Why You Need to Sell Your Own Product to Become a Better Copywriter

Here is a thing to remember. You may have learnt a whole lot about copywriting; from books, online courses, and even real-life experience. You might have even worked for a multitude of clients across the board; handling their marketing and sales copy. But the truth of the matter is unless you’ve had the experience of selling your own product, you simply don’t know what it’s like to have skin in the game.

It’s one thing to understand your client, their product, and their target audience; it’s another thing to be able to feel their pain and urgency. This kind of empathy can only come with personal experience and it can help you become a more well-rounded copywriter. In this article, we talk about how to sell your product online and why that will make you much better at your copywriting job.

Invest time and money to create a product

Of course, you can’t sell a product you don’t have. While it might not be possible to create a physical product, in most cases you’ll find it much easier to create an online product. This includes a number of options, ranging from e-books to courses. The key here is to invest enough time, effort, and resources so that failing to sell your product will actually hurt. Not enough to bankrupt you of course but bad enough that it’s a real setback. Unless that happens, you simply won’t have enough skin in the game to focus the way you need to.

Here are some of the key steps that you simply cannot skimp on when you’re on this journey.

Step 1 – Understand your audience

The key to creating a valuable product is by listening to your customers. You don’t want to spend valuable time and money on creating something no one needs. Use social media listening tools to really understand prospective customers’ pain points. It’s also a good idea to go old-school and just talk to people. Go past what your customers think they need to get to what they really need.
How this helps- You will now understand how painstaking it is to find the right product and features that satisfy customers. Keep this in mind when you write copy for your clients.

Step 2- Create the product

This is the scary part. You’re going to be spending hours and hours creating a product that may not yield any ROI. You may also find yourself investing some money to create a quality product. For instance, if it’s an e-book you may have to hire an ace designer. If you’re creating a video-course, you might find yourself renting high-end equipment.

Of course, you also need to figure out the platform that you will use to deliver your product. For an e-book, you need to decide the format you want to publish it in, whether you want it to be on Amazon, and so on. If it’s a course, you need to decide which platform to use; whether you want to go with a Udemy or Teachable or use a self-hosted LMS (Learning Management System). You will also need to complete the email and payment integrations so that your customers have a seamless experience.

How this helps- All the time and resources you invest will give you a glimpse into what your client has at stake. It will also help you realize how much they really have on their plate. Be mindful of that when you work with them.

Step 3- Create a landing page and write sales copy

Work on creating a landing page, or even a complete website if it’s warranted. When you create the perfect landing page, write all your launch copy. From the sales page to emails and social media posts.

How this helps- Notice the care with which how you write sales copy when you actually have skin in the game. Remember, your clients deserve the same focus.

Step 4- Launch your product

The D-day is here. You will probably be juggling a number of different things; from sending out emails to promoting your product on social media, collaborating with bloggers, and even asking your friends to recommend the product. It’s important to remember that this is only the beginning and that it’s going to be a long road ahead.

How this helps

Launch day will give you a whole new level of empathy for your client. Juggling so many different things at the same time should give you an insight into what your client goes through every day.
You can be a wizard with words, but you won’t really become an exceptional copywriter unless you understand what it means to have your skin in the game. Creating and selling your own product may not be the easiest way to become more empathetic, but it will definitely take your skills to the next level. And hey, you may just end up making a lot of money in the process!