I remember my first experience with primary research…
Reading through old letters, newspaper articles, and eyewitness accounts for a school project, I was excited and mesmerized by what the materials revealed.
The first-hand information let me write with authority on my chosen essay subject.
The research helped me understand the mindset of the people I was writing about and the time they lived in, and to empathize with the struggles of their day.
For your digital-copywriting research, you won’t often find yourself combing through old letters, but one of the goals of your research is still the same. You want to get inside the minds of the people you want to connect with.
When you’re reaching out to potential clients, it’s this research that will help you understand their worries and current mindset.
Read their stories and hear in their own words what motivates them. See directly how they create interest in their product or service. Uncover background information and details that will help you build rapport.
But, where do you go to find these sources of information?
Fortunately, you won’t have to look too far to find what you need.
1. Gather information from your potential client’s website.
See what the company has to say on the main pages of their website, and how they present the information. Look at the About page, read up on key personnel, peruse the history of the company, and explore their sales pages.
Try to identify what motivates their business activities. From their web pages, see what they value. What is the company culture? Do they see themselves as contributing to the local or the international community, or to both?
These are good primary sources of information. You will get first-hand stories about the company and its people. Then you can use some of their language when you contact them, creating an instant feeling of connection.
This research will also provide the background you need to suggest project ideas or topics for possible blogs and articles. You may also see potential ideas for a client newsletter.
When you do your homework, your suggestions will be accurate and you can use them to interest the company in hiring you.
2. Check out LinkedIn to learn more of the potential client’s interests and current marketing.
LinkedIn offers you a way to learn about a company including the key people who work there. It may provide a slightly different perspective from their website and give you additional ideas for connecting with people at the company. For example, you may want to reach out to connect with someone through the company profile, particularly if you have a common interest with them.
Read the company information where they talk about their mission. Where do they see themselves positioned in their industry?
You can follow the company to stay updated on their business activities. Have they received any awards? Do they donate to worthy causes?
See if there are insights into where each product or service fits into the overall company strategy.
While you won’t use all the research you find, seeing how a company presents itself on LinkedIn will give you more knowledge to draw from. Choose what fits for your particular interest in reaching out to the company. Try to match some elements of your own style with that of the company to create a bridge between you and what the company may need in a writer.
3. Find more information on their product or service from industry associations.
Do you understand the product or service offered by your potential client? You want to have the knowledge to ask the right questions when you first meet with a potential client. You also want to have an understanding of the context of the product or service. Research will help you prepare.
Industry associations are a good place to start for this kind of research. Where does the product or service fit in the industry storyline?
Does your potential client make a component needed in the manufacturing of other products? Do they offer accounting software that keeps ongoing track of income and expenses? Do they provide various types of real-estate law services, and do you understand the nuances of each?
When you want to reach a specialized audience, you need to use the jargon they use. For example, in chemical manufacturing, you may need to know about polymers and the sub-sector they are found in.
Industry associations will provide background material, trends, and other data to help you understand what your potential client — and their products — are all about.
While you don’t want to delve too much into figures and percentages before you’re hired, your knowledge about the industry will help you show that you speak the same language they do.
4. General research across the Internet.
Some digging led by good questions can provide additional information to help you understand and connect with a potential client.
Who are your potential client’s competitors? Checking out their websites is a good idea to see how they present their products or services. They could be potential clients too, if you decide your current prospect isn’t working out.
General research can yield information that you may use in your client outreach efforts.
Start your research with primary or first-hand information about potential clients. Gather as much information as you can. From there, find as much other data as possible. It’s better to have more knowledge on your subject than not enough.
Once you have a good feel for a potential client, their mission, and their product line, reach out to them knowing you can communicate successfully with people in the company. Research gives you the confidence to make that connection.
