Copywriters, when you skim the surface during research you will end up writing boring and predictable copy.
One of the most important qualities that sets copywriters apart is curiosity and more specifically, the ability and willingness to do deep and thorough research.
But how does all that research morph into effective copy?
At AWAI's 2019 bootcamp, Patrick Bove made a presentation called "4 Ways to Fast-Track Your Financial Copywriting Career" where he gave a useful tip on how to start the research process and what to do with those facts once you've found them. First, Bove said that the key to writing good financial copy is to "tell people what they want to hear in a way they've never heard before." The only way to make that happen is to find more interesting and novel facts. But if you're finding your facts doing a Google search (like every other lazy writer on the planet) you will regurgitate more bland garbage. Instead, Bove recommends starting your research on Amazon. Amazon is a search engine, and you can look for your keywords within the books and even check out a chapter or two of most books. "The best thing about starting with books is that you'll get so much more detail," said Patrick. "Then when you check out the footnotes, you can dig even deeper." Again, the point is to find something new and exciting, that stimulates the customer's curiosity.
