If that sounds like an odd title, trust me, it's more possible than you can even imagine. Yes, it is absolutely possible to kill your sales copy before you even write one word of it. Think I'm kidding? Well, sit back and read this no punches pulled article on some pre-writing blunders that many of the beginner copywriters make and they don't even know that they're doing it.
For starters, there is the product itself. Now, if you're primarily getting into copywriting to write for others, then most likely these products are not yours. They're somebody else's. What does that matter? Well, if the product isn't yours then your familiarity with it is limited. Unless you actually take the time to read the product, if it's an ebook, or use the product, if it's some kind of script or membership site or even software, then how can you write copy about it? One of the most important keys to writing great copy is understanding the product as well as the person who created it.
Then there is the market itself. Remember, a lot of writing sales copy is understanding the hot buttons of the prospects who are hopefully going to buy this product. The only way to understand those hot buttons is through research...lots of it. That means you have to hit the forums of the niche that this product is going to be sold in. You need to engage yourself in the conversations. You need to ask questions, primarily, what these people are looking for. Before you write one word of copy, you need to completely identify with the typical person who is going to be coming to your sales page if you're going to have any chance of selling to them.
Finally, just before you actually write the copy, you MUST make a checklist of all the items that you intend to include in your copy. This means making sure that you get everything you need from the person who is selling the product, including the price, guarantee and testimonials. If anything is missing, your copy is going to suffer for it. A sales letter has many pieces to it. Make sure you have them all.
The above three items can kill your sales copy before you even write one word if they are all not taken care of as efficiently and completely as possible.
