The First 8 Questions Your Client Should Answer Upfront By Krista Jones

My first year as a copywriter has been quite a ride! You know the saying "You learn something new every day"? Well, that's certainly been the case with my new writing career.

One of the things I've learned has turned out to be a tremendous time saver: I get as much information as I can from my clients before I meet or talk with them about a project.

Before you write anything, ask for past promotions – ones that worked and those that didn't; brochures; catalogs … anything you can get your hands on. Then, read everything and make a list of questions that weren't answered by the materials.

Now you can use your time with the client more productively, focusing on any gaps that still exist in your mind. At a minimum, you should ask the following questions (courtesy of our friend Bob Bly):

1. Can you give me an overview of your business, product, or service?
2. Who is you target customer?
3. What makes your business, product, or service unique?
4. Which benefit is most important?
5. Who is your major competitor?
6. What is the primary sentiment or message that you would like your customers to get from reading this material?
7. What problem does your product or service solve for your market?
8. Are you offering any discounts or premiums?

And, if you're lucky enough to have a client who really likes to talk, listen! Sometimes your client will just talk away about what he's trying to accomplish with the piece, all the great things about his product, why customers like it, what he wants to emphasize, etc. He may end up giving you almost everything you need to come up with a winning selling concept.