, it’s just not easy to find something to write with in the shower.

But, alas, just having the idea — even jotting it down — isn’t the end of your efforts.

Step Five: Wake up.

Somehow, after the champagne loses its fizz, the brand spankin’ new idea starts to whimper for attention anew.

It needs polishing. And it’s in this last stage where the real idea man (or woman) distinguishes himself (or herself) from the rest of the pack.

Think of it this way.

Some cave guy (or gal) once had an idea for a thing called a ‘wheel.’ We must remember to send him (or her) some flowers.

But while we’re at it, let’s not forget to thank the fella (for it was one, Charles Goodyear) who thought up vulcanized rubber in 1844… or Robert Thomson who came up with the first inflatable tire in 1845… and John Dunlop, who re-invented it for his son’s tricycle in 1847.

Radials and white walls. All-season treads. Axles and four-wheel drive. Great ideas can be made greater. And remember, like Steinbeck said, once you have the first couple of zingers, the ideas start to multiply.

You’ll find this happening too. As you polish and refine, you’ll also discover more ideas. All worth re-working too. Your pool of genius will expand.

And isn’t that what you wanted it to do?

Resource Referral: An Easy Way to Get Great Ideas

Here’s another way to come up with new copy ideas: Sign up for Monthly Copywriting Genius.

As you read through this storehouse of breakthrough promotions and the copywriting secrets behind them, powerful selling ideas will start to pop in your mind.

And each month you’ll receive new…

Click here to learn more.

Quick Copy Tip : A Secret for Writing Stronger Headlines

If you’re having trouble writing attention-grabbing headlines, make sure you know the core appeals of your target audience (what is the prospect most interested in when it comes to the product or service you’re selling). These appeals could be anything from living pain-free to earning more money to gaining peace of mind.

Once you’ve identified the prospect’s core appeals, combine two of them in the headline. For instance, if you’re writing to aspiring copywriters, the top two appeals may be (I’ll admit I haven’t done my research on this lately) earning six figures and freedom. So part of your headline might read something like this…

“Secrets of Six-Figure Freedom”… “Earn $100,000 or More Working When and Where You Want” … or “Three Secrets for Generating a Six-Figure Income on Your Schedule.” This is not final copy, but it gives you an idea of what I mean by combining two core appeals.

Your headline would get some attention if it focused solely on earning six figures. But by hitting on two core appeals, you’re far more likely to create a control.