CopyHour
7 Figure Sales Writing Framework
Gather market data
Let your audience write 80% of your copy for you
So here's the deal...Most struggling copywriters I've observed just jump right into writing their copy — but nearly always skip what may be the single most crucial step before getting started.Or, they do it — but half-ass it.And that's a huge mistake because following this step will essentially write 80% of your copy for you.And that's not an exaggeration.What I'm talking about is:
We need to actually deeply, intimately understand our audience before writing a single word.
Specifically we need to understand:- •What their struggles are
- •What those struggles make them feel
- •And what their dream solution to those struggles looks like
How to find people to talk to — and what to say
So first we need to actually find people in your market to get this data from.If you have access to a mailing list filled with your "ideal" audience — whether your own list, or someone else's — run a short survey to them with the 3 questions below (this is how I do it 90% of the time and never actually talk directly with anyone).If you personally know people (in real life) who match your ideal audience — get them on the phone and ask the 3 questions below.If you don’t have access to anyone in your target market at all — get on Reddit, find a subreddit dedicated to them, and send some DMs to posters who seem to match your ideal profile with the 3 questions below.Don't complicate this.I've used all of the above in many different markets.And the goal is always the same... get at least 5-10 people (more if possible) to answer these three simple questions:- 1.What are your biggest struggles with __________?
- 2.What do those struggles with __________ make you feel?
- 3.If I could wave a magic wand, what would it look like if you didn't struggle with __________?
Analyzing the results
So here's the deal:The copy we're going to write over the next bunch of pages is for a (fake, doesn't-actually-exist) digital course called The Productive Solopreneur.It’s a productivity course that shows solo entrepreneurs how to streamline their processes and get 5x-10x more done in a week — which allows them to be hyper-prolific, or take more time off without guilt. Their choice.I chose this because I'm assuming you are a solopreneur — and I'm also assuming you struggle with productivity (since literally every entrepreneur I know struggles with productivity).So chances are you are the target market — which will make all of this much easier to follow along and understand.With that said...Let’s say I went out and found at least 5-10 people who match our target audience (solopreneurs) using any of the techniques above.1. "What are your biggest struggles?"
After asking them the first question — what are your biggest struggles around productivity? — they tell me very clearly they...- •Get distracted very easily — one text message "ding" and they lose an hour of focus
- •Scroll too much on social media — after 30 minutes of working they figure they can open Instagram once and unwind a bit, but very quickly things unravel
- •Have unexpected things pop up frequently that prevent them from following their routine — kids are home sick from school, they’re out of groceries and need to run out in the middle of the day, workers coming by their place, etc
- •Know all the basic "rules" of productivity (from reading dozens of books and watching countless YouTube videos) but fail to follow them consistently, and after enough time failing to follow them, eventually follow none of them
- •Get exhausted easily — after 2 hours of work, their brain feels fried and it’s hard to do much more work… and since they work for themselves, it’s easy to do other things instead and put off the rest of their work until much later (which typically means it doesn’t get done)
- •Struggle to get back on track if they’re even slightly off their routine on any given day
- •Get off track for weeks/months straight if their routine is interrupted too many days in a row
- •Just FEEL like they’re 1/10th as productive as they could be and nothing they try to fix it will stick
- •Don't always feel motivated to get to work every day
2. "What do those struggles make you feel?"
Next up is asking what those struggles make them feel.That’s when they tell me they feel…- •Shame that they get nothing done day after day
- •Frustration that they're making no progress in their business
- •Embarrassment that their "work for myself" experiment is failing (and they really don't want to have to get a 9-5 job again so it's also panic)
- •Fear that they won't be able to pay the bills because they're not getting enough work done (and their savings are running low)
- •Imposter syndrome because they're not as good as everyone else who seems like they're getting tons of work done with no problem
- •Overwhelm because they constantly feel like they're behind — and can never take a day off or turn their brain off of work because their daily tasks never feel done
- •Guilt that they’re letting themselves and their families down and not meeting their potential
- •Low self esteem because it takes them weeks to do what other people seem to do in a few days... which makes them feel like, "I'm a smart person so what's wrong with me?"
Important Note
Sound familiar?If you're reading these descriptions and it feels like I'm reading your mind, that's sort of the point. You aren't a unique snowflake. When you learn the issues that a small handful of your target customers have, you'll find they apply almost universally to all your target customers.
3. "If I could wave a magic wand..."
But before we start writing that copy, we need to find out what their dream outcome would look like (if they were a productivity master).That’s when they tell me they’d:- •Actually finish what they set out to do every day
- •Actually pull it off every day of the week
- •Do it in just 3-4 hours of work a day (so they're not chained to their computer and can actually go outside and enjoy their lives)
- •Be insanely prolific — produce a lot of work
- •Do extremely high-level work (so the work they’re outputting isn’t half-assed — it’s world class)
- •Feel confident and comfortable at the end of the day that they got their work done... no stress or guilt following them into the evening
- •Be able to take multiple days (and weeks) off at any moment's notice because they're so far ahead of their goals
- •Live a life of abundance where their business comfortably brings in a high income and they've got free time to enjoy life outside of work
- •Be "the productive one" among their peers - the person that others look at in astonishment and wonder, "How do they get so much done?"
Starting the writing process
If I had to summarize all of the above, it sounds like we're serving solo entrepreneurs who:Feel like they know what they need to do
But they're overwhelmed by thousands of distractions (which prevent them from focusing on what really matters).
This makes them feel shame that they're not living up to their potential
That shame then makes them feel embarrassment that others (family, friends, fellow entrepreneurs) are seeing how much they're failing.
And in their perfect world, they're getting 2x-10x more productivity out of a day
Not only are they ending their days feeling like they're ahead of their tasks, but they're enjoying more guilt-free time away from work because of it.