The prospect of starting each day with a blank page and having to fill it with one thousand words before lunch fills some copywriters with dread. Writing copy from scratch is tough enough. But writing copy to deadline is even harder. So, here's the secret. You don't have to sit in front of your keyboard until drops of blood appear on your forehead. Instead, you have to ask seven simple questions. 

Whenever a client asks you to write copy to sell something, always take the time to discover what you are selling. Go beyond the obvious specifications and features to discover what the customer is really buying. And always discover the problem that the customer is looking to solve by buying the product or service that your copy is promoting.

You can't write good copy in a vacuum. You need facts, and you need insights. You get these by asking questions. And one of the first questions you ask is this: Where are we selling? This simple question gets you started towards writing great copy. Ask your client, "Where are we selling?" and you'll discover the scope of your project, the mechanics of what you are going to write, and the context of where your copy is appearing in the sales cycle.

Spend your time, energy and creativity only on the people who are likely to buy what you are selling. When you know who you are selling to, and when you know what they are looking to buy, you are ready to start writing great copy.

Your prospects are likely to resist your sales pitch. If they are doing nothing, they are likely to continue doing nothing. If they are walking past your ad in a straight line, they are likely to continue walking past in a straight line. That's the problem with inertia. Your copy has to overcome this inertia. And the most effective way to do so is to answer the question, "Why should my prospective customer buy what I am selling?"

Before you sit down and write a single line of copy, you need to discover who you are competing against. Every product and every service has competition. Your job as a copywriter is to learn as much as you can about your competition so that you can explain why your product or service is better. You face four kinds of competition: other brands, other options, your own brands, and those who do it in house.

The main difference between copywriting and just about every other kind of writing is that copywriting is designed to make people do something. Good copywriting doesn't just inform people. It motivates them to take action. Such as download a white paper, call a toll-free number, visit a website or buy a product.

If you want your copy to be successful, give your copy a goal. Make that goal specific. Make it measurable. And then tell your prospective customer what to do, and how to do it.

Should you spend three weeks writing a headline? Probably.

When David Ogilvy landed the Rolls-Royce account, he spent three weeks learning about the car. In his reading, Ogilvy came across this statement, written by an engineer: “At sixty miles an hour, the loudest noise comes from the electric clock.” Ogilvy made that elusive fact the headline for what became the most famous car advertisement of all time.

All great copy contains a big idea well executed. But how can you find that elusive big idea for the product or service you are promoting? Through exhaustive research. Here's how.

The sweetest sound in any language is the sound of your name. That's why the most important word in copywriting is "you."

Since your prospective customers care about themselves more than they care about you or what you are selling, your copy should make your prospects the hero.

Which means your prospect is more important than what you are selling. You can commit to memory every feature of your product, but if you fail to discover who your prospect is and what she wants and why she buys, you will walk home without a sale.

So, study your prospect more than your product.