STOP: Before you write a word of copy ...

[Raydal]

Few copywriters would discuss the research that’s necessary to
write great copy. But a persuasive sales letter doesn’t just
jump into a copywriter’s head at will. It takes planning and a
lot of research. In fact, I spend over 80% of my time in
crafting a sales letter at this research stage and less than 20%
doing the actual writing and editing.

Below are the steps a copywriter should take in preparing to
write sales letters.

1. Research the market. There are many questions the copywriter
has to answer at this step: What are the market needs? What other
products have been selling well? Who make up the target market
(demographics)? Are there any noticeable trends? The copywriter
has to know more about the market than the market knows about
itself. Surveys, marketing reports, buying trends and popular
forums can all give very telling information about your target
market.

2. Research the competition. How well are your competitors doing?
What products are selling well for them? What marketing message
and media are bringing in most of the profit? Where are they
investing most of their advertising dollars? Before the advent
of the internet you would have to pay a lot of money for this
type of information. But with tools such as ClickBank
Marketplace which do rankings of hundreds of websites you can
quickly spy on your competition. The use of Google Adwords can
also provide you with the marketing intelligence that will guide
you in your letter writing.

3. Research your product. If you are selling a product or
service then you should know more about this product than the
average user. What are the benefits to the end user? How is
this product superior to other products in the market? How is it
made, distributed, and used? Is the product based on a new idea
or old and improved idea? What have the beta users been saying
about the product?

4. Plan your letter appeals and structure. Once all the research
has been done then it’s now time to plan how all the new
information you’ve gathered can best be used to communicate the
strongest benefits of this product to the prospect. How would you
get their attention? What is the best headline type to use? How
should you structure the sales letter? Should you start with a
story? How much do you need to educate the prospect within the
letter itself? Which are your strongest testimonials? What is the
best appeal or hook to use?

Like writing an essay in school, the copywriter should have a rough
draft of the letter outline before he starts pounding away at the
keyboard. The structure of the letter should depend on your market,
the newness of your product and the demographics you are trying to
appeal to.

Are they very skeptical, accepting, frustrated, or burnt?
The answer to these questions will help you choose an appropriate
letter structure to use.

Needless to say, a lot of brainstorming goes into crafting the
perfect sales letter. As you read and do your research be sure
to write down every idea that comes to mind. Don’t depend on
your memory to keep those flashes of inspiration; you would lose
them just when you need them most.

Along with the preparation of the research materials the
copywriter must also prepare himself mentally and emotionally to
perform at his peak. A healthy body and outlook on life will
tell on your writing style. Writing copy is a tedious job and
need a body prepared physically and mentally in order to excel.

To fail to plan is to plan to fail.

-Ray Edwards