While watching the TV show NCIS the other day, one scene in particular caught my attention. In this police drama, the agents were trying to figure out where their suspect would have gone after escaping custody. “If we’re going to catch this guy, we’ve got to know who we’re dealing with. Has anybody built a profile yet?” <Heads were shaking no.> “What are you waiting for? Get on it!”
The same applies to writing copy. In order to persuade your site visitors into taking the action you want them to take, you have to know who you’re communicating with. Simply putting fingers to keyboard and writing what you want them to read doesn’t work nine times out of 10. Yet, surprisingly, most people never fully discover who their target audience consists of making it all the more difficult to speak to them in their language.
Don’t Write ABOUT Your Company/Product/Service. Write TO Your Site Visitors.
The biggest mistake most people make when writing copy is to “we” all over themselves. “We” do this and “our” products do that. “We” offer those and it’s all about “us.” I will never understand why site owners ignore their visitors that way. Would you do that if a prospective customer walked into your office and stood in front of you? Certainly not!
Your site visitors have all the money and control to make or break your business so you should cater your site to them. A website, after all, is not an ego-fest. It is a platform for engaging and persuading your customers, and showing them how you’re capable of solving their problems.
Making the Target Audience Discovery
What steps do you take to unlock the mysteries of your target customers and what they want you to do for them? Here are three easy ideas for finding out more about the people you’re communicating with through your website.
Make a point to take these action steps within the next seven days.
1. Ask
Yes, it’s really that simple. Using Survey Monkey or one of the many other free online survey tools, create a short questionnaire. Do you remember allthose questions that have kept you up at night? Now’s the time to get some answers. When you create your survey, use multiple choice questions so visitors can complete the task quickly, but always leave a field for them to type in their own answers or comments as well.
2. Lurk
Visit forums where your customers might hang out. You don’t necessarily have to join; just lurk. You’ll be amazed at the load of marketing intelligence you can discover simply by visiting the same sights your prospects do.
3. Read
Association magazines. Industry newspapers. Your competitors’ websites. All these are excellent outlets for gathering information about your target audience. In particular, letters to the Editor, complaints and testimonials are chock full of tidbits that give you insight into who your customers are and what they really want.
Never assume you understand your target audience. That’s taking a huge risk. Make the time to do the research and be certain you comprehend their wants and needs as well as what type of copy they respond best to. When you do, you’ll find it easier to write copy that converts better than you ever thought possible.
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Hey Karon,
So true! We can simply write what people want to hear, which is really the easy thing to do. We have to hit a nerve now and then and wake them up. But first it takes knowing what nerves to hit and what things will get their attention. It’s not always so obvious — I’ve learned that much.
Don’t ‘we’ all over yourself. Gotta love that 🙂
Liz
Are there other ways you’ve used to find out what makes your target audience tick, Liz?
Good analogy Karon. It\’s challenging as people\’s buying habits change over time and are affected by seasonal variations, competition and the economy. Some agencies have a set it, forger it approach IMO profiling needs to done fairly regularly to make sure in touch.
Yes, you have to be sure you’re staying current. I agree 100%. One way is to do surveys from time to time to gauge what has changed.