Is asking questions in your copy passé? The Complete Guide

Ever wondered if asking questions in your copy is OK?
Sometimes they work, and sometimes they’re annoying… amIright?
But sometimes they just might work and help you keep your reader engaged. Wondering how?
You’ll find out in this Q&A: is asking questions in your copy passé?

The topic of this Q&A came from this question: “Lately, I’ve been hearing that if you ask too many questions in your copy, it can come across as “salesy”. Is asking questions in your copy passe?

I’m here to tell you that asking questions, if used correctly, can be very powerful!

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen copy where there are too many questions or simply just the wrong questions that bring the obvious answer of ‘Yes’. This ends up making the copy feel clunky, cluttered and hard to read.

A great example was an email I received once from Rich Schefren, a very successful internet marketer. The entire email, including the subject, was questions one after the other.

And as somebody who spends a lot of their time looking at other people’s marketing and subscribing to people’s emails lists, I was engaged from start to finish. I read the entire email because the questions were very well crafted. And therein lies the answer. Questions in your copy should be well crafted.

How to create well-crafted questions

In my NeuroCopy framework, attention-getting is one of the techniques that I recommend in the copy part of the framework. When teaching the attention-getting technique to my clients, they are first learning how to ask questions in their copy that makes the reader say “yes”!

What if it gets their attention for just a moment?
What’s that worth to you?
Whether they say it in their head or they say it out loud (might be weird in public), as long as they say “yes” when reading your copy, then you have unlocked the most powerful tool.

So if your questions achieve those outcomes (and notice I asked two questions, so if you’re still engaged, then that worked), then you are on the right track to keeping your clients coming back for more!

So here are some tips for you when asking questions in your copy. You can use how and why to inspire curiosity. You could be provocative and interrupt people to show urgency – have you ever made this mistake? Those kinds of things.

You can use your headlines as an opportunity to ask an intriguing question that inspires the reader to look for the answer. One that I saw recently said “Have you made these coffee mistakes?” and I was like “ooh! good question” because it’s tapping into pain and fear.

What to avoid when crafting your questions

As I’ve mentioned, time and time again, it always comes down to knowing your ideal client and making sure you’re clear on who they are.

Because if you’re asking the wrong questions, your audience will disengage and will stop reading. This then prevents them from having that conversation in their head (or out loud) where they answer “yes” to your burning questions!

Once you have a good handle on your ideal client, please avoid asking obvious questions in your copy. Your readers will quickly catch on and feel as though the questions are redundant. Also, make sure that you avoid asking questions where the answer is no unless it’s part of your strategy.

The last thing you might want to avoid is leveraging fear in your questions. I’ve actually used fear in my copy before but then followed up with a subhead or text that offers a comforting and positive solution to their problem. If you feel this is the right direction for your strategy too, then, by all means, give it a try but make sure to tread lightly when using this method.

So, what’s next?

Once again, it all comes down to knowing your ideal client and asking the right questions that are going to create a profound level of subconscious connection that we look for when we’re writing copy.

Next week’s question is going to be about using your authentic voice while still connecting with your avatar. Until then, have a great week, and in the meantime, make sure to check out this post on how to create a clear brand message.

If you do have any questions for me, please feel free to drop me an email. I’m always happy to answer them!

• For more helpful reading:
  Four Types of Questions to Ask

Ali