Question: What’s your favorite part of writing copy?
(If your answer is “I hate it” then you’ll definitely want to read on.)
The copywriters at a major personal development company asked me that in an interview. Here’s what I said:
“Talking to past buyers. I get tons of great material that often winds up right on the sales page. Plus, it gets me energized. After talking to them, I feel excited to tell people all about the products I’m selling.”
That was the first thing that came to mind. And I stand by it. Here’s why.
A few months ago, I did a launch and though I knew the course was good, I wasn’t sure if it was what people wanted. Then I talked to buyers and they raved about it.
One woman told me how the course gave her clarity to quit her job. Then find a new one where she used the relationship practices she learned to boost her team’s productivity 400%.
Another said he got a stronger relationship with his clients by learning what they really valued in him. He assumed they liked him for the quality of his work. But really, they liked him because of how much he cared.
Another woman said that, using what she learned, she she got her dad to acknowledge her as his daughter for the first time. (My jaw dropped at that one.)
By the end of the interviews, I had tons of ammunition for the campaign. On top of that, I felt lucky to be writing for such a great product. And felt a strong sense of obligation to write copy that would do it justice.
In the coming weeks, I’ll have more material on how to conduct interviews so you leave with an armful of marketing gold. I’m talkin’ insight you can use throughout your campaigns, from positioning to creating case studies and testimonials, to digging up powerful stories for your sales page.
Because extracting that gold isn’t just about having a good list of questions to ask your customers. That’s just step one. If you want the emotional, impactful stories/quotes, sending a list of survey questions ain’t gonna cut it.
But that’s a blog for a different day.
For now, I’m curious what your answer is.
What’s your favorite part of copywriting?
Share yours in the comments below.