In 1957 Drayton Bird’s situation was bleak.

He was making £7.00 a week editing a small trade journal.

Even in those dear, dead days when cigarettes cost the equivalent of 10p a packet this would not support a wife and child – even in the two-up two-down cottage with outside lavatory they lived in.

He had to do something.

At the time, Drayton was much taken by a smooth aristocratic friend who worked in advertising.

He seemed to be making pots of money without too much effort and advised Drayton to become a copywriter.

It took six months using all his reserves of servile flattery to find a willing employer.

Drayton had three qualities to offer, apart from desperation.

One - He was brought up in a northern pub with a widely varied clientele. Encountering very different kinds of people after they have had a few drinks is splendid education for life.

One minute he might be serving a pint of best mild in the vaults to Alec, whose party turn was describing how his wife had gone out one day for a loaf of bread and never returned.

The next he would be listening to a mottle-faced cotton magnate in the American Bar lamenting the Socialist government’s determination to part him from all he possessed.

Two - He could write.

You may consider this essential for the job he sought, but this is not apparent to many would-be copywriters.

An alarming number cannot spell, punctuate or write long sentences – let alone tangle with such niceties as ‘it’s’ versus ‘its’, ‘compliment’ as opposed to ‘complement’ and so on.

Three - He had read every book on advertising in Manchester Public Library – there were three – and enrolled in an evening course on the subject.

You may also see these preparations as obvious, but not all agree: when Drayton finally entered the industry, he discovered few of his colleagues had taken the trouble to study the subject, or were even clear about the purpose of advertising.

It has now been over 50 years since Drayton entered advertising.

Zoom forward over 50 years, Drayton has been named one of the top 50 individuals who’ve shaped today’s marketing. And David Ogilvy said he “knows more about direct marketing than anyone in the world.”

A few days ago, I managed to coax Drayton away from his busy schedule for an interview, just for you.

And in this interview he reveals, for the first time, almost everything you need to do to set up a successful business.

He goes into as much details as he possibly can, given the short time available for the interview. (It runs for just over 50 minutes).

He  mentions the need to study what others are doing: The successful and the unsuccessful ones. As he says, “We learn as much from the way in which people have failed as we do from the way in which people have succeeded”.

However, before you go onto listen to the main interview, here’s a couple of questions Drayton answered in a little more detail via email. Read this first and then go onto the audio portion.

This is all meat.

Rezbi:

The bottom dropped out of the economy, but it’s now picking up again.  Your business went bust. All your clients’ businesses also went bust,  so you can’t even write copy for them.

You have nothing except what’s between your head, and the only way you can get back into business is via the web — an online business.

You can use any means at your disposal, but you only have £200 to do it with. You can create your  own product, or sell as an affiliate, or any other way you can think of based on the resources you have.

What would you do?

Drayton:

I would do the things I did in pretty much the same situation.

1. When I saw the internet was going to be huge – and that I was seen as a dinosaur – I built a website offering lots of free information about marketing. All that costs is a knowledge of WordPress  – not money – and a knowledge of marketing. Again, freely available.
2. I sent out an e-mail to a list of marketing people offering helpful marketing ideas, free. I think I could offer those today without any list on the social sites. Costs you nothing.
3. I thus built a list -  as you could, free. Then I offered to write copy for the people on the list.

I have done a few other things, but none cost any money

Rezbi:

Similar question to the first, except now you’ve been asked for advice.

The questioner is a 20 something graduate who left University with a degree, but no education. He’s been struggling to find work with no luck, so has decided to go into business.

Trouble is, he’s only got £200, but he can use any means, online or offline. And he’s got a year in which to get his business going and achieving some level of sustainable income.

He’s willing to do whatever it takes, including studying further to first get the required knowledge, and then starting the business.  Or even side-by-side.

What advice would you give him?

Drayton:

1.   The best time you will ever spend is not in trying to get going in business. It is in study.
2.   It’s easy to give in to despair. Don’t. Learn. This gives you an incalculable advantage. Most people know too little.
3.   Settle on something that really interests you. Most people don’t give enough thought to this
4.   Be willing to give up a lot to pursue it. Few people make enough sacrifices.
5.   Don’t just sit around thinking about it – most people just dream. Do it.
6.   I would study:

a.   New businesses that are doing well (not old successful ones)
b.   How to write better — few people can do that at all well
c.   How to sell face to face (get a job doing it)
d.   How people are selling online

7.   If I saw a business that was doing everything right, offer to work for a month free.

Sorry this is a bit vague — but the question is utterly impossible.

The best advice I can give is, don’t give up. I had a minor nervous breakdown when trying to get my first job in London

That’s just a taster. The rest of the interview is even better and I’m sure you’re going to love it. Personally, I haven’t heard Drayton go into this depth in any other interview, with anyone else.

Incidentally, this interview is so good, I was initially going to sell for $47.00. It’s that good.

However, in keeping with the spirit of this blog, and my desire to educate you without laying on you the burden of cost I decided, at the last moment, to give it to you for nothing.

Just press play and enjoy:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Once you’ve finished listening to that, grab a whole lot more by going to http://directanddigitalmarketing.com/draytonbirdcommonsense/.

Drayton has laid on a whole host of videos and articles for absolutely no cost. I guarantee will you receive a world-class education in marketing and it will cost you nothing.

I have learned so much from them, and I know you will, too.

So go ahead and sign up. You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

Best,
Rezbi