Of the hundreds of questions I "grill" my client with - I think it's about 137 to be exact - these are the core, foundational ones that you must know before writing a word.
Think of your marketing & advertising copy as an army of tiny salesmen. You personally couldn't give a sales presentation to 50,000 individuals, but you can let your army of tiny salesmen - YOUR COPY - present the same compelling message that you would in person.