Think Like A Shopper And Get Into the Mind Of Your Customer
Some people have a lot of trouble with creating niche sites or writing strong sales letters. The reason is that they’re thinking like a sales person (Oh, the horror!) and they’ve forgotten that they need to write with the customer in mind.
This article is a collection of thoughts on the subject, and how you can avoid this problem, generate a lot of content for your sales letters or websites, and have that material perform more effectively than what you’re currently writing.
Genesis Of The Article
Today, I was working on my next niche site. (Check back tomorrow for this week’s Niche Site Challenge update!)
I was browsing around Amazon looking for products to review. I was looking at a specific type of product, because I thought to myself, “What are the essential tools you need to do [X] hobby?”
…If you’re looking to build a product review site, then that’s probably not the worst question to start with.
So, I’m looking at this particular product type, and for some reason, the items range in value from $100 to $600.
I don’t know why. I go back and check the original articles I read about essential tools. Maybe there’s something about this niche I don’t understand?
Anyway, I figure I’ve got the right products after a few minutes.
So I go back, and I start clicking on the various products trying to find out why some are expensive. Then I hit the “back button” and look at the reviews.
- How many reviews does each product have?
- What’s the overall rating?
I notice some of these products come with additional extras and some don’t. Some were the latest model from the manufacturer, and some were a few years old. What was the difference between them?
What’s The Point Of This Tangent?
Something interesting occurred somewhere during all of that. I stopped thinking about the products as a copywriter looking to write some product reviews, and instead I started thinking very much like a would-be customer.
In doing so, I opened up my brain to all the useful things that a customer in the niche probably wants to know.
This is a state of mind that it’s helpful to be in. And it’s crucial to creating niche sites that are not only filled with useful information, but they’ll hit every long-tail opportunity there is. (Most internet marketers don’t go through this process, so you’ll out-compete their niche sites.)
Another bonus will be that your niche sites won’t look like niche sites.
A final bonus; your sales letters won’t read like a five minute Fiverr job either. That’s because all these questions add together to turn your sales pages into advertorial pieces that look, feel and most importantly are genuine information with a product link at the end.
People will pay for the $600 product if you do a good job of explaining why it’s a premium product.
Also, you’ll answer this common question that people have about niche sites: Do you need to write how-to articles for a niche site? Do you need general information or is it okay to just have sales stuff?
Profiling Customers Isn’t A Weird Marketing Exercise
I wrote a couple of articles a while back about profiling customers.
I thought that those articles were interesting, but they didn’t take off. (Low engagement rates compared to other stuff.)
However, I’m pleased to announce that you don’t need to go in-depth like those articles do.
Audience profiling isn’t some elusive process. Or it doesn’t have to be at least.
Instead, literally put yourself in the head of your audience by allowing yourself to do what I did above: forget about your conversion rates and sales. Forget about your niche site or your online product that you’re researching for.
Instead, ask yourself, “Why would I buy this?” and “Why would I get into this subject?”
Simple questions like that will lead your brain out of the “work” state and into the state where you ask yourself relevant questions.
Write It All Down
Finally, note down all those questions. If you’re a complete amateur, you might feel the questions you’re asking aren’t good for a niche site.
You might think, “What is weightlifting?” is a stupid place to start with a weightlifting niche site. However, if it’s conceivable that there are people who would search out the answer to that question, it’s not stupid. Write it down. Find out the answer.
Move on to the next question. “What products do you need to start bodybuilding?”
Again, you might think it’s basic. But it isn’t. If it’s a feasible question, write it down.
The same is true of product reviews. “Do you need weightlifting gloves?”
You might think that that is a stupid question – and you probably won’t want to devote a couple of hours to writing a product review of something that’ll get you $.50 a sale, but if it’s a reasonable question, answer it!
You can always write an article that says, “Yes/No you do/don’t need this product, but you can get them and this, this and that as well.”
All of this will come naturally to you if you let go and ask the questions as they occur.
Final Thoughts
Most copywriters go through a stage where they’re trying to “be true” to the copywriter archetype. They’ll write sales letters that are like weird used-car-salesman language wrapped up with some high-pressure internet marketing tactics.
The reason that these don’t work is that the writers are thinking from a “What do I write” perspective as opposed to “What do people need to read?” perspective.
If you’re stuck for what to write or how to write it, allow yourself to follow your nose just like you would if you were making an important purchase for yourself. Compare products honestly. Write down the questions that occur to you as you’re reading, and then answer them honestly before later using them as material for your actual work.
If you do this, you’ll have lots of material and it will be effective.