Copywriting

---
name: copywriting
description: "Writing or rewriting marketing copy for pages: homepage, landing, pricing, feature and about pages. Use for headlines, CTAs, value propositions and persuasive site text."
metadata:
  version: 2.0.2
---

# Copywriting

Write page copy that is clear first and persuasive second. Read `.agents/product-marketing.md` (or `.claude/product-marketing.md`) first when it exists, and ask only for what it does not cover.

## Brief

Know before writing: page type and the ONE primary action; ideal customer, their problem, objections and the words they use for it; the offer, what differs from alternatives, the key transformation, available proof (numbers, testimonials, case studies); traffic source and what visitors already know. Use only proof the user supplied; where it is missing write a clearly marked placeholder, never an invented statistic, testimonial or customer count.

## Principles

- **Clear over clever.** If the reader must decode the line, it fails. Test headlines with "Now you can ___" and structure the hero as discomfort, then better vision, then path (Human Action Model). Tools and clarity metrics: [references/copy-frameworks.md](references/copy-frameworks.md#clarity--message-market-fit).
- **Benefit over feature**, **specific over vague** ("Cut weekly reporting from 4 hours to 15 minutes" only when that figure is the user's), **customer words over company words** (mine reviews, interviews, support tickets).
- **One idea per section**, building one argument down the page.
- Plain verbs (use, help), active voice, confident (drop "almost", "very", "really"), outcomes described instead of adverbs, no exclamation points, no buzzwords without substance.
- Lead with the point: "Need to share a screenshot? Send as many documents, images and audio files as you like." beats "Slack lets you share files instantly...". A rhetorical question about the pain, an analogy, or wit fits when the brand allows and clarity survives.

## Page structure

**Above the fold**
- Headline: the single most important message, specific over generic. Formulas: "{Outcome} without {pain}", "The {category} for {audience}", "Never {unpleasant event} again", a question naming the main pain. More formulas: [references/copy-frameworks.md](references/copy-frameworks.md).
- Subheadline: 1 to 2 sentences adding specificity.
- Primary CTA: verb plus what they get ("Start Free Trial", "Get the Complete Checklist", "See Pricing for My Team"); avoid Submit, Sign Up, Learn More, Click Here, Get Started.

**Body sections**: social proof (logos, stats, testimonials), problem/pain, solution with 3 to 5 benefits, how it works in 3 to 4 steps, objection handling (FAQ, comparisons, guarantees), final CTA recapping value with risk reversal. Section types and page templates: [references/copy-frameworks.md](references/copy-frameworks.md). Connective phrases between sections: [references/natural-transitions.md](references/natural-transitions.md).

## By page type

- **Homepage**: broadest value proposition, clear paths for different visitor intents.
- **Landing page**: one message, one CTA, headline matches the ad or traffic source, complete argument on the page.
- **Pricing**: help choose the plan, answer "which is right for me?", make the recommended plan obvious.
- **Feature**: feature, then benefit, then outcome; use cases; path to try or buy.
- **About**: why you exist, mission tied to customer benefit, still a CTA.

## Voice

Settle formality (casual, friendly-professional, enterprise) and personality (playful or serious, bold or understated, technical or accessible), then keep it consistent: headlines bolder, body clearer, CTAs action-oriented.

## Output

- Page copy by section: headline, subheadline, CTA, section headers and body, secondary CTAs.
- Annotations on key choices: why, and which principle.
- 2 to 3 options for headlines and CTAs, each with a one-line rationale.
- Meta title and description when relevant.

Hand drafts to `copy-editing` for a line-level pass; send structural or strategy problems to `cro`.