Ad copy...you forgot step one!

By Terry Dean
Posted Thursday, August 5, 2004

Writing winning sales letters for the web really isn't as hard as it is made out to be. The reason most people have so much trouble writing web pages which sell to their customers is they have forgotten rule number one of copywriting...

Research is at least 75% of the process.

Most of the rules you have been taught about copywriting apply to the refinement of it or the "finishing" of it.

Yes, you must show the benefits the customers receive, not just the features of the product.

Yes, you need to read winning headlines from the past and model them for your projects.

Yes, you should always offer a risk free guarantee to your customers.

BUT...step one is to research your product, your competitors, and your customers. Then, you can apply all of the winning copywriting formulas for best results.

Good copywriters (on the web or off it) are not usually the most imaginative people you can find. They don't just instantly dream up winning headlines out of thin air.

They research their product, market, and competition until the majority of what needs to be written becomes obvious!

Most of the things we come to think of as great inspired talents or skills are really the result of hard work.

Thomas Edison said, "Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration."

Good copywriting is no exception.

Research is the key to copywriting success...and the success of your web site.

What are you going to be researching?

* Research Your Customers *

What do they wan out of life? What are their hot buttons? What motivates them to buy?

Here are three ways to research your future customers:

1. Ask For Feedback

Visit discussion groups. Watch the posts taking place and study them. What kinds of concerns keep coming up about products? Ask them what needs or wants they would have in the perfect product.

Use (http://www.forumone.com) to find discussions in your market.

2. Take a Survey

If you already have a web site, then take a survey of your visitors about their needs and wants.

Zoomerang allows you to do it for free: (http://zoomerang.com/)

3. Contact Customers

If you already sell products to the same group of customers, then simply ask your current customers. Email them or give them a call.

Ask them why they bought from you in the first place and how you could offer even more value to their purchase.

* Research Your Product *

Some of the best copywriters are the owners of their own businesses. They know their product like the back of their hand.

When hiring a good outside copywriter, they will need to know everything there is to know about your product or service to write effective copy.

In other words, you need to be an expert on the subject to write really effective copy about it.

Read about the product. Study it. Take notes on it.

When writing ads for a book, for example, you will often write a full bulleted list of benefits readers will get out of the book straight from the book pages themselves.

You will often say, "Learn how to lower your golf score by 10 strokes through five easy steps...page 27" Then, on and on with other benefits taken right of the pages of the book.

No matter what you are selling, you will build the list of benefits for the product out of the features already in the product.

* Research Your Competitors *

The Internet is the most competitive marketplace ever. Not only can you sell to a world marketplace, but you also have a world of competitors competing with you.

You have to study your competitors and see where their strong and weak points are. What is unique about your product from all of your competitors?

You will especially need to do this if you have large well funded competitors. Find out which areas of the market they may be ignoring or desires they're not fulfilling.

As a small business, you may find the best way to present your product will be to tighten your customer focus to a smaller niche. You don't need a million customers to earn a profit. You may only need a thousand.

How can you best fulfill the needs of those thousand people?

* Take A Break *

Doing the research was a lot of hard work.

The next step is almost as important. Take a break. That's right. Put down your laptop. Go for a walk. See a movie. Work on your hobby.

Your mind needs a break and it needs to "think" about the project in the background. You will be surprised at just how intelligent you appear to be when you fill your head with all of the research...and then forgot about it for awhile.

Inspiration just seems to come to you...

About the Author
Terry Dean, a 5 year veteran of Internet marketing, will Take You By The Hand and Show You Exact Results of All the Internet Marketing Techniques he tests and Uses Every Single Month" Click here to Find Out More:
(http://www.netbreakthroughs.com/)