It\’s so basic common sense and a shame it gets lost in the throes of \’learning\’ all the formulas and techniques and rules and…

I think one can get confused or just plain overwhelmed when trying to study from too many sources.

There is no real subsitute for hard-core \’on-the-job\’ experience – and ALWAYS acknowledging and understanding the prospect\’s mindset.

Cheers!

Tracey

Plus, if I could simply keep the barking dogs of worry at bay, I would get there in the end, just by digging deeper and extracting interesting stuff.

Thanks!

Jason

Hey Brian – check this out – I think it\’ll help:

http://www.makepeacetotalpackage.com/clayton-makepeace/know-thy-prospect.html

I am your biggest fan, and am in total awe every time I read your stuff… copy, articles, products, everything!

I just love it!

My question is this: sometimes I think I KNOW my prospect and have a perfectly clear view of who they are, where they\’re at, what they\’re feeling, etc.

So I\’ll get busy writing to that person.

Then, my partner will look over the copy and pick out a paragraph or two and will make a comment like, \”There\’s no way they\’ll be able to relate to this… they\’re not at this level yet\”… etc.

So I guess my question is this: how do YOU [U]really[/U] get to know who the \”ideal\” prospect is?

Is is just experience with several different markets?

Is is spending time on the phone with the prospect(s) to really get to know them?

Thanks for Your Treasured Input.

Warmly,
Brian

There is nothing more important than gaining an intimate knowledge of your prospect and using that knowledge when you write your copy from start to finish.

Along the same lines of what you\’re saying I\’d add that just writing a first draft as fast as you can and not trying to do anything but get \”any old crap\” written is very powerful.

It\’s very easy to rewrite but it can be very hard to fill a blank page.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

There seems to be this weird learning curve that goes something like this:

1. Newbie reads a few good copywriting books. Newbie writes some contrived, but decent ads that work.

2. Newbie gets more hardcore into learning and studying and realizes he was doing things \”wrong\” before. Learns tons of new tricks to try and keeps them at the forefront of his mind whenever he starts to write. Writes ad and it bombs. Another bombs. Wonders whats going on.

3. Newbie finally starts to come of age and begins to get back to the real roots of persuasion and selling. Writes a few more ads, keeping all his other knowledge in mind only to use in the right situations, and finally writes a good ad.

Thanks Dude for connecting the dots!

In fact, I am tired of all the sales pages I see that so obviously parrot some \”copy formula.\” I\’m turned off by them and I\’m sure many others are also.

So some will get the feel of good copy as they address more and more copy challenges. And some will not.