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Copy initial understanding

Want to know the 10 things you must have before you start writing? In today's video, I'm giving you the insider scoop on my Pre-Copywriting Checklist to help you write a relevant, complete. and effective sales page that boosts conversions every time. (upbeat music) Hey guys, what's up? It's Alex. If you're new to the crew, welcome, it's great to have you here. Make sure you hit that Subscribe button below so you never miss another video and ring that bell to be notified when my next one goes live. Every single week, I release a new tutorial on the branding, marketing and copywriting strategies you need to stay relevant today. And if you're already part of The Copy Posse family, welcome back, give me a thumbs up below to let me know you're here. All right. Tell me if this has ever happened to you, you're on a call with a potential new client and they ask you to write a sales page and you're like "yes, I got this!!!" But then what? What do you need to ask them? What do you need to know before you start? Or if you're writing your own sales page for your business or product launch, how do you prepare a bomb sales page brief? Well in today's video, I'm going to talk you through each point of my Pre-Copywriting Checklist. This checklist includes the 10 things you must have before you even think about writing your first word so you can write relevant, complete and effective copy that works. And you'll find out how to get your hands on this checklist along with my proven Sales Page Formula at the end of this video so keep watching. So many people think that copywriting starts with writing, which I mean makes sense... But, nope! There are actually quite a few things that need to be done and key information you need to know before you ever write a single word. That's right before you can blow your client or customers away with your amaze-balls copywriting skills, you first have to do some detective work. Now you might be thinking... "But I'm a copywriter my job is to be creative and write!" And yes, while that's absolutely true, a good copywriter takes the time to go over every single detail in advance. In fact most of my initial client calls take at least one hour because that's how long you need to cover the basics, ask the right questions and get all the juicy details you need. So roll up your sleeves and put on your best copywriter detective hats and get ready to do some investigative work with this Pre-Copywriting Checklist, the 10 very important things that you must have before you write a high converting sales page. It is not just enough to know the product or business you're writing for, as a copywriter, you need to get that bird's-eye-view of the entire scope of the sales campaign. So unless you're in charge of every single piece of copy for the project, you need to make sure that the asset you're writing flows cohesively with the other elements of the campaign. For example, if you're hired to do the sales page, it's really important that you request to look at the ads, the landing pages and even the emails that come before, during and after it. That way you really understand what your customer sees, experiences and is already aware of before they land on your sales page and you can make sure that you're actually on the same page, pun intended. The last you want is for your prospect to follow an ad or a content video like this, land on your page and then notice a complete disconnect in your messaging or worse feel totally misled. That is a sure way to ruin your first impression and drive them away, possibly never to return. And if it's an existing customer that's coming back to your page you risk disrupting the relationship that they already have with your brand. So be sure to request those assets so that you can understand the campaign context and flow. If they're not readily available, it would still help to do a little digging and ask your client what's been conceptualized or strategized already in terms of a promotion plan. All right. Even though this is a critical part of any brand, you'd be surprised how many businesses out there still haven't defined who their customer is. A customer avatar or persona goes way beyond the basic data found in your website analytics, such as age, gender and location. Your customer avatar is an actual personality that you create, name and define as you would a real person. It illustrates the personal and psychographic traits of your ideal customer down to their challenges, fears, goals and personal interests. So the goal here is to be able to showcase genuine empathy and communicate effectively in your copy. A customer avatar profile takes the marketing motto, 'If you try to sell to everybody, you'll sell to nobody' to the next level by having a specific person in mind. The more clarity you have on who your customer is, the better your sales copy will be. It is as simple as that. Now, if your client doesn't have a customer avatar profile handy, why not guide them through an exercise that will A - be an added value to your service and B - help you deliver great work. So at the end of this video I'll link to a video on my Customer Avatar Exercise that I use with every single one of my clients. Nobody wants to buy products or services from a random Joe Schmoe. People want to make sure who they're buying from is legit and qualified to sell or teach them the product offered. If they're providing professional services, do they have the right academic qualifications? If they're positioning themselves as an expert in their field, do they have the proof to showcase their experience, such as case studies and relevant training? If they're supposedly renowned for their work, have they been featured in the press or taken the stage at any events? You get the point here. These are the types of credentials and accolades that will establish you or your client's authority and help you create trust with your sales copy, increasing the likelihood of your prospect hitting that order button. Now more than ever before, customers wanna buy from the brands that they can relate to. Gone are the days of businesses getting away with generic identities and a lack of personality. People are no longer buying the WHAT of your product they are buying the WHY. That's why it's so important to get to know the story behind the product you're writing for. What is the history? What inspired its creation? How does it represent the values of the company? What's the company's mission and how does the product aim to achieve it? If you're lucky enough to be writing for a well-established brand, chances are there's a brand voice guide or guidelines that you can request to help you with your copy. Otherwise, what I recommend you do is set up a great introduction call with your client not only to understand the scope of the job and the campaign but also use this time to ask about their brand message and story. Ask questions like, why did you start doing what you're doing? What's the origin of your business? What's the first thing you want people to know about you? And of course what is your... Chances are your client's product or service isn't the very first one on the market of its kind. In fact, there are probably hundreds or even thousands of similar products or services just like yours already out there. So why would someone buy from you over your competition? What problem does it solve and what goal does it help your prospect achieve? These are usually summed up in a USP statement or description on their website. Now, if your client doesn't have a USP statement that they publicly use, there's a high chance that they do have it outlined somewhere in company documents such as an investor deck or brand guidelines. If your client doesn't have an answer at all, then it's down to you as the copywriter to look into their brand, do some market research and suggest some ideas on how their product can be positioned for the campaign. If you need an effective copywriting exercise to help you with this, I will share a video at the end of this video that you'll want watch next. All right... Okay, so this is probably the most obvious one. In order to write about a product you need to know exactly what the product is and everything that comes with it... and I mean everything. People like to know the specific details of what they're buying. For example, if your product is a Whole 30 Cookbook with 25 free recipes included, make sure you mention those recipes on your sales page. Or perhaps you're selling an extra luxurious Rose Quartz Gua Sha tool that includes a detailed ebook on 10 facial techniques plus a nourishing facial oil. Or maybe you're writing an online coaching program that includes eight guided learning modules, insider Q&A recordings and tons of step-by-step templates exercises and worksheets. See where I'm going with this? The more specific you can be with your features and frameworks the better. Now this just might be the Holy Grail of any sales page, customer testimonials. I mean how many of us have quickly skimmed through a sales page and then very thoroughly read through each testimonial before deciding if either, one, we wanted to move on and just forget the product altogether. Or two, scroll back up to the top and read the sales page a little bit closer. Customer testimonials make a huge difference in the decision-making process. A staggering 92% of people read online reviews and it has been proven that the presence of customer testimonials can drive revenue up by 62%. I mean, think about it, how often have you bought something just because your favorite influencer swears by it? Or when you read a review by someone who struggled with the exact same issue that you have and managed to overcome it with the product? So if your client has any testimonials at all, even just one make sure to ask for them. They can be great sources of inspiration for your hooks and headlines too. And obviously the more you include on your sales page, the better. Ah yes, the main question on everybody's mind... How much is this going to cost? As a copywriter, you'll want to ask your client what the price point of the product is, along with any payment plan options available. But before you move on from this line-item on your checklist, you also want to get a clear idea of what the value of this product is. So for example, does the product come with additional features that other brands don't have or charge extra for? Does it come in a package or bundle, whereby getting the features individually would cost way more? Does the product help prospects save money by getting the benefit from your client versus somebody else? These are the types of questions you want to ask to help establish what the overall value of the product is so your prospect would know what they would have to pay if they bought outside the offer window or if they went with another market alternative. Now onto the most important details that you need to know to write copy that sells... So these are all the details you would need to write the close of your sales page. So this includes promotion specifics, discounts and any scarcity that can or will be used on the page. This is also a good time to clarify any formalities like conditions, application deadlines, FAQs, refund policy and any extra bonuses that will be included. So once you map out the offer and get the green light from your client, it's your job to spice it up and write a hot offer. This is when you can turn to their brand voice or their customer avatar profile to add in some personality to the pitch. Get creative and have some fun. All right, lastly number 10 on the list... So another item that is commonly overlooked in a sales page is the delivery details. Now it might seem obvious but you need to clarify from your client exactly how, when, and where the product will be delivered so that you can communicate it clearly in your copy. So for example, will they get login details via email? Will it be sent instantly? Where can they access their content? How long do they have to wait before they receive their product? Remember, you don't want to leave any room for confusion in the mind of your customers. So it's best to include delivery details right there on the sales page, like in an FAQ section or you risk that customer peacing-out because they weren't clear on next steps and what to expect. So there you have it guys, the 10 things you need before you can write a relevant, complete and effective sales page that connects and converts. Give me a thumbs up below if you found this video helpful and if you want your own copy of my Pre-Copywriting Checklist and my Proven Sales Page Formula, I have an exciting invitation for you. At the link below you'll find out more about my highly anticipated Write & Ignite Challenge where I'll teach you the exact sales page formula and writing process that I have used to help dozens of businesses execute multi-million dollar launches and countless students land high-paying copywriting clients and projects... And you're going to learn it all in just five days. So whether you're an entrepreneur who needs a high-converting sales page that actually works in today's online marketing climate... Or a new coach or consultant who is ready to put your work out there but doesn't have thousands of dollars to pay a copywriter - yet... Or you're a freelance copywriter who is struggling with a client's sales page and need fast-track guidance to get high quality copy out in under a week... Or you're an aspiring copywriter who wants to have a freshly minted professional sales page in your portfolio so you can get clients ASAP... This challenge is for you!!! Click the link in the description below to find out how to get it on it. I hope to see you there and as always, thank you so much for watching and subscribing. Next up check out my video on 5 Copywriting Exercises including my USP Statement Generator. You can watch that right here and you can check out my video on my Customer Avatar Exercise right here. I will see you next week with a brand new video. Until then, I'm Alex. Ciao for now! (upbeat music) And suggest... blahabaha. I have such a hard time saying that.