Published:

05/09/2011 02:09pm

What You Must Know Before Creating Your Copy

Copy is vital to your marketing success BUT if you’re missing this ONE component it can cause your copy to fall flat. Before you begin your copywriting project, you must know who your ideal client is. Gone are the days of being all things to everyone. If you are not really clear about who you’re talking to, your writing will reflect that and it won’t connect.

I often share one of my favorite analogies from my friend and the first high-level mentor I ever invested in, Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero. She says that copy is the DNA of all marketing materials. Think about that for a minute… Imagine stripping away the words from any broadcast radio or televisions script, print ad, brochure, website, billboard, business card… well, you get the idea. As you imagine advertising, marketing and promotional pieces without words you begin to realize how important your copy really is.

Before you begin writing a single piece of copy you must know who you’re speaking/writing to.

This may seem like a no-brainer to you. At the same time, I’ve seen seasoned business owners grossly underestimate how crucial it is to get crystal clear about who their ideal clients are and what they respond to. When you lack clarity about this, the marketing messages created don’t build relationships and as a result they don’t connect with your intended audience (this means no action is taken and your bottom line suffers).

If you think “everyone” is your target or prospective market, your copy will be watered down. Vanilla, if you will. Bland copy doesn’t build relationships or capture attention and a broad approach to capturing your market is kind of like trapshooting. Hit and miss. Unless, of course, you’re a sharpshooter or in this case a professional copywriter who can skillfully reach your desired target and help you connect (and even the best copywriters still need you to be clear about your ideal client).

I actually once had a marketing professor in a small market claim he advised his students to target everyone in small markets because it’s too expensive to segment. I was shocked and amazed by this methodology, especially since it’s proven time and again that direct marketing to your ideal clients works best. Not everyone is your ideal client. Not everyone has interest in your product or services. And, most importantly, not everyone is prequalified to invest in what you have to offer.

So, give some serious consideration to who you want to reach BEFORE you begin writing. Consider your ideal clients. Hone your marketing skills to become laser focused on who you really want to work with and how you will be of service and benefit them. The bottom line is (and this related directly to the success of any campaign): The more clarity you have about who you want to do business with, the easier it will be to connect with them.
Take Action Challenge:

-Think about your business and who you ultimately want to work with.

-Consider all the entities of your business, products, services etc. (Note: Some of your products or services may have different ideal clients)

-Create a profile of your ideal client so you can craft marketing materials that speak directly to their needs.

To recap, you must first understand how important copy is, you must identify and profile your ideal client and from there you can begin the process of crafting your content in accordance to your Copywriting Action Plan which directly relates to your Content Strategy Plan (also known as your marketing editorial calendar).