Copywriter’s block: 8 brainstorming methods that work every time (pen and paper examples)

One sheep.

Two sheep.

Three sheep.

Does Matt have multiple blue shirts, all the same?

Oh look. A bird.

What was it? Oh yes. “Great for the body and mind.” – horrible.

If you’re in the early stage of your campaign writing, this is probably familiar.

It’s the best of times and the worst of times.

Best because you don’t know what will unfold in front of you, and that’s thrilling. At least for me. And worst, because you could sit for hours and have a blank page screaming, “you suck.”

The writer’s block.

How do we take the escalator and leave it at floor one?

Well, dear reader, I have a few techniques I’ve come to learn, and I’ll share them with you.

1.0 You don’t suck. If you’re reading this, you are on the right track.

1. The usual ol’ brainstorm

Get a pen and paper. If you’ve never tried it, or didn’t in a long time, today’s your sign.

Write everything that you can think of about the product you need to market.

The dumbest things, write them down. This is the stage where you let all your bad headlines out of your system. It’s the detox of a campaign start.

It’s also the part where I have the most fun, because there are no rules. It’s like being a kid who’s handed out a pen and a world of its own. 

A mistake I used to make (not as far ago) was looking to find gems in the rough at this stage. Because my personality is result-oriented, I often tend to rush into it and jump to conclusions. 

All that time I thought it was because oh..” I’m sooo good that I can’t help it.”.

Maybe you are. In any case, let’s say it’s pointless to search for scraps, when you can have the full package.

2. The segmented brainstorm

Here’s where I split an A3 page into multiple columns, each belonging to a pillar benefit or feature of the product we’re trying to bring out.

One column would include phrases and words about the green ingredients.

One column would include phrases about how it’s so easy to use.

One column would include phrases about moms.

You can also think of particularities, things that maybe are not included in the brief, but that can become important for this campaign. 

Like is there something special in the creation making process of this product? 

Is there a type of person who would love this the most?

Maybe create a column about those people. What are some of the most iconic phrases or words that come to mind when you think about them?

So you can see that here we go a bit more in-depth, and try to distill some of the scraps from the first attempt. Don’t worry about finding gems at this stage either. Just write,  don’t look back, and overanalyze.

I will tell you all 5 methods, but sometimes only 2 are enough in order for you to land on a result, in which case you can continue with “6. The list”, which is a list where you write all the gems you unpacked so far, and think that have potential.

3. The interrogation method or why X infinity

Depending on how much time you have on your hands, this is a classic method I’ve known for a long time, but brushed off and found again in Hey Whipple Squeeze This by Luke Sullivan. 

It’s the classic why, why, why until you get to an answer that could land you on something bigger than an idea. A platform – with its own rules. Ultimately, that’s what (almost) every marketer aspires to when thinking about a campaign.

You ask what the product is about, and you answer with the key message from the brief.

Then you question your last answer – the key message – and you write an answer for it.

And so on, until you reach a dead end, and start again with a better 2nd question.

This is also interrogating the brief, by not taking it as it is, because you come up with a list of questions that you might already have in your mind, and answer them. If you have a team to work with, this sounds like a lot of fun.

4. The russian doll

I’ve learned this method from Keenon Daniels, in his course – Conceptual Thinking for Advertising Campaigns. He calls this method the roadmap. For me, it is more like a russian doll.

It’s basically somewhat similar to the segmented brainstorm, because you have multiple “columns” as well.

As in the photo, you have the product with the main features or benefits about it, and from each, you write a phrase that has a bigger meaning than just that one word.

And this is how you get from “sweet” to “a delicious feeling on your tongue” or “easy on the lips,” as it was shown in his example.

Or how you get from “different” to “breathe fresh air at home”, as shown in my example.

This is intriguing because it makes you think “so what?” and “what else?”, which are both questions that your customers will have, and which can lead to great ideas.

Whenever you think you finished an idea, think “so what?” and see if someone would be right to say that after seeing your tagline.

5. The opposites or the worst idea ever

This one is straightforward. Think of the ideal phrasing of your product – in simple terms – and then think of the opposite of that. What would throw your customers off? What’s the worst idea ever?

This is the part where you might research your audience and the culture of your industry, to know what someone who buys such greeen products has to say on the topic.

What are their fears, or what have they tried so far that didn’t work?

Look at The Moldy Whopper, for example, I believe they thought about people’s fear of eating artificial stuff.

Someone might have flipped a truth and said – People like moldy burgers. Then someone said – Ew, can you imagine that? – I surely can. And then the Moldy Whopper came to life.

Note: I always start with the research before brainstorming. If you want that, leave a comment, and I can make an article about how I do it.

6. The story cubes

This was a fun method I got from Daniel Granatta’s course on – Creativity through technology and storytelling – that makes brainstorming a fun game.

You get 3 cubes, and each side of the cube’s facets has a drawing. Could be an apple, a beach, a silhouette. You zig them and make stories with the 3 words that you got.

Then you can switch and get to the next method.

7. The narrator

Can you imagine Finding Nemo from Bruce the shark’s perspective?

Or the beauty and the beast with the cursed bottled rose as the narrator?

It would be something completely different. This is a writing technique, not only used for advertising purposes, and it might propel you into an unexpected zone.

Due to my ugly writing when pressed by a quick 2-minute timeline, I couldn’t bring myself to post the photos I made. But I will tell you how I did it.

From the micro stories of the story cubes I wrote about above, I took my favorite and switched the narrator for it.

The story was this:

The foggy mirror faces her full front. Cold water was dripping off her wet body. Suddenly, something shifted in the mirror. Was this a mind game? She couldn’t…but she did. A silhouette moved behind her. Was she going crazy? She froze, and her breathing stopped for a few seconds. She was afraid to turn around. She wiped the mirror clean. Nothing.

The flipped narrator’s story was this:

I stood in silence while she was looking in the mirror. Her body shape was skinny but well-rounded. What would she think if she knew who I was? Thinking the room was empty and was hers to take was an illusion I let her believe and boast in the lukewarm water of her lies and deceit. I even bathed with her. She didn’t notice. Had her eyes closed. It’s funny how the things we think will never happen, happen. And worst of all, when you’re the main character in them.

Probably not wow, but I now have 2 perspectives, in case I want to do something with this idea down the line, and turn it into a script for a horror video game or something.

8. The list

I know I could say the first list, but it’s just how my brain works. I like to think this is the last one; it makes me work better.

I am, too, still getting used to taking my time.

You can name it however you want, but this one is the space where all your good enough ideas go.

Your list might have just 2 ideas or just one. That’s the best thing about the early stages of brainstorming. You can always go back and look for other answers.

I would do it if I felt like it, but if I felt drained, I’d take a break.

Often, when you come back, the ideas are already there.