Over the last two years, I’ve had the pleasure of working with dozens of service providers, and every copywriting project starts with varying levels of market research. Because all roads lead back to the same questions:
How do I say this in a way that resonates?
How do I make people care?
How do I get them to see the value in what I do and then do something about it?
The answer rarely has anything to do with finding the perfect substitute for the word “clarity” or zhuzhing up headlines to be catchier. Shocking, I know.
The answer starts with knowing who you’re talking to.
Because you can have the cleverest headline in the world, but if it doesn’t sound like something your people would say, think, want, or worry about, it isn’t doing anything for you.
That’s because good copy doesn’t begin with writing. It begins with research.
So, if you’ve been staring at a blank page, thinking “My arch nemesis, we meet again!” whilst trying to figure out what in the hellll to write about your services that’ll get them to land…this ones for you.
Put down your laser eyes, and let’s start by figuring out who “your people” really are.
Research Your Target Audience Before You Write Your Copy
Not the on-paper dribble that could belong to any human, but the intimate details of their everyday life.
To be clear…not:
Woman, 35–45
Runs a service-based business
Values freedom (??)
Wants to make more money
That description is sooo vague and could belong to millions of women, which means no one is going to feel scary called out or magnetically called in by it.
Start by digging deeper.
What limiting beliefs keep them from showing up how they want to?
What have they already tried a bazillion times?
What do they actually think their problem is?
What would make them stop in their tracks and think: “holy sh*t, have you been reading my digital diary??”
This is where places like Reddit, Threads, Quora, Facebook groups, reviews, comment sections, podcast interviews, and even the questions people ask you in DMs can become incredibly useful.
You’re looking for language and patterns, because what you’ll find is:
The problem your dream client thinks they have isn’t always the problem you need to solve.
Someone might tell you they need a new website.
But maybe what they actually need is to stop feeling embarrassed every time they send someone to their website.
Someone might tell you they need “more leads.”
But perhaps the deeper issue is that the people finding them don’t understand what makes their offer different.
Someone might say they need better Instagram content when what they really need is a clearer message.
Your job isn’t just to repeat the problem back to them. It’s to understand how they’re currently seeing the problem and then build a bridge toward a new way of seeing it.
Use Past Client Feedback to Find Language for Your Copywriting
You already have access to something marketers spend a lot of time and money trying to get: real people who paid you.
Go back through your emails, discovery calls (seriously, start saving those transcripts!!), inquiry forms, testimonials, voice-notes, client questionnaires, the “OMG, I finally feel like my website represents WHO I AM” message they sent you 5 months ago.
Look for the moments before, during, and after their investment with you.
What were they struggling with before they hired you?
What made them decide to act?
What words did they use to describe the problem?
What were they afraid of?
What did they hope would change?
What surprised them about the experience?
And what do they say now that they couldn’t have said before working with you?
If you’re freaking out thinking: “testimonials?? I nevvverrr ask for those.” I’ve got you. Because it’s time to start.
Ask them:
01. Before we worked together, what was going on that made you decide you needed this?
02. What made you choose to work with me?
03. What was the experience of working together like?
04. What’s different in your business/life now?
05. Was there anything you gained from the experience that you didn’t expect?
You don’t need to turn every client into a full-blown case study (although, props to you if you do), buuuuut you do need to pay attention to the patterns. Those common pain points, a-ha moments, breakthroughs, wins, and long-term results are going to fuel every piece of copy you write in your business.
Stop Copying Your Competitors and Research Your Own Audience
Your competitor’s copy works for their positioning, their audience, their reputation, their offer, their brand, and their context.
That’s why competitor research can be useful for understanding the landscape, but it shouldn’t become your primary source of copywriting inspiration.
Just because it works for them, that doesn’t automatically guarantee it’s going to get you the same results. And obviously, copying other people, even indirectly, is not cool, and you’re better than that.
So instead of asking:
What are other photographers/copywriters/coaches/designers saying?
ask:
What does my audience respond to?
What makes them feel understood?
What objections keep coming up?
What makes them trust someone?
What kind of transformation excites them?
What do they need to believe before they’re willing to buy?
For example:
I know my audience cares deeply about being seen and understood.
They’re not handing their website over to me because they simply want to sound “more professional” or “more witty”. They’re trusting me with the public-facing representation of something they’ve spent years building.
So my messaging needs to acknowledge that.
I can talk about conversion rates and SEO and buyer psychology, and if you follow me on Instagram, you know I do, but if that’s all I talk about, I’m missing a huge part of why someone hires me.
They want to know that I will understand what they’re trying to say before I start trying to say it better.
Turn Your Audience Research Into Copy and Brand Messaging
You’ve got the insider scoop from past clients, you’ve noticed the patterns with the people you’re trying to target, and now, you’re ready to put it into words.
Here’s a simple copywriting formula that will help you frame everything:
What they’re thinking
What do they actually need
How do you help
What changes for them afterwards
For example:
say you’re a brand photographer. Your target audience might be thinking:
“I need better brand photos.”
What they’re actually experiencing:
“My current photos don’t reflect what I’ve built this business to be.”
What they need to believe:
“My visuals aren’t just a nice-to-have anymore. They’re part of how people perceive the business. My current set up is starting to hold me back.”
How the copy bridges the gap:
“Photos that support your business expansion.
Brand photography for established service providers ready to look and feel as credible as they are.”
Instead of saying “GET BRAND PHOTO’S HERE”, you’re creating an emotional bridge that speaks to their internal narrative. They don’t want to just look cool, or professional, or edgy… they want to feel represented authentically.
Use Market Research to Strengthen Your Website Copy
This is why I don’t start a single copywriting project by opening a Google Doc and asking, “Okay, what should this page say?”
When I’m writing website copy, market research is woven into the entire process.
I look at your existing website, positioning, offers, audience, client language, and the questions your buyers are already asking.
Then I look for the gaps between what you think you’re communicating and what your audience is going to feel spoken to with.
The juiciest copywriting is built from evidence, and that evidence comes straight from the horse’s mouth (market research).
And sometimes, that research reveals you don’t need completely new messaging. You need to see what’s already there differently.
That’s a big part of what I do inside The Review:
I dig into your existing website, positioning, offers, audience, and client language to figure out what’s working, what’s confusing people, and what needs to get the toss.
And when the answer is “this needs to be rebuilt from the ground up,” that’s where The Rewrite comes in.
Either way, the goal isn’t to make you sound more like a copywriter or even more “professional”.
It’s to make your business sound more like the reason people should choose you.
