This article was originally published in August 2019. It’s been updated in April 2024 to correct errors, improve readability, and so I could add a few extra tips I’ve learned along the way. Enjoy!

In 2019 I mentored a junior copywriter. During one of our calls, she asked, “How do you complete your copywriting research?” I wasn’t expecting the question so I spluttered an answer.

“Well, I read some stuff and I Google some stuff. I guess.”

How shit is that? If I got that response from someone mentoring me, I’d think they were a total fraud. Especially if it came from someone who’d been working in the industry for a decade which, at that point, I had.

I’ll attempt to defend myself and say that until that moment I’d never given much thought to how I research. Just that I do it before writing anything. And the way I research depends a lot on the client and the type of copy they want.

Her question forced me to think more logically about this. Because she’s right to ask. Copywriting research is a vital part of the project. Without it the copy ends up being unstructured drivel. A lot like my original answer. This article is my attempt to right the record and give you the tried and tested copywriting research techniques I rely on project after project. But let’s start with what the trainee copywriter was actually trying to ask me.

Is copywriting research just Googling?

No. That’s what AI copywriters do. The rest of us use Google a bit, usually right at the start, but understand it’s not the only research technique in the tool box. Achieving high-quality copy in any form means working with more than the Big G. And your first port of call should always be audience research.

Researching and understanding target audience

At the heart of all copywriting research, no matter what the project, is a definition of the audience you’re writing for. Before placing a finger on the keyboard you need to know:

• who the audience is
• the challenges they’re facing
• what’s motivating them to seek the information you’re offering
• what outcomes they want in relation to the information you’re offering.

Who are these people? Is she our audience? What about that older guy over there? Or that other couple down the front?

A client may already have lots of information about their target audience. They may even have created personas. Get them to send all of this to you and study it.

If your client doesn’t have this and it’s your first time working together, it’s up to you.

What does this look like?

First, get your client to tell you as much as they can about their customers. You then need to carry out your own customer research.

• Read the reviews people are leaving about the company, products and services.
• Ask to see any email correspondence the businesses has had with their target audience.
• With the client’s permission, organise one-on-one or small group meetings with some of their customers.
• Look at what people are posting and saying to the company on their social media channels.

Once you’ve done this research you can refer to it every time you write for that client. It may need tweaking occasionally as the business grows or if they change direction.

Different research techniques for different copy projects

How the rest of the research happens depends on the sort of copy you’re writing and the project scope. For example, how I research a blog is different to how I research a long-form sales page. How I research a product or service page is different to how I’ll research an email sequence.

Let me show you a couple of examples.

Blog research

Time needed: 1-3 hours depending on topic

Research channels:

• News outlets
• Existing competitor articles
• Google and Google Scholar
• Research papers and essays
• Press releases and contacting PRs
• Interviews with subject and industry experts.

Website copy research

Time needed: 1-5 working days depending on scope and size of website

Research channels:

• Reading existing copy
• Understanding site architecture
• Carrying our competitor analysis
• SEO research (keywords, traffic volume, existing rankings, setting SEO aims and desired outcomes)
• Reading testimonials and case studies – from customers and employees at the company
• Reading existing brand guidelines – understanding or creating language and tone of voice
• Interviews with company owners and employees
• Studying past and present marketing material
• Customer interviews.

I’ve mentioned researching copy that’s already been published, by the client but also by competitors. This is important. Knowing what’s come before, as well as what the client wants moving forward will help you structure the copy you’re working on. You should be able to pick up clues for what’s worked in the past, what’s flopped, and also avoid creating something that’s a carbon copy of someone else’s work.

A solid brief will always make research easier

Sometimes, your copywriter brief may be, well, very brief. When this is the case you have to either:

1. a) be prepared to ask your client for more detail and resources
2. b) pull on your research waders and get waist-deep into finding your own sources.

Being a writer and doing your research means digging as deep as possible. Your goal is finding out as much relevant detail as possible from useful and reliable sources. Without the research phase you can’t do your job and write the thing.

What my research process looks like

My research process has 4 parts with many WTF moments and twists. I’ll explain each bit so you understand what I do and why I do it. This will make it easier for you to steal and adapt the process so it fits with how you like to work.

Note: Because different projects need different research methods, I’m coming at this as if I were researching a blog for a client.

Part 1: Confusion, terror and imposter syndrome

These are common feelings to have at the start of a project. Allow yourself to have that WTF-where-do-I-start moment. And then put a lid on it so you can crack on. I like to do this by reminding myself that it’s impossible to know everything in the first 10-minutes of a project. Be patient, it’s okay. After all, if I knew everything already I wouldn’t need to research. I’d just write it. Then I say my research mantra: ‘I’m not afraid to feel stupid.’ This sage advice was offered up by a journalism lecturer I had at university, and I’ve carried it with me all this time.

Part 2: Into the research rabbit hole

Depending on the quality of the brief and topic complexity I spend hours, sometimes days, gathering everything I need. My first research port of call? Google. Like I said, I have to start somewhere and Google is right there, so I use it.

In this early research phase I’m thinking about 4 things.

1. Finding the right language and keywords, especially when writing for an unfamiliar industry. I’m testing to see what search terms deliver relevant results and understand how the audience refer to the products, services and topics that I need to discuss.
2. What my client’s competitors have already said about this topic. I evaluate it for what’s good, what I think their content is missing, and think of ways I can cover the topic differently.
3. Any links to studies or research papers that I think are interesting and worth following up, ideally finding the original source.
4. What questions relating to this topic do I need to answer so the audience feels confident about taking the action I want them to take by the time they’ve finished reading.

These are all things I’m making notes on and bookmarking so I can return to them in the next part or when I’m writing.

Part 3: OMG! There’s so much to learn!

The third phase is hectic and where most of my research time is spent. I start making connections between what I’ve got so far and any gaps in my knowledge.

I sift through everything I’ve found on Google again, picking up threads and leads to discover what’s truly relevant and what’s truly reliable. For example, let’s say I read a Vice article. The article mentions a survey and the results seem interesting. They’re sort of relevant but not quite right for my blog.

My next move is finding the original survey where, hopefully, I’ll find information that’s more relevant to my article. To get my hands on this I might need to contact a PR, the author, an institution, research organisation or media office. That’s fine. I look up the contact details of whoever owns the research and drop them a quick email. Most of the time it’s a case of requesting the information I need and they send me what I’ve asked for.

Sometimes the person or company your contacting will ask for details about the project (who I’m writing for, where it’ll be appearing and how they’ll be credited). If this happens, be honest. Give the person the information they want.

Contacting sources and disclosing details about the project is usually fine. It only gets tricky if a client Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is involved. When this is the case, your client should provide all the research needed or be prepared to follow up leads on your behalf.

Relying on clients to help with research isn’t ideal. It can slow things down. So, even if there is an NDA I usually ask the client if they’re happy for me to go ahead request the research sources I need directly from the media outlet.

Some clients say go ahead. Other times they’d rather I didn’t. But if you don’t ask, you’ll never know.

Top tip: Contacting companies in this way can result in a backlink and extra promo for your client, too. The owner of the research could be keen to share the fact they’ve been quoted and featured somewhere.

Dead ends and bad sources

Sometimes threads come to nothing. A perfect example is when I think I’ve found the perfect stat, but after some digging the original source turns out to be crap.

Always scrutinise your sources. There’s a lot of spammy shit on the internet. Some of it’s completely made up. Or it was true once but has gone through several rounds of internet misinterpretations and morphed into a Bullshit Beast.

My advice: if you can’t find the original source, don’t use it. If you find the original source and it looks or sounds like baloney, don’t use it.

Do use Google scholar. Do look up books on Amazon—some have a ‘view inside’ feature, allowing you to get the information you want without having to buy the book. (Sounds bad, but honestly, if I had to buy every book I used as part of my research I wouldn’t be living in a house. I’d be living in a library.)

Top tip: University libraries sometimes have day passes you can apply or pay for. These can be extremely useful if you come across a book you know has relevant chapters in it and your local public library doesn’t have it and you don’t want to buy it.

Set up interviews with subject experts

If the piece allows it, I always do this.

“Geez Rose, that means talking to people and I’m just a copywriter. Are you crazy?”

Nope. I’m thorough. And you should be too.

Reading existing articles, competitor sites or B2B industry garb isn’t enough. Especially now AI generated blogs have entered the game. Copy that includes original quotes is more powerful (and will rank better) than copy without these qualities.

Speaking with someone who knows the topic inside out can also inspire angles and ideas I’d not thought of. Plus, I get heaps of quotes. (As long as the person I’m interviewing consents to being on the record.) And these are important to stand out from your competitors content on the same topic. It gives the articles a unique, original edge. (Which Google loves right now because it aligns with their Helpful Content update.)

Where I find these people and how I approach them is a whole article in itself, but in a nutshell get onto social media and find relevant accounts, then contact those people. Look up official bodies and organisations, then contact those people.

Top tip: Use the hashtag #journorequest and you’ll get PRs and experts who are available for comment coming to you. This can save you time.

There’s a lot to cover in this part, so to recap the copywriting research techniques you should use:

• start with Google
• dig out essays, articles and books from trusted sources
• look at competitor content and then try to do something different
• find experts and people you can talk to, contact them and interview them.

Part 4: I know all the things!

There comes time when my brain screams, “I CAN’T TAKE ANY MORE!” And that’s my cue to start writing. I have everything I need.

• Stats and surveys from reliable sources.
• Original quotes from industry experts.
• Cited quotes lifted from relevant texts.
• I’ve listened to the language subject experts and consumers use so I know what words should be included.

Now it’s a case of pulling it all together to create something amazing.

(Or just really good, interesting and readable.)

Need a hand?

Completing copywriting research is a big subject. I’ve covered a lot of the research techniques, but I understand that a lack of confidence can hold back good research.

How do you know you’re moving in the right direction? Where do you find people to talk to? How should you contact them? What if you can’t find anything useful on your subject? (It happens.)

Whether you’re a copywriter or a business owner, if you want to chat over research techniques or have more questions, sing out.

Leave a comment below with your question and I’ll get back to you.