Conversational Copywriting

I would say it is paramount - if that is, your aim is to have an effective sales letter.

As you say, the problem is how to imagine yourself in someone else's shoes. There are several ways - one is a process of refinement that relies on split-testing. You have two different messages and one speaks to your prospect (= engages/converses with them). The winner is then refined more. Eventually you get a reasonable level of engagement.

The second way is more intuitive. It is the sort of thing that Howie Jacobson (askHowie.com – AdWords Help, Advice and Tools) is a past master at. He calls it his avatar method (or somesuch). Now you have to imagine your prospect in every facet of their being, down to the name of their dog and the number of beer bottles in their fridge. Oh, and their favorite pop star. The problem with this method is that it is impossibly hard to do, as it relies on your imagination and this is a faculty that is very poorly used in our society.

Another side to this is to find out the conversation that your prospect is going to have with the people you are writing for. So make sure you know the way in which they speak! Because if you write as yourself you are presenting yourself not them - in other words a very minor form of misrepresentation on their part.

Does this help any?

Carlton calls it Tales from the Bar Room I believe. Essentially speaking as you
were to someone sitting next to you who is telling why he has the problem
that he does

entering into a consumers mind is hard work. What does he like, what does he fear what are his goals. Conversational copy you have to assume friendship. You talk like you know him because you do know him. You know him because in same ways you are him. You can relate to him.

It's not just important, in my opinion it's essential. It's also extremely difficult.

Not only do you have to thoroughly research your target audience to come up with a "character" to write to, you also have to delve deeper into your readers real insecurities and fears - this can be really hard as people are naturally closed on their own failings.

Put in the research time and it becomes much easier.

Good luck.

Trev

Ok, first I'd like to say, entering the prospects head is a process. You don't tap into one source and bingo you found the pot of gold.

Having said that, here's how I go about it. I like to tap into forums and see what they are complaining about. I make note of any special lingo they use related to the market.

Next it includes a series of testing and refining until you hit the sweet spot and people really feel like they understand you.

Another way you can check buyer habits is by using amazon. Go a search for your market. If you find nothing maybe you need a better market.

Next pay close attention to what products other have bought. This will give you an insight into what these people will also be interested in.

The last thing I have just started looking into is buyer habits rather than trying to pinpoint every detail of the demographics.

After reading the Power of Habits. This book turned me onto why people "do" what they do. You might be surprised what you learn.

...it would be helpful if our prospects are spending all day and most of the night with the one and only thought - agonising about the dreadful dilemma that the product or service we're writing for is gong to solve.

They're not.

If only they were - bang! - with good to excellent copy - we would have a 99.97% conversation rate.

The 0.03% who didn't buy had a fortunate momentary lapse of that awful emotion and went back to thinking about something else. Good for them we're designed to avoid pain and gain pleasure.


But we can powerfully remind the good people in our target audience that they do have the "problem" that we'll be thrilled to solve for them. It'll immediately shoot back to the surface.

And they'll ponder...

"Dammit, good point, I should handle this, so what are you selling?...And (they're also thinking) please don't waste my time, it had better be an answer that works..."


Steve

Hard work?

Extremely difficult?

Why? What's hard wok, what's difficult about it?

Look, people love to talk. By and large they love to communicate with other people. Effective communication is after all, all about asking questions. Taking an interest in the other person you're talking to. Listening to their concerns and answering their concerns with solutions which simply move them away from pain to pleasure. In a nutshell.

What's difficult about that? We all do it quite naturally all the time every day.

Just because it's in written form doesn't make the process any more difficult. Sorry fella's but you both completely lost me there. The only difficulty is in your own mind.

Max got it bang on the nail. Simply pretend the person you're trying to reach across to is sitting across the table from you.

Put yourself directly into your target market shoes and understand their problem from their perspective. Now when writing sales copy, all you need to do is to simply enter the conversation going on inside their own mind.

What are your target markets concerns?

What is keeping your ideal buyer up at night worrying about the problem they're faced with?

What is their ideal solution?

What ideally are they searching for?

If you know your product or service is the best thing for them to help them solve their own problem by means of the solution you can provide for them, naturally this person on coming across your sales copy, they're going to have concerns, questions, running through their mind. They need some form of reassurance. They'll want to know that you're fully competent to carry out the task at hand.

Without seeing the product in question or experiencing the solution directly first hand, at first quite naturally their defenses are going to be up. They're going to have some doubts in their mind.

Through careful research into these problems faced by your prospect, your lead, you'll get to know their concerns intimately. In other words, you'll understand their problem inside out. You'll be able to effectively switch out from your own thought processes directly into the thought processes running through the mind of the person who you're trying to get to take your direct call to action on behalf of your client.

A copywriter therefore, it's his or her responsibility to communicate the benefits of the business concerned by means of answering the questions running through the mind of their ideal buyer.

Now we've all seen ads which are screaming out, this is what we do or this is what we can do for you. Bang. Bang. Bang. Full of hype. Essentially telling the person, slamming it into their conscious mind to call this number now or whatever else the call to action is. About as impersonal as it gets.

Conversion rate if you take this approach? Screaming at the other person, well, they're probably not going to take much notice of you are they? At best, they'll probably just ignore you. Because when you do this, you're demonstrating through your own words, that you're not actually all that interested in the thoughts, feelings and emotions running through their mind.

Effective copywriting is all about entering a dialogue with your readers. Bringing yourself down to your prospects level. Treating them as you yourself want to be treated by others.

Do you appreciate it when other businesses try to convince you into a call to action by means of a hard sell? Precisely. Exactly. Nail. Head.

On the other hand, if you ask their questions for them on their behalf you're showing those readers you understand their problem intimately from their unique perspective. And what does this approach do? It engenders trust and aids your credibility.

Written sales copy is simply communication. No different to opening your mouth, asking questions verbally, listening to the other party, chatting with one another.

So an ad which simply says, this is who we are, this is what we do, call this number now without answering your potential buyers questions basically demonstrates complete ignorance on your part.

When you write an ad like this, you're essentially saying, "We're not really all that interested in you as a customer, as a buyer, all we're interested in is taking your money off you and you better be thankful for it."

Creating friends (or in this case buyers) is all about making friends with people.

Now, who do you naturally warm to?

Do you warm to the person who on meeting them talks about themselves only?

Do you feel naturally drawn towards this person?

Or do you feel more naturally drawn towards the person who like you, asks you lots of questions and takes an interest in your life? The answer is obvious and this parallel applies equally so to copywriting / salesmanship-in-print.

Truth is we all feel repelled by pushy people. Car salesmen have a terrible reputation for this. And they'd surely do much better if they turned off the hard sell and asked questions taking a genuine interest in a potential customers exact needs.

By simply asking questions, taking a genuine warm interest in the needs of the potential buyer they can more easily bring this potential lead on side by offering them a car which suits their needs perfectly.

Let's use an example to illustrate the point...

Take a home removal company for example. A couple have recently sold their home and they want to move across state to their new home on a certain date.

In advance they start looking for a home removal company. In their mind they have questions, concerns...

Does this company have a solid reputation?

How long have they been in business?

Are they reliable, punctual, careful and considerate?

Are their staff members, the actual removal men themselves, are they courteous and polite? Non smokers?

Is the removal company vehicle fleet clean and tidy and fully mechanically maintained?

What is their breakages record like? Are they fully insured?

Do they have glowing reviews left by previous customers?

Will they make our home move easy, painless and stress free?

You get the picture.

Now one removal company they have a website, an ad for their company services.

This couple, together they look at it...




An extreme example perhaps. And yes, a terrible ad by any stretch of the imagination!

Case in point, would you feel attracted to or repelled by this offer to help you move home?

Would you feel compelled to call this number without delay?

Would you feel this particular company are the best home removal company to look after your needs on perhaps one of the most stressful days of your life?

Probably not.

How about if on the other hand your ad read something like this?...



Okay so you get the picture.

It's all about building up in advance a rapport with your intended target market. Presenting your company products and services in a personable, professional and friendly manner.

A conversation is easy. You simply open your mouth and start asking questions and when the other person you're addressing answers you, shut your mouth and listen carefully to what they have to say.

Writing sales copy is not so very different.

Likewise, writing conversational copy is easy when you know how.

Just as you would in verbal communication, in written form, just imagine (by placing yourself directly into the shoes of the person you're trying to reach to bring on side) ask their questions for them in your sales copy.

Next, after you've posed a question, simply answer it giving the potential buyer every reason to not only believe you but also to trust your written word.

The marketplace dictates who will be the winners and losers, which companies or businesses will make a profit. When you directly enter the pain currently being experienced by your copywriting client or within your own business, just do your best to address their concerns conversationally to reassure them you're the ideal answer to their prayers.

Do this with a strong call to action and you'll almost definitely see your conversion rate rise exponentially.

Please feel welcome to discuss any of these points or do feel free to add your own thoughts down below...

I hope this proves to be of benefit to a few of you.

Smoking hot,


Mark Andrews

Yup. It really is easy when you know how. Which is really easy to say when you don't realize just how hard it is for other people to put what they say into writing. I teach this sort of stuff, and believe me, it is very hard to learn. It isn't hard to teach either - the hard part is understanding where your pupils don't get it - and that is way harder than just banging on the same door time and time again. Finding their backdoor, where they are comfortable and at ease with themselves is the key. The problem is that everybody's back door is different. And spotting that is my talent.

That you have a talent for writing copy means only that you have a talent for writing it. Which is fair enough.

So give your readership a break and reckon just how hard some of these things are when you face a blank piece of paper. It's a lonely place when you are out of ideas.

@ Mark Pescetti - thank goodness you already identified yourself as someone I wouldn't want work with. make my job so much easier.

@ Mark Andrews, That was a hell of a post. Keep up the good work. Loads of insight in there. I wonder how many people will take it to heart.