Many times in copywriting we make it more complicated than we need to. We are victims of overthinking – big time! In this post I want to take us back in time to our school days where we learned the basics of communication with story questions.
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English 101 Recap
Today’s lesson is so simple you probably learned it in English class, and yet this simple approach is often the tipping point in making the sale.
I bet whenever you wrote a paper in school or answered questions about a book, you covered these basics: who, what, when, where, why, and how.
Could it be that simple?
Yes.
Let’s go through it step-by-step.
Digging Deeper into Story Questions
Who are your ideal clients, a.k.a. buyers? You really need to know the answer to this question or you won’t be able to write to them effectively in their own language.
This could be an entire blog post on its own, and it’s an entire module in many online business courses. Knowing your ideal client is VITAL.
What are you selling? This should be an easy one to answer, but I’ve seen copy that left me pretty confused about exactly what was being sold …and the confused mind never buys. Donald Miller says, “when you confuse, you lose.”
When is your ideal client most likely to buy what you’re offering?
For example, if you’re selling something school-related or holiday-related, there’s a good chance you want your copy to run around September or December. Timing is important.
Where will your buyers come from? Are you getting organic traffic or paid traffic? IG? FB? Pinterest? YT?
And once someone purchases, where will they access what you’ve sold them?
Why is your product or service right for them? Why is it better than the alternatives (make sure to spell this out), including the alternative of doing nothing? Why must they buy now? This is SO key and something that so many people miss. What is the cost to your ideal clients if they DON’T buy? You should always be asking yourself this question and making it your duty to spell it out clearly so that it prompts them to buy.
How will it change the client’s life? How will it be delivered? How do clients get help if they need it? How do they purchase? How do they pay you?
People need really simple, straight-forward instructions. It sounds elementary, but your copy needs to spell out every step. Say it once, say it again, and then say it again, step-by-step.
…And now you know how to use the story questions you learned in school to write better copy for your business!
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