Your reader has already written half your copy
In Level 1 we said copywriting is about getting the right words in front of the right person so they take action. So here's a question for you. Where do those right words come from?
Most people would say "from my head". You sit down, you think hard, and you hope something clever comes out.
I'd like to suggest something different. The best words usually aren't in your head. They're in your reader's. People are already describing their problems, their hopes and their worries out loud, in reviews, forums, support emails and everyday chats. Your job today is to go and listen.
Think of yourself as a detective, not a novelist. You're not inventing a story. You're gathering evidence.
The four things you're looking for
When you research your reader, you're filling in a simple reader profile. It has four parts.
- Problems: what's annoying, hurting or slowing them down right now?
- Desires: what do they want their life to look like instead?
- Objections: what makes them hesitate? Price, doubt, "will it work for me?"
- Their own words: the exact phrases they use to describe all of the above.
That last one is the secret ingredient. Copywriters call it voice of customer language, often shortened to VOC. It's how people actually talk about something, with none of the marketing gloss.
Why does it matter so much? Because when your reader sees their own words on your page, it feels like you've been reading their mind. Your copy stops sounding like an advert and starts sounding like someone who gets it.
Where to dig
So where do you find these words? Here are your best sources.
- Reviews: of your product, and of your competitors' products too.
- Forums and comment threads: Reddit, Facebook groups, Mumsnet, hobby forums, YouTube comments.
- Support emails and chat logs: your customers telling you exactly what confused or frustrated them.
- Interviews and surveys: short conversations with real customers, or a few open questions by email.
Here's a tip that surprises a lot of people. Don't just read the five-star and one-star reviews. Head for the three-star reviews. They're often the most honest, because the writer liked something and was let down by something. You get desires and objections in a single paragraph.
And what if you don't have customers yet? No problem. Read your competitors' reviews. Your future customers are already complaining about them.
Collect it word for word
Now, this bit matters a lot. When you find a great phrase, copy it exactly. Don't tidy it up. Don't translate it into "proper" marketing language.
Say a reviewer writes: "Finally a mug that's still hot when I actually get to drink it." You might be tempted to note it down as "excellent heat retention". Please don't! The rough version is the valuable one. "Still hot when I actually get to drink it" is something a real person would say. "Excellent heat retention" is something nobody says.
A simple spreadsheet works brilliantly. One column for the quote, one for where you found it, and one for whether it's a problem, a desire or an objection. Once you've got twenty or thirty lines, patterns jump out. The same worries and the same phrases keep coming back.
Let's rewrite a weak blurb
Time to put this to work. Here's a generic product blurb for a travel mug:
Our premium insulated travel mug features cutting-edge technology to keep your drinks at the perfect temperature. High quality, stylish and durable.
What's wrong with it? Honestly, it could describe any mug on the planet. "Premium", "cutting-edge", "high quality". These are words sellers use, not buyers.
Now imagine we've mined thirty reviews and found these phrases again and again:
- Problem: "my coffee's always gone cold by the time I've done the school run"
- Desire: "still hot when I actually get to drink it"
- Objection: "every travel mug I've had leaks in my bag"
- Also mentioned: "fits the cup holder in my car"
Here's the rewrite:
Done the school run and your coffee's gone cold again? This one's still hot when you actually get to drink it. It won't leak in your bag, and it fits the cup holder in your car.
Can you feel the difference? Every phrase came from real people. We tackled the big worry, leaking, head on. And a busy parent reading it thinks, "That's me."
One quick note. Borrowing a phrase to shape your own sentences is fine. Publishing someone's review as a quoted testimonial is different, and under the UK advertising rules you need their permission. We'll cover testimonials properly later in the course.
Your turn
Pick a product or service you write for. Find at least fifteen real comments from reviews, forums or support emails. Then build your reader profile and rewrite your current blurb in two or three sentences.
Judge it with this checklist:
- Does your profile list problems, desires and objections separately?
- Did you copy at least five phrases word for word, untidied?
- Does your rewrite use at least two of those phrases?
- Does it address at least one objection?
- Could a real customer read it and think, "That's exactly how I'd put it"?
- Have you cut seller words like "premium" and "cutting-edge"?
Key takeaways
- The best copy comes from listening, not inventing.
- A reader profile covers problems, desires, objections and their exact words.
- Mine reviews (especially three-star ones), forums, support emails and interviews.
- Copy phrases word for word. The rough version beats the polished one.
- No customers yet? Read your competitors' reviews.
- Quoting a review as a testimonial needs the person's permission.