If I had to pick ONE area where most amazon sellers are underperforming, it would be copywriting.
That’s because copywriting, in and of itself, is a difficult skill. Amazon store owners have so much to learn. PPC, keyword research, how the Amazon algorithm works, customer service, on and on.
So it’s no wonder most skimp out on learning copywriting. But here’s the good news: I’ve been a working copywriter for over 10 years, and I will be sharing some secrets in this article that will put you head and shoulders above the competition.
Secret #1: Let Your Market Guide You
The first step to copywriting is to know your market. Specifically, what are they afraid of? What keeps them up at night? Why are they deciding to buy YOUR product? What do they hope it will do for them?
Dan Kennedy, the world’s highest paid copywriter, has a list of questions you MUST know about your market. Here it is:
- What keeps them awake at night, indigestion boiling up their esophagus, eyes open, staring at the ceiling?
- What are they afraid of?
- What are they angry about? Who are they angry at?
- What are their top three daily frustrations?
- What trends are occurring and will occur in their business or lives?
- What do they secretly, ardently desire most?
- Is there a built-in bias to the way they make decisions? (Example: engineers = exceptionally analytical.)
- Do they have their own language?
- Who else is selling something similar to them, and how?
- Who else has tried selling them something similar, and how has that effort failed?
These 10 questions are simple. But once you know them, I guarantee you will know your customers better than your competition.
So where do you find the answers?
Here are a list of places you can quickly find answers to these questions:
Reddit.com – Reddit is one of the most popular websites on the web. And people post very detailed, personal, and emotional descriptions of why they like specific products. You’ll have to niche down. So if you’re selling a backpack, search “hiking reddit” on Google and you’ll find all the subreddits that relate to hiking. Once you’re in these subs, you can then search “backpack” and you’ll start to get the good stuff.
Call Your Customers – Maybe the best way to get these answers is to call your customers and directly ask them. Obviously some are personal so be tactical.
Internet Forums – Internet forums are very similar to reddit, although I’ve found they’re usually a little more dated and have an older readership. To find forums related to your product, either search for the product, or something related. “Hiking forum”, “backpack forum”, “travel forum”. Then narrow down the search to your actual product from there.
Secret #2: Turning Market Knowledge Into Copy
Now that you have your research, it’s time to turn it into copy. The best way to do this is categorize it based on emotions shown.
The more emotional and agitated a prospect is, the more important your product is for them. So make a collection of the most emotional posts and comments from prospects and customers. Figure out what stands out the most. For the backpack, maybe you find a lot of people talking about how having too big a size is stressful for travel. Well, you now have a bullet point and something to write about in your description!
Another trick is to use the actual words your customers use. While researching, you may find a line that is really, really good. You can actually use this line word-for-word in your copy. This is why the more research you do, the easier it is to write amazing, compelling copy.
Secret #3: Counter Negative Reviews With Copy
As a seller, you might find yourself with a listing that has a 1 star review. And panic might set in if people are voting that review up. And before you know it, you have a really bad review on the first page of your listing. Good bye conversions.
Well, here’s something you can do: address that review in your copy.
For example, maybe the review is about the product breaking quickly. Well, in a bullet point, you can talk about how you’ve now modified the product so it’s much more sturdier after listening to customer feedback. In this way, you negate the negative comment, allowing prospects to see past it when making a buying decision.
Secret #4: People Want New, Big, and Easy
Lastly, here is some foundational copywriting knowledge that will serve you well. In general, when people are looking to spend their hard earned money, they only want three things: new, big, and easy.
They want something newer than what they have. Bigger and better. And easier. So if you hit these three points in EVERY bullet… and throughout your product description, you’ll be far above what most amazon sellers even think about writing.
