The Super Simple Secret All Copywriters Know
- ARTICLES |
By Lorrie Morgan Ferrero
Wanna know the secret to my success as a copywriter? Once you get this concept, you're practically guaranteed to boost sales for yourself AND your clients.
Ready? Here it is in a nutshell. Focus on the catch and not the pitch. If you're tossing a baseball to your kid, would you turn around and throw it in the bleachers? Or would you aim it toward his glove so he has a successful catch? In other words, instead of spending the majority of your time crafting HOW you're going to sell your audience with your offer, focus on finding out WHO the heck you're talking to!
You must uncover exactly who your target market is, then narrow it down even further to a specific TAR-KET! The word tarket comes from combining the words "target" plus "market". I coined the term because it's CRITICAL you think in the singular, not plural. Target market sounds like a mob. Tarket is one person.
Over the years, I've developed a step-by-step approach to laser focusing on the tarket I call the "IQEE". Not so I can have a cutesy acronym, but so I can remember to check off each step! Each of these letters drill down to more specifics than I can cover in this article, but I can give you enough to get started.
STEP 1: "I" - IDENTIFY TARKET
Who is your client? You already know it's not "everybody." Again, when you write your copy, you're writing to one person and one person only. The more you can actually visualize your tarket, the more conversational and effective your copy will be.
Once you have a grip on the average target market, you're ready to eliminate all but one. Don't worry. No one gets hurt. It's just for your copy. Now I want you to imagine the hair color, gender, age, health, marital status - everything you can think of - regarding your particular tarket. At the end of this exercise, you should have an imaginary friend in mind to sell to. Name your tarket. Mine is called Nikki.
STEP 2: "Q" - QUERY
"Q" isn't about your projections, but what your real tarket wants. Wouldn't you agree the only opinion that matters is the opinion of the customer? Good.
Now that you know who your tarket is, you gotta dig deeper. I mean pick up the phone and CALL people in your target market. Keep your questions open ended. You're a detective, gathering information. Listen closely to their WOES so you can offer the solution in your copy.
STEP 3: "E" - EXECUTE
Okay, now that you know what your target market wants and needs, funnel their answers down to your single tarket. Now you're ready to craft your copy and offer. If you did the first steps right, the copy practically writes itself. Remember to visualize your tarket. Nothing makes your copy more engaging than when you zero in on the RIGHT tarket.
STEP 4: "E" - EVALUATE
Finally, LOOK AT your results and see if you hit a bull's eye or wrote a brick. You should have inserted a tracking link or code for each of your copy campaigns.
So in some ways copywriting is just like school. If you want to be successful do your homework, turn it in and follow up to see if your answers were correct!
Article by:
Copywriting guru Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero has been helping entrepreneurs and copywriters get their marketing messages razor sharp since 1999. Get free access to 5 tips to turn your "blah" sales message into red-hot copy that ROCKS... at www.redhotcopy.com
Dania
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Wanna know the secret to my success as a copywriter? Once you get this concept, you're practically guaranteed to boost sales for yourself AND your clients.
Ready? Here it is in a nutshell. Focus on the catch and not the pitch. If you're tossing a baseball to your kid, would you turn around and throw it in the bleachers? Or would you aim it toward his glove so he has a successful catch? In other words, instead of spending the majority of your time crafting HOW you're going to sell your audience with your offer, focus on finding out WHO the heck you're talking to!
You must uncover exactly who your target market is, then narrow it down even further to a specific TAR-KET! The word tarket comes from combining the words "target" plus "market". I coined the term because it's CRITICAL you think in the singular, not plural. Target market sounds like a mob. Tarket is one person.
Over the years, I've developed a step-by-step approach to laser focusing on the tarket I call the "IQEE". Not so I can have a cutesy acronym, but so I can remember to check off each step! Each of these letters drill down to more specifics than I can cover in this article, but I can give you enough to get started.
STEP 1: "I" - IDENTIFY TARKET
Who is your client? You already know it's not "everybody." Again, when you write your copy, you're writing to one person and one person only. The more you can actually visualize your tarket, the more conversational and effective your copy will be.
Once you have a grip on the average target market, you're ready to eliminate all but one. Don't worry. No one gets hurt. It's just for your copy. Now I want you to imagine the hair color, gender, age, health, marital status - everything you can think of - regarding your particular tarket. At the end of this exercise, you should have an imaginary friend in mind to sell to. Name your tarket. Mine is called Nikki.
STEP 2: "Q" - QUERY
"Q" isn't about your projections, but what your real tarket wants. Wouldn't you agree the only opinion that matters is the opinion of the customer? Good.
Now that you know who your tarket is, you gotta dig deeper. I mean pick up the phone and CALL people in your target market. Keep your questions open ended. You're a detective, gathering information. Listen closely to their WOES so you can offer the solution in your copy.
STEP 3: "E" - EXECUTE
Okay, now that you know what your target market wants and needs, funnel their answers down to your single tarket. Now you're ready to craft your copy and offer. If you did the first steps right, the copy practically writes itself. Remember to visualize your tarket. Nothing makes your copy more engaging than when you zero in on the RIGHT tarket.
STEP 4: "E" - EVALUATE
Finally, LOOK AT your results and see if you hit a bull's eye or wrote a brick. You should have inserted a tracking link or code for each of your copy campaigns.
So in some ways copywriting is just like school. If you want to be successful do your homework, turn it in and follow up to see if your answers were correct!
Article by:
Copywriting guru Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero has been helping entrepreneurs and copywriters get their marketing messages razor sharp since 1999. Get free access to 5 tips to turn your "blah" sales message into red-hot copy that ROCKS... at www.redhotcopy.com
Dania
Get Step by Step Blogging Guide
Get Over 16,000 Information Products - Available in 6 Languages Free
"7 Simple Ways to Make Money with Your Website or Blog and 101 Ways to Monetize Your Blog Without Irritating Your Readers" FREE EBOOK