16 questions to ask before you write your website.

Writing your website copy is a bit like climbing a mountain in winter. Without trails in plain sight, it’s easy to get lost. One finds oneself in need of a good map.

Most of us get more stuck around what to say than around how to say it. If you’re constantly struggling with the how, chances are you’re actually stuck on the what.

So, how do you figure out what to say?

With a good trail map, of course.

But if you don’t have a map already, you’ll want to stop and ask for directions.

I tell my clients that one of the best ways to start writing a website is by interviewing their clients. The most charming, persuasive, soulful copy in the world can’t beat a few good testimonials. What you say about yourself is never going to be as credible as what your customers say. You can build an entire website around testimonials. You can also use them to craft your messaging and your copy.

Fair enough. But what if your program or service is so new you don’t have clients?

You need clients. But you can’t get clients without a website.
And you can’t write your website without knowing what to say.
And you don’t know what to say until you know what your audience wants to hear.
And how can you know that if you haven’t worked with any of them?

If you want to build a solid foundation from the start, pick a few people in your target audience and schedule informational interviews with them.

If you’re nice and you promise to send them cupcakes afterward, informational interviews will help you immensely with the what. And you might be able to use snippets of their own words for the how, too.

Here’s what to ask them.

(NOTE: I wish this looked like an actual trail map. Instead, please accept this humble metaphor.)

The Target Audience Trail Map

16 questions to ask your target market before you write your website

How to use this trail map:

• Record the conversation and take notes so you can incorporate it into your messaging.
• Don’t try to force the conversation to proceed through each question in an orderly way. What often ends up happening is your interviewee will answer one question by answering another, so you don’t need to go in a straight line. Having a trail map lets you veer off course or stop and have some snacks, knowing you can always start up where you left off.

1. Are you the key decisionmaker when it comes to something like this? Who else is involved in making or influencing the decision?
2. What do you think the decisionmaker is looking for?
3. Have you ever worked with someone like me before, and how did that process go?
4. When do you think you could see yourself making a decision like this? Within what range of time?
5. What would be the best way for someone like me to go about helping you make a decision? White papers? Newsletter articles? Blog posts? Free seminars? One-on-one sessions?
6. What problems or challenges are you facing in regards to [insert problem you solve here]? How much are those challenges costing you?
7. What would it mean to you to have those challenges resolved?
8. If you could make this change, what would that look like in your [business/life]? What kinds of things would be happening? How would you know it was a success, and that you had succeeded in resolving those challenges?
9. What are you looking for, if you are looking for someone to help you with this problem? What qualities are you looking for in someone? What do you find most important above all?
10. What would make it worth the price? What benefit would you need to receive, or what would need to have happened for you to say, “Wow! This was more than I expected!”
11. What objections do you have to working with someone like me? In other words, why wouldn’t you want to work with someone like me?
12. What is your perception of the benefits someone like me could provide?
13. Of the following potential benefits of working with someone like me, which is most important? [List 3 benefits you've brainstormed or that you've heard others say about you.]
14. How soon would you expect it to be implemented?
15. You know a bit about my background. What would you find most compelling about my background, if you were thinking about working with me? What brings up questions for you, or what would you need to know more about before deciding to work with me?
16. Anything else you’d like to add?

Don’t forget to send them cupcakes afterward! No journey is complete without them.

Image by Joe Shlabotnick via Flicker, used under a Creative Commons license.