Here’s a surprising quote from well-respected

copywriter and marketing guru, Dan Kennedy:

“I’m going to tell you a secret that virtually no

other high-priced copywriter will ever admit: At least

half the battle is won via selection, not “creative” ie.

message, copy, offer, etc.”

Think about that.

What would you think of a hunter who shoots at

anything and everything? Doesn’t aim – just waves the

gun around and keeps pulling the trigger. Not very

impressive. Not likely to bring home dinner or a trophy.

The hunter needs a target. He identifies it. He

recognizes it. He aims at it carefully. That’s all he

wants to hit – just the target, nothing else.

That’s what you must do. Determine who your target

is. Take aim. That’s all you want to reach with your

sales letter – just that person, no one else.

Your research is how you identify that target. It’s

how you know what your target looks like, how he

behaves, how he feels. Your research is how you know

what kind of bullet will be most effective in taking him

down!

Your target can’t be EVERYONE. It can’t even be ALL

WOMEN or ALL MEN. It needs to be very specific. Why?

Because people want to feel special. They want to feel

unique.

Let’s say your ad says, “If you eat, you need this!”

You might think that’s a great target. “Everybody eats,

so everyone needs my product. I’ll be rich!” But,

there’s a problem. Most people who see that headline

will think, “Sure, I eat. But, I’m special. I’m not like

everyone else. That ad is for the common person. It’s

for everyone else. It’s not for me. I’m looking for

something that’s just for me.”

Think about it. If every single person in your

neighborhood owned the same exact car. Even if it was a

really NICE car, how excited would you be to buy one,

too? Probably not very. You don’t want to be like

everyone else. You want a car that shows you are unique.

You want people to say, “Wow! Nice car. I wish I had one

like that.” People won’t say that if it’s the same car

that they and everyone else they know owns.

Your sales letter needs to do that for people – Make

them feel unique.

Again, that means research. What questions do you

need to ask and answer in order to identify your target

clearly and specifically?

Now, you might be saying, “But, my target really IS

that big, it IS that generic. It really IS any one who

eats!” That’s fine. But, here’s the trick: Break the big

target down into smaller segments. And target all the

smaller segments separately.

You might target:

• Lovers of Italian Food

• People who prefer to eat at home
• People who eat at restaurants 3 or more times a

  week

• Women who love to cook their own food
• Men who love to eat but hate to cook
• Teenagers who want to only eat junk food

The idea is to find something unique that allows you

to say, “Hey, I understand you. I realize that you are

unique — special. This is not for everyone. It is just

for you.

Then, you craft individualized offers for each of

your segmented targets.

Marlon Sanders, in his excellent book, “The Amazing

Formula That Sells Products like Crazy!”, compares your

target market to fishing in a pond. He explains that

catching fish is easy as long as you find a pond with

hungry fish and you use bait that the fish really love.

That makes perfect sense. If the fish aren’t hungry

or they don’t like your bait, they won’t bite.

Don’t assume you know what motivates your

prospects. Find out! Keep researching until you

know!