Are You Asking the Right Questions in Your Copy?
by: Karon Thackston
It’s a common approach to writing copy. You begin by asking questions. Why? To evoke thoughts in your readersก minds, to stir up emotions, and to get customers thinking in the way you want them to think. But have you ever thought about how you phrase your questions? Are you doing it in a way that will have the greatest impact on your readers or are you just throwing questions on a page?
Behaviorally speaking, not everybody responds in the same way to the same questions. Those with different communications styles will relate in a variety of ways depending on how you phrase your sentence.
Using the DISC Behavioral Profile, let me explain what I mean and show you how you can start asking the right questions in the right way to suit your customers.
D = Dominance
Those who fall in the Dominance category of the DISC profile are described as: in control, powerful, confident, visionaries, and risk takers. These people can be managers, CEOs, highranking military personnel, entrepreneurs, and the like.
Those who are considered high in Dominance want to stick to business. They expect the facts to be presented logically. They want presentations to be clear, specific, and to the point.
This group of people will respond better to specific ขwhatข questions. For example, let’s say we’re developing a headline for an ultrafast printer. You wouldn’t want to write a headline that asks, ขHow Do You Cure a Need for Speed?ข That question is vague; it’s not specific, and it begins with the word ขhow.ข
CEOs, upper management, and others in this category aren’t the least bit interested in ขhowข you do anything. They are visionaries. They look at the big picture, not the little details. Details are somebody else’s job!
Instead, try rewriting that headline to include the word ขwhatข and to be specific, like this: ขWhat Cures a Need for Speed?ข
You can see a similar relation in other behavioral styles (I, S, and C) and the types of questions people in each prefer.
I = Influence
Those high in Influence are generally found in the sales field or other fields that require a lot of people/social interaction. They move fast and want to focus on peopleoriented tasks. They love to give their opinions and to be asked for their thoughts on a matter. They love to be the center of attention.
This group responds well to ขfeelingข questions. Not just about themselves, but also about others. For example: ขRemember the excitement you felt when _____?ข or ขHow would your child feel if _____?ข
S = Steadiness
Those in the Steadiness group want to be seen as people not a number. They appreciate logic, a touch of personal interaction, and they are detailoriented. They are generally slow decisionmakers and are not wild about taking unqualified risks. Those who fall into the Steadiness category make up 40% of the general population and come from all walks of life.
People high in steadiness would be likely to respond better to questions beginning with ขhow.ข Possibilities include ขHow many times have you wished ____?ข or ขHow often do you ____?ข They also respond well to questions that make them think, like ขIs your copy getting results?ข They’ll likely want to know what you can do about it if the answer is ขno.ข
C = Compliance
When describing someone who falls into the Compliance category, these phrases come to mind: critical thinker, prepared, qualityoriented, incredibly detailed, specific, and slow decisionmaker. You’ll generally find these types working as engineers, bankers, accountants, scientists, and the like.
Those high in Compliance will respond best to questions including statistics and questions that force them to look at all sides of an issue/problem. For example, ข68% of All Drivers Pay Too Much for Auto Insurance. Are You?ข Another idea is ขWidget or Thingee… Which Makes the Most Sense?ข
Phrasing your questions in a way that allows your target customers to relate only makes sense. When you hit a nerve people will respond. Asking the right questions… in the right way… within your copy will get you one step closer to closing the sale.
by Karon Thackston © 2004
http://www.copywritingcourse.com
About The Author
Copy not getting results? Learn to write SEO copy that impresses the engines and your visitors at http://www.copywritingcourse.com. Be sure to check out Karon’s latest ereport ขHow To Increase Keyword Saturation (Without Destroying the Flow of Your Copy)ข at http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword.
This article was posted on March 09, 2004
by Karon Thackston