9 Essential Items Your Website Copywriter Must Know About Your Business BEFORE Writing a Word - Alan Richardson
…And if he’s not asking, you don’t want him writing for you.
It’s pretty much a given…when you hire a copywriter for your newly designed web site, your getting someone with above average writing skills. But the best copywriters are more than merely good writers. They are expert interviewers, researchers and marketers. Before sitting down to compose those lead generating or sales gems, they must completely understand all the benefits of your product or service, your goals for the project, what makes your customers tick and what distinguishes you from the competition.
If your copywriter is not covering these topics and asking these questions before he begins writing your copy, you will not get the biggest bang for your buck.
Website copywriting components:
- Project Objective
Is the purpose to make a sale, educate your customers, raise market awareness of your product or service, enhance your company image…or perhaps , internally, excite your sales force, improve company esprit de corps, build company loyalty?
- Target audience:
Who is the customer to whom we are writing? What are their sex and ages? What jobs they hold? What about their social status and economic circumstances? Where are your customers geographically concentration? What motivates them? What if anything do they already know about your product/service?
- Product description:
What are all the product’s features; its specifications, components, its manufacturing and delivery process? What efforts have been made to market it to date?
- Customer benefit:
Why should the customer buy your product or service? Can you quantify savings in time, money and/or effort? What is the relative importance of this product/service to the customer?
- Support for benefits claims:
What proof is available to support your product/service claims; in the form of test data, focus group reports, testimonials? We are looking for specific, quantifiable facts here, not subjective generalities.
- Competition:
Who are your competitors in the marketplace? How can I get an objective assessment of their features and a comparison to your product or service?
- Creative consideration:
What are the limitations and constraints for the promotion; such as budget, schedule, and overall requirements?
- Distribution:
How do you intend to market this promotion? What are the planned marketing campaigns … Ads runs when and where, brochure distribution and mailing plans?
- Unique Selling Proposition:
What specifically makes your product/service unique in the marketplace? What separates you from the competition?