When You're the Targeted Audience

I'm working on an assignment for copywriter professionals. In fact, I'm a member of the targeted audience for this product. So, I have to look at what it would take to sell myself on this product.

An easy project you say? Ha! That's what I thought too.

But finding the buying emotion within myself isn't as easy as it sounds. I like this product. I believe in it. I feel that it's worth the money and then some to purchase it. But it's taking me a lot longer to get the copy started than it does with projects intended for other people.

Now, why is that?

Took me awhile to figure this out, but after I looked at my process of profiling the target market, it came to me.

Normally, I role-play and become the reader as much as possible. I call upon my past experience at playing role-play games, my fiction writing, and what I observe police and criminal profilers doing on the tv. (Meditation and clearing your mind first helps with this.)

Then, I "find and identify" the emotions the reader is experiencing at the time. I just let them in and mark them down.

But here, I don't need to role-play because I am that reader. I'm so close to the subject that finding those emotions is more difficult. They're there and I feel them, but I just don't have the right thought process yet.

So, how am I overcoming this?

Walking and talking it out and mind mapping.

Walking and Talking is a common technique I use. I pace back and forth between two rooms of the house, speaking into a voice recorder my thoughts, feelings, and impressions of the character or reader as I try to bring the person's profile out. First, I did about twenty minutes of this. Started with why I'm a copywriter and how my fears, beliefs, and aspirations fit into this career. What can this career give me that others don't. What is negative of this career choice that I could use help overcoming. Get it all out.

Then make notes on the items that are useful to this product. How does this product help overcome the fears, support the beliefs, and help me achieve my goals.

Then I sat down with the Cayra software. It's available for free from http://www.download.com/Cayra/3000-2076_4-10777905.html. I highly recommend it, but please always be cautious when downloading from the internet. If you're inexperienced with this, I suggest getting a professional's help with it to ensure your computer's protection.

I've used the Cayra software in mind mapping for fiction, thanks to the teaching of Holly Lisle, and for creating maps of my pastor's sermons. (Very interesting way of absorbing a sermon's message.)

In the map, I started with the product as the central node.

Above it I branched it off into emotions that users of the product have. Each emotion branches into the problem presented by the emotion, and each problem branches into how the product solves the problem.

Below it, I branched the product out to what I call the "drivers". What drives the reader to seek this product out. For instance, in this career, the need to accelerate in our ability is driven by our distrust. Our distrust is from being able to count on the government and companies for our future. Distrust branches off into the specific areas we distrust, and what we believe will happen in those areas. Another driver is Financial Security. It branches off to show how we want a sustainable income, financial independence, and job flexibility.

The drivers help us understand why the individual is interested in knowing what the product is in the first place. The emotions help us know why the reader needs the product and how the product can fulfill those needs.

With mind mapping, not only was I able to find and identify those emotions that I was too close to find, but also whole blocks of copy were spilling out during the process. Now my thought process is in the right place to write the promotion.