by Hey you, copywriter!
Wanna Be An Actor?
You can.
Today, even.
And you won’t have to starve yourself skinny, convert to Scientology or Botox your face into the past to do it, either.
Ok, so I’m not talking ‘Hollywood Walk Of Fame’ acting here.
I mean the fun, pretending part…
Good old ‘make-believe’ (with optional dressing-up).
Here’s How Spending An Hour ‘Being’ Somebody Else Can Help You Sell More Stuff…
…and earn coin while you do so (not Bruce Willis mega-coin, but… well, it all depends what you’re selling, right?)
See, it’s essential when you start any copywriting project that you spend some time ‘being your prospect’.
Otherwise, how will you know what they want?
How will you know if you’ve got what they want?
How will you know the best way to demonstrate you’ve got what they want?
So get in the acting mode. I’m talking empathy, dude.
Ask Yourself:
What is my prospect looking for when they see my sales page?
What do they want to hear? (And what don’t they want to hear?)
What words or phrases resonate with them?
What have they heard too many damn times? (And what might be new or surprising to them?)
Visualize your prospect (ok, now you can get the costumes out, Tootsie)…
Who are they? How old are they?
How are they feeling right NOW when they find your copy?
(It always helps to know where your traffic’s coming from)
Recently I Was Working On A Project Where A Buddy Happened To Be A Customer Of The Company I Was Writing For…
He gave me some useful feedback about what he expected from the service, and how I could write to target his requirements.
All gold – and it helped improve my copy no end using his notes.
I was grateful for the ‘insider info’…
But here’s the thing:
Later, going back over my own notes, I was surprised how much what I’d uncovered in my own research (when I’d spent an hour or so ‘inside my prospect’s head’), actually matched his.
I’d drawn a lot of the same conclusions with my empathy exercise…
Stepping outside of myself for a while, and concentrating on seeing things from my customer’s POV.
My mini-actor’s-workshop was validated.
I went all Sally Field over my success – and wrote this post, hehe.
Your Takeaway:
By walking a mile (or even a half-mile) in your prospect’s shoes, you learn which buttons to push…
Access hidden desires…
And give your copy a much better chance of hitting its mark.
Which means more sales for your clients, more work for you…
…and a place in the Hollywood Hills for your family.*
*Ok, one step at a time, Brando ; )
