Guessing is expensive. Use these trick from top marketers instead

I ‘ve been working in tech marketing for 13 years.

When we publish websites or have new service, we often have teams of people who are bringing their own expertise: the designer, the content writer, the researched, the CX person. However, you may not have the time nor the money to splash out on all of them.

So, because I’ve spent 1,000’s of hours in design and copy sessions, let me save you the time and give you the three tests we always go through.

Tip #1: Talk to your actual customers

Want to know how to sell? Actually speak to your customers. This is what the lean startup method is all about!

You see, just like you, people are busy.

They don’t have time to think about your service and weight the pro’s and con’s (at least consciously!) If you ask them about their pain, they’ll tell you!

Then ask them what they want to be solved. Sometimes those questions are more different than you’d think.

Tip #2: Test your new stuff (maybe even for free)

Call it what you want. Volunteer, beta testing, pro bono work. But working for free does much more for you than you lose in dollars.

The experience actually doing what you think is a great service will help you road test what you’re doing. If you find that people surprise you and want something else, you’ve saved yourself a lot of heartache.

In tech, this is called the MVP or minimally viable product.

While it’s not always free, it is a rough model, sent out before it’s perfect. Now this can be scary, but you know what is scarier? Launching something you’ve spent ages on just for it to flop.

How do you test?

Several ways, offer a few free calls to talk about this problem. Talk about it on social media and see reactions. Write about it in a newsletter.

Any of these will be good data gathering techniques.

Tip #3: listen for real phrases your customers say

Need resonating web copy? Use your actual clients words. That you get when you beta test.

See what I did there?

Truly, let your clients inform your copy. You’ll never be more clever or more honest than them. Talk about how to help and then use their actual words back to people just like them.

Chances are those words will resonate with ideal clients just like them, with the same problems.

For so long in my own writing and marketing career, I spent a long time guessing at what I could do to solve my clients’ biggest pain points. All I had to do was these three things

Big bonus: that copy “writes itself”

Try any of these ideas? Let me know!

Talk Wednesday,

Christine