#37 - Using Research to Write Next Level Copy with Joel Klettke of Case Study Buddy
Mar 25, 2020
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Joel Klettke shares tips on using customer research for killer copywriting, emphasizing the importance of meeting customers where they are, starting projects with copy, and extracting insights easily. He discusses boosting demo requests by 35% at Hubspot and increasing revenue for an online divorce startup by answering user questions. Highlights include the power of using customer language, structuring research, and crafting compelling content through storytelling.
Effective copywriting involves using customer's words, meeting audience's awareness level, analyzing chat logs for insights.
Tailoring content based on customer's journey, needs key for trust-building.
Analyzing chat logs can identify gaps, lead to targeted improvements, and increase revenue significantly.
Deep dives
Importance of Customer Research in Copywriting
Understanding the audience is crucial in copywriting. The best copywriters focus on empathy and understanding the audience's motivations and behaviors. Customer research and interviews play a vital role in writing compelling and persuasive copy. By listening to customers, copywriters can create content that resonates and drives conversions.
Meeting Customers Where They Are
An essential takeaway is the importance of meeting customers where they are in their journey. Tailoring content based on the awareness level of prospects is key. By addressing customer needs and concerns through effective communication, companies can build trust and guide customers towards conversion.
Analyzing Chat Logs for Customer Insights
A compelling example is analyzing chat logs to gain valuable insights into customer behavior. Understanding the questions and concerns of different customer segments helps in tailoring content to address specific needs. In one case study, analyzing chat logs led to identifying gaps in information and making targeted improvements that significantly increased revenue.
Balancing Specificity in Copywriting
In copywriting, finding the right balance of specificity is crucial. By examining customer feedback and conducting surveys, copywriters can identify recurring themes and prioritize key messages. Crafting specific and relatable copy based on customer insights leads to clearer communication and resonates with the target audience.
Merging Design and Copy Collaboration
Collaboration between design and copywriting is essential for effective communication. Aligning the information architecture and hierarchy with the storytelling approach ensures a cohesive user experience. Integrating design and copy from the start of a project facilitates a smooth process and enhances the impact of both elements.
This week on Awkward Silences, Erin and JH chatted with Joel Klettke, who has 6+ years of experience writing killer conversion copy for clients like Hubspot, Scott's Cheap Flights, and WP Engine. His first piece of advice?
All the best copy [is] words you've stolen from the customers themselves.
He also stressed the importance of meeting your customers where they are, involving copy from the start of any new project, and structuring your user research so it's easy to pull out the best insights. He walked us through how he used research to make changes at Hubspot that resulted in a 35% increase in demo requests and a 27% increase in inbound call volume. He also outlined how he used chatbot data to help an online divorce startup net an extra 165k in revenue by answering questions their users needed answers to.
Highlights
[2:09] The best copy comes straight from the mouths of customers
[3:46] You can't sell to an audience you don't understand.
[6:02] Structuring your research is important, so you can better identify good copy when you see it.
[6:24] Joel wants to hear about people's experience. Here's the specific questions he asks to learn about them.
[8:31] Taking copy straight from customers mouths is more compelling and specific. It makes you stand out from what your competitors are saying.
[10:07] Joel uses text analyzer to identify recurring phrases from his research.
[10:52] Companies default to their own internal language, but you have to speak to customers in a language they understand
[13:00] How Joel used this process at HubSpot to make meaningful copy changes that resulted in a 35% increase in demo requests and a 27% increase in inbound call volume.
[16:28] Joel works on anchoring new ideas for copy in known concepts to make it easier to digest.
[18:16] Get specific, but not so specific your audience can't relate
[21:44] Copy is more agile than design. It takes just a few minutes to change, so the best test is to actually deploy it to market.
[26:35] Copy can help establish the order of operations for users, and work with design from the start to create something better than adding on copy later.
[34:32] How Joel approaches copy for startups that don't have any data or customers yet.
[35:51] How Joel uses insights from churned customers to write better copy and understand where promises weren't kept.
[37:02] Ask your sales team "what question do you wish you never got asked again?" to identify gaps in your copy.
[37:34] How Joel used chat bot data to help an online divorce startup net an extra 165k in revenue by answering questions their users needed answers to.
[45:22] Every job Joel's had since university was something he didn't know existed until he started doing it.
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