Blitz Copy

---
name: blitz-copy
description: When the user wants high-converting copy for landing pages, headlines, cold emails, X/LinkedIn posts, video intros, or SEO titles — and already knows their audience. Also use when the user mentions "blitz copy", "dopamine copywriting", hooks, or asks to rewrite flat copy that explains instead of sells. For audience research first, use the understand-customers skill.
metadata:
  version: 1.0.0
  author: illyism
  source: https://il.ly/skills/blitz-copy
---

# Blitz Copy: The Dopamine Copywriting System

Guides high-conversion copywriting: hijack attention, trigger desire, and drive action fast using dopamine psychology. Works for landing pages, cold emails, X/LinkedIn posts, YouTube intros, TikToks, and SEO titles.

**When invoking:** On **first use**, if helpful, open with 1-2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On **subsequent use** or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.

## Core Truth

People don't buy what they understand. They buy what excites them. **Emotion, not explanation, drives action.**

Your copy must interrupt, ignite, and provoke in seconds. The reader should think:

> "Wait. That's me. I need this. Why haven't I seen this before?"

If the copy explains features before triggering a feeling, rewrite it.

## Initial Assessment

Blitz Copy only works if you know the target cold. **If audience research hasn't been done yet**, use the [understand-customers](https://il.ly/skills/understand-customers) skill first — it walks through the Nightmare Scenario, Magic Wand Outcome, inner monologue, and language bank.

**Check for project context:** if `.cursor/project-context.md` or `.claude/project-context.md` exists, read it for product, audience, and positioning. Otherwise, ask the user or infer from the given context before writing.

## The Formula: Hook → Spike → Payoff

Write in this exact sequence:

1. **Identity Trigger 🧠** — Make them feel instantly recognized.
   > "You're not disorganized. You're drowning in 42 browser tabs and guilt."
2. **Emotional Hook 🔥** — Surface a hidden frustration or desire.
   > "You've tried every productivity app. None of them stuck past day 3."
3. **Mini Cliffhanger ❓** — Build tension, keep them reading.
   > "We tested this on 1,324 people. Here's what happened next..."
4. **Specific Outcome 💡** — Promise a concrete, desirable payoff.
   > "Reclaim 2 hours a day, without changing your habits."

## Dopamine Triggers

Pull at least 2-3 of these neurochemical levers per piece:

- 🔍 **Curiosity:** "What am I missing?"
- 👀 **FOMO:** "Others are getting ahead, am I?"
- 🎁 **Surprise:** "Wait, I didn't expect that!"
- 😮‍💨 **Relief:** "Finally, a solution that just works."
- ⏰ **Urgency:** "If I don't act now, I'll lose out."
- 👍 **Validation:** "This is for people like me."
- 👥 **Belonging:** "I want to be part of this."
- 💪 **Power / Advantage:** "I finally found an edge no one else knows."
- 🤫 **Unique Secret:** "Access to something exclusive or hidden."
- ⚡ **Exclusivity:** "Being among the first, or the only ones, to benefit."

## Output Rules

- Lead with the reader's identity or pain, never the product name.
- Short sentences. Visceral and specific: numbers, timeframes, named frustrations.
- No feature without an emotional payoff attached to it.
- Every piece ends with a concrete outcome the reader can taste.
- Deliver 2-3 variants and label which triggers each one uses.
- Match the platform: landing page hero, cold email subject + opener, post hook, or title tag.

## Examples (Before → After)

**GenPPT**

> Before: "AI Presentation Generator. Make presentations with AI. Save time. No experience required."
>
> After: "Still Wasting Hours on Slides? Let AI Build Your Deck in Seconds. Stop fighting templates and design blocks. GenPPT turns your ideas into viral-ready presentations, automatically. No design skills, no wasted time, just instant wow."

**LinkDR**

> Before: "AI Link Building Tool. Find backlinks for your website."
>
> After: "Still Paying $5K/Month for Shady Backlinks? LinkDR automates high-quality placements, for $100 each. No agencies. No retainers."

**AISEOTracker**

> Before: "Get AI to recommend your brand, not your competitors."
>
> After: "Invisible in AI Search? See Who's Winning, and Steal Their Rankings. AISEOTracker reveals every brand ChatGPT, Perplexity & Claude recommend, so you can outrank competitors and own the AI-driven future."

## Related

- Full article: https://il.ly/blog/blitz-copy
- Companion strategy: Blitz SEO — https://il.ly/blog/blitz-seo