What’s the number one rule of copywriting?
No, it’s not about words. It’s about knowing your audience and creating copy that resonates…copy that makes them say, “You read my mind.”
And with that requirement comes the need to do research. I explain in detail how to do this in my course on getting inside your prospect’s mind.
But now I want to talk a little about how *not* to do research. It’s always tempting to do this, but you never know…
Recently I got an email from someone I’ll call Nellie.
The first problem was that the email was marketing “Personal to Cathy from Nellie.” It’s not personal. I don’t know Nellie. She’s sending me a form letter that’s probably unprotected by the privacy laws because it goes to so many people. She can’t claim it’s between us!
But the bigger problem was that Nellie wrote, “I see you didn’t sign up for my paid program. Would you mind completing a questionnaire? We want to improve.”
I can think of at least a dozen reasons NOT to sign up for this program. For one thing, I’m not in the target market. Also the copy is weak: I don’t know what benefits I’d be getting. For another, the timing is wrong: it’s a series of workshops and I’ll be away for part of the program. And so on.
But the biggest problem is: Nellie’s asking a “why” question. As I explain in my course, experienced researchers avoid why questions like the plague. For example, most people don’t know why they do things; there’s all kinds of research suggesting that we’re influenced by subconscious cues in our environment.
I’d also suggest that Nellie’s asking the people least likely to be interested in buying her product. She’d do better to ask motivated clients about their backstories. What do they need? What have they tried?
It’s hard to find a backstory for “why I didn’t buy.”
Anyway, this isn’t the way to do research. It also comes off as a little desperate. People who get lots of signups — who end up with a waiting list — don’t ask people why they didn’t buy.
In the end, I did fill out the form. I offered to help Nellie with her copy, at the going rate. I don’t think she’ll get back to me.
But if you want me to review your copy with a video, it’s a reasonably priced offer and it’ll happen fast. Do your research before you ask me to take a look…or we’ll evaluate your research together in a Strategic Intensive.