From: Bernadette Schwerdt
The Copywriting Coach
Today’s topic: Copywriting Rule #4: Who Are You Writing To?

Knowing who your target market is and knowing what’s important to them is part of the research you need to do before writing any copy.

It’s important to write what the customer wants to hear, not what you want to say.

Let’s take a pool company as an example.

Here’s some copy which shows that they don’t know who their target market is which means they don’t know what’s important to their customers.

“Hi there. At Pools R Us you can be assured that all your pool maintenance, pool cleaning and pool supplies are taken care of. We understand what you need and work hard to deliver it. When you think pools, think Pools R Us!”

It’s pretty clear that they don’t know who their target market is and they don’t know what they need. They’re just churning out the obvious.

But by doing just a tiny bit of research with anyone who had a pool, they would discover that:

1. Men do most of the pool cleaning and therefore men are the customers of pool companies.
2. Most men hate cleaning the pool because it’s time consuming and boring.
3. Falling leaves are the major culprit.
4. Pool supplies are expensive.

So if we know these facts, why not write copy that uses these facts and lets the customer know you really understand what their problems and hassles are:

How about:

“Hey guys, wouldn’t you rather spend your time having a cold beer by the pool rather than raking leaves off the pool? 

Give me just 10 minutes of your time and I’ll not only show you a way to keep your pool free of leaves forever but I’ll show you a way to cut your maintenance bill in half. Interested? Give me a call. I’ll bring a six pack with me.”

By knowing their needs you can tailor the copy accordingly. If you want to get their attention, keep their interest and make them buy, your information needs to be relevant. That’s why you need to understand your target market.

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Kind regards,

Bernadette Schwerdt
The Copywriting Coach
Follow me on Twitter: copyschool

Australian School of Copywriting
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Victoria, Australia 3040
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