Why You Must Know Your Prospect Before You Write A Word Of Copy
If you don't know your prospect, your copy may not be selling as well as it should. You might write benefits that the prospect doesn't care about. He might be busy, but you may end up writing long-winded copy. You may end up solving problems that the prospect doesn't have.
When you know your prospect well, you can hit her hot buttons. In your copy, you can put yourself in her shoes and relate to her. You'll know what to say to get her excited about your product or service. And you'll know what benefits to point out.
In other words, you'll be able to write copy that sells when you know your prospect.
For example, let's say you're selling an ebook to indie game developers. The ebook has marketing advice to help indie game developers market their games and make money from them. Most indie game developers are skilled at programming, but aren't skilled at marketing. They want to learn more about marketing so they can make money from their games.
To sell the ebook to them, you wouldn't say their programming skills would be improved when they read the ebook. You'd say they'll have the marketing knowledge they need to earn a decent income from their games.
When you know your prospect, you can also paint a picture that appeals to them. For instance, indie game developers love making games. They especially love making games they would play themselves. They find it hard to make money from their games. A fear they have is not having enough money to pay their bills. There's no guarantee that their game will sell, and that makes them uncomfortable.
With that information, you can paint a picture that appeals to them. You can have them imagining themselves making games they love that they would play themselves, making good money from their games, having their bills easily paid on time, and a confident feeling that they'll make money from their next game because they have marketing knowledge from the ebook.
So you can see that when you know your prospect, you can write much stronger copy.
To understand your prospect, write a list of what you know about him. List his beliefs, fears, and desires. Talk to people who are like your prospect. Visit forums that your prospect goes to. Read books, magazines, or Web sites that your prospect reads.
You can write stronger copy when you know your prospect. Be sure to understand your prospect before you start writing your copy.
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Francis Lui is a web copywriter with web technical skills.
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