The Transcript

A Straightforward Research Method for Finding a Potent Hook

Voiceover: This is Rainmaker.FM, the digital marketing podcast network. It’s built on the Rainmaker Platform, which empowers you to build your own digital marketing and sales platform. Start your free 14-day trial at RainmakerPlatform.com.

Demian Farnsworth: Hi, and welcome to Rough Draft, the daily podcast that delivers the essential writing advice you need to succeed online as a writer.

I m your host, Demian Farnworth, the Chief Content Writer for Copyblogger Media. And thank you for sharing the next few minutes of your life with me.

So here s where we are so far: we use product performances (the function) to appeal to the emotions of your customer especially in the headline.

We use those features, however, to justify those functions and desires (and never put physical features in a headline).

But we ve also discovered that each product promises to satisfy dozens of longings. But only one performance will unlock the door to channeling mass desire onto your particular product.

What is a Great Hook?

Your job is to find the dominant performance that will do that.

So the question is, how do you that?

Well, you tease it out in your research In fact, it s a lot like finding the hook of your product. Or as George Lois would call it, The Big Idea.

John Carlton said, “What is a great hook? It s the connecting point between the tangibles of the product and the hazy inner needs of your prospect. Those needs include a steep requirement for believability, a yearning for magic and specialness, and a staggering hunger for something that wakes him up.”

Here s why this is important.

Why You Need to Get Drastic

People will rush to do business with you if you can help them achieve their dreams, calm their fears, confirm their suspicions, and help them cast stones at their enemies.

Sounds simple enough, right? Unfortunately, it s not.

In the marketplace of products, services, and content, life is like a crowded New York City street, where your prospect is one of seven million people who is already stiff arming thousands of similar messages that are competing for her attention.

She has her own agenda and that agenda doesn t necessarily include you or your product.

So if you want her attention, then you need to get drastic. And what s the best way to accomplish drastic? You need to catch her with a hook. The big idea. The dominant desire.

See, you could have a great product, a revolutionary idea, or a compelling piece of content, but unless you position it with the right approach that instantly captures the imagination of your ideal prospect, forget it.

Your hard work will get swallowed up by the clutter, you ll fail to sell, and you ll surely stagnate on the social web.

In other words, nobody will notice you or anything you create.

The only problem with hooks (also known as angles or more formally as positioning), however, is that they are not easy to find. AT ALL. Legendary copywriter John Carlton said, “A great hook will HIDE from you. It s a cruel beast, happy when it escapes your notice.”

The Method for Finding Great Hooks

Fortunately there is a method for finding great hooks. We ve found it, used it, and now want to show you how you can, too.

I call it the 5 Concentric Circles Research Framework.

That s a complex label for a pretty straightforward process.

So what are the 5 circles? In the very middle circle, you have the Consumer. In the next circle, you have the Product, followed by the Region, then the National level, and finally the International.

Let s unpack each one of these. So we always start with the consumer. We always start with the consumer. I am channeling my inner Dan Pink here. And we start by asking a few basic questions:

• What keeps them up at night?
• What do they dream about?
• What motivates them?

After we ve exhausted our research on the consumer, we next study the product.

• What benefits does it provide?
• What stands out about this product?
• Why should this product exist?

If you don t know the answers to those questions, talk to someone who does. Someone in sales. And product development. And customer service. In fact, talk to all those people.

After we ve exhausted our research on the product, we next look at the immediate environment.

• Is the market for this product crowded? Declining? Emerging?
• What weaknesses of big brands can you exploit?
• Does the government play a role? Are there any changes in legislation you can capitalize on?

Your next step is to Explore the national level.

• What is going on across disciplines?
• Is there something you can exploit in another industry?
• Can you make a connection with pop culture?

And finally, we Study the global market.

• What are they doing in other countries?
• We look for Disruptive technology?
• Multi-channel marketing opportunities?

You may find the mass desire in your early research of the consumer. You may land upon what you think is the big idea early in your research. That s unlikely, even if you do think you have landed on a good idea – wait. Wait until after you have gone through the other circles. It s always best to over prepare, and to dig, and to keep pushing and striving, and looking for that big idea. Because when you find it, you ll know it. It will be one of those a-ha moments where you are struck, and you are like, “This is going to work.”

How to Work the Hook Into Your Headline

And so when you find that hook, that big idea, that mass desire, then you work it in your headline.

Go back and listen to some of the early episodes about how to write headlines to help you. Particularly the episode about the 4Us, because here s the thing. Listen. The battle is won in the headline. You ve got to fight for that killer headline. You ve got to win and it takes work. It is a long campaign to write a good headline, but you can do it. I ve done it, and you can do it. And it takes work, and it takes time. And repetition. But you ll get there.

I hope you are off looking for that mass desire. And until then, if you have any questions about the concepts that we have been talking about, hit me up on Twitter @demianfarnworth. Shoot me an email, drop a comment on this blog. Let me know if you have any questions, thoughts or comments about this discussion and continue it into next week, as we explore other ways in getting people to believe your claims.

So until then, take care.