How to Understand Beyond a Product for a Better Copywriting

Upon starting a copywriting project, we face a product and brief explanation from the clients. However, just like a first date, it's gonna be nice to gain information about the subject of the campaign as much as possible.

Jason Deign in his book (1) noted that "People are not interested in what a product or service can do. They are interested in what it can do for them."

So you don't sell a product. You sell the idea behind the product.

Speaking of selling in a copy, Andy Maslen said in his book (2) that you don't sell a product, you sell the experience of ownership.

People don't care what the product has, unless they are already familiar with it. People care what the product does for them. A good copy will help them recognize the experience they will have.

1. Understand the benefits of the products

People actually only care about what benefit a product can they have, just like the basic need they look in everything in life. One can say, "Oh, I give charity so that the poor kids can go to school, that's all." But the act gives him/her a peace of mind too, doesn't it? In the end of the day, people do things to gain a benefit for themselves, which is totally understandable.

Noah Daniels in his book (3) emphasized that you sell advantage, not just feature. Feature is the one the producers claim to have: shiny materials, easy to assemble, bright colors, etc. Advantage is the one people claim to experience. Spot the difference.

It might be a struggle to understand the difference between a feature and an advantage, even for a copywriter that has been around for quite years. To reveal what is the advantage of the product, answer these questions: What trouble does it cure? What gain does it supply?

If all you can see in a product is a feature, think about how to convert it into advantages by asking "So what?" and "So what?" and "So what?" until the final answer is about how people will feel about it.

2. Understand your target market

I've talked about the target market HERE but just for an additional perspective I'm gonna put the topic in this post again. From time to time, a good copywriter will always be reminded on who the target market is. Target market will determine the tone of your wording in the copy.

Talk to your client about their target market even though you think you know all about them. They probably have a documented research about it that will make your job much easier.

3. Look for any possible related current issue to add the context of the benefit

A current issue can add the product value in the market. As people spend more time at home, Netflix has significantly increasing number of viewer, that eventually brings the stock price skyrocketing.

Telemedicine service also grows more than ever since people avoid going to the hospital but they still need to talk to doctors.

You might want to associate the related current issue or event with your client's brand.

4. Know the current or the possible future offer from the company

Have they been giving discount?

When?

Will it be offered again?

Those are the examples of question you should ask your client about their offer. These offers act as an additional benefit that brings new customers or people who don't really want to buy in.

Also, learn from the resume of their previous campaign. If the strategy worked, what are the main supporting factors that made it so and is it still possible to launch the similar one. If it failed, how did it happened. Know how much they spent for the campaign and is it worth the sales. See their sales numbers, if they let you to.

Those are some ideas on the strategy of understanding a product beyond the looks. This formula is not final and you can also add up your own strategy to set a focused approach more accurately.

If we read those all again, we will see that there are questions you can't really answer on yourself. Afterall, a copywriter is more like a chef who cooks the order. Discuss the background story of a product until you see it from several point of view and you'll be ready to launch a kickass campaign.

References:

1. Deign, J., 2003. Making Money from Copywriting: An Insider Guide to Setting Up and Running Your Own Copywriting Business. How to Books Ltd.

2. Maslen, A. 2015. Persuasive Copywriting: Using Psychology to Engage, Influence, and Sell. Kogan Page Publishers.

3. Daniels, N., 2014. Copywriting Strategies Explained: Increase Conversions and Sales Today. BookRix.