This is an almost impossible topic to write about…
Honestly, I’ve put off answering the question below for far too long.
Not because I have nothing to say. (I’m never at a shortage for words!)
Rather, for two main reasons…
— First, because the short answer is, “Trust your gut and use Google…”
— And second, because the long answer is way too long to fit into an article.
And yet, here I am, trying to find the in-between. Doing my best to give you advice specific enough to be practical, and general enough to be useful to the wide range of copywriters and marketers who read my articles.
And at the risk of it just feeling like I’m peddling my training nonstop, I’ll say this: I go much deeper into relevant topics in many different BTMSinsiders training titles. So I will link those here as well.
Today’s article is in response to a reader question…
Every Monday is Mailbox Monday — where I answer YOUR questions. If you have a question about copywriting, marketing, selling, business-building, entrepreneurship, success or related topics, click here to submit it to be answered in an upcoming issue.
Here’s today’s question…
—
Hey Roy,
I just wanted to ask about how do you research?
And maybe some advice you can give about research.
Thanks,
JV
—
There are many layers of research that I do for every project…
First, you MUST know your audience. Understanding who they are, how they think, and what that all has to do with your offer and message is probably the key determinant of your marketing message.
You must also know your offer and your product. What details of the product and offer influence the message? (e.g. If you’re justifying a $3,500 seminar purchase, it’s very different than justifying a $35 book.)
You must also understand the campaign and copy needs. What are all the pieces of copy and other moving parts in the campaign? How does that influence your messaging?
And ALL of this ought to be nailed down before you even start to get into messaging.
And even within messaging, there’s a whole plethora of different items you need to know — and research if you don’t know them yet.
What stories exist in your market?
What are the emotions that your prospect is feeling right now?
What’s their current experience?
What news are they reading?
What proof, credibility, and believability elements do you have at your disposal?
And how does all of this inform or tie back into the big idea — which is likely either an Urgent Problem they want to solve, a 10X Opportunity that you’re introducing them to, or an Imminent Prediction they need to prepare for (and the Problem or Opportunity it will create).
First, make sure you get the basics down…
One of the copywriters who came to my Financial Copywriters Workshop (and worked with me afterwards) recently told me he uses a worksheet based on The Control-Beating Project Pre-Flight Plan with every new client.
Even before he has the client, he sends it to them, to gather all the information they can readily give him about the project.
This includes information about the market, the audience, the prospect. As well as about the product and offer. Plus about the campaign strategy and copy needs. And any key positioning language the client is already using.
This is about the extent of what I like to get directly from the client — but it’s also what’s easiest and most useful to get from the client.
The client isn’t going to give you an innovative new big idea, unless you’re really lucky. But they’re definitely the person to get a bunch of fundamental details from, relevant to the campaign.
Next, really try to get into your ideal prospect’s head…
What are they thinking about? (e.g. Today’s coronavirus-related stock market slump — the uncertainty of our current bull market, the upcoming election.)
What do they believe and value? (e.g. The world is falling apart, isn’t as good as it used to be. But they still want and believe they can have financial security for their retirement, and their loved ones.)
Who do they define themselves as, at an identity level? (e.g. Conservative, Christian, retiree, proud American, financially responsible.)
What media are they reading, and how does that influence their perspectives?
And importantly what are their negative and positive feelings around your subject area?
I went into this in detail in Emotional Direct Response Copywriting.
Basically, we move away from negative emotions, and toward positive. We have fears, frustrations, and failures — and they make a hell we want to get away from. But we also have dreams, desires, and a personal destiny — that make our personal heaven that we strive towards.
What is the pain or hell that your prospect wants to get away from? What is the heaven that your product can help lead them to?
Importantly: how have they failed in the past, related to this problem? Why did they fail? What didn’t they know, that you can share with them?
Consider finding hot-button language and insights around all of this by browsing forums (e.g. Reddit, Facebook groups) and Amazon reviews for some of the best-selling relevant prospects to really capture your prospect’s language.
Also, look to your client, their clients, the news, and the market for stories…
There are quite a few specific selling stories that work very consistently.
I often teach PAISA: Problem, Agitate, Invalidate, Solve, Ask. This is the foundational story in my book, The Ultimate Selling Story.
It’s also the fundamental story arc that underlies a number of more specific story templates I teach in The Story Selling Master Class.
For example, maybe the “guru” behind the product went through that basic process, that led to them inventing it.
Or maybe they have a few client stories (narrative case studies) of clients who were having a problem, struggling with it, tried a bunch of solutions, eventually found them, took action and finally got their desired result.
Then again, maybe there’s something going on in the news, or some other outside market story that’s equally powerful. Or, more than one story that I can put together to create a new story. (This is the A+B=C method I explain in this article: Find powerful Big Ideas for your copy.)
What story is in the market that is either creating a problem for the prospect, creating an opportunity, or suggests an imminent prediction that will impact their life?
And what about that can be tied to your product or service?
Somewhere along the way, you’ll start to hone in on a big idea…
Again, as I teach in High-Velocity Copywriting, this will either be an Urgent Problem they wish to solve, a 10X Opportunity you can alert them to, or an Imminent Prediction that will create a problem or opportunity for them.
Sometimes, this is just a hunch. Then you have to dig deeper.
And here’s where the free-form research of “just use Google” really comes into play.
I often ask myself, “What if this is true?” I’m just mixing and matching details I find in lots of places, and wondering what happens if I put them together.
As-in, “What if it’s true that the strange Russian satellite that’s in the news were carrying a nuclear warhead, to detonate in the upper atmosphere? Would that be at the right altitude to create an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP)?”
The answer was yes, although it appeared at the time I was the first to ask the question. That’s detailed in the A+B=C in Find powerful Big Ideas for your copy.
(I also do a 1-hour, 45-minute line-by-line analysis of the story selling in that sales letter as a bonus to The Story Selling Master Class.)
Make sure you’re backing up all your claims…
This is where the grunt work of research comes in.
If you make a claim in your copy, you shouldn’t just assume your prospect will believe it. You should back it up.
I’ve actually identified 26 different proof and credibility elements that you can use in your selling messages.
Everything from testimonials to scientific research to academic credentials and beyond.
Those are taught in the Proof, Credibility, and Believability training I offer.
In short, as you’re developing your message, you need to find out how you can justify everything.
I sometimes do this before I’m writing, at least for the big things. But often I’m looking for a little extra kick, and will go out and find something as I write. Again, Google is your friend.
Finally, make your life easier and do this all the time…
I’ve made it a habit to keep my curiosity turned on. I know this is true of most great copywriters.
I’m always reading — anything I can get my hands on.
And when I get an idea, I capture it.
Primarily, I keep them in Evernote, in an ideas file.
Some ideas, I keep accumulating sources until they reach critical mass.
Other times, a project shows up and that’s the critical mass I need.
In either case, once I know I’m going to write around a topic, I create a dedicated file, and use Evernote to collect a ton of sources.
I over-research, try to collect everything while the project is active, and then purge it all once the project is out the door.
I hope this is helpful.
And I suppose this should give you a fair expectation of the amount of research that actually goes into creating breakthrough copy.
Yours for bigger breakthroughs,
Roy Furr
