Copywriting

Copywriting

Purpose

Write conversion-focused copy for any marketing context — landing pages, email sequences, advertisements, CTAs, product descriptions, sales pages, and more. Every piece of copy exists to drive a specific action. This skill produces clear, compelling, benefit-driven copy that respects the reader's intelligence while motivating them to act.

When to Use

• Writing or rewriting landing page copy (hero, features, CTAs, testimonials)
• Crafting email subject lines and body copy
• Creating ad copy for any platform
• Writing headlines and subheadlines
• Developing product descriptions
• Creating CTAs and button text
• Writing sales page long-form copy
• Taglines and brand messaging
• Signup flow microcopy

Before You Start

1. Understand the product — What does it do? What is the core value? What makes it different?
2. Know the audience — Who is reading this? What do they care about? What language do they use?
3. Define the action — What is the one thing you want the reader to do after reading?
4. Awareness level — How aware is the audience? (Unaware → Problem Aware → Solution Aware → Product Aware → Most Aware)
5. Tone and voice — Professional? Casual? Technical? Warm? Check brand guidelines.
6. Context — Where will this copy appear? What precedes and follows it?
7. Look for context — Check project docs, AGENTS.md, existing copy, and brand voice documentation

Core Copywriting Principles

1. Clarity Over Cleverness

The reader should never have to re-read a sentence. If a line is clever but unclear, rewrite it clearly. The best copy is invisible — the reader feels the message without noticing the writing.

Bad: "Unlock the paradigm of data-driven growth synergies" Good: "See exactly where you're losing customers — and fix it"

2. Benefits Over Features

Features describe what the product does. Benefits describe what the customer gets. Always lead with benefits.

Feature: "Real-time analytics dashboard" Benefit: "Know what's working on your site right now — not yesterday"

The translation formula:

[Feature] → "which means" → [Benefit] → "so you can" → [Outcome]

Example: "One-click A/B testing" → which means → "no developer needed" → so you can → "test new ideas the same day you think of them"

3. Specificity Sells

Vague claims are invisible. Specific claims are believable.

Vague: "Trusted by thousands of companies" Specific: "Used by [EXAMPLE — replace with your own verified number] marketing teams across [EXAMPLE — replace with your own verified number] countries"

Vague: "Improve your conversion rate" Specific: "The average Humblytics user increases their conversion rate by [EXAMPLE — replace with your own verified number] in the first [EXAMPLE — replace with your own verified number] days"

4. One Idea Per Sentence

Short sentences are powerful. They create rhythm. They are easy to scan. Long, meandering sentences with multiple clauses that try to convey several ideas at once while also qualifying and hedging lose the reader's attention and dilute the message.

5. Write Like You Talk

Read every line aloud. If it sounds like a corporate memo, rewrite it. If it sounds like something you would say to a smart colleague, keep it.

6. The Reader Is the Hero

The copy is not about your product. It is about the reader's problem, their goals, and their transformation. The product is the tool. The reader is the protagonist.

Company-centric: "We built the most advanced analytics platform" Reader-centric: "Finally understand why visitors leave your site without buying"

Copywriting Frameworks

PAS (Problem-Agitate-Solve)

The workhorse framework for any length of copy.

1. Problem: Name the pain. Be specific.
2. Agitate: Twist the knife. Show the consequences of inaction.
3. Solve: Present your product as the path to relief.

Example:

You're spending $5,000/month on ads but have no idea which ones actually drive revenue. (Problem)

Every day without attribution data, you're guessing — pouring money into campaigns that might be doing nothing while starving the ones that work. (Agitate)

Humblytics connects every dollar of ad spend to actual conversions, so you can double down on what works and cut what doesn't. (Solve)

AIDA (Attention-Interest-Desire-Action)

Best for structured pages and emails.

1. Attention: Pattern interrupt. Bold statement. Surprising stat.
2. Interest: Relevant detail. "Here's why this matters to you."
3. Desire: Paint the outcome. Social proof. Specificity.
4. Action: Clear, low-friction CTA.

Before-After-Bridge

Best for transformational messaging.

1. Before: "Right now, you're struggling with X"
2. After: "Imagine if X was solved and you had Y"
3. Bridge: "Here's how to get there"

The 1-2-3-4 Formula

For concise, persuasive blocks:

1. What I've got for you
2. What it's going to do for you
3. Who am I and why should you listen
4. What you need to do next

Copy by Format

Headlines

Formulas that work:

• How to [desired outcome] without [objection]: "How to double conversions without redesigning your site"
• [Number] ways to [desired outcome]: "7 ways to reduce cart abandonment today"
• The [adjective] way to [desired outcome]: "The fastest way to find your biggest conversion leak"
• Why [common belief] is [wrong/costing you]: "Why your pricing page is costing you 40% of signups"
• [Desired outcome] in [timeframe]: "Set up A/B testing in 5 minutes"

Headline quality checklist:

• Is it specific? (not generic or vague)
• Is it benefit-driven? (not feature-driven)
• Is it clear? (not clever-but-confusing)
• Does it create urgency or curiosity?
• Is it under 12 words?

CTAs

Principles:

• Start with a verb
• Describe the outcome, not the action
• Reduce perceived risk
• Match the commitment level to the audience's awareness

Examples:

Landing Page Copy Structure

HERO
  Headline: Clear value proposition (what + for whom)
  Subheadline: Supporting detail or mechanism
  CTA: Primary action
  Social proof: One line ("Trusted by X teams")

PROBLEM
  Agitate the status quo pain

SOLUTION
  How your product solves it (mechanism)

FEATURES/BENEFITS
  3-5 key capabilities with benefit-first framing

SOCIAL PROOF
  Testimonials, case studies, metrics

OBJECTION HANDLING
  FAQ or direct rebuttals

FINAL CTA
  Restate value proposition + CTA

Email Copy

Subject line formulas:

• Question: "Are you tracking the right metrics?"
• Number: "3 conversion leaks hiding in your funnel"
• Curiosity: "The page element that kills 40% of signups"
• Personal: "Quick question about your analytics setup"
• Benefit: "Double your landing page conversion rate"

Email body structure:

1. Hook (first line must earn the second line)
2. One core message (don't try to say everything)
3. Bridge to CTA (connect the message to the action)
4. CTA (one clear ask)
5. PS (often the most-read line — put your best hook here)

Ad Copy

Meta/Facebook ad structure:

• Hook (first line — appears before "see more")
• Body (2-4 sentences, benefit-driven)
• CTA (clear action)

Google Search ad structure:

• Headline 1: Include the keyword + benefit
• Headline 2: Differentiation or offer
• Headline 3: CTA or trust signal
• Description 1: Expand on the benefit, include keyword
• Description 2: Social proof or secondary benefit

Microcopy

Small text that reduces friction and builds trust:

• Form labels: "Work email" (not just "Email")
• Helper text: "We'll never share your email. Unsubscribe anytime."
• Error messages: "That email doesn't look right — mind checking it?" (not "Invalid input")
• Success messages: "You're in! Check your inbox for next steps."
• Loading states: "Crunching your numbers..." (not "Loading")
• Empty states: "No data yet. Add your first test to get started."

Voice and Tone Guide

Adapt tone to context while maintaining core voice:

Output Format

When writing copy, deliver:

1. Primary version — The recommended copy
2. Alternative version — A different angle or approach for testing
3. Rationale — Why this copy works (framework used, psychological principle)
4. A/B test suggestion — What element to test first

Always deliver copy that is ready to use — not outlines, not suggestions, but actual copy that can be pasted into the page.

Related Skills

• page-cro — Audit the page context where copy will live
• ab-test-generator — Test copy variations with data
• ad-expert — Platform-specific ad copy requirements
• content-strategist — Longer-form content and editorial copy
• marketing-strategist — Align copy with funnel stage and campaign strategy

Shared Frameworks (REQUIRED reading)

Copy work is the area where canon advice backfires most often. Read these before producing variants.

• _shared/frameworks/anti-patterns.md — read in full. Copy-specific highlights:
  • "Free" in CTA copy is context-dependent. Unbounce platform-wide data: CTAs without "free" outperform CTAs with "free" by −16.8% (10.79% vs 9.24%). CXL email test: no-"free" got +17%. The famous Corcentric +99% from "Free Demo" is the outlier, not the rule. For enterprise/sophisticated buyers, "free" signals low-stakes / hobbyist product.
  • Generic testimonials hurt trust. Stock photos with names like "John, CEO", anonymized "satisfied customer" framing, polished "absolutely perfect" quotes — all underperform vs no testimonial. Use real names + photos + companies + specific quantified results.
  • Customer logos LOST in most DoWhatWorks A/B tests unless audience-segment-matched. Don't recommend a logo strip as default trust signal.
• _shared/frameworks/base-rate-priors.md — only ~31% of headline rewrites beat control (73-test study). When recommending a headline rewrite, frame as "roughly 1-in-3 chance of beating control with meaningful effect" — anchor on the base rate, not on the +104% best-case outliers in case studies. Most "headline wins" in published cases are confounded with value-prop, layout, and supporting-copy changes.
• _shared/benchmarks/patterns.json — when proposing CTA copy, headline pattern, or trust language, match to a pattern_id and quote the evidence-backed lift range. Categories most relevant to copywriting: cta, headline, social_proof, urgency.

Use these to stop overselling the lift magnitude. A good headline rewrite recommendation says "expected lift +5–15% if it wins, but base rate of headline-test wins is ~31% — plan accordingly" not "this will lift CVR 40%."