How to read your customers' minds? Test. Test everything.

One thing startup owners often face when working with copywriters is that they usually spent an insane amount of time on making compromises what words and phrases to use...

what "feels or sounds right"...

That's just wrong because of 2 reasons:

• Only your audience can tell you what's the "right" at the end of the day
• Although copywriters speak from experience and owners from the trenches, you're just laying out hypotheses.

So what should you do?

Welcome to the world of data-driven copywriting.

You should test everything. Period.

Make a strong hypothesis why something should work and put it out there. Improve in iterations.

How do you test everything - key messages, the usability of your website, your landing page, UX, the effectiveness of every button...?

• Use platforms like UserTesting or Wynter

• Install heatmap and behaviour tracking software like Hotjar or Lucky Orange

• Of course, Google Analytics and GTM

• Install short 1-question exit-intent popup surveys and ask for feedback (e.g. "What brought you here today" or "Did you find what you were looking for?")

I prefer open-ended questions but test multiple choice as well.

• Gather 10-15 people, offer them Amazon gift cards for 5-min feedback on the marketing collateral you're testing (recommended reading >> design sprint methodology)

• Schedule calls 5-10 calls biweekly with your current or past customers and ask them why they hired you and how they found you.

That's a goldmine of copywriting material too, and it can tell you a lot about your funnels.

Follow these tactics and you'll prevent the highest-paid-person opinion from steering your communication in unprofitable directions.

And finally, all these data will help you achieve a better product-message-market fit - an ideal we all strive to achieve.