Five tips for finding sales copy messages that convert

Executive overview

Most copywriters write from the marketer's perspective, not the prospect's. The fix is to research how real prospects talk, ask questions, and object — before writing a word.

Talk like your fish, not like the fisherman.

Five research sources for sales copy

1. Sales call recordings — document the order prospects ask questions; that sequence tells you what matters most in your copy
2. Customer review sites — 3- and 4-star reviews are more reliable than 5- or 1-star (which skew fake); treat all reviews as directional, not definitive
3. Journalist articles — objective coverage surfaces objections you should address
4. A clip-and-organise tool — Word doc, Evernote, or AirStory; the format matters less than the habit

Triangulation principle

• Validate any insight across at least three independent data sources before acting on it
• A single source is too small a sample; conclusions from it will misrepresent the market