Straight Talk - An Open Letter To You

"How To Write Articles/Sales Copy That Gets Read"

by John Glube, © 2003, all rights reserved of
Head's Up - A Copywriter's Journal

Who Are You Writing To ... Everyone Right?

What do yah mean, who am I writing to? "Anybody who will read my message."

Uh huh ... what I call "the splatter gun approach." Splatter enough mud against the wall and maybe some of it will stick.

The value of information - knowing can make all the difference

Let's back up for second and the next time before putting "pen to paper" ask yourself:

* What do people want?

* Who is your ideal customer?

How about we look at a specific example to give a little meat to your two questions.

You are thinking of marketing health products. Why? Well you read somewhere as the "baby boomer" population ages, more and more baby boomers will be interested in keeping their health.

Maybe you saw this on the promotional page for a business opportunity, or in a magazine advertisement.

Don't get me wrong, but did you think of doing a little bit of your own research first.

Your market? I am going to presume it is the United States. Now, what is the best primary source for information on the American consumer?

You guessed it - The United States Census Bureau.

And here is one other useful resource:

FedStates Home, being the gateway to statistics from over 100 U.S. Federal agencies

What does the market need or want?

Doing a quick search under H for health you will find the topic: "overweight and obesity."

Information Source: Fed Stats: Subjects A to Z

Using this link, you find yourself taken to a page with the title "Statistics Related to Overweight and Obesity." A quick glance at this page tells you:

"Nearly two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight, and 30.5 percent are obese, according to data from the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)."

The information on this page also tells you what health risks are associated with being overweight and obese.

Information Source: Statistics Related to Overweight and Obesity

The ultimate source for this information being the "National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases" (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health.

Information Sources: NIDDK

Hmm ... does this suggest a possible market want with the US Government identifying overweight and obesity as serious health risks?

Yes it is great the Government is telling people this is a problem. But can you "hit a base hit, or perhaps you have struck the mother lode."

The next question. Do people care about being "overweight" or "obese?"

To find out what the market wants, why don’t you find out what terms people have been using to carry out searches on the Internet. One source for this information is overture.com. You can do a "term suggestion search" to get an idea of the terms being searched. In June, 2003:

* The word "health" was searched 593,996 times and the word "diet" was searched 271,216 times.

Interesting ... and you can use this tool to drill down and get more specific results.

Information Sources: Overture - Advertiser Center - Tools

Also, you will want to check out the various marketing forums and do some searches at google.group.com to see what products are being discussed, what people are looking for and what are people’s concerns.

A word of caution - be careful of "scams 'r us"

Before getting involved in this market, you should know in June, 2003 the United States Federal Trade Commission and the United States Federal Drug Administration announced a major crack down on deceptive practices in the health market.

Information Sources: FTC and FDA Take New Actions in Fight Against Deceptive Marketing

Ready to leap off the edge of the cliff into the torrential river? Well, look both ways before you leap. You will want to carry out some very thorough checks to make sure the product you are deciding to market is completely legitimate and not on anyone’s hot list.

Who is your potential customer - just Billy Rae, or Billy Rae and Bobby Joe?

Having identified a market want or need, let’s identify our actual market. I mean who wants to loose weight?

Were to go? Hmm ... I know, how about the United States Census Bureau. A quick review of the statistics will show you as of the year 2000:

The total US population as of 2000 was 281,421, 906 and by July, 2001 was 284,796,887 with:

* 50.9% being woman,

* 25.7% being under 18 and 12.4% of the US Population being over 65,

* 54.1% of people were living in the same home in 1995 and 2000,

* 80.4% of people 25 years or older were high school graduates and 24.4% had bachelor degrees or higher,

* The average mean travel time to work was 25 minutes,

* 66.2% of residents were living in their own home,

* 26.4% of residents were living in apartments, etc.,

* 2.59 people on average per household (a number I don't get) and,

* The average household income in 1999 was $41,994 a year.

Also, here are a couple of other interesting statistics:

* Only 14.6% of businesses in the United States were owned by minorities and 26.0% by women as of 2000.

* In 2000, the two largest population groups were between the ages of 35 to 44, with the 50 to 54 age group experiencing the largest growth rate and the 45 to 49 age group experiencing the second largest growth rate.

And when you "look" into the income statistics, you discover:

* The number of households with the (householder - a lovely term) person running the house being between 35 to 44 years old was about 24,031,000, with an average income level of $53,320.

* The number of households with the person running the house being between 45 to 54 years old was about 22,208,000, with an average income level of $58,045.

Also within the US population, the number of households where two or more people were working was around 47,997,000, with an average income level of $68,106.

Information Source: U.S. Census Bureau

What do these statistics tell you? For a consumer product such as "health products":

* Your largest consumer market is women. The age group is 35 to 44. The level of education: high school. Your potential customer is living in her own home, most likely with her "significant other" and perhaps one child. As of 2001, the family income is around $53,320.

* Were she and her "significant other" work, the total income level may go up, as the average income for households were two or more people are working is around $68, 106, it is likely she is working in a small business with less than 100 employees and she has to commute back and forth to work.

* The next two largest consumer groups are women between the ages of 45 to 54. Again with these two groups, the largest number of women will have a high school education, will be living with their "significant other". As of 2001, the average income is around $58,045.

* When she and her "significant other" work, the total household income may go up. Also, based on the statistics, were the woman is working it is most likely she is working in a small business with fewer than 100 employees and she has to commute back and forth to work.

True these numbers have changed over the last 3 years, but this analysis gives you an interesting glimpse of your potential consumer.

Hey, this is all fine stuff - but does Billy Rae use the Internet?

Since you are planning to use the Internet to market your product, you may want to know how many people in the United States have Internet Access at home and the composition of this market. Why? Well it is possible, the make up of your potential customer might change. Guess what? Yes, the U.S. Census Bureau has published a report on this very topic under the heading "Computer Use and Ownership."

This report indicates as of the year 2000, 41.5% of all households, or a total of 43,639,000 households had Internet Access.

Within this total market:

* Where the home owner is between the ages of 25 to 44, there are 21,353,000 homes with Internet Access. (This represents 50.2% of all the homes with home owners in this age group.)

* Where the home owner is between the ages of 45 to 64, there are 16,251,000 homes with Internet Access. This represents about 46.7% of all the homes with home owners in this age group.

From this report you can glean some other interesting facts:

* Roughly 95% of all home owners with Internet Access have a high school education or higher and 73% of all home owners with Internet Access have at least some college education or higher.

* 78.6% of all homes with Internet Access are Family households, with 66.2% being married couples.

* Only 35% of all homes with Internet Access have at least one school age child between the ages of 6 to 17.

* 57.5% of all homes with Internet Access are found either in the west or southern parts of the United States.

* Of those family households with Internet Access, about 80% of all homes have an annual income level above 25,000, 71.3% of all homes have an annual income level above 35,000, and 57.4% of all homes have an annual income level above $50,000.

Information Source: Computer Use and Ownership - US Census Bureau

In essence, your potential customer is going to be slightly better educated, make a bit more, and live either in the Southern or Western parts of the United States.

Click here for the second half of "How To Write Articles/Sales Copy That Gets Read"

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John Glube, Toronto, Canada, Publisher and Editor of Head's Up, A Copywriter's Journal. Not yet subscribed to the Journal? To get the details, plus your Free Courses "Discover How Anyone Can Get More Buyers" as your reward and learn how you can place your 400 character business to business ad Click Here.

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