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Take Center Stage And Strut Your Stuff!
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I
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will provide you with focused, targeted and riveting copy - only if I know as much as there is to know about you, your product or service.
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Below is a list of questions that I will send to you when you hire me. Not all of the questions may be applicable to your particular project or situation, but where they are - please, have at it with a vengeance!
This will be your chance to talk at length about yourself - uninterrupted. Don't worry about grammar or punctuation. I don't care how pretty - or not - it looks.
The success - the magic of my copy - will be directly proportional to the depth of information I collect from you. Research is the single most crucial element in effective copywriting.
If you give me all the information I need -- writing killer copy for you will be a cinch!
ABOUT THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE
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Describe the features of the company, product or service. (Example of a feature: it processes one billion MB of data in one billionth of a nanosecond.)
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Describe the benefits of the company, product or service. (Example of a benefit is not that it processes data faster - the benefit is that because it's faster the buyer gets to leave work earlier. Therefore, the buyer benefits by spending less time at the computer and more time at home enjoying the good things in life.)
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What does your company, product or service do? Explain it simply, as if you're talking to a child in the sixth grade.
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Tell me your "elevator speech", i.e., your talking to a potential client about your product or service - and all the time you have is the time it takes to ride down to the lobby in the elevator.
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What's the story behind your product or service, why did you create it?
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Which unique features and benefits truly define your company, product or service -- and which your competition may not possess?
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What is not commonly known about your company, product or service?
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How is the product different from the competition's? Which features are exclusive? Which are better than the competition's?
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If the product isn't different, what attributes can be stressed that haven't been stressed by the competition?
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What technologies does the product compete against?
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What problems does the product or service solve?
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Who and what industries can use the product?
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How does the product work?
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How long will the product last?
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How much does the product cost?
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How easy is the product to use and maintain?
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What models, sizes are available?
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How quick can the product be delivered, and how and where can it be purchased?
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What service and support is available?
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Is it guaranteed?
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List the most commonly asked questions about your product or service as well as the answers you give.
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List the most common misconceptions that customers have about your service or product.
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Tell me all the steps you take, starting from the sales process to order fulfillment, or from initial meeting to completion of contract.
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Provide me with complete bios of you and other principals within your company or organization. Include accomplishments, accreditations, certifications and affiliations.
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List in detail your biggest success stories and case histories.
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QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CONSUMER
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Who's the audience, the target market?
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What are their demographics, i.e., age, gender, employment, income level, etc.?
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What are their geographics, i.e., country, region, state, city, etc.?
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What are their psychographics, i.e., interests, culture, lifestyle, hobbies, purchase history, associations, etc.?
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What are their technographics, i.e., Internet savvy, purchases online, Web sites they visit, uses the web for work, etc.?
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What's important and what motivates the people in this group?
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What hasn't worked for them in the past?
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What words or language will get through to them; what will turn their heads & get them to pay attention?
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Why do they need the product, and why do they need it now?
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What is the customer's main concern vis-à-vis this type of product?
- e.g., price, delivery, performance, reliability, maintenance, quality, availability, efficiency, service.
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What's the theme? What angle should the copy exploit?
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What tone should the copy take, i.e., light, humorous, hard-hitting, serious, whimsical, official, friendly?
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Testimonials
Please provide me with as many testimonials of satisfaction as are available. The best testimonials offer hard numbers, quantifiable information and full identification of the person providing it.
For example:
"After using (product or service) for (number of days or weeks) my sales rose by 137.87%. Your (product or service) is fantastic! It took me less than 3 days to get up and running. Other similar products took me 2 months! Thanks so much!"
-- John Client, ABC Company, Albany, New York.
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MATERIALS I NEED TO ACQUIRE
In order to present you with powerful and effective copy, I need to collect from you as much physical information as is available and applicable.
The following is a comprehensive request-list of material that will aid me to that end.
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Advertising plans
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Annual reports
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Article reprints
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Audiovisual scripts
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Brochures
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Catalogues
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Company capabilities brochure
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Company memos on product
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Marketing and advertising plans
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Market research
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Names and phone numbers of key company people to call for further information
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Names and phone numbers of customers to get their point of view
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Newsletters
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Package copy (labels)
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Competitor's ads and literature and Web site URL
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Complaint letters
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Copies of speeches
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Customer letters and testimonials
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Direct mail packages
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Engineer drawings
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Focus group transcripts
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Press kits
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Previous ad tear sheets
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Product reviews and evaluations
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Product specs
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Proposals
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Sales figures and unit volume
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Sample of product
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Technical papers
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User manuals
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Barry A. Densa -
Tel. 805.236.4801 -
Barry@WritingWithPersonality.com
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