As a buyer is reading your sales copy there’s one question constantly playing in their head, “Is this the right product for me?“

No one wants to buy a product that’s everything to everyone. We want to buy things that feel like they were uniquely made for us.

As a marketer, if I can get into the head of the buyer and understand their preferences, motivations, and psychology then I’m able to write copy that feels like a personalized experience for the shopper.

If I can guess details the buyer has not even revealed my copy will feel like magic.

Great copy should feel a little eerie. Like the writer is reading your mind.

Rishi Rawat

We’re making two types of guesses:

— Obvious guesses
— And creative guesses

Let’s look at an example. Handicappedpets.com is a site that sells dog wheelchairs:

What can we guess about someone who is buying a dog wheelchair, which is a relatively expensive item?

Obvious Guesses

— Their dog is having difficulty moving about.

— While they are buying with their credit card, they are being it on behalf of someone who can’t voice his/her opinion so that adds extra pressure to think about all the details that may matter to their pet.

— Because the measurement is involved there will be some degree of anxiety around getting the measurement right. They would also have anxiety around dealing with returns if the measurement isn’t right and the dog isn’t comfortable.

— Dogs typically are taken for a walk a few times a day. People are used to adding a leash and being on their way. How much of a pain would it be to add and remove the wheelchair multiple times a day?

— “How is my dog doing to pee and poop when they are inside the wheelchair?” at some point this has got to be a question that pops into their mind.

Creative Guesses

— This is likely their first time buying a dog wheelchair. I can guess this because in the last 10 years I’ve only seen dogs in a wheelchair two times. I may be in the minority but it’s fair to say dog wheelchairs aren’t super common.

— Extending on the first creative guess; because this is the first time they are buying such a product, and because they will need to assemble it when they receive it, they will likely wonder “damn, I hope the assembly process isn’t a nightmare.”

— That they care deeply about their 4 legged best friends. Wheelchairs are expensive.

Another Example

Imagine you make and sell your own jerky. Your store is called Jerky.com.

Now imagine a shopper Googles “spicy premium jerky” and lands on this page:

This visitor has never heard of Jerky.com and has never bought jerky online (though they have had plenty of overpriced, crappy, store-bought jerky). In fact, they’re online because they’re looking for a better solution for their jerky cravings.

Let’s make some obvious guesses:

— They are looking to buy jerky.

— This shopper likes spicy stuff (this is their spicy beef jerky)

— They’re price insensitive. Their search term had the phrase “premium” in it.

— They don’t understand Jerky.com’s definition of hot. Heat is a subjective term.

Now let’s make some creative guesses:

— They’ve likely been buying jerky from their local store. They are bored with it and looking for something different online.

— They’re thinking, “What makes you better than the 5 other brands that are showing me their ads?”

— Jerky.com isn’t the biggest name in jery. That belongs to Krave (the #1 jerky brand). So this shopper may be thinking, “If you are so good how come I don’t see your name as often as I see Krave?”

By making and addressing these guesses the copywriter can create a more personalized experience for the shopper.

Next Steps

Personalized experiences are just 1 of the 9 elements in our conversion copywriting checklist. The next item on that list is People Like Knowing They’ve Stumbled Onto Something Rare.