When I was eight years old, I won a school basketball-shooting contest.

I was only 45 inches tall at the time, so this was probably my greatest life achievement. I defeated every basketballesque girl in my K-8 school with my peculiar shooting method.

Apparently, I’m pretty good at shooting baskets, but only if I do it underhanded.

And, because I was eight years old, this was allowed. Although most of my competitors shot overhanded, there wasn’t a rule that I had to. Besides, I didn’t have the upper-body strength to do it that way.

So, I just shot in the way that came easiest for me.

As it turned out, I made more baskets than the tallest 8th grade girls at my school, and was subsequently selected to play in the district championships. It was so easy. I didn’t understand why everyone else didn’t shoot underhanded. It was a basketball shooting contest. Why not?

I have to say, it felt good to win. Especially after I’d failed to get that final gold star in gymnastics for never managing the left splits. But I can’t say I didn’t feel a twinge–just a twinge–of guilt. My way was so easy, and everyone else was doing it the hard way.

There’s actually a marketing-related point here, I swear.

I have learned to entertain the idea that just because something is easy, and everyone else is doing it the hard way, doesn’t mean I can’t do it the easy way, when I want to.

In fact, sometimes the easy way makes an even bigger difference than the hard way.

Let’s call it the Underhanded Basketball Theorum of Marketing.

Is it cheating because it’s easy?
(How to get your customers to write your copy for you.)

For example, say everyone else has data points and proof points, but you don’t because your business isn’t yet full-grown. Kind of embarrassing. But don’t go home yet.

Here’s the Underhanded Basketball Marketing shortcut, excellent for anyone on a tight budget:

Before you write your copy, ask your customers what they think about what you’ve done for them.

Get them to help you make the basket. Yes, it can feel uncomfortable to have these conversations directly. “So, tell me more about how great I am.” Awkward! That’s why I have my virtual assistant Robin do the honors. If I didn’t have Robin, I’d probably find a graphic designer and swap services, with each interviewing the other’s clients. (Email me at kp [at] copylicious [dot] com to get a good list of testimonial questions.)

Here’s why asking customers first is a good idea:

1. It’s super easy. You don’t have to be creative or to conduct endless market studies. Just sit back and let them talk.
2. It’s a great way to develop your messaging, your positioning, and even your copy. (Use some of their words and phrases verbatim to give your copy that homey target-audience feel.) If you’re developing a new program, you can write out the details and ask your clients or target audience for their objections. Why wouldn’t they want this? What would it take for them to say yes?

Example: I got my landing page in shape by “cheating”–asking my target audience what they thought. Their feedback helped me to strengthen my offer, and reminded me that I’ll never know as much as my target audience about what matters to them. Sometimes feedback feels like cold water in the face, but that’s also why you’ll like it. You’ll always learn something valuable–always. And, it’s free. I always remind myself that getting feedback now ups the chances I’ll make more of a difference later.

A couple tips to help you make this work for you:

• Pick one target audience. You can’t win with everyone unless you have a billion dollars. Even then, you’d only win by crafting a different message for every possible segment.
• Ask for their reaction. Don’t just send an email asking how they like it.
• Ask them to be specific in their responses. What about the copy or the message makes them feel that way? I’ll share my super-secret checklist for asking for feedback in next week’s blog post.

Hope this inspires you to let the 6-foot-tall Don Drapers of the world sit in their offices pulling lonely all-nighters and magically producing gleaming slogans in the nick of time. Be an underhanded basketball star every once in a while. It’s not cheating just because it’s easy!