Are you looking for the best copywriting questions to ask yourself before sitting down to write?
Copywriting is one of the most important skills you’ll need to learn if you’re running a business. And if you’re working for someone else, great copywriting skills can help you stand out and take your career to a higher (or totally new) level.
But one thing lots of marketers tend to do? Overcomplicate simple things.
That’s why I get frustrated when I see blog posts with “20 questions for great copy” or “41+ copywriting questions you MUST ask”.
Because, in reality, you only need 3 copywriting questions to write better, higher-converting copy FAST.
Ready to get started? Let’s dive straight into the list.
3 Magic Copywriting Questions
At the end of the day, there actually ARE a lot of ins and outs with copywriting that you’ll need to learn.
But for the most part, it’s a skill that isn’t terrible complicated. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not easy, but it’s not complicated.
Everything will come down to the following question:
- What?
- WHY?
- How?
Those questions are in that order and, as you can see, the “WHY” question is in all caps. That’s because I think it’s the most important.
(And the all caps is my subtle way of telling you so 😉 ).
Now let’s dissect these 3 questions to see how you can apply them to make your copywriting better.
1) What ONE Problem Is My Reader Trying to Solve?
Before you can answer this copywriting question, it’s important to know your target audience.
- What problem are they facing every day?
- What do they want fixed?
- How is their life better when the problem is solved?
Once a reader understands how a product or service will solve their pain points and help them accomplish what they need to get done, they’ll be much more likely to convert.
But what if your customer is trying to solve more than one problem?
For example, a lot of lead generation tools can be used for different purposes. A popup could get you a new email address. Or it could redirect traffic to a high-converting post.
Or it could simply be used to make more direct sales.
The point is that you should focus on ONE problem for each piece of copy you write.
You don’t have to list out every problem they want solved.
But always think of one big pain point that your copy will solve for them first before you dive into the additional benefits and features.
Does that mean you might need multiple pieces of copy for the same product? Absolutely.
You might need to create landing page copy for different segments of your audience who each have a unique problem.
Let’s say, for example, you’re in the pet-sitting business. So you make a landing page for people who want you to watch their pets while they’re away on vacation.
Now a family is researching for someone to watch their cat. Which would be more effective copy:
- A landing page that paints you as an “Expert Pet Sitter”
- A landing page that paints you as an “Expert Cat Sitter”
The second one is the better choice because it’s so much more personal to the readers. Remember, they don’t care that you’re good with pets in general. They want to know if you’re good with cats.
Then you could replicate the same landing page for dogs, birds, or any other animals you can care for.
From there, when you send people to a specific landing page based on their needs (either from Google Searches or PPC ads), you should see conversion rates soar.
2) WHY Does My Reader Want That Solved?
This copywriting question is the most important of them all.
And it’s usually where marketers fail with copywriting (and marketing in general). If you don’t know WHY your reader wants to solve their problem, they’ll never convert.
Even if you can answer “What” and even “How”, without knowing WHY — you’re doomed.
That copy won’t work because you’ll be missing the most critical component: motivation.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s great if your copy can solve a problem for them and tell them how to do so in an easy step-by-step process. But they have to WANT that solution badly enough first before anything else matters.
- How bad do they want it?
- What will happen if they don’t get it?
- Why can’t they stop thinking about this problem until there’s a solution to make it go away once and for all?
If your copy is lacking these motivations, no one will care enough to convert. And your copy won’t work as well.
Figuring out this motivation typically, but not always, comes from understanding their “pain points.”
Pain points are the reasons behind their problems.
And if you can figure out the pain points and show your copy why they should stop suffering from it — then boom, conversions happen in no time flat.
Let’s go back to our example copy for lead generation tools:
If someone is looking for a way to get more email addresses without having to pay for an expensive list, copy that shows them why this is important should include their pain points.
For example:
- “You’re wasting money on ads and affiliate campaigns to get more email addresses.”
- “You could be closing a lot of sales if you had your own opt-in list but don’t know where to start.”
- “You’re getting frustrated with copy that doesn’t convert and is causing you to lose out on potential leads.”
See how those pain points are all about them?
It’s not enough for the copywriter (you) to tell them why they need an opt-in list. They also have to “feel it”. And that’s done by including their pain points.
The copy has to make them feel how bad it is not having an opt-in list and exactly why they need one.
Make sense?
Ok, now we’ve got people in pain. Let’s fix that by offering our solution.
3) HOW Can My Product Fix That Problem Best?
You’ve been copywriting for a while, so I’m sure this is just common sense.
But the “how” copy isn’t always about how your product works technically or even what benefits it has that others don’t. This copy goes beyond that.
It’s really saying: How can my copy make people trust me enough to fix their problem?
Remember, we’re not just copywriters here. We’re marketers and business owners, too.
So we’ve got to understand the psychology behind people buying products so that copy can be written in a way that gets them past any concern they may have.
Usually, describing HOW your product is the best fix to a problem involves showing how it will save your audience:
- Time
- Energy
- or Money
Here’s the kicker though… that solution SHOULD be paired with their pain point.
Imagine this: you have a lead who is struggling to make sales from their online store.
I see too many marketers rely on words like “easy” and “fast” when approaching these situations. And those can be effective components to your copy (because “easy” = less energy, and “fast” = less time).
But what was the person really struggling with? Money.
And this is what you need to focus on and hammer down when writing your copy.
Remember, the more personal you can make your copy to THEIR unique situation (even though you’re speaking to many people in the same situation), the higher conversions you’ll get.
And that’s all for today! These have been 3 copywriting questions you need to ask yourself before putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys?).
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