Announcing…The Fifth U

“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.
I doubt if more than one campaign in a hundred contains a big idea.”  
–David Ogilvy, advertising pioneer

In Issue #146

Announcing…The Fifth U
by Monica Day

How do they do it?

This thought ran through my head almost daily for the first three years of my career as a copywriter. As I studied control after control after control, I marveled at how deftly the writer was able to introduce ideas that were totally new to me, weave credible arguments, win me over and convince me.

There was a trick to this, I could tell. But when it came time to infuse my own writing with this kind of magic I honestly didn’t know where to start. Sure, I knew the four U’s, the three P’s, the four-legged stool. I applied them liberally. And it was enough to keep me afloat…

But when I finally learned the secret I’m going to reveal to you today, I knew I’d found the magic ingredient that could take copy from good to great. Apply this to your own writing, and you’ll shave three years of trial-and-error learning off your career.

It’s such an important element of good copywriting that we’re calling it “the Fifth U” – and it stands for “Upsetting the Apple Cart!”

It’s simple in theory. You take a topic or idea and you shake it up. Think outside the box. Dare to be radical. If you go back and look at some of the controls you’ve studied and landmark promotions, you’ll see that they contain a compelling Big Idea that grabs the reader by the lapels and shakes them around, all the way from the headline to the order form.

This is really the “U” that separates the A-list copywriters from everyone else in the field. But it’s not necessarily that they are smarter or more creative than everyone else (though admittedly, some are!). It is more that they are willing to do what it takes to Upset the Apple Cart every time they do a project.

Namely, they know how to conduct effective research that turns information into intelligence… and transforms average ideas into the kind of unique and disruptive concepts that urge people to take action.

There are two keys to doing this level of research:

1) Gathering Information Efficiently: Finding reliable, credible information, and separating useful nuggets from noise, is more than half the battle. The internet has been an incredible boon for locating information. But it has also increased the volume of the noise to deafening levels. It’s easy to get lost for hours (even days and weeks) and ultimately come up empty-handed. Sharpening your search skills is one of the best investments in time and energy you can make as a new copywriter.

2) Synthesizing Intelligence into Big Ideas: Once you gather the information on your topic, it’s time to upset the apple cart. Pull together the intelligence you gathered, shake it up, and find the story beneath the story.

Most people spend too much time on the first step and not nearly enough on the second. They gather a lot of material – so much that they are overwhelmed by it. Because of the sheer volume of what they’ve collected, they figure it’s bound to be enough and dive in to the writing, inserting facts here and there in their copy to back up their assertions.

But to be truly effective in crafting Big Ideas, you have to take the time to fully absorb the material – to the point where someone could wake you out of a cold stone sleep at 4am and fire questions at you on your topic and you could answer them without hesitation.

Then, and only then, will you be able to find the nugget of an idea hiding among the stories that are splashed all over the front page of your hometown newspaper. And you’ll be ready to make the leap onto the A-List of copywriters.

Sounds good, right? But how where do you learn this critical skill? So glad you asked. Keep reading…

Resource Referral: How To Find The World’s Best Ideas

Krista and I have been clear since the inception of the Copy Protégé that we ourselves still felt like beginners. But we realized we were close enough to the start of the journey that our perspective might be a beacon to others.

This means we find holes in our knowledge as often – if not more – than we find a well of wisdom to share with you.

The topic of conducting effective research is one of those areas. We both wanted to improve our skills in this area – and we also felt it was a big, gaping hole in the marketplace of courses available to copywriters. Many of our colleagues felt it just wasn’t a “sexy” enough topic for a course. Research. Ugh. Sounds a little like selling a teenager on a special report called Taking Out The Garbage 101: Tips, Tricks and Techniques for Better Curbside Management.

OK, maybe it’s not that bad. But you get the idea. The idea of doing research is not sexy. But the end result of knowing how to conduct effective research – coming up with a killer, multi-million dollar promotion from a single big idea…

…pretty darn sexy if you ask me.

So we teamed up with one of the top researchers in the business – his name is Richard Conero, and he is the stealth weapon behind some of the top controls of leading direct marketing companies such as Forbes, Agora Publishing, and 21st Century Investor. Through a combination of charm, friendship (and a bottle of Chilean wine if you must know), we convinced Richard to reveal some of his most closely-guarded secrets garnered over the course of his decade of experience as an Informationist.

You can read them all in the very first (drum roll please) Copy Protégé course, Finding the World’s Best Ideas: How to Access More Than $100,000 Worth of Intelligence for as Little as 55 Cents a Day!

We are excited to be sharing this with you first today – testing our links and shopping cart and getting early feedback. It has been a long time coming – under construction for a year now! But now that it’s ready, I can assure you I’m not bragging when I say, without reservation…it’s really, really good.

Krista and I have both learned an incredible amount from Richard and are indebted to him for drawing back the curtain on this powerful secret. And we feel confident this course is just what beginning copywriters need to take their career to the next level practically overnight.

Click here to be among the first to download Finding the World’s Best Ideas: How to Access More Than $100,000 Worth of Intelligence for as Little as 55 Cents a Day!

The cost is only $99 (for now!) though we suspect when we go out to other lists, it will be more like $139. And we’ll send you two bonus reports as well:

And please let us know what you think – good, bad or ugly! And yes, by all means, return it any time in the next 30 days if you don’t like it. I’ll be shocked – but will graciously return your money anyway.

We think this is the breakthrough information you’ve been waiting for. We hope you agree.

Quick Marketing Tip: Follow Up… Why You Should Stay In The Game

It’s an age-old question: Does no really mean no? Or just not right now?

Last week I shared with you the responses that a client received when he posted a project on the directresponsejob.com board. This week, he provides a follow up for you. How did the rejected copywriters respond? Before you read his note below…take a minute and ask yourself…how would you have responded? And then see if this changes your answer:

“I replied to everyone and mentioned to some that I might be able to use their services in the future, despite choosing somebody else for the project. I always let people know something, even though they didn’t get the project.

Here’s what I expected:
- The minimum: a reply back
- The best: an effort to turn things around

I did get a reply back from a few, which were nice e-mails. Friendly etc, so I would give them another shot for an offer next time. Some didn’t even bother to reply. Probably because they thought it was a lost case. And, since they didn’t reply…that has come true.

Well, it never really is a lost case. I slip up sometimes. As copywriters are just as human as I am, I don’t mind if they stumble sometimes. We’re all just learning, aren’t we?
Here’s what I would loved to see though: A genuine effort to turn things around. A proper letter basically triggering me to use the services of THAT specific copywriter. Almost making me feel like I made a mistake. Not in such words of course, but an offer, a deal, a tip or some advice that made me see the value of the offer.

Sure, the choice had been made, so I wouldn’t change my mind. A deal’s a deal. But, there are more projects and always more chances. A good copywriter would recognise that (in my eyes) and improve the odds for the next round.

Yep, it’s a lot more work, but it’s worth it.”

Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Clients really do want and need your services. Make them an offer they can’t refuse…and usually, they won’t.