As a copywriter, one of the most important parts of my job is conducting research. And in fact, when my copy fails, aside from poor targeting or a poor offer, it’s almost always due to poor research.

As copywriters, the information we need may not be as readily available as we want it to be, particularly when we’re working with a new company or product. We have to dig. Or as my friend and top copywriter John Carlton says, “We have to put on our sales detective hats and dig deep.”

Sure, we can go through the product. We can go through the client’s collateral materials. We can conduct competitive research and perhaps even check out competitors’ products.

But the most important and salient research comes from…

… People.

People, whether they’re actual clients, prospects, or clients of competing businesses, people hold the key to the success or failure of your copy — and your product.

Knowing who your customer is, what’s a day in their life like, what’s their buying motives, what’s their personality style, what are their hot buttons, and why do they buy from you or someone else are incredibly important.

The above is just a short list, too. Market research in general, whether it’s for copy or not, is without a doubt one of the most underrated and often ignored areas of business.

I remember when I used to teach marketing management at a local college here in Ottawa, Canada. And in all of the textbooks we worked with, the most common denominator in terms of reasons for a product’s failure is, quite simply: "misjudging the market."

When I’m hired to write copy, I expect my clients to have conducted the proper product and market viability research beforehand. (I never touch anything untested.)

In other words, I need to know three key things. I need to know there is a market, there is a demand for the product, and the market is willing to pay for it.

Those three key areas are vital to the success of any product or piece of copy. If you don’t have these three down pat, your product may fail, no matter how great your copy is.

But when it comes to writing the copy itself, and when I can, I call up my customers. I call up their customers. I call up non-customers, if I have to. And I lurk in forums or blogs in specific industries to read what people have to say.

My friend and another great copywriter, David Garfinkel, said it best. In copywriting, you need to know three things:

1. Who’s your market.
2. What’s their problem.
3. How do they talk about it.

You need to know all three. Particularly the third one, since people don’t necessarily talk about their problem the way a marketer, business owner, or even copywriter thinks they do.

Research can therefore become quite revealing.

Moreover, how people talk is not limited to how they talk about the problem your copy solves. What about the benefits? Some benefits are unsought, perhaps hidden, or talked about differently than what many of us may think they are.

That’s why I’m a big fan of research, and particular surveys. Why? Because surveys, when they’re done right, can yield a tremendous amount of insightful information — and sometimes, quite a few surprises, too.

So when I was asked to do a paid review of the website for web-based survey company, iSalient, naturally, I cheerfully accepted.

According to their website, “iSalient is an online software that allows you to collect data through custom forms for information gathering, research, and quantitative analysis.”

After checking them out, however, I’ve discovered that their forms are not your standard checkbox- or form-only surveys, either, like most other online survey software.

They offer a ton of tools to allow you to completely customize your surveys in a number of ways. For example, they offer survey templates and even sample survey styles to guide you along the way.

You can ask a vast array of questions, too: from multiple choice questions all the way to open-ended ones, equations, file uploads, and even graphic-based choices.

Their interface is incredibly easy to follow, with an intuitive, ajaxy (i.e., drag-and-drop) interface along with auto-save so you don’t lose anything important. They even allow users to leave and complete the survey at any time, without losing their place.

Plus, the look and feel is completely customizable, so you can easily and seamlessly integrate the survey within your own website. (You can either link to it or add it as a pop-up on your website.)

Personally, the best part is, their compiling and analysis features are pretty impressive. They even allow list-building and import/export features if you wish to use the data outside of the software.

Finally, iSalient guides you through the process of conducting a survey, distributing it to recipients, and interpreting the results critically through detailed reports. (I also noticed they even have online chat capabilties with their support team.)

I’m a big fan for "ease of use" and "usable analysis." These two components are often the measuring sticks I use when I am considering a new software for my clients — and iSalient certainly seems to cover both.

So check out iSalient web-based survey software today for more information.

About the Author

Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker, consultant, and CEO of The Success Doctor, Inc. Visit his blog and signup free to get tested conversion strategies and response-boosting tips by email, along with blog updates, news, and more! Go now to http://www.michelfortin.com.

Last 5 Posts by Michel Fortin

• Are You a Lazy or Me-Too Marketer?
• What is Most Important in Copywriting?
• Not-So-Shocking Responses to Shocking Report
• Are You Committing These Sins?
• After 9 Months, It’s Finally Born!

Share This Post

Share this post with a friend by clicking "share this" below. You may freely reprint or redistribute this article, provided the content and links are left intact, and the "about the author" section is included. Get notified of new posts by RSS or email, below.

Other Related Posts

• Is Facebook a Viable Marketing Tool? (37)
• Your Reader Wants To Know These 5 Things (11)
• Why Some Marketers Are Psychics (30)
• Why Do I Blog? (8)
• What is Most Important in Copywriting? (15)

Readers Also Viewed

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /usr/www/users/successd/~blog/wp-content/plugins/wheredidtheygov1.php on line 98