{"id":5407,"date":"2010-06-26T06:48:18","date_gmt":"2010-06-26T11:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/37d57f8fa2.nxcli.io\/blog\/?p=5407"},"modified":"2010-07-02T09:57:32","modified_gmt":"2010-07-02T14:57:32","slug":"most-copywriters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/copywriting\/most-copywriters\/","title":{"rendered":"The One Thing Most Copywriters Won’t Bother Doing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many clients assume that copywriting<\/a> services are priced by the page. \u00a0And in some cases, that\u2019s true. \u00a0But copywriters who price per page\u2014instead of on a per-project basis– may be shortchanging you.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because a copywriter who has a per-page flat rate probably isn\u2019t doing the most important part of our job: market research.<\/p>\n

You see, if I already know a market \u2013like real estate, alternative health, or self-help–I know what that market wants.\u00a0 I understand their hot buttons.\u00a0 And that means I can find the right \u201chook\u201d much more quickly than if I had to start researching from scratch.<\/p>\n

But when I don\u2019t understand what motivates your prospects, I need to do a mountain of research.\u00a0 If I don\u2019t do the research, there\u2019s no way I can understand what your prospects really want.\u00a0 And if\"copywriting<\/a> I don\u2019t understand what your prospects want, the chances of writing a winning promotion are slim at best.<\/p>\n

In fact, for a new market I usually spend 2-3 hours doing background research for the proposal alone.\u00a0 And after you accept my proposal, I\u2019ll often spend 40-50 hours doing market research before I write a single word of copy.<\/p>\n

When I\u2019m researching a new market, I\u2019ll ask my clients to send over every bit of marketing material they have. And I don\u2019t just want to see the winners.\u00a0 I want to see the losers, too.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because winners show me what\u2019s working and what I can improve.\u00a0 Losers show me the pitfalls I need to avoid at all costs.\u00a0 That saves my clients (and me) a lot of time, money, and frustration.<\/p>\n

Then I\u2019ll go and check out their competition.\u00a0 I look my competitors\u2019 websites, online and offline ads, and I usually subscribe to as many competitors\u2019 email lists as possible.<\/p>\n

In some cases, I actually subscribe to their competitors\u2019 mailing lists, too.\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s because companies using direct mail to stay in touch with their back-end customers are usually making money doing it. If they weren\u2019t, they wouldn\u2019t be spending thousands of dollars per month sending out expensive mailers and newsletters.\u00a0 So chances are your competitor\u2019s customer newsletters, direct mail promotions, and so on are chock-full of proven marketing ideas and tested sales pitches.\u00a0 I highly recommend you do whatever you can to get on those lists.<\/p>\n

After I\u2019ve collected every bit of information I can find on the market and your ideal prospect, I take notes. Lots and lots of notes.\u00a0 For instance, I\u2019ll usually take 15-20 pages of notes for a 5-6 page sales letter.<\/p>\n

After that, I go through my notes and cut out anything I don\u2019t think is important enough to keep.\u00a0 I underline and highlight powerful benefits, useful facts and items of interest. And I slowly start to hammer out the perfect sales pitch.<\/p>\n

Then\u2014and only then\u2014do I start writing the first draft of copy.<\/p>\n

So, which approach do you think works better?\u00a0 The \u201cquick fix\u201d approach of the pay- per-page copywriter? Or the copywriter<\/a> who spends the time to do the grunt work of research to find the right pitch for your market?<\/p>\n

– Paul<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
About Paul Martinez<\/a><\/strong>
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