5 Questions Every Great Copywriter Needs to Ask for Exceptional Content Performance
The secret is out.
Effective copywriting is a foundational asset that complements creative visuals and strategic marketing plans.
Messaging is imperative because it can make or break a campaign. Crafting compelling and persuasive copy requires a deep understanding of your target audience and their needs. For copywriters, success depends on the ability to ask the right questions before doing any work.
In short, there are five questions that every copywriter should ask to ensure the best performance possible.
These questions are the keys to unlocking captivating and high-converting copy.
Who is your ideal customer avatar?
As a copywriter, I want to know who I’m writing for. Understanding my ideal customer avatar is the cornerstone of crafting impactful copy.
I gain insight into my target audience’s demographics, psychographics, and pain points. Copywriters can create tailored messages that not only complement your brand’s voice and tone but also resonate deeply with the intended recipients.
Discovering who your target market is will help you gain valuable information that allows you to shape your copy in a way that speaks directly to the needs and wants of potential customers.
To take your copywriting to the next level, I suggest conducting thorough research on your target audience. Use tools like surveys, interviews, and data analytics to gather insights into your target market’s preferences, challenges, and aspirations. Craft your copy utilizing the B-A-B formula: Before-After-Bridge. Address your target audience’s pain points, offer the solution, and outline the benefits.
Where are people discovering your offer?
Knowing where your target audience spends the most time online will help you understand where to put more emphasis on content placement and distribution.
For example, different social media channels attract specific audiences. If you’re marketing to Gen Z or younger millennials, TikTok and Instagram are prime platforms for creating content with a wide reach as opposed to anywhere else.
And since every distribution channel is different, so should the copy.
Whether it’s social media, email newsletters, or traditional advertising, every distribution channel requires a different tone, style, and approach to effectively capture the attention of your audience.
Ultimately, tailoring your message to suit specific platforms will capture your target audience’s attention.
Want to find out where to market your brand? Conduct a thorough analysis of your brand’s marketing channels and examine the data on customer acquisition. Tools like Google Analytics, social media insights, or customer surveys can help you identify which primary channels you should leverage because they generate the highest engagement and conversions.
If you’re lucky, this market research may already be available. If it isn’t, take the initiative, flex your journalism skills, and become the great inquisitive copywriter to gather that golden information.
What does your product or service offer the target market?
Copywriters need to have a deep understanding of the product or service they’re promoting.
Learning more about the product or service’s features, functionalities, and unique selling points (USPs) allows you to highlight its benefits in the copy you’re crafting. Communicate them effectively to attract potential customers.
My rule of thumb? While it is always a bonus to be clever and witty with your words — clear and concise always wins.
By understanding your product or service’s core value proposition, you can showcase how it solves a specific problem or fulfills a need, making your copy more persuasive and enticing. The B-A-B formula is essentially your bread and butter.
Let’s say you’re a new copywriter on a marketing team or meeting a new client. Of course, you’ll jump into the deep end of the product pool — absorb everything you can about your marketable item.
Understand features, benefits, and USPs thoroughly. Focus on the benefits it offers to the ideal customer.
One way to spring copy into action? Persuasive language. Highlight the value proposition and create a sense of urgency to compel your target market to take action immediately.
How does it deliver results?
How your product or service delivers results is the most important aspect of crafting copy because it builds credibility for your brand.
If someone is going to buy from you, they want to know they will receive a return on investment. From an organizational perspective, you should want to aim to position your brand as a thought leader in their respective industry.
Whether it’s superior quality, proven track record, scientific research, or countless glowing testimonials, understanding the evidence behind your product or service’s efficacy empowers you to create authentic copy.
Seek tangible evidence that supports the product’s claims. Request case studies, testimonials, or data that demonstrate the results achieved by previous customers. Incorporate this evidence into your copy to build trust and credibility.
Combined with your brand’s messaging framework, you can craft concrete examples in the form of case studies, making great use of storytelling techniques.
Why us over someone else?
Ah, the age-old question. No matter the industry, the market can be very saturated. So, how will your brand stand out from the rest? What makes you unique?
Understanding your unique selling proposition (USP) is vital to differentiate your product or service from the competition.
What is your competitive advantage? Gain insights into what sets you apart from similar products or services. Knowing your “why” enables you to highlight those distinguishing features and benefits in your copy, making it more persuasive and compelling to your target market.
However, don’t stop after your question is answered. Go the extra mile by conducting a thorough competitive analysis to identify who else is out there. How are they marketing themselves and more importantly — what does their messaging look like from the outside looking in?
Leveraging value, quality, or expertise in your copy creates a competitive edge that may just be the deciding factor as to why a customer chooses you over your competitor.
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After all, your brand deserves a seasoned professional who will elevate your content and drive exponential growth.
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