So what are the most important aspects of copywriting – the things that motivate someone to hit the “buy” button? Is it the headline, bullet points, benefits or testimonials from other users?
Part of being successful at copywriting is finding that “hungry market” – those people looking for a certain solution to their problem who cannot find one. You could write the best sales copy or content in the world or have one of the superstars do it for you and it won’t matter; you will be dead in the water unless you appeal to that “hungry market.”
So how do you find that “hungry market?”
Most conventional sources point to keyword research, which is very useful in determining terms to use in your copy. Some keyword research tools can teach you how to find a market, find out who they are and what they want…but focusing solely on this misses a key point.
More importantly, in addition to these attributes, you need to find out how they want it. To be successful at copywriting, you not only need to know the right market but have the right offer with the right message delivered in the right way.
Keyword research simply cannot ensure you deliver a message in the right way.
So to write effective copy, you need to ask and answer the following three questions according to copywriting pro David Garfinkel:
- Who is your market?
- What is their problem?
- And how do they talk about it?
The third question is key – which is the one most writers ignore.
Keyword research is like a recipe, a list of ingredients. However, you need to use the ingredients in a certain order and amount for the dish to turn out right. Keyword lists are simply the ingredients – misusing or leaving out an “ingredient” can ruin your dish, or copy in this instance.