This is a review of a short video / audio series by the copywriting legend Drayton Bird.

As a small business owner, frustrated by hitting a glass ceiling in my lead generation efforts (and therefore income) I’ve become a student of marketing. Once you start to search around the topic it becomes clear that for small businesses, one of the most effective and low cost forms of promotion is direct marketing. The basis of direct marketing is good copywriting, rather than graphic design (unfortunately for me!). So, where to start?

Like any business owner with a need to find more clients, it was important to quickly find the best of the best to learn from. If I can save anyone reading this some time and effort, the key players in direct response marketing (in my view) are Gary Halbert, Dan Kennedy and Drayton Bird. From these three ‘big names’ you can easily find the paths to truly effective direct response marketing techniques, copywriting tips and techniques that have been proven in the real world and on a myriad of businesses.
I’ve bought material from all of them and their advice is truly transformational when applied.

Drayton Bird is based in the UK, has worked as David Ogilvy’s right hand man and travels the world speaking at some very high end seminars, he has worked and is working with a highly enviable list of clients.

The reason I’ve singled out this particular video set for review is twofold; firstly it provides you with a crucial foundation for writing more compelling marketing copy, whether it’s for a sales letter, SEO, an advert, brochure copy or email marketing. Secondly where the marketing courses from Dan Kennedy and Gary Halbert can run into the hundreds (and they are excellent) this video set from Drayton Bird is around £30, which is a bargain.

The videos are delivered in a very relaxed, conversational style and come full of stories and anecdotes with detailed case studies of successful campaigns interspersed throughout. These real word examples are accompanied by some very practical and common sense advice that can be applied to your own work straight away. (A notable example is a quick way to shorten your copy and simplify the language you use). I’d certainly recommend that if you can, watch the videos with a note pad and pen at the ready as the advice comes thick and fast!

Near the start, Drayton goes through a reading list (both business and fiction) which is a valuable nugget in itself. As he comments “good writing starts with good reading”. It’s worth mentioning that the examples aren’t just based on his own work, but also on research from previous generations of copywriters that have been a source for his own practice.

This is the closest you can get to having a one to one with a legend of the marketing industry. You can buy the set by clicking here.

If you do buy them and find it helpful, please leave a comment below. In the interests of honesty and integrity, if you do use the links above I’ll receive a commission, but that doesn’t change the value and good, sound advice that you’ll get from the series. The videos are available for instant download and come with a 60-day, no questions asked, money back guarantee. If that doesn’t persuade you to take a look, perhaps I should re-watch the course!