How To Prepare For A Copywriting Assignment

Business-to-business copy persuades readers by giving them useful information about the products being advertised. The more facts you include in your copy, the better.

When you have a file full of facts at your fingertips, writing good copy is easy. You simply select the most relevant facts and describe them in a clear, concise, direct fashion.

But when copywriters don’t bother to dig for facts, they fall back on fancy phrases and puffed-up expressions to fill the empty space on the page. The words sound nice, but they don’t sell because the copy doesn’t inform.

Here’s a four-step procedure I use to get the information I need to write persuasive, fact-filled copy for my clients. This technique should be helpful to copywriters, account executives, and ad managers alike.

Step #1: Get all previously published material on the product.
For an existing product, there’s a mountain of literature you can send to the copywriter as background information. This material includes:

Tear-sheets of previous ads
Brochures
Catalogs
Article reprints
Technical papers
Copies of speeches
Audio-visual scripts
Press kits
Swipe files of competitors’ ads and literature
Did I hear someone say they can’t send me printed material because their product is new? Nonsense. The birth of every new product is accompanied by mounds of paperwork you can give the copywriter. These papers include:

Internal memos
Letters of technical information
Product specifications
Engineering drawings
Business and marketing plans
Reports
Proposals
By studying this material, the copywriter should have 80 percent of the information he needs to write the copy. And he can get the other 20 percent by picking up the phone and asking questions. Steps #2-4 outline the questions he should ask about the product, the audience, and the objective of the copy.

Step #2: Ask questions about the product.

What are its features and benefits? (Make a complete list.)
Which benefit is the most important?
How is the product different from the competition’s? (Which features are exclusive? Which are better than the competition’s?)
If the product isn’t different, what attributes can be stressed that haven’t been stressed by the competition?
What technologies does the product compete against?
What are the applications of the product?
What industries can use the product?
What problems does the product solve in the marketplace?
How is the product positioned in the marketplace?
How does the product work?
How reliable is the product?
How efficient?
How economical?
Who has bought the product and what do they say about it?
What materials, sizes and models is it available in?
How quickly does the manufacturer deliver the product?
What service and support does the manufacturer offer?
Is the product guaranteed?
Step #3: Ask questions about your audience.

Who will buy the product? (What markets is it sold to?)
What is the customer’s main concern? (Price, delivery, performance, reliability, service maintenance, quality efficiency)
What is the character of the buyer?
What motivates the buyer?
How many different buying influences must the copy appeal to? Two tips on getting to know your audience:
If you are writing an ad, read issues of the magazine in which the ad will appear.
If you are writing direct mail, find out what mailing lists will be used and study the list descriptions.
Step #4: Determine the objective of your copy.
This objective may be one or more of the following:

To generate inquiries
To generate sales
To answer inquiries
To qualify prospects
To transmit product information
To build brand recognition and preference
To build company image
Before you write copy, study the product its features, benefits, past performance, applications, and markets. Digging for the facts will pay off, because in business-to-business advertising, specifics sell.

About The Author

Bob Bly is an independent copywriter and consultant specializing in business-to-business and direct marketing. He writes marketing plans, ads, brochures, direct mail packages, sales letters, and publicity materials for such clients as Associated Air Freight, Philadelphia National Bank, Value Rent-A-Car, Timeplex, Grumman, Edith Roman Associates, and EBI Medical Systems.

Mr. Bly is the author of 20 books including How To Promote Your Own Business, Direct Mail Profits, The Copywriter's Handbook, and Create the Perfect Sales Piece. His articles have appeared in such publications as Cosmopolitan, Chemical Engineering, Computer Decisions, Business Marketing, New Jersey Monthly, Amtrak Express, and Direct Marketing.

Bob Bly has taught copywriting at New York University and has presented sales and marketing seminars to numerous corporations, associations, and groups including: the American Marketing Association, Business/ Professional Advertising Association, Direct Marketing Creative Guild, Women's Direct Response Group, American Chemical Society, Publicity Club of New York, and the International Tile Exposition.

For more information, call or write:

Bob Bly
Copywriter, Consultant and Seminar Leader
22 East Quackenbush Avenue, 3rd Floor, Dumont, NJ 07628
Phone (201) 385-1220, Fax (201) 385-1138

:To contact see details below.


rwbly@bly.com
http://www.bly.com