Wanna know the best way to show off your work,
impress future clients,
blow your competition out of the water,
and make more sales?
Well, keep watching to learn my failproof 9-step formula
for writing the perfect case study.
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Now, it goes without saying
that learning how to write powerful
and compelling case studies
is an invaluable skill for all copywriters to have.
Case studies can take the form of emails
that you send to your list, articles on your blog,
or even stories on a sales page or a website.
Not only do case studies help you land better
and higher paying clients
by showcasing the amazing results
that you've gotten for your clients,
but it also helps you land more clients
who are looking to hire a copywriter,
to create strong case studies for them and their business.
So, before we dive into the 9-part formula,
let's quickly touch on what a case study actually is,
and how it differs from just a regular client testimonial.
So, a case study is a compelling story based article
that showcases how you solve a specific problem
for your customer.
A well written case study will be engaging.
It will take your reader on a journey
with a beginning, middle, and an end.
Whereas, a simple testimonial is a word for word review
of your product or service
that comes from a satisfied customer.
And, don't get me wrong.
Testimonials are great and even necessary
to showcase your authority and social proof
in your business.
But, trust me, they're not as powerful
or as effective at closing sales
as a really well written case study.
And, that's because when done correctly,
case studies are more about the client's journey
and transformation,
rather than you just saying, hey,
look how awesome my product or service is.
Look at these great things that people say about it,
which like I said before, is great.
But, when the story is about someone else
and what they actually went through,
it's way more relatable, it's more authentic,
and it's more effective.
So, with all that said, let's get into it.
Here is my 9-step formula
for crafting the perfect case study.
So, step #1, you gotta interview the client.
Yep, I said, interview,
not send them a survey,
not ask them to leave a detailed review,
not please write about your experience.
If you wanna get the type of juicy takeaways
and information
that will turn into a great case study,
then you really, really need to interview your client
or customer.
Why?
Because it allows you to dig a little deeper, right?
You can say, oh, tell me more about that,
or how did you feel when that happened,
or where were you right
before you decided to start working with me?
For example, I just found out that one of my Reignmakers
used to be a garbage man.
He never mentioned that in a testimonial before,
because, well, it just didn't seem relevant,
but just imagine the amazing story that I can tell
about how he went from hauling trash
to hauling in thousands of dollars a month
writing for 8-figure entrepreneurs,
while spending time with his family and traveling the world.
Yeah, you get it.
Now, one thing you need to make sure to avoid
when you're doing your interview
is asking yes or no questions.
You really wanna focus on open ended questions
that allow your client to really share their entire story.
You wanna dig into what they were feeling
and experiencing
before your product or service,
what they felt or experienced during the process
and during the transformation,
and finally what they experienced
after your product or service,
including the specific results they got.
Your job is simply to listen
and then ask leading questions
that really pull out those great stories
and specific details.
Now, here's a pro tip,
make sure to record this call with permission, of course,
to save you from jotting down notes
or trying to type to remember every single detail.
A lot of the great little tidbits are in the nuances
and the things that you might not think of writing down.
And, once the interview is done,
I highly recommend you transcribe that interview.
And, then that's really when the fun starts,
when you can start writing your case study,
which of course starts with step #2,
write a benefit-focused headline.
So, just like anything else you write,
crafting a powerful hook in headline
is the most important part of any piece.
It's the first thing your readers will see.
And, it's the single determining factor
on whether or not someone reads the rest of that case study.
So, you wanna make sure your head headline
is strong enough to capture your audience's attention
and draw them into keep reading.
Great case study headlines are often very benefit driven.
Okay, so this isn't the place to get all fancy
with a mysterious open loop
or spark any sort of controversy.
Instead, you just wanna focus on one really specific benefit
or transformation that your clients or customer achieved.
And if you can,
include exact numbers or stats in your headline,
that is a big bonus.
So, for example, from trash to cash,
how a former garbage man
built a six figure copywriting business.
It's not bad, right?
Alright, next up, step #3,
introduce your customer.
Okay, so now that you've hooked your reader's attention
with an awesome headline,
the next thing your case study needs to do
is to introduce the client or customer you're featuring.
Remember, this is all about them, not about you,
but that being said,
you still wanna keep this section relatively short.
There's no reason to tell their whole life story here.
You just wanna share who they are, what they do,
how they do it,
and what their day to day looked like before they found you.
Now, once your readers have a general idea of the person
and or company you're talking about,
you can then move on to step #4,
which is the before.
So, we all know this,
nothing beats a good before and after story.
So, you wanna start by identifying the one big pain point
that ultimately led them to you and your product or service.
So, this would be the aggravating, uncomfortable,
or dissatisfying status quo
that drove them to seek a solution,
AKA you and your product or service.
You can then go deeper into the challenges, struggles,
and fears that this caused for your client,
and this is where your storytelling
can really start to come to life.
You want the reader
to relate to this story on an emotional level.
So, it's really important that you don't just list out
a bunch of facts and stats.
You wanna go into how this actually affected them,
use feeling and emotion words as much as possible.
Remember, facts tell and stories sell.
Alright, moving on to step #5,
you are going to talk about the smart decision.
You wanna highlight what was going on in your client's life,
in the moments right before they made the decision
to work with you.
What was the straw that broke the camel's back?
What was the moment of truth,
where they said, okay, enough is enough,
I need some support here?
When you understand your client's state of mind
directly before they purchased from you or hired you,
this will give you so much valuable insight
into the real reasons they said yes.
Now, of course, this is when you can very naturally pivot
to your product or solution,
whatever it was that really helped your particular customer
or client get results.
Now, the goal here is to not start pitching
or trying to sell your product
like you would on a sales page,
you still wanna keep it very conversational
and, remember, lead with storytelling.
Next, you wanna find out specific reasons, step #6,
why they chose you.
And, more importantly,
what other solutions they've tried in the past
that didn't work,
and why they chose you over your competitors.
So, this is powerful positioning
where you can really highlight your USP
or why you're better, faster, different from the other guys.
And, the best part is it's not you talking about it.
It's all coming directly from the perspective
of your client in their own words.
Alright, now, step #7, the transformation.
So, now is where you can go into more detail
and explain the transformation from start to finish, right?
So, you wanna continue to take your reader on that journey.
You wanna paint an accurate picture
of what the process of working with you
looked and felt like for your client.
And this is another place where you can really tap
into some great storytelling techniques.
Remember, almost nothing goes 100% smoothly.
The road to success can be bumpy.
And that's a good thing.
Make sure to include all the low points
and bumps that were encountered along the way,
along with the wins and triumphs.
This massively increases believability
and trust with the reader.
Now, you wanna move to step #8, the after.
And this is where you finally get to show off
the amazing results that your customer received,
but more than simply saying something generic,
like her life was never the same.
Again, you ideally wanna include some tangible results
and examples,
and as much as possible,
show the transformation your customer received.
Demonstration is so, so, so powerful,
even if it's done through storytelling,
and remember, be as specific as possible.
And lastly, step #9
end with a powerful call to action.
Of course, you always wanna end any case study
with a CTA for your reader to follow.
So, maybe that's hopping on a call with you
or submitting an inquiry form,
or maybe it's even just clicking a link in an email
to learn more or to buy your product or service.
Whatever it is,
make sure you tell your reader exactly what to do next.
Alright, posse, there you have it.
9 steps for writing the perfect case study.
Give me a thumbs up below if you found this one helpful
and I will be back next week
with a brand new video.
Until then, I'm Alex, ciao for now.
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