研究部

Research Department

The advisory bench for the studio. It doesn't make the work — it counsels it: how to write it, position it, make it persuasive, and get it in front of people. An advisor for the creative panels, not another panel that produces pixels.

Honest by default. The advice below is real, reusable framework — not live AI output. It's the questions a good strategist would ask and the structures they'd reach for. When a real research agent is connected through window.zenbuResearch, the console upgrades to tailored counsel and says so. Until then it's a rules-based advisor, and it tells you that.

Advise a brief

Copywriting · counsel

  • Write a brief and press Advise. The bench will surface the relevant framework and the questions worth answering first.
Rules-based advisor · no agent connected

The disciplines

Copywriting

01

Make the words carry the idea. Structure before ornament; one clear promise before any cleverness.

PAS — the honest persuader

Name the Problem, deepen the Agitation (what it costs to leave it), resolve with the Solution. Best when the reader already feels the ache.

  • Problem
  • Agitate
  • Solve

AIDA — for cold attention

Attention (a specific, true hook) → Interest (one relevant detail) → Desire (the transformation) → Action (one unambiguous next step).

  • Attention
  • Interest
  • Desire
  • Action

Headline tests

Specific > clever. Would it survive being said out loud? Does it promise one thing? Cut the first sentence — the second is usually the real opening.

Marketing

02

Get the right thing in front of the right people, in the order that compounds. Position first; channels second.

Positioning statement

For [who] who [need], [product] is a [category] that [single differentiator] — unlike [alternative]. If you can't fill every blank, the offer isn't sharp yet.

  • Who
  • Need
  • Category
  • Differentiator
  • Alternative

Channel fit

Sell where the taste already gathers. For diagram/print work: Pinterest (discovery), Etsy (intent), a shop's own visual thread (trust). Match the format to the channel, don't reformat one asset everywhere.

Launch ladder

Seed to the smallest warm audience → gather one real reaction → adjust → widen. A quiet first rung beats a loud empty one.

  • Seed
  • React
  • Adjust
  • Widen

Social science

03

Why people say yes — used to earn attention, never to manipulate. Every principle below has an ethical floor: it must be true.

Cialdini's levers (ethical use)

Reciprocity (give first), Commitment (small yes before big), Social proof (real others), Authority (earned, shown not claimed), Liking (genuine affinity), Scarcity (only when real).

  • Reciprocity
  • Commitment
  • Proof
  • Authority
  • Liking
  • Scarcity

Behavioral nudges

Reduce friction before adding motivation. Defaults do heavy lifting. Anchor the first number the reader sees. Name the loss, not just the gain — people move harder to avoid losing.

Audience psychology

Write to one person, not a segment. What do they already believe, and what's the smallest true shift from there? Identity beats features — "for people who X" outsells "does Y".

Outreach

04

Reaching people directly, respectfully, at a scale a person can sustain. Relevance over volume, always.

Cold message structure

Specific opener (a true observation about them) → one-line why-you → one small ask. No paragraph about yourself. If it could be sent to anyone, it will be ignored by everyone.

  • Observe
  • Why you
  • Small ask

Follow-up cadence

Two follow-ups, spaced, each adding value (not "just bumping this"). Then stop. Silence is an answer; respect it and the door stays open.

  • +3 days
  • +7 days
  • close

Personalization checklist

Right name, right context, a reference only they'd recognize, and a reason it's them now. If you can't answer "why this person, why today," don't send it.