The Copywriter Interview - As Promised

In the interest of "full disclosure", here is a list of the questions I posed in an interview to a few copywriters who agreed to answer them for my Warrior Forum blog, The Inner Circle.

Some folks felt I was after free coaching or depriving others from learning from the interviews by asking for private responses, so I am posting the questions here for everyone to peruse at their leisure.

Feel free to answer them, or pick them apart if you'd like.

Tina

1. Market Research: Why research to begin with?

My thought is you do market research so you'll be "up" on the lingo, the slang, your product, your client, and so you'll be able to speak to your prospect DIRECTLY, using his or her "language". By researching the market, you'll be able to enter the conversation already going on in your prospect's head.

Can you expand on why market research is necessary?

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2. Interviewing and Copywriting: Interviewing skills fit into copywriting because...? Exactly WHO does a copywriter interview when preparing to write a piece of copy, and why?

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3. After the market research and the interviewing is done, I've read that some copywriters then engage in a process informally called a "Brain Dump". What is a "brain dump" and why would a copywriter do it?

I believe you do this in order to put everything you've learned so far about your market and your product onto paper...to discover how well you know your product, your market, and if you're now prepared to write your sales letter or if you need to go gather more information. Am I off the mark?

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Edit: VIN MONTELLO: Someone asked me to ask you "nicely" if you would answer this one. Please?

4. Stories: Why are they important when writing copy? What does a story "do" for the copy you are writing and what does it do for the market you are writing "to"?

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5. Bullets: what are their function in a piece of copy? What is a bullet and what significance do they have in a salesletter?

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6. Headlines and hooks: What is the purpose of each and what must they do for your reader?

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7. That sexy body (the "body" area of your copy, that is) is where your proof goes, where your story goes, where your bullets go that falls directly after the headline, hook, salutation, lead and directly before your offer, call to action, close, and PS's. This much I know, but what exactly "is" the body of a sales letter?

I think it's the "delivery area" for everything you've talked about before you got to the body. Am I wrong? Right? Close?

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8. I love Gary Halbert's definition of "The Offer". He defined it, in simplistic glory, thusly: "I'll give you "X" (define X) in exchange for "Y" (usually money).

But what about your bonuses? Your guarantee? Personally I think guarantees and bonuses are simply a part of "The Offer"...a part you use to "sweeten the deal" as Gary often said. What are your thoughts on this?

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9. Testimonials: what are they and why should you use them in a sales letter? It's a social proof thing, right? Is there more to a testimonial than the social proof aspect? Enquiring minds wanna know...

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10. I hear copywriters refer to both the "close" and the "call to action" as if they were the same thing. I disagree. I believe the "call to action" is the part in a sales letter where you say, "Hey, click here to get what I'm offering!" The close, however, is where you sign off the letter, where you say, "I'll see you on the inside, Your Name."

Are the call to action and the close two completely different entities? Or are they the same? What's your take on it?

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11. I've always thought postscripts (PS's) were supposed to be "supplemental" information that is added after a letter is signed. So why do I so often see body copy regurgitated in the PS's? What is the purpose, really, of a PS in a salesletter?

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12. A lot of people think offering multiple payment plans is a part of the "getting the money" phase of copywriting. I think it's part of the offer, something used to sweeten the deal. What are your thoughts on this?

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13. The power to persuade: where does one get this skill? Or is it no skill at all, but an inherent talent? Can it be learned, or must you be born with it? What role does it play in copywriting - where does it fit?