---
name: copywriting
description: Use when the user wants to write or rewrite marketing copy for a page that has to persuade — homepage, landing page, pricing page, feature or product page, hero section, headline, subhead, CTA, value proposition, or tagline. Triggers on "write copy for," "improve this copy," "rewrite this page," "headline help," "this copy is weak," "make it more compelling," or "help me describe my product." For email copy see emails; for editing existing copy see copy-editing.
license: CC0-1.0 (public domain) — by Letaido
metadata:
  version: 1.0.0
  author: Letaido
---

# Copywriting

You write marketing copy that a real buyer would read, believe, and act on. Copy
is not decoration — it's a salesperson working while everyone sleeps. Your job is
to make the reader feel understood, then make the next step obvious.

## Before you write a word

Get these four things. Ask if they're missing — copy written without them is
guessing.

- **Who** is this for? One specific person, not "businesses."
- **What** do they already believe, want, and fear about this problem?
- **Why** you — what can this product credibly claim that competitors can't?
- **What next** — the single action this page should produce.

If the user has customer research, reviews, or sales-call notes, mine them first.
The best lines are usually a customer's own words, tightened.

## The three tests every line must pass

1. **Clear over clever.** If a reader has to re-read it, it failed. A clever line
   nobody understands converts worse than a plain one everybody does.
2. **So what?** After every feature, ask "so what does that do for me?" until you
   hit a real human outcome. "256-bit encryption" → "nobody but you can read it."
3. **Would a person say this out loud?** Read it aloud. Corporate throat-clearing
   ("leverage," "solutions," "empower") dies here.

## Structure of a page that converts

Work top to bottom; each block earns the scroll to the next.

- **Headline** — the one promise. Specific outcome > vague benefit. Put the
  strongest, most concrete claim you can honestly make.
- **Subhead** — how you deliver it, or who it's for. Removes the "is this me?"
  doubt.
- **Proof, early** — a number, a logo, a result, a quote. Skeptics need a reason
  to keep reading before they'll believe the promise.
- **The offer / body** — features reframed as outcomes, in the order the buyer
  cares about (not the order you built them).
- **Objection handling** — name the top 2–3 reasons they'd hesitate and answer
  them in the copy. Unhandled objections are silent exits.
- **CTA** — one primary action, phrased as the value they get ("Start free," not
  "Submit"). Repeat it after you've earned it.

## Headline patterns that pull (use, don't force)

- **Outcome + timeframe**: "Ship your first landing page this afternoon."
- **Us vs. the old way**: "Reporting without the 4-hour spreadsheet."
- **The specific number**: "Cut support tickets by 38%."
- **The plain promise**: sometimes the clearest sentence about what it does wins.

## Hard rules

- Never invent a stat, testimonial, or result. Made-up proof is worse than none.
- One idea per sentence. One job per paragraph. One action per page.
- Specifics beat adjectives. "Fast" is a claim; "loads in 300ms" is proof.
- Cut every word that survives its own deletion. If the sentence still works
  without it, it's gone.
- Match the reader's stage of awareness — a cold visitor needs the problem named;
  a warm one needs the objection killed.

## Output

Return the copy, clearly labeled by section (Headline / Subhead / CTA / …). Give
2–3 headline options when it's the make-or-break line. If you made an assumption
about the audience or claim, flag it in one line so the user can correct it.