The real power of conversational copywriting lies in identifying the conversations your prospects really want to have.
All too often it’s the marketer who decides on the topic of the conversation.
“We want to talk about our new product launch.”
“We want our prospects to engage with us in conversation about the amazing services we offer.”
Well… that’s not being truly conversational, is it?
Conversation is as much about listening as it is about talking.
It’s about taking turns.
This is why conversational copywriting starts with listening.
Fortunately, the web is a wonderful place for listening.
Spend a little time online, and you’ll quickly find out what your prospects are already talking about.
Where you can listen to those conversations depends on the products or services you sell.
Product reviews on Amazon are a great place to start. Or Yelp for local services. Maybe Facebook or Twitter accounts. Facebook Groups are good as well, because that’s where you’ll find your prospects deep in conversation, back and forth.
And don’t forget keyword research tools. Keywords and phrases can give you a good insight into the interests and intentions of your audience.
One tool I really like is answerthepublic.com. Type in a seed keywords and it comes back with suggested keywords and phrases in the form of questions.
This is a great way to figure out what your audience REALLY wants to talk about.
Match your voice to the language of your audience.
Your research into the conversations your prospects want to have will also reveal something else.
It will reveal the language your prospects use.
Pay close attention, because this will be different from the language that goes back and forth across the table at your marketing meetings.
David Ogilvy said it best…
“If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think.”
I know. I’ve used that quote before. And I have no doubt I’ll use it again.
But Ogilvy nailed this decades ago.
And his advice is doubly powerful in the world of online marketing.
Now you’re ready to take the next step, however hard it feels…
There’s a command-and-control mindset within many marketing groups.
Marketers and founders think they should be the boss of the message, and that they should control the topic of conversation.
It can be tough to break that habit.
But you’ll always do better if you listen to your prospects first…
Identify the conversations THEY want to have…
And then join that conversation using the everyday language of your audience.
If that sounds like an approach you might need help mastering, step one is to take my course on Conversational Copywriting.
