You can’t write good copy in a vacuum. You need facts, and you need insights. You get these by asking questions. And one of the first questions you ask is this: Where are we selling?
Sometimes the answer to this question is obvious. Your client approaches you and says, “I need a direct mail sales letter to mail to prospective clients.” Where are you selling? You’re selling offline, business to business, through the mail.
Or, your client says, “I need you to write a landing page for me.” That’s straightforward. You’re selling direct to consumer, online, with one page on a website.
This question is important because it tells you the scope of your project. For example, if your client wants you to write a billboard for them, and only one, you know immediately that the amount of copy you are going to write is small.
On the other hand, if your client wants you to write all the copy needed to launch a new product, you know that the scope of the project is likely large. You may be writing a print factsheet, a direct mail postcard, a news release, an online product page, a Facebook ad. You get the idea.
The first thing you need to discover is the channel you are working in. The four main channels are offline, online, mobile and broadcast.
Then you need to discover which tactic you are using.
For example, if you are writing offline copy, are you writing a brochure, a white paper, a case study, a direct mail sales letter, a catalog or something else?
If you are writing online copy, are you writing a banner ad, a Google AdWords ad, an email sales letter, a landing page, a Twitter ad or something else?
If you are writing for mobile, are you writing a pop-up ad, a text-only ad or web copy that is optimized for mobile?
If you are writing copy for the broadcast channel, are you writing a 30-second radio commercial or a 60-second commercial, are you writing a TV commercial or an infomercial, or something else?
Which brings me to my next point. This question you are asking includes the mechanics of the piece. Your creative brief has to include the specifics of what you are being asked to deliver.
If it’s a sales letter, how many pages does your client want, what size is the mailing envelope, are you writing the reply device, is there a buckslip, will the package include a business reply envelope?
If it’s a landing page, how many words does your client want, how many images will there be, does your client want you to caption the images, and so on?
If it’s a mobile ad, how many words does the client need? How many is too many?
If it’s a radio commercial, how long is it? Is the voice talent going to say a bunch of legal stuff at the end that reduces the length of your script? Is there a budget for sound effects?
The final reason you need to ask this question before you start writing is you need to know the context of where and when you copy appears.
Most of the copy you write is part of a sales cycle. At the beginning of the sales cycle, you will write ads and other messages that focus on raising awareness and branding. Further into the sales cycle, when prospects are comparing products, you will write spec sheets, sales sheets and other collateral.
And late in the sales cycle, when prospects are ready to buy, you will craft offers, email announcements, online ads and other pieces that have strong calls to action.
Before you start writing, you need to know where in the sales cycle your prospect is going to be when they see your copy. If you are writing for someone at the start of the sales cycle, your copy needs to raise awareness. But at the end of the sales cycle, your copy needs to drive sales.
One simple question gets you started towards writing great copy. Ask your client, “Where are we selling?” and you’ll discover the scope of your project, the mechanics of what you are going to write, and the context of where your copy is appearing in the sales cycle.
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