How does a Copywriter-for-hire learn the market he is hired for?

I'll just answer the last two.

1. Yes, a good copywriter can sell an in-demand product in any market.

2. Gary would charge enough money to make the excruciatingly in-depth market research necessary to produce a winning campaign worth his time (IMHO).

-Scott

Go and buy some toy trains and play with them in addition to any book, magazine or industry publication. Also get a hold of any competitors brochures etc.

That is a matter of judgement and personal ethics.
If "wants to market, massively" is true there should be enough time to prepare. Only a fool would do this without proper preparation. It should not take too long, maybe two to three weeks should do.

That is the wrong approach. The copywriter has to take responsibility for getting the job done including getting enough time and budget for preparation.

The copywriter should be as familiar with the market and the product as if he has been doing that business for the last 20 years.

It is EASY to write sales copy if you are familiar with the product and the market.

If the copywriter wants to talk about "sprockets" then he should know all about there is to know.
Depends on how smart the copywriter is and how fast he can adjust to new environments and learn new stuff.

He would have already bought a bunch of toy trains.

The floor of his hotel room is strewn with parts and pieces of all kinds of toy trains; a few are laying there completely taken apart; another bunch of them would be zapping all over his suite all the while he would be sitting there with his nose deep into on of those competitor catalogs...

In other words: He would have gotten busy yesterday.

Good advice hp

But, a more pertinent question:

How does a beginner copywriter do so with limited starting capital for train set purchase?

As this seems as good a place as any to ask: do you always set your rates /hour and is this what you would recommend to anyone getting into sales copy from content?

If you're going to write a Press Release (or a couple), on-page content and some copy for a client, would you put it all together into one package? Say 50 hours of work, for example?

The general principle is this: Amass more information than you could possibly use. And then sift this information for gold.

A major mistake rookie writers make is to try to sell everything. Or make sales with nothing. For example: You'll see a rookie writer write a promotion for a product with nothing more than the previous VSL and a copy of the product.

So they're stuck writing a full VSL (16 - 32 pages) with only 6 pages of notes for the VSL and 160 pages of book. (Which will boil down to around 16 pages of notes.)

They're 10 pages short!

Instead, you want to comb forums, magazines and other places your prospects gather. Imagine you're trying to join their group and you want to fit in. Learn their language. Find out WHY toy trains are so important to them. And look for the underlying psychological reasons behind their motivations.

For example: People who are overweight are often not in control of their own eating. This negatively effects their own self image. So this feeling of being out of control manifests itself in other areas of their lives, too.

For any market, we are whole human beings. Which means our desires, fears and frustrations are manifestations of the whole of our lives. Our fascination with toy trains does not exist in a vacuum.

Once you have your notes (100+ pages is a good place to start,) you cull it for various categories:

1. How people talk

2. What people want

3. My problems

4. Claims / benefits

5. Proof elements

... And then you sift.

Once you have these categories filled up, you go back to research. Except this time, you research your product. You want everything tangentially related to your product.

For example: does your toy train run on magnetic tracks? What kind of magnets? What research can you get on those? (You may read a line of research which says, "Soandso magnets use a type of force which keeps them 1/4" apart at all times." From this fact, you may come up with the claim, "The first toy train that flies" or "This toy train never touches the tracks.")

From this pile of research, you cull once more. In both culling processes, you're looking for the gold. The 10% that wows you. The rest you can throw away.

From there, you write benefits for both files. Paying especially close attention to the places your "What people want" folder overlaps your "My product has" folder.

By this time, you probably have 40 - 75 pages of golden notes.

Your job now is much easier: You simply comb your notes for a theme. You let it tell you the proper way to present this gold in order to persuade your prospect. And it will, if you give it the proper time.

Just don't pressure it too hard.

I hope this helps.

No magic answers here, just grunt work and research.
The very same way you learn about a subject you don't
know anything about. You read books, articles, Wikipedia,
visit forums, other websites selling similar products ..the
list goes on.

If you are not comfortable with the field then you can
always refuse the job. I've learned a lot doing this type
of research--so there is a payoff apart from the fee
gained.

-Ray Edwards

Do all the above.

Write down lots of questions.

Find a "train enthusiast" club (they'll always be a club, organisation society etc. for whatever niche you're writing for).

Buy them all a drink.

And they'll tell you just about everything you'll ever need to know.

Including the really fascinating stuff you probably won't find on the inter web.


Steve

You say
This has nothing to do with trains. The guys who are hiring you know everything about trains. If you need details, they will tell you almost anything you need to know. Well, if they're like my ex, they'll know the cylinder diameter of the Flying Scotsman in 1923. And in 1932 or whenever it was.

The point about a copywriter is not what you are talking about. It's all about who you are talking to. More important here is who you are listening to. The business selling this stuff - or the guys who are buying it. If it is toy trains, trot down to the local model shop. Find out what fascinates them.

After all, why have all this amazing detail - down to the no-smoking signs under the windows, yet they have ruddy great clunking carriage couplings. On, and there's thirty seconds' worth of travel between the stations. It would be quicker for the passengers to walk that distance. So something doesn't stack up. Find out what illusion they are cherishing and cuddle it (without puncturing it!).

Yes, without a doubt - 2 of the best ways to write copy.


M - Find out what illusion they are cherishing and cuddle it (without puncturing it!).

P - Tell them what they already believe, but in a new and interesting way.


Great stuff.


Steve