How a Legendary Marketer Overcame Writer’s Block

Before he stood out as one of the world’s great copywriters, Gary Bencivenga was stuck.

So he enrolled in a course called “Overcoming Writer’s Block.”

Turns out the course was a bust.

The instructor “didn’t have a clue how to cure this problem.” And his classmates turned each day’s class into a whine-and-moan session.

Lots of problems. No solutions. 

So Gary quit, set out on his own, and eventually discovered the answer. 

“‘Writer’s block’ is just a symptom of a rather easily cured malady—’LRS,’ or Lazy Research Syndrome,” Gary says in one of his brilliant Bencivenga Bullets, adding…

…the best copywriters
are the most
tenacious researchers. 

And, by the way, if you think you are not a “copywriter,” if you think this doesn’t apply to you, guess again.

Every time you draft an email — long or short — you’re a copywriter

Every time you dash off a social post, you’re a copywriter

Every time you add another bullet to your Powerpoint presentation, you’re a copywriter. 

Every time you script (in your mind or on paper) the words you’ll use in your sales consultation, you’re a copywriter.

And, if you want to be an effective copywriter who captivates prospects and inspires them to buy, you have two choices: 1) Stare at the blank screen while praying for the creative muse to inspire you or 2) Conduct tenacious research so you can assemble compelling copy over and over again with ease. 

#2 works. #1 doesn’t. 

As Gary says, “…Writing is not spontaneous creative combustion.

When I began, I’d stare at the blank sheet of paper in my typewriter for days, not having any idea what to write, waiting for the muses to alight on my shoulder and whisper something—anything!—in my ear.” 

Sound familiar? 

He continues: “Like miners, (the best copywriters) dig, drill, dynamite, and chip until they have carloads of valuable ore…Good copywriters get to know so much about the product and the prospect and his or her wants, fears, assumptions, and lingo that the copy soon wants to burst forth as if a dam is breaking. I learned that research is the infallible cure for writer’s block.” 

(Amen!)

I call such research Story Discovery. 

Here’s the good-news-bad-news about this. 

(Bad) Most would-be copywriters get story discovery wrong. 

(Good) Those who get it right stand out as the one who clients notice and choose. And Story Discovery is something anyone can master. You don’t have to be a creative unicorn to do it. 

I teach my clients how to overcome writer’s block so they can transform content from boring to brilliant. 

Here’s how we do it…

First, Story Discovery — a proven process to do all that stuff Gary talks about above. 

Second, Story Assembly — taking all the building blocks you gather in Story Discovery and putting them together in familiar, simple-to-master structures (emails, social posts, presentations, videos, sales consultations, etc.) 

Third, Story Delivery — strategies and tactics to deliver your content so it reaches the right people at the right time and you maximize its business-building impact. 

None of this is magic. 

All of it is learnable. 

A lot of it is delegate-able. 

So you can do this. 

Here’s a good place to start…

Register for the Small Business Virtual Extravaganza

I’m one of 25(!) featured speakers.

My Presentation: How to Fire-Up Prospects and Inspire Them to Hire You with Story-Powered Content

When: Extravaganza begins on Thursday, October 13 at 5 p.m. EDT, 4 p.m. CDT and runs through Saturday, October 15, 4 p.m. EDT, 3 p.m. CDT.

My presentation is on Saturday at 12:10 p.m. EDT, 11:10 a.m. CDT. 

Where: Online. Go to https://tommail.me/sbve to register. 

Cost to Attend: Free

Recording: Recording of entire event — all speakers: $27 after you register. 

In my presentation, I’ll reveal…

✓ How marketing masters discover their prospects’ stories to create captivating, sales-generating content.

✓ The secret to generate great content consistently, without writer’s block.

✓ Why you don’t have to be a creative unicorn to generate client-attracting emails, social posts, and other story-powered content.

✓ The biggest mistake content creators make — and how you can avoid that frustration and pain.

Lots of time for Q&A (another reason to attend live).

If you know someone who might benefit from these events, please share this with them.