The 4 Unanswered Questions That Will Make Your Copy Fail – Part 1

After a long hiatus from blogging and a mini-retirement due to newly acquired fatherhood, I’m going to make an attempt to blog more regularly here. Yeah, yeah, I’ve said that before, but THIS time, I really mean it.

Here’s the first in a little series on a subject that I did a chat show on a couple of weeks ago, but it wasn’t recorded and a few people asked about the topic.

As a copywriter, I get asked A LOT to review copy for people – and of course, I always check out the big launches and letters written by colleagues. If I had to try and come up with a short list of common errors, this would be it.

There are 4 simple questions that most underperforming copy fails to answer. Yes, you can sell stuff without answering them at all. And no, you probably can’t sell stuff by ONLY answering these questions. But MAKING SURE you answer these four questions adequately for your prospect will UNDENIABLY make your copy better.

Plus, they are REALLY easy to remember. Today we’re going to cover the first one, and I’ll go through all 4 as I find time to write around baby stuff. So take a look, and let me know that you think?

Today’s question:

1. Why Me?

Answer this from the prospect’s point of view. You have a very short amount of time to tell the prospect EXACTLY why this message is for them. It’s NOT for everyone – it’s targeted. You want to give the prospect the feeling that you are speaking DIRECTLY to them. You want to support the ILLUSION that your message is a one-to-one communication.

Now, of course, a sales letter web page is OBVIOUSLY not a one-to-one message – that’s why I used words like “feeling” and “illusion” – it’s got to do with making a connection with the reader. Here are some sub-questions you can use to help develop copy that will help the prospect know “Why Me?”…

- Why are THEY the one who suffers from this great problem your product will solve?
- Why has their situation been unavoidable – why has their problem been unsolvable before now?
- Why are you even talking to them now – help? Support? Compassion? Righteous indignation?
- Why are they even reading your stuff – are they seeking help? Do they even KNOW they have this problem?

Of course there are many other ways to approach this, but when you can answer this question in the prospect’s mind, you’ve hooked them in for the whole ride. If they feel the letter is written to them, and addresses a REAL problem that they FEEL… you’ve got a much higher chance of them sticking around to get to the part where you ask them for money, right?

So why do so many marketers and copywriters leave this part out or flub it? I really couldn’t say for sure, but I think maybe people get so caught up in themselves and their product. I guess that’s natural. You spend so much time creating something worth selling, it can be hard to re-connect it back to the prospect and their needs.

But the fact is, when it comes down to it, ALL the prospect cares about is themselves and their own problems. So IMHO, that’s ALWAYS where you want to start. Your sales letter will end up not just being FOR them, but it’s ABOUT them – it taps into who they are and what their problem is.
ONLY THEN will they be bothered to give a crap about you, your offer, your product, and giving you any money at all.

So that’s it – short and sweet for today. More to come soon in Part 2: “Why you?”

In the meantime, what are your thoughts – do you agree with me, or do you think otherwise? If you DO disagree, let me know why, so I can argue with you effectively.

Tagged as: blog, copywriting, information marketing