Drayton Bird - The Golden Key

“Business owners – what keeps you awake at night? Whatever it is – I’d like to help”

“Have you ever left a restaurant wondering why you ordered so much?
I know I have.

You order with good intentions – but you literally can’t fit in everything you’d like to.
A lot like life, really. And that’s why I’ve launched this new site. Let me explain.

Over the years, I’ve created a huge amount of marketing material: videos, PDFs, case studies and Q&As.
I’m hugely biased, naturally. But I believe these little gems will help you solve any marketing conundrum – and come out with a profit. So a while ago I crowbarred them in to a membership site.
But it all went wrong because of one disastrous factor I had overlooked: lack of time.
Lots of people subscribed. But hardly any – and I mean this – used all that material. In fact, most subscribers watched less than 30 minutes of video a month. They just didn’t have the time.

Some poor souls paid happily each month and never logged in – a classic case of other people’s money – like their bosses’ – I suspect.
In my younger days, I would have been perfectly happy with this arrangement. But not now. The biggest thrill – and pleasure – I get is teaching.
So I wondered what I could do.
Give it all away perhaps? Not a chance: who values free information? Though I concede it’s smart to give some away.
Lower the price? This seemed obvious to me. At my age I far prefer the people who want to learn but can’t afford to, rather than the people who can, but don’t.

In this month, with brand spanking new, bite sized content, I cover:

What to spend your marketing money on. When everyone is zigging, it’s sometimes smart to zag.
How a little bit of planning can go a long way. I’ve always surprised myself , and my financial director, when I take the time to plan.
Money squandered by the lazy. I see this time and time again and it drives me insane.
How to avoid vampires that suck away your writing substance. These ghouls still keep me awake at night.
Two roads to copy disaster. And they are not what you think.
Why people really respond. It’s all about them…
A great formula for sales letters and landing pages. As I said, I’m biased, but this is worth the subscription price on its own.
Time is money. Especially so with copy.
The 5 elements of success. Only four are needed, but the fifth helps.
What we can all learn from Leonardo da Vinci. A genius tells you how all marketers should think.
The market stages. Critically important – but often overlooked. Don’t make this mistake and make things unnecessarily hard for yourself.

But never mind that. One demonstration is worth more than a mountain of promises. So here’s a snippet from the first month:

Still not convinced?
If you rummage round in the vault you’ll find stuff that’s available nowhere else:
Month 1

Your Profit Centre
Get on with it
Interview – Rowan Gormley, founder of Naked Wines and co-founder of three Virgin firms.
Introduction to Marketing – Part 1
Introduction to Marketing – Part 2
Introduction to Marketing – Part 3
Introduction to Marketing – Part 4

Month 2

Long copy versus Short copy
Try an editorial style…
The Element of Surprise
Do what a salesman would do
Don’t ever give up…
Treat customers as people
Introduction to Marketing – Part 5 – Testing your Judgement
Introduction to Marketing – Part 6 – How much is a customer worth to you?
The customer as an individual
The value of incentives
Emotion in business

Month 3

Month 3 Short Video 1
Month 3 Short Video 2
Month 3 Short Video 3
Interview – Srikumar Rao – best-selling author – and the only business school professor with his own Alumni Association

And it doesn’t stop there. I do confess, it’s information overload, unless you are obsessive with learning (as I was when I was a younger man) Here’s what I mean:
Month 4

Introduction to Marketing – Part 7 – The Magic Crossroads
Introduction to Marketing – Part 8 – Your Priorities
The most powerful word in marketing
The obvious is always overlooked
Audio Interview – Clayton Makepeace
Audio Interview – Ken McCarthy

Month 5

Introduction to Marketing – Part 9 – Your Priorities
From who?
Who What Why Where When
Typefaces
How long should your copy be?
Ask for a reply
Do not use jargon
How to get action

Month 6

The most powerful word in marketing
Three Simple Steps
People are your business
Headlines
Book ideas

Month 7

Learn from your mistakes and my flops
Persistence
Failure to measure

Month 8

Edit and charm – two important lessons
People’s nature never changes

Month 9

What is great selling? – New podcast
Rory Sutherland on Branding
Troy White Audio Interview
Brian Thomas Interview
Peter Hobday Interview

Month 10

Michael Leander Webinar
B2B Webinar
Hargreaves Lansdown Letter Analysis
Rory Sutherland Video

If you’re serious about studying marketing – I’ll bet the shirt on my back you won’t find a better resource than ‘the vault’.
But remember, the vault isn’t the main event.
Every month you’ll also get one hour’s worth of brand new content, just like the video above.
And it’ll be on a subject I know will have an impact on your business. Because these principles work any business – large or small, in any country, no matter what you sell, or what it costs, whether it’s a product or a service.
It’s the stuff I wish I was spoon fed when I was running around like a mad man in my first business – which went broke, by the way – a nightmare it took me seven years to recover from