Are you planning to hire a copywriter for your business?

Or, you’ve already gone ahead and hired one, but…

Will she write effective copy for your business? 

Will her work help increase your business conversion rates?

Will hiring her turn out to be a good investment?

How to decide?

Believe me, being a business owner and a copywriter myself I know both sides of the coin pretty well.

With this post I will help you decide whether the one you are considering is a good fit for your business or not.

Let me ask you a question: 

Why did you decide to hire a copywriter in the first place?

Probably because you want to:

✅  Generate more leads…

✅  Build trust among your audience…

✅  Establish authority…

✅ Make sales…

✅ Gain your customers’ loyalty…

But to be sure if your copywriter can get these results for you or not, you really need to focus on one thing.

Trust me.

Just one thing.

And that is:

Copywriting Research

Not just that, but…

EFFECTIVE Copywriting RESEARCH

Most people who write for a living will tell you: getting it right takes about 10% actual writing time and 90% research… 

As author Ken Follett once said:

“The research is the easiest. The outline is the most fun. The first draft is the hardest because every word of the outline has to be fleshed out. The rewrite is very satisfying.”

So your copywriter must start with not just copywriting research, but Effective Copywriting Research.

But you might hear your copywriter say “I did study the demographics”, and that “I have understood the needs of your targeted audience”

Well, that is incomplete copywriting research.

There is a lot when it comes to copywriting research.

And you should be aware of that because that’s how you will understand if your copywriter is really trustworthy or not.

Now, there are two aspects to Effective Copywriting Research:

The first aspect is CLIENT Research, and…

…the second aspect is the AUDIENCE Research.

As they say “You Need to Hear Both Sides of the Story”.

So let’s understand them both one by one:

Client Research

Client research?

Who does that?

I need to understand the audience who will buy the product. So why to understand the client?

These were the questions I asked when I first came to know about this practice.

But being just like most of the normal copywriters, I never used to practice this.

This was one of the main reasons for my setbacks. 

I don’t want your copywriter to make the same mistakes as well.

So let’s dive deep into this:

Important Aspects Of Client Research

1. Product/Service

You hire a copywriter for your business.

As a copywriter, her first task should be understanding the product/service you are offering to your audience, asking you all the surrounded information to the product/service. 

Questions like:

• Why did you come up with this in the first place?

• What are the steps involved to use it?

• How is it beneficial to your target audience?

• What is your perspective on this?

These questions will help create a clear image from your side in the mind of the copywriter. 

Because in the end, your copywriter should know who they are representing in front of your audience.

Your copywriter should be aware of everything related to your product/service they are about to sell.

This research will work as a base for the project. 

So try to give them as much information as you can.

After they are done with the base, they need to shift their focus temporarily to…

2. Your Competition

Just imagine:

You are friends with someone. 

And there is a person your friend doesn’t like. 

It will automatically result in you not liking that person as well.

You will support your friend against that person.

The same is the case here. 

When you hire a copywriter there is a relationship of trust between you and the copywriter.

So they need to help you get an edge over your competition.

According to author Nancy Pearcy, “Competition is always a good thing. It forces us to do our best. A monopoly renders people complacent and satisfied with mediocrity.”

With competition, another part of the research gets into the ride. 

Your copywriter needs to be fully aware of what the competition is doing, about how it is promoting their product/service. 

She needs to evaluate the social media presence of their business… 

…to analyze not just how they communicate with their customers, but also what their customers are saying about them.

Your copywriter needs to get the list of all the keywords which your competition is using and are trending for. 

She needs to do the keyword research as well. 

Also, she needs to check their sales page copy to understand their angle, the benefits and the features you are offering.

She needs to take a dip into the ocean and see your enemy’s submarine to check what it is made of because…

…they need to represent you better and different than your competition in front of your target audience.

Now that you know everything about how your copywriter should approach your product and your competition, what they need to focus next on is the…

3. Medium Of Selling

Medium is what source you are using to convey your message to the targeted audience. 

A lot of copywriters use the same approach: 

Using all available mediums of digital marketing. 

You need to make sure that your copywriter is not one of them..

Every copywriter needs an online medium to connect to the target audience.

There are a lot of different mediums available to connect with your target audience. 

Depending on each medium, the approach to write copy varies based on the objective of the platform they choose to connect with the audience. 

So the copy will vary for:

• Emails
• Ads
• Blog Articles
• Sales Pages
• Videos
• Lead Generation Pages, etc.

Therefore, you and your copywriter should be aware of what approach needs to be implemented, and using which medium.

We’re done with the first aspect of Effective Research. 

Check out these time tested, highly effective copywriting frameworks for your business.

Now let’s hop onto the next one and my favorite type of research:

Audience Research

Knowing what to write before you write it, and to whom, might sound like an obvious place to start… 

…but when a copywriter is under pressure to meet a business writing deadline, the obvious can go out of the window.

But if you are hiring a professional copywriter, this should not happen.

A professional copywriter should know your target audience in and out. 

It doesn’t matter if they make use of the buyer persona or some other technique but they need to know: 

❓ what keeps your audience up at night…

❓ what your audience thinks about…

❓ who they spend their time with…

❓ how they spend their time online…

❓ where do they spend their time online…

❓ what kind of things do they purchase…

EVERYTHING

And to gather all this information, let’s understand the:

Important Aspects Of Audience Research

1. Focus On Your Ideal Customer

The problem with some copywriters is that they become eager to slap up a sales letter (or another communications piece) onto the client, that they actually fail to create the right message.

The right message is the key to get the dream result. 

So your copywriter needs to avoid that rush at any cost and be patient and get laser-focused on who your ideal customer really is. 

She needs to try not to get distracted at any cost and analyze everything about the few crumbs in the bread.

Because you don’t want to target the rest of the bread. 

That is a waste of everybody’s time, energy, and more importantly your money… 

…and that’s a negative situation for everyone.

So this takes us to our next point, which is…

2. Solid Understanding Of Their Needs

As Best-selling author, Roy H. Williams said, “The first step in exceeding your customer’s expectations is to know those expectations.”

So it is the duty of your copywriter to understand the needs of your customers… 

…and make them realize how your product/service will fulfill their needs.

Your copywriter should answer a few questions before she gets into writing the copy:

• Is the product/service something your customers need or something they want? 
• Does having the product elevate their social status somehow? 
• Does it make them feel better about themselves? 
• Is it something that merely entertains them?

In short, what is your customer’s pain?  

Why do they so badly need the product/service?

The point is that your product must add some sort of value to their lives…

…and your copywriter should be able to convey that message to your targeted audience.

This is the part which I personally find interesting being a copywriter, as I get to find out different, new, and interesting things about people’s habits and interests.

One last and one of the most underrated things left in the bucket list of audience research is…

3. Using Credible Facts To Lift Sales

You need results. 

You don’t want your copywriter to let you down.

So your copywriter can’t put her insightful nuggets or claims within your sales copies without backing them up with credible facts.

These facts can be pulled from internal and external sources.

From winning testimonials to first-class case studies… 

…killer statistics on the product or service quotes from movers and shakers within the industry…

…noteworthy media mentions, and…

…even the credentials or awards you have earned.

Facts help the audience trust you and believe that: 

Yes, you are the only one they should do business with…

…that you are the best for them.

It will automatically help you improve your results and put your mark in the industry.

So note that your copywriter shouldn’t become lenient while doing some facts research. 

The Final Takeaway

How much time does your copywriter spend during her research? 

Minutes? 

Hours?

Sometimes it might take some days to complete the research properly, but it’ll be all worth it if she does her Client Research and Audience Research well. This comprises of Copywriting Research.

Now you know one of the most important qualities a copywriter must possess before writing world-class copies for your business. 

So hire the best copywriter and pay her that premium charge, because the amount of profits her work can get you will be significantly more than your investment in her.

If you’re still in doubt, check out my articles on why your business needs a copywriter and benefits of hiring a copywriter.

What things do you look for while hiring a copywriter for your business? Let me know in the comments below.