I think those US-style sales letters are insane! They are typically used to sell utter junk or ‘information’ products. I deliberately avoid the kind of American copywriter that writes sales letters, just because their craft is irrelevant to mine. We have different clients, different audiences and different ways of working.

And yes, Americans seem to love those crazy, rambling, gaudy sales letters. I think Brits are too suspicious to fall for sales letters – but I could be wrong!

My post is really about writing web copy for genuine businesses, charities or any other kind of organisation that wants to communicate.

Leif

I prefer to ask clients these questions – either in person or over the phone. That way I can respond to things they say, and ask other questions that arise.

Face-to-face meetings with clients are massively useful for a copywriter, and are certainly to be encouraged. They give you so many chances to learn about your client, and ultimately that’s what a copywriter must do before writing.

Of course, the list of questions I provided above are just a starting point. Different projects demand different questions – and there may be things that you happen to be curious about. So feel free to go off-piste, as it were.