As a copywriter, I’m tasked with writing about all sorts of subjects. In my 25-year career, I’ve had clients order articles, blogs, and other marketing collateral involving air conditioners, pest control, the legal system, the medical field, dentistry, transistors, private security, and more. Now, I’m no walking encyclopedia by any means. In order to write in-depth pieces citing facts and using real-world examples, I must do my research. And that is precisely what I do before writing a single word.
Without research, your writing risks becoming fluff. Even if you think you know it all, digging into the latest studies and learning from other experts gives you food for thought to dish out the best writing possible.
Here are three reasons I always research my subjects before sitting down to write.
Only a Fool Claims to Be All-Knowing
To be an effective writer, you need to become accustomed to constantly learning about the subject you’re writing about. I remember being a kid and arguing with my friend that when I was older, I wanted to read every book there is, so I could know everything there was to know. How naive I was to think that was possible. No one can know everything. Even tenured professors may be unaware of developments in their field, because they haven’t been exposed to the latest innovations. Research can expose you to those innovations, allowing you to become a more well-rounded intellectual and writer.
Most importantly, you should get used to unlearning. Who knows if you have one or more biases that could come unraveled by digging into the latest research on the subject in question. A prime example is what the color yellow does to our emotions. Years ago I read that shades of yellow used in advertising can induce hunger. I even believed this was why McDonald’s chose yellow for its famous golden arches. I parroted this tidbit as if it were fact for longer than I’d care to admit. After doing research, I’ve found that some research and educational materials associate yellow with feelings of alertness, brain preparedness, and motivation, not necessarily hunger.
I recall expressly learning that yellow makes you hungry, but the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts suggests that red makes you hungry, not yellow. Talk about egg (yolk) on my face. Turns out, the relationship between the hue of our radiant sun and hunger is more complicated than I thought. I only discovered all of this through research.
Real-Life Contemporary Examples Help Content Hit Home
Your readers will relate to your writing more if you show them you’re hip to the latest occurrences as they relate to your subject matter. Take tire health, for example. I once had to write for a tire manufacturer, where I was tasked with relaying the dangers of driving on tires with worn treads. As a writer, it would have been perfectly acceptable to make up scenarios to make readers think twice about getting into a vehicle with end-of-lifecycle wheels. By checking the news, you have plenty of harrowing stories to draw from that can make your writing more effective, and memorable for years to come.
If I were writing that article today, I’d point to the devastating and unfortunate rental car accident that occurred in Ohio in 2025, where the tires were cited to have “little to no tread,” which the victim’s widow alleges contributed to her husband’s death. By writing about this incident, your readers may get out and check their tires before driving anywhere, which just might save their lives. That makes your writing not only accurate and contemporary, but also impactful.
I Want My Content to Be Unique & Comprehensive
Whenever I sit down to write about a subject, I’ll conduct a number of online searches. To cover the most ground, I’ll ask questions from various angles to uncover as much information as I can possibly find. This gives me a good idea of what writers are saying, and how to position my article so that it’s one-of-a-kind.
For example, let’s say you’re tasked with writing about dentures for a dental practice. Some questions I might research include:
How do you know you’re ready for dentures?
How are dentures fitted for your mouth?
How do you keep dentures in your mouth, even when eating?
What are the pros and cons of wearing dentures?
The goal here is that whenever someone finds my article, I want them to have all the information they need when making a decision about dentures. They shouldn’t have to go anywhere else to find fitting information or ways to keep the false teeth attached inside their mouths. My goal is to make the article as useful and comprehensive as possible, and that only happens through in-depth research.
As a writer, you should learn to get good at researching your subjects before you sit down to write. By admitting that you don’t know everything and striving to make your content relevant, unique, and comprehensive, you have the recipe for a winning marketing and advertising piece. Now that we’ve covered all this, what do you suppose you’ll be researching and writing about next?
Want an article like this for your own business or brand? Send me a message at info@jasonlittlewriting.com and we’ll discuss how I can help.
