Let's say someone needs a 600 word sales letter for laboratory testing...or anything else you know nothing about. I know 600 words is pretty short, and the amount of research would probably be the same no matter how long the letter is.

But how long does it take most writers? I hear people talking about weeks, and I'm assuming that's all a matter of finding an open time slot.

I take an average of 2 weeks. There's just no shortcut to REAL research... Not the flimsy stuff that most sales letter are made from.

So where am I going wrong. I mean once I find out the details of how the product works, and why it's useful to an industry, what should I be researching?

I wrote the following sales letter in one afternoon. What's missing here? Obviously you couldn't tell me this without doing the actual research, and I'm not asking anyone to waste their time, but what area do I need to work on?

The best answer to that question is given in the first chapter of Eugene Schwartz's Breakthrough Advertising.

My take is that the amount of research is dependent upon such factors as:

- the complexity/subtlety of the product
- how tangible the product and its results are
- whereabouts in the buying process most of your prospects are (e.g. didn't know they had a problem or that a solution was available vs. acutely aware of problem and desperately seeking a solution)

So selling chocolate to hungry kids probably doesn't require a huge amount of research, persuasion or copy, whereas selling intangible services to a market that doesn't already recognise that it has a problem is a much bigger challenge.

The above example asks me to believe things which I don't believe and which I think are fundamentally untrue. A vanity phone number will NOT cure all of the problems that you outlined, such as adverts being seen at the right time by the right person. That either happens or not and is dependent on a lot more than having a memorable phone number. And I don't believe that people will remember those phone numbers easily. Yes, they're easier to remember than regular numbers, but that doesn't mean that someone who isn't looking right now, is suddenly going to remember your number in 6 months time.

The only way to prove these assertions is to ask your client's clients' customers. Some stats and proof would be nice too.

Perhaps with more research a more credible hook could have been created. Just my point of view. And I believe that the number of words is irrelevant to the amount of work that goes into it. Most writers/copywriters will tell you to start long, and chop. The point is to use the research to find out what makes people buy, what motivates them, how much information or persuading they need etc.

My tuppence hapeth. (Inflation!)

Jane

...in a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WRITING CONTEXT BUT ONE WHICH APPLIES HERE (I think).

I wrote a textbook on effective writing for college freshman, most of whom didn't give a fiddler's fart (thank you, Frank McCourt) about writing. Therefore, the book which I could have cranked out in a few weeks of heavy work took me 2.5 months (still a tight deadline) because I thought long and hard about great images, metaphors, and useful quotes to make it more readable and aid retention. When I had planned and prewritten each chapter, the actual writing (8-12 pages each) only took about four hours or so.

Not sales copy, of course, but the point is clear. Taking the time to find the right hooks (e.g. testimonials, stats, etc.) requires time-consuming activities such as internet surfing for hours or interviews with company staff or clients, etc.

And again, this is ALL based on my textbook writing, not sales copy writing.

Alex Stiner
Copywriting Solutions

If I may build on Alex's analogy a little ....

Had the "target market" for the book been copywriting students or trainee journalists, then Alex could probably have assumed an entirely different level of knowledge and motivation. If we assume that these readers would be actively looking for ways to improve their writing skills, and would probably already have some experience writing, then a completely different book would be likely to emerge. Alex could probably have dispensed with a lot of basic explanations, and perhaps delved into more detail on certain topics. This book would be "preaching to the choir" whereas a book for students of other subjects (who are not primarily concerned about writing skills and who don't have any particular interest in it) would have to work harder to gain their interest and attention. Language may also have to be "dumbed down" and made more accessible to the "layperson". The "sale" in the first case is probably relatively easy; in the second, it's harder work.

We can liken this to selling the same service into 2 different markets. Let's say you're selling copywriting services to:
1) Experienced, successful internet marketers (IMs)
2) Newly qualified life coaches (LCs)

Experienced IMs already know that they need good copy. Because they've hired copywriters before, they know the difference good copy can make and they've seen the stats to prove it. They probably recognise that spending their time learning how to craft good copy is not a good use of their time and that they will get better results using a professional copywriter. Therefore, you don't need to convince them that they need a good copywriter.

Your challenge in this situation is to prove that you are a better bet than your competitors, so you don't need to sell them on copywriting per se, but on you. If you are new to the game, you might decide to make them an offer they can't refuse (e.g. pay on results only), or if you're more experienced, you might speak in terms of "response rates", "conversion rates" etc. that you've achieved for similar businesses.

If, on the other hand, you are trying to sell copywriting services to Life Coaches, you may find (through research and by getting to know them) that most do not have a clear idea of what copywriting is, let alone how it can help them or whether it's a good investment or not. The proposition is therefore entirely different, and you would need to build your case in a competely different way. You would also have to use entirely different language as they will be unlikely to understand terms such as "response rates" and would not respond so favourably to promises of "doubling their profits" or "exploding sales by 300%". Research would probably show that these people are not really wired in to thinking in terms of profits, response rates etc. but that what they are concerned about is working with the right clients and keeping their schedule full.

Same service - entirely different levels of knowledge of your service - different motivations of your target markets => different language, different appeals, different offers.

Steve Slaunwhite's book gives you some info on what to research, although it isn't comprehensive.

Jane

Yes, we're back to the same question...where should I be spending more time?/

Finding supporting evidence? How much does a sales letter need?

or

Finding out how to connect to your audience? I know that each audience is slightly different. But using general small businesses as an example (as keeping with the above sales letter), how many times can you research that?

How long is a piece of string?

There are many, many different types of small businesses and they all have different priorities and different concerns. Restaurateurs probably share most concerns/problems with other restaurateurs, but they have entirely different issues to accountants. So I don't find it useful to generalise about all small businesses.

And the same types of businesses at different stages of development have entirely different challenges to each other. For example, a very successful restaurant may have problems fitting in all its bookings, getting good staff and managing JIT supplies. Head chef may be working too hard and burning out. Conversely, the new pizza place down the road may be having a problem attracting enough diners.

Most writers on the subject say that 80-90% of your time should be spent on research, and only 10-20% on actual writing. I think they must be including organising your material in the 80-90%, and I often find that that's the part that takes the most time. But again, it depends on how much you know or deduce in the first instance. It's also important to get it across to clients that there is a significant amount of research to be done before you begin writing, so that they are prepared for:
a) the time it's going to take them to answer your questions or be interviewed
b) the final invoice!

Some people seem to think that a piece of copy only takes as long to write as it does to type - so they'll think 600 words only takes a couple of hours.

Does anyone here interview their clients' clients or customers? Or search the internet for studies and stats to back up their claims?

Jane

PS To systematise and speed up my research process I've created questionnaires for clients to fill in before I begin their copy project. Anyone else do this?

I expect my clients to do almost all of the research for me. That's one reason I can charge less and deliver faster (unless I'm backed up with projects) than many other copywriters at my level.

If there are specific facts I need, I ask clients to get them for me.

Never have I had a client say, "Isn't that your job?" They understand that it's their job to educate me on their business and my job to take what they give me and present it coherently and persuasively. If what they give me is flawed, it's not my responsibility. If I spot flaws in the facts they give me and say so (as does happen from time to time), that's value added, not part of my job.

If it's background I need, I ask clients to either give me background information or tell me where I can find it. For example, one web site was all about a consulting service called "value management." He couldn't give me a good explanation of it, so I asked him who his competitors were, and this led me to some clear explanations of that term that turned on the light bulb and enabled me to explain it on his site in my own words. If it's not a new business, there are normally lots of documents hanging around their office that they can toss my way to help me understand what they are up to. I can sort through even a big stack of these very quickly to get my bearings.

What I'm saying here may not be helpful to you if you only write traditional direct response copy for clients who are highly educated in that mode. But it definitely works for my corporate and small business clients.

Marcia Yudkin