by max5ty
3 replies
There's a side of copywriting that is often talked about, but few ever really understand its true potential...

it's research.

Let me explain...

Do you know what a person with terminal cancer really experiences?

The dreams they have at night about dying are so frightening they would send shivers down your spine...

open sores that are oozing...

the coughing and the phlegm...

the vomiting...

the smells...

things they don't talk about because they're trying to be strong...

the thoughts they have at 2 a.m...

the reality that their life could soon be over...

what is next...

is everything I heard true...

the holes that grow bigger on their body and organs...

the embarrassment...

the feeling of suddenly being all alone...

realizing you are all alone when you die and there's no one else that will be there when it all ends...

what will happen...

So how do you understand all this if you haven't been there?

You get out and do research...

you talk to people that are there. You spend time with them and you try to understand what they're going through. You ask questions. You become them.

When you're there...when you hear the sounds and smell the smells and see the terror...and see the strength and the desire to live, you start to understand.

So, let's say we took 2 copywriters and asked them to write a sales piece for a new drug that just came out that showed potential for curing cancer...

Larry and Melissa.

Larry reads a lot of articles on how cancer affects people. He looks up some statistics and watches some videos of people that have cancer.

Melissa actually goes and spends time with those that have cancer.

She gets close and personal.

She begins to feel the pain and fear on a personal level.

Her beliefs about the disease change.

Her human care about the disease changes.

She feels as though it's something most don't truly understand.

Which one of the 2 copywriters will be able to write the most compelling story to promote the new product?

Which copywriter will know the lingo, the phrases, and the feelings someone with cancer truly has?

Which copywriter's piece will resonate the most with those that really are dying of cancer?

The answer is obvious.

I used a graphic example to illustrate a point.

There are different classes of copywriters.

There is the weekend...let's make some extra cash...and there are the mega-successful copywriters that are able to build empires for their customers. There are unique traits that set the 2 apart from each other...one of the biggest is research.

Now, you may not be writing a piece about a new cancer drug...it could be for a new widget that slices avocados...the point I'm making is...get out there and discover first hand what your customers or potential customers are thinking. You will never know just by reading some articles or doing a google search.

Research is responsible for virtually all of the biggest copywriting hits in history.

Behind-the-scenes research.

Exhaustive research.

The copywriters that wrote some of the best pieces in history actually went out and became what they were writing about.

It's a fact and anyone that cares to research it will discover exactly what I'm saying.

The research will take you from $500 jobs to jobs that pay thousands and thousands.

We can focus all day on templates and the right words and phrases...but every huge successful campaign is built on a ton of behind-the-scenes research.

Research, in my opinion, is 90% of your success.
#copywriters #copywriting #lazy #side
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  • Profile picture of the author EnterIn
    Knowing the high importance of research is why I prefer to enter markets that I have experience in, affinity with. Markets where i have been a buyer and have felt a strong desire to have a problem solved.

    When YOU are the avatar you seek to market to, you can talk (write) with depth, from the heart.

    All in all, I'd say "Market affinity is the lazy copywriters shortcut to success".
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    • Profile picture of the author max5ty
      Originally Posted by EnterIn View Post

      Knowing the high importance of research is why I prefer to enter markets that I have experience in, affinity with. Markets where i have been a buyer and have felt a strong desire to have a problem solved.

      When YOU are the avatar you seek to market to, you can talk (write) with depth, from the heart.

      All in all, I'd say "Market affinity is the lazy copywriters shortcut to success".
      Great Comment.

      I do think though that whatever market you specialize in, it's important to understand that each new product or idea creates different dynamics in the mind of the consumer.

      Research is an ongoing process.

      Thanks for your comment.
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      • Originally Posted by max5ty View Post



        Research is an ongoing process.

        Search, dispense with alla that 'rinse & repeat' schwango, then search again.


        & do so ad infinitum.


        "The pathway to perfectly fittin' panties begins with tryin' the fkrs on."
        Signature

        Lightin' fuses is for blowin' stuff togethah.

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