This week I am giving you an inside peek
at my pre-copy writing process.
Keep watching to learn my five research tips
for how to write sales copy that converts like crazy.
Hey guys, it's Alex and coming in hot this week
is another video by request.
Over the past few months, many of you have commented
asking me to spill the tea
on how I go about the research phase of copywriting.
Or in other words, how I find the best
and most relevant information to add
credibility, authority and accuracy to my sales copy.
Now one of the biggest misconceptions about copywriting
is that we just sit down and start writing
the second we get a new project or client.
Not true, in fact, the biggest chunk of copywriting time
actually goes into research, customer mapping
and market analysis before you ever start writing.
Having a clear grasp of the business you're writing for
and its target audience is absolutely critical
to write, copy that convert.
And I get it guys, when you're new to all of this,
it can be really overwhelming to figure out
exactly where to start.
And if you're not careful, you can spend hours and hours
and hours navigating through millions of content pieces
and online resources to find research
to back up your hook and offer.
And that's why my team and I decided to prepare
this handy guide for you, in fact, this is based
on a bonus training that I created for my students
inside my copywriter coaching program,
the Copy Posse Launch Pad.
And if you want more guides and tutorials
to ignite your copywriting business, you know what to do,
if you're not already part of the raddest copywriting crew
on the internet, go ahead and hit Subscribe below.
And if you are already part of the Posse,
thank you, welcome back, give me a thumbs up below
to let me know you're here.
And now here are my five research tips
to help you write insanely better copy.
Tip number one, google it the right way.
I know, I know, you're thinking,
duh, Alex, everyone knows how to use Google
and yes, you're probably right,
I mean, show me someone with access to the internet
who has never done a Google search before,
and the next round is on me.
So as you already know, Google is a fantastic tool
to dig up data and references
for the market you wanna write for,
but if you're not careful, it will lead you down
a rabbit hole of information, not all of it legit
that can completely suck your time and the conversions
and credibility straight out of your copywriting.
So you gotta make sure to use the good old Googs
in the right way.
Yes, research can be a much quicker process
if you know exactly how to utilize this search engine.
So here's the tip.
When researching the niche, sub-niche
or product you're writing for,
use Google's phrase match parameters in your search.
And yes, I'm going to explain that.
So for example, say you're searching for industry stats
for the yoga niche for a female audience.
If you type in say, yoga stats women,
you're gonna get search results that contain
any variation or any part of that keyword phrase
as well as any related topics.
Now that's considered a broad keyword search
and can make it more difficult
to find exactly what you're looking for,
as you're scrolling through yoga products and yoga reviews
and yoga blogs, you get the idea.
But if you add quotation marks around that search term
like this, you're telling Google that you only wanna see
search results that contain those words
or any close variations of that phrase.
So this really helps narrow down your research
to get targeted search results.
Pretty cool, right?
All right, now moving on to tip number two.
Search online marketplaces.
A great way to better understand the market or niche
you're writing for is it to check out what other brands
are doing to sell similar products and services.
A little competitive research goes a long way
to define a clear and distinct USP in your messaging.
Your USP is what makes your product
or the product you're writing for better, simpler,
easier, faster than the other guys.
Now one of the best ways to do that competitive research
is to check out online marketplaces like
ClickBank, Udemy, Coursera, Shopify, Alibaba, Etsy
you get the idea.
All of these online sites have already done the job
of categorizing products by niche or topic,
so all you gotta do is search under your niche category
to shortlist browse and review competitor sales pages.
So for example, when I was conceptualizing my course
the Copy Posse Launch Pad, I turned to Udemy
to see what other copywriting courses were offering,
to make sure that I designed a USP
that was competitive, but unique.
All right, moving on to tip number three,
reference authority sites.
So there are a ton of credible resources and sites online
that have likely already done research and curation for you.
So find the authority sites in your niche
and see what information they share
to keep your research relevant and fresh.
I love referencing the marketing blogs
by businesses like HubSpot and OptinMonster
and DigitalMarketer just to name a few
to find lists, stats and case studies
to reference in my copy and content.
And here's another important tip,
given how fast brands and markets evolve
make sure you're not referencing content
that's any older than a couple of years.
The good news is authority sites need to continually
update their content to stay an authority site
in the mind of Google.
So you can usually trust
that their information is up-to-date.
And while you're at it, make sure to bookmark these sites
in an inspo folder in your browser, because you never know
when you're gonna want them handy.
Okay, tip number four, use Facebook's ad library.
So this is such a juicy tip
and it's something that I do all the time.
So if you wanna see what other brands and businesses
in your niche are doing in terms of Facebook advertising,
instead of browsing through your feed,
endlessly waiting for an ad to pop up,
just head on over to their Facebook ad library.
Yes, every single brand that advertises on Facebook
has a public ad library that offers a comprehensive
and searchable collection of all the ads
they're currently running on Facebook,
Instagram, and messenger, say what?
Yes, this is Facebook's way of holding their advertisers
accountable for transparency in their marketing.
So all you gotta do is visit a company's Facebook fan page
then navigate down to where it says, Page Transparency
and click See More.
Then on the pop up window, click Go to Add Library
and once there, be sure to filter for all
under the geographical targeting drop down menu
or else it will just default to your home country.
And there you have it, you get to see each and every ad
active or inactive, that company has run over time.
So this is an awesome way to get to do some research
and inspiration from some of the most creative
and effective Facebook advertisers out there.
Plus it'll help you identify what other brands are doing
to optimize their Facebook ads over time.
And guys needless to say, this is for inspiration only
it is not a swipe file that you can use to steal ad copy.
If you steal what other people are doing,
you are not a copywriter, but a copycatter
and it's just not cool, all right?
Okay, now tip number five, ask your customers.
Guys I am telling you the best source
for copywriting research is your existing
or your clients existing customers.
Why try to guess what your audience wants
when you can get it straight from the horse's mouth?
It is definitely and trust me on this,
worthwhile to survey your existing customers or prospects
and ask them how you can best serve them.
This is also a great way to create rapport
and build trust with your audience before a big promotion.
Some of the most successful copywriting campaigns
I have ever done started with a very simple survey
to the email list asking subscribers
about their number one challenge
they needed the most help with.
In fact, my Copy Posse Launch Pad was 100% based
on feedback that I received from my email list.
Knowing that my audiences number one challenge
was creating a portfolio that would help them get clients,
I created a program geared towards helping you learn
and write highly paid copy assets
and create an irresistible portfolio.
By the way, I have finally after many of your requests
made the recordings from my closed door
Copy Posse Launch Pad program available.
You can find out how to get your hands on those,
in the description below.
And I hope these research tips
will help you get started on the right foot
as you embark on your next copywriting project.
Do you have any tips that you've used or heard of before?
Share them with me
and the rest of the Copy Posse by commenting below.
And guys keep the requests coming in,
I absolutely love hearing your suggestions
and sharing the techniques and strategies
that I've used to build a successful copywriting business
from the ground, up, so you can do the same.
Next up, check out my video on how to get inside
the mind of your customers, you can watch that right here.
And as always, thank you so much for watching
and subscribing, I will see you next week
with a brand new video.
Until then I'm Alex, ciao for now.
Hey guy.
Whoopsies.