Effective, profitable copy isn't written

One of my favorite truths about copy comes from legendary copywriter and author of “Breakthrough Advertising”, Eugene Schwartz:

"Copy is not written. It is assembled."

That means, if you are writing copy for your product, you need to think less like a writer and more like a construction worker.

A writer sits and thinks all day long, dreaming of new scenes and scenarios that entertain the mind.

If you're writing copy that way, you run dangerously close to projecting what YOU think on to the copy.

And as the creator of a product or service, you will put what you built it for into the copy. You will put what you think they will do with it in there. You will put what you believe their dreams are...which could very well be a projection of your own dreams. You’ll likely add your best guesses as to the pains that would drive them to use it. 

However, if you're thinking like a construction worker, you're out gathering supplies (intel) from Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace, and wherever else you get your best galvanized nails, copper piping, and treated 2x4's from.

And, then, once you have those supplies all piled in your yard, you begin to mix and pour the concrete that you picked up from the hardware store on Main (because it had the best aggregate over what Home Depot sells) to build your foundation.

Your foundation, if you're writing copy, is mix of your product WOW factors and the actual intel you’ve gathered on your ideal client's struggles and dreams, so you begin mixing and rolling the water (words) in with the aggregate and Portland cement together, laying it out into your framework (which is the call-to-action, by the way).

Moving out from what you know of your product, you smooth out the air bubbles and trowel the surface until it's tight and flat, making sure you're baking trust (social proof, results, YOU) into the process as you build away from the fear and doubt they have expressed.

Once you have that foundation going, you begin to work your way through the rest of the house...using bonafide intel and languaging as your supplies, addressing the objections they've told you they have.

Addressing the dreams they've told you they are working to see come true.

Nailing in the sides of the house to make sure that you're staying focused on that call-to-action and stripping away any extra wiring (words) that don't immediately turn the light on in the hearts of your readers.

And the process goes on until you're finished, and you've used all of the information you've gathered, coupled it with your personality and constructed copy that feels like you were reading their minds all along.

Now. WHERE do you get this intel for your copy?? 

Interviews with real users

I am always an advocate of running programs and services for low or no cost in exchange for information - I know, I know..your coach said NEVER to do that, but you know what? This is about building a great product that people want and will tell their friends about...this is not about short term gains

Amazon 

One of the first tricks I learned when I was starting out years ago was to comb Amazon book reviews for specific wording from could-be clients. It’s a bit time-consuming...but patience is your friend here.

Facebook Search

Search for posts by your ideal clients to see if they are talking about the problem you want to solve for them, their struggles, or their hopes and dreams. You can also search your competition’s pages to see what people are saying there. In fact, you don’t have to restrict it to your competition, you can search related industries because many times you will find connections in those intersections of what you do and where your ideal clients hang out.

Wherever you’re doing research, keep track of it. You could use a spreadsheet like the Copy Feeder that I built for this sort of research, as well. 

It’s those words, their words, that you are going to use to assemble your copy, as Eugene Schwartz mentions.

The point? Do not write. Do not be the writer, sitting and dreaming of how your ideal client would use your product.

Research. Use words and information from your readers' lips. (Or hire it out if you can’t spend hours on hours looking for the details that will change your profit margins.)

Assemble copy they can't say "no" to because they see copy that is BUILT from them.