How to really know if your copy research is valid

Reader Niranjan P. is back with another burning copywriting question this morning.


All I meant is... What is your credible source to research your products/services? I believe going on forums and groups to find pain points is less effective. I mean for how long should you rely on the same forum for reviews?

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I think what Niranjan is really getting at here is how I know whether or not a piece of research is worth using.

I think I’m a pretty good person to ask this.

Last summer, I went through what I consider to be the most comprehensive copywriting market research course available: Market Detective, by Daniel Throssell.

I learned a lot in that course. A lot.

But I’m not going to spill the beans about what’s inside it … for that, you’ll have to buy the course yourself, and it ain’t cheap.

What I can tell you, however, is how I’ve personally been able to parse out “good” research from “bad” research — something I’ve picked up over the last 5 or so years writing online.

It all comes down to the difference between two of the main ways people present themselves on social media sites:

With vanity. Or with anonymity.

When I’m gathering research, I typically use sites where users present more anonymously.

This could be Reddit, Amazon (reviews section), YouTube (comments section) and in the reviews left on my client’s websites.

People don’t have anything to gain by asking for help, anonymously, in places like these with other strangers.

And because of this, the research here can be much more genuine and reliable.

Compare this to sites like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. These are places where you can build a following or where you share the “highlight reel” of your life.

Thus the comments can be less genuine and useful for market research.

At a base level, this is my litmus test for knowing whether or not a piece of research is worth using to begin with.

Is the comment one of vanity? Or is it one of anonymity?

Hope that helps.

David Patrick

P.S. — Do YOU have a burning copywriting question you’d like ME to answer in one of these emails? Send it my way! If I like it enough, I’ll feature it. But you’ll have to be on my email list to ask questions …