THE IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH FOR GOOD COPYWRITING
Those who are not familiar with writing usually have a very wrong idea of the process. If you think it is enough for a writer to sit down at a computer and write – you couldn’t be more wrong.
Writing, and especially copywriting or content writing requires a lot of research. Some writers claim that their work consists of 90% research and only 10% of writing.
The more time a writer spends researching the material he is writing about, the better the end result will be. In this blog, we will focus on writing commercials. It doesn’t matter if it’s a script for a television or radio commercial, a text for a flyer, or something else, research is crucial.
Get to know your user
In the brief, you will get what the client considers important. Of course you will follow it, but research can give you more data and thus more room for writing. Do not hesitate to browse forums or social networks and discover what is important to the end user of the product or service you are advertising. Forums and social networks do not represent the opinion of all users, but they can usually give a good insight, and this method is much cheaper and faster than market research through surveys. Knowing the end user will help you to better and more accurately articulate the message you are sending, and since commercials are not Tolstoy’s novels, but short forms, those few sentences you have at your disposal, must hit the target.
Define your audience
Knowing who you are talking to, will result in the style and vocabulary you will use in the ad. This is no different than talking to a person. If you are talking to a five-year-old child, you will not use complicated words such as “monetarization” or “inflation” because he will not understand. Equally so, if you are advertising a distinctly feminine product, such as pads, it doesn’t make much sense to use some masculine metaphors, such as martial arts. “Strike a punch to your period” doesn’t sound like a message women will come to terms with. The research will help you understand the target group better, and will help you address them with a dictionary that they will not only understand, but will produce the feeling they need to pay attention to the ad and its message.
Strong words
Short forms require hovering over just about every word, because in addition to dry information, they must also create emotion. Luckily, there are tools to help you do just that. This used to be done by digging through thick dictionaries, encyclopedias and other books that were not easy to find. Today we use Google. Try to look for synonyms until you come up with words that convey the message you want, but at the same time create the atmosphere and emotion you imagined.
Get to know your competition
Checking out the competition will give you a quick insight into the mistakes they made, and it’s always smarter to learn from their mistakes than your own. On the other hand, a competition check will show you the quality you have to achieve in order for your scripts or text to stand out. Also, you’ll see what you need to avoid. You know how it is… you come to the store and your favorite chips is ib a red bag, so it’s not a problem to find it. But what if there are five types of chips with red bags? Sometimes this resemblance to the competition is done on purpose, but this is usually done by new market players who are trying to take over consumers from the competition by camouflaging and deceiving. Most often, such things are to be avoided. In order to be original, you need to know what’s already out there.
Conclusion
Writing is the same as sports. Talent is not enough. Athletes have to train a lot, writers have to do a lot of research. If you want to get serious about copywriting, you need to invest a lot of time digging through the internet and getting comprehensive information. After that, the writing will go smoothly.
Ivan Prlić – Prle
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