How to Talk to Your Prospect to Build a Winning 3-D Image and Promo — Without Ever Talking to Him
By Will Newman

Will Newman

If I know your age, gender, income level, education, and other demographics, do I know you? Really know you?

Of course not.

What if I can find out your “psychographics?” The types of books you read. The magazines you subscribe to. Your political affiliation. Your hobbies. Do I know you any better?

A little better. But do I really know you?

Of course not.

So how can I get to know the real you?

There's really only one way to do that. And that's to talk to you. The same goes for your prospect when you're writing a promotion.

When you're trying to draw a meaningful, 3-D image of your prospect, demographics and psychographics start you off. (Click here to read our discussion of these crucial parts of every successful promotion.)

But if you want a really good image, you must “talk” to your prospect.

How can you talk with a prospect you’ve never met?

Well, you don't really have to talk to your prospect. What you want to do is listen to him … to his actual words. To learn his hopes, dreams, fears. To learn what he feels about why he needs your product to improve his life.

And that is easier than you might imagine.

Your best prospect is as close as your computer …

Some of the best places to find real words from real people about your copywriting topic are Internet discussion groups.

Type in “[topic]” and “forum” (without the quotation marks) on your search engine of choice. (I use Google.) For example, if you’re writing about a supplement that regulates blood sugar, you’d type in “diabetes” for the topic.

You’ll come up with a wealth of sources about diabetes … written by people with diabetes or with loved ones with diabetes. These forums get to the heart of what people are worried about, what they hope for, what they fear …

I’m a 24-year old diabetic patient. A few days back, I got knee injuries. Diabetes with knee injuries are so horrible. I'm taking joints supplements with diabetic remedies. Are there any side effects with this kind of medication?

This one entry gives insight into what diabetics might be thinking. If I were writing copy for this product, I don't think I would've come up with the expression "so horrible." But this man who’s suffering from diabetes told me how he feels.

I got this quote from 30 seconds of work. Imagine what you could learn from digging deeper and reading more.

Another valuable source for hearing your prospect’s words are in expert Q&A sections on your client’s and competitor’s websites.

Don't worry about the answers. The questions are what give you huge insight into your prospect's inner life.

But the Internet isn’t the only place to “hear” your prospect’s own words.

Your client has already spoken with your prospect …

Ask your client’s customer service department for customer letters. Your prospect speaks directly to you in these letters.

AWAI members in the COS Leads Targeted Learning Program study a wildly-successful promotion based on a testimonial. Kent Komae read a letter from Maureen Carron and fashioned his long-running Mountain Home Nutritionals control around it.

Don’t stop at the testimonials. Ask to see all the letters … even complaints. You gain insight into what your prospect wants from the product as much as you do from testimonials.

Let's say I know your demographics and psychographics. I've read letters you’ve written to a company complimenting them on a product similar to one I’ll be selling in my promotion. I've gone online and read what you said in online forums.

Now I'm getting a strong enough sense to draw a pretty good three-dimensional image of you as my prospect. But there's still one person who can flesh out that image better than anybody else.

I'd love to hear your thoughts about what we've talked about today. Comment below to let us know.