Proof of payment:
PICTURE THIS:
It’s the day your copy is due to the client.
You’ve finished it, of course.
(Actually, you finished it a couple days ago, but you’re still a bit unsure of yourself.)
You give the Google Doc one last nervous scroll through …
… aaaaand then another, for good measure.
And then … with trembling fingers …
You click ‘Send’ on the email.
And slump into your chair with relief.
You stare at your inbox for a few moments … then get up and walk around the room anxiously.
Several minutes later, your inbox notifies you:
PING!
It’s a reply from …
Your client.
Gulp.
You open it up …
Read the client’s first line …
“I’m sorry, but … this is NOT what we asked for. Please advise when you are available for a call.”
That’s Freelance Copywriting Nightmare #1, am I right?
Well, if this scene made your blood run cold … this might be the most important letter you ever re I mean, uh, I … have good news for you.
Phew, nearly went full sales letter cliche mode there
Because on this page, I’m going to show you how you can avoid ever having to face that scenario …
… by revealing the underrated ‘copywriting superpower’ that makes bad copy and unhappy clients a thing of the past.
Sound good?
Well, here’s the deal:
I’ve created a course called …
Daniel Throssell – Market Detective
And if all my copywriting memories were erased from my brain tomorrow…
This is one of the FIRST courses I would buy to get it back (for reasons you will see shortly).
And I am not alone in that sentiment.
Cue inappropriately-placed teaser testimonial that I got out of the blue! (drumroll)
Neat, hey? But hang on. Before I tell you what Market Detective is about, a word of warning:
- It is a rather expensive course (it costs $1500, which is not exactly spare change by most people’s standards).
- Also, it is not ‘serious’ or ‘professional’. (In fact, I frequently crack stupid jokes — and at one point I literally stop to abuse a pair of larrikin Australian crows cawing outside my window.)
- And WORST of all … it is (until some time in 2021) only available on a smartphone or iPad, via my Learnistic mobile app. And that is utterly non-negotiable.
All right. That’s the bad news.
So … what is this course about?
And, why is it one of the first courses I would buy as a new copywriter?
Well, as the name hints at, Market Detective is a course on …
… market research.
“Huh?” you say in disgust. “Market research? That’s not my problem. I want to learn how to write SaLeS pAgEs!!!”
Yeah … right.
Everyone thinks all they need to learn is sales pages. (Or emails.)
But, listen:
If you feel like a faker who’s making this “freelance copywriting” thing all up as you go along … odds are, it’s because your market research process sucks.
Seriously. If you’re not feeling confident when you hand your copy in …
It means … you didn’t do the right research for the job.
It means … you didn’t find out what your client really wanted* before you started writing.
(*Yes, there are ways to find this out, down to the very FONT SIZE they secretly prefer your draft to have. And no, it is not as simple as “just ask them” or “always use size 18” — I show you how to actually do it in Market Detective)
It means … you don’t actually know if your copy will resonate with the target audience.
And it means … you might even have said something the market would never say, and your client will realise you have NO IDEA what you’re talking about.
So, forget buying yet another ‘sales page’ course.
If you still feel like a copywriting fraud, even when you’ve already taken a bunch of ‘how to write copy’ courses, fix the ROOT PROBLEM: your market research process.
And, admit it: right now, you hardly have a ‘process’ in place. Right?
Well, let me flex a little and show my market research skills …
… by talking about what I think your current market research process is like.
(This is an aggregate of most freelance copywriters, so maybe not every point is you … but I reckon most will be.)
You tell me how this sounds, okay?
So you get a new copywriting job.
If you’re like most copywriters here’s what you do…
You start with those things everyone says you “should” do, like …
- Reddit. That’s a good place to start, right? You go to Reddit and search … but there’s no subreddit for this market. Hm. So much for that suggestion.
- Next you try Amazon. But … the thing you’re selling doesn’t even exist on Amazon. Instead, your search just brings up a list of Chinese gadgets. Oops.
- Okay … what about Quora? Everyone says Quora. But … Quora proves to be as helpful as a punch in the eye. It’s just a bunch of answers. Who even said this was a good idea?
- You’re getting a bit desperate. Forums? That’d be great! You Google for forums … and … don’t find any.
Sigh. Somehow, it’s not as easy as that other copywriting course made it look.
And that’s not to mention
organising your research document…
You have a vague idea that you’re meant to look for things like “desires”, “pains”, “fears”, “failures” and so on.
But when you start writing stuff down, you find that things don’t fit that neatly.
So you end up putting most of your stuff into a messy ‘uncategorised’ pile instead.
And your research document blows up … till it’s bloated and useless.
Oh, and you’ve heard people say you’re supposed to “call” people…
… but you have no idea how you’d even do that.
And let’s be honest:
You don’t WANT to have to call some randoms!!!
Really? All you want is something you can do from behind your laptop, WITHOUT having to talk to someone or rely on your client sending out questionnaires.
And then there’s the biggest question of all …
“When can I stop researching?!?”
You stare at a wall of text, and wonder which part you’re supposed to take…
So you just take it all! 
You keep accumulating more and more, never sure if you’ve actually got “enough”, or when you can stop.
And when you DO stop, and start writing your copy …
You’re not sure if your client’s going to like it.
Because you didn’t actually find out HOW to know what they like.
No wonder you feel like a fraud.
And no wonder every time you submit copy …
… you fear the nightmare of the “Please Explain” email from your client.
Don’t worry though! There are plenty of ‘market research’ modules in copywriting courses, full of HELPFUL (
) tips like:
- You can NEVER do enough market research. Go deep … deeper … DEEPER!!! Know the books they read. Know the movies they watch. Call them … date them … stalk them … kill them and wear their skin. THAT’S the secret to copy that CoNvErTs!!!
- What? No, it doesn’t matter if this is a job you are only getting paid $40 for on Upwork. You must still do 30 hours of research. DEEEEEEPEERRRRRR!!!
- PiCk Up ThE pHoNe!!! Speaking of going deeper. You have to actually TALK to people, don’t you know?!? Who cares if you’re an introvert? Get dialling!
- Do surveys.
- Don’t do surveys. People lie in them and they suck. (Pick up the phone instead.)
- And yeah, just basically use Google, Reddit, Amazon, Quora, Twitter, Facebook groups, SEMRush, forums, Tik Tok, Instagram, AHRefs, Facebook analytics, Google Trends, customer service emails, AnswerThePublic, and interview the company’s CEO, product designer, head of marketing, junior accountant, and the janitor. As well as calling customers AND reading all the books they read.
Oh hey I was gonna explain HOW and WHEN to do all this stuff but I ran out of time in my module so just do it all or figure it out yourself or something lol kthxbye
Yeah … very helpful.
Top job, guys!
Way to make it easy!
Well, dear reader — fear not.
That’s where MY new course on market research comes in.
I’ve drawn on my years of copywriting experience for some of Australia’s biggest brands and businesses, and helping launch Australia’s bestselling book in history …
And I’ve packaged the entire process of market research into a course you could finish in a couple of evenings if you really wanted to.
And as I mentioned (gee, you sure forget fast), it’s called …
Market Detective is my original, five-step, graded system for doing market research on any freelance copywriting job.
It is as close as possible as you’ll get to a step-by-step system for doing market research.
Ask your client this. Check their answers for X, Y and Z. Call up this person, and say that. If that’s not enough, go to this website, and look for this. Send a survey to this list, and write these specific questions.
And — so on. Until your job is complete.
But here’s the important part:
This course is NOT just a list of actions, or questions to ask your client, or videos on how to browse Reddit.
I mean, I do show you every single step of the process.
And, I show you in more depth than any other copywriting course out there (because, frankly, who else has an entire course dedicated just to the research process? They always wedge that into one module!).
But that’s nowhere near all I have to show you in this course.
In fact, it’s probably not even the thing you will find most valuable.
The reason Market Detective is different is that it is also …
The first and only course that shows you HOW TO ONLY DO THE RESEARCH YOU NEED TO DO.
No more … and no less.
Here’s what I mean:
You do NOT have to call up 5 of your client’s customers on the phone, go out and buy the product, and create a 67-page customer avatar for every sales page you write. Especially if you’re earning just $250 to write it.
On the other hand … sometimes trawling Reddit and Amazon for hours from the safety of your computer (like many courses teach you) is just NOT ENOUGH for the job you’re doing.
But … HOW do you know when to do the different kinds of research? And when to stop?
THAT is what is totally unique about this course.
Market Detective gives you a five-stage, graded system for knowing exactly what and how much research to do on any job.
And I guarantee you have never seen anyone tell you this system — because I invented it.
So … what’s inside the course?
Well, rather than throw in a bunch of bulldust bullets … I’m just going to SHOW you what’s in the course. Undoctored, unfiltered, unembellished.
Sales Page: _https://persuasivepage.com/market-detective/
