Have you ever written a sales page?
If so, chances are you made the same mistake most rookie copywriters make when writing their first sales page.
You were so excited to use the skills you’ve been learning… so excited to write money-making copy… that you skipped the first step in the process.
You didn’t do your audience research first.
We all do it the first time we write a sales page.
We get so fired up to get started that we skip the boring stuff and go straight to the sexy stuff – the copy.
But, as you probably learned, that’s a huge mistake.
Doing a deep dive on the people you’re writing to BEFORE you start writing is non-negotiable.
If you want to write a sales page that converts, knowing your audience inside and out isn’t just a good idea, it’s the most important part of the process.
Why is it so important to research your audience before you start writing your sales page?
You Have To Understand Your Audience’s Biggest Problems
To sell something you have to know your market’s problems inside and out. Then you have to show how your product or service can help solve it.
The issue is, it’s not so easy to pick the right problem.
Your product or service probably solves a lot of different problems for several different markets.
For example, let’s say you’re selling a muscle-building product for men.
What’s the biggest problem your market faces?
Do they want more muscle so they can pick up girls at bars?
To improve their athletic performance?
To get their wife to look at them like they’re 25 again?
To be strong enough to play with their grandkids?
Because those are all vastly different sales pages selling the same muscle-building solution for men.
That’s why you have to understand YOUR market’s biggest problems.
You have to know what issues they’re personally dealing with so you can show how your product or service can help.
Otherwise your sales page talks about “How To Get Jacked And Pick Up Girls At The Bar” and you’re wondering why your market of 55 year old married men isn’t buying it.
Randomly picking a problem and hoping it works isn’t a good strategy.
Dig deep into your market.
Figure out their biggest problems. Get to know exactly what they’re struggling with.
Because when you home in on your market’s biggest problems, you can craft a sales message that resonates with them, making it nearly impossible to ignore.
You Also Have To Know Their Biggest Frustrations
Chances are, this isn’t the first time your prospect is buying something to solve their problem.
They’ve probably had this problem for awhile and have tried other products or services that didn’t work for one reason or another.
With your muscle building product – your market has tried other programs promising them more muscle.
But once they bought it, the workouts were too long and hard.
Or the diet was too boring. Or they got hurt doing the exercises.
Whatever it is, they have lots of frustrations with the solutions that are already out there.
So when you make the same claims that everyone else is making, they’re going to be skeptical. Objections start popping up in their head.
The way you get around that is by knowing their frustrations and addressing them on your sales page.
Tell them how you shortened the workouts so they don’t have to spend hours in the gym every week.
Tell them how you designed the diet so they can still eat some of the foods they like.
Tell them about your in-depth videos that teach them how to do the exercises correctly so they don’t get injured.
Do everything you can to understand your market’s frustrations with the solutions that already exist.
Then overcome those objections in your copy.
Show them how your product addresses those frustrations.
Because if their frustrations aren’t addressed, it doesn’t matter how many hyped up claims you make, they’re not buying.
Then You Have To Be Able To Speak Their Language
Getting people to know, like and trust you is one of the most important aspects of selling.
The problem is, it’s not easy to do through a sales page.
However, one way to do it is to speak the same language as your market.
Why? Because we tend to like people who are similar to us.
It’s just human nature. We like people who are like us, and dislike people who are different.
So you have to let your readers know you’re “one of them”.
You have to show them you’re someone they can like and trust.
On a primal level, speaking the same language is the easiest way to signal that you’re part of their group.
Going back to your muscle-building product for men.
Is your market 25 year olds trying to pick up girls?
Are they middle-aged dads wanting to prove they still got it?
Or are they baby boomers who just want to feel young again?
Because the way each of those markets speaks is vastly different.
And if you want them to buy from you, the words you use to communicate to them will have to change too.
So study the language your market uses.
Use the same words and phrases they do.
Make references that they understand. Speak their language.
Because when your writing sounds just like your prospect’s own words, they’re more likely to like you, trust you and buy from you.
Do Your Audience Research Before You Start Writing Your Copy
I get it. Audience research isn’t exciting or glamorous work.
But make no mistake, it’s highly profitable work.
If you want a sales page that converts, it all starts with the audience research.
You have know your market inside and out, better than anybody else.
And when you know your market at that level, not only does it make writing your sales page easier, but your conversions will skyrocket too.
