To attempt good copy without having some insight about who, what, where, and why is asking for trouble. If you don’t have a really good idea about what your audience is interested then your attempts to create good copy will fail. Your audience will be able to discern that you have not done your homework and therefore are not really speaking their language.
Successful copywriters talk the talk of their customers. You really have to have a better than average understanding of the product. You want to be able to identify with and capture the attention of your audience. It’s therefore of imminent importance to understand everything there is to know about your target audience. Some things to consider might be, a.) Generation, what is the age of the target group and what is it that this group is going to get excited and interested in. b.) Class and/or income group. If you’re talking on a street level to a professional you might very well lose their attention and thus the sale. c.) Profession and level of employment. In most cases you will be writing to attract a certain group of people. It certainly doesn’t hurt to really know who it is that you are speaking to and what their interests and concerns are.
Ask all the questions you can think of. Ask questions that might seem silly. There is no bad question. Every question you can think of may be the same question that a potential customer may be asking. So if you can answer that question before they ask it then you have a better chance at gaining their attention
What does the product or service accomplish for the client? This is important when you are researching the product and the client population. You want to know how the product is either going to increase the value of the customer’s life or prevent something. Generally good copy aims at the positive side of increasing sex appeal, health, youth and wealth. Does your product make life easier for your customer? And how is your product better than other products that may be similar? What can this product offer that others can’t or don’t?
There are varying degrees of importance when it comes to informing your audience about a product or service. First there are the basic qualities found in just about any other similar product. Then there is a middle range that includes the ability to save money, increase health benefits, promote youth and youthful appearance and increase wealth. Finally there are the really powerful selling points, such as a money back guarantee, free mentoring for a specified amount of time, a toll free number to get questions answered by a live person, and other special features not found with other products and/or services.
In the end remember to take what you have learned from your investigations and write your copy in layman’s terms. Whether a professional or a laborer most people reading copy are looking for something that’s easy to read and catches their interests as well as speaks to their heart. But if you have done your homework you will most likely be able to speak to their hearts.
