Copy Editing

---
name: copy-editing
description: >
  Use this skill when reviewing, editing, or improving existing marketing copy, or when refreshing outdated content. Trigger phrases include: "edit this copy," "review this page," "improve this content," "punch up this writing," "make this copy better," "review our homepage copy," "clean up this landing page," "refresh this old blog post," "copy sweep," "edit my email copy," "critique this messaging," or "review my marketing content." This skill covers copy review frameworks, what to look for in a copy sweep, how to identify and fix weak copy, and how to refresh outdated content without rewriting from scratch. Distinct from copywriting, which writes new copy from scratch.
---

# Copy-Editing Skill

## Mandatory Content Standards

- Match the output length to the task. For full audits, strategies, plans, or multi-part deliverables, write 1,500 to 10,000 words. For quick tasks, single assets, snippets, or narrow revisions, keep the output concise and provide only the useful variations, rationale, and next steps.
- Write in a way that sounds like a knowledgeable human wrote it. No robotic or templated phrasing.
- Use short sentences. One idea per sentence. One focus per paragraph.
- Use active voice. Never passive constructions.
- Address the reader directly using "you" and "your."
- Use bullet points only when they genuinely improve readability.
- Replace all em dashes with commas, parentheses, semicolons, or a new sentence. No hidden Unicode characters.
- End every sentence with a period.
- No hashtags, emojis, or asterisks.
- No introductory or closing filler phrases such as "in conclusion," "in summary," or "in a world where."
- No warnings, notes, or disclaimers. Stick to requested output.
- No AI cliches: no "game-changer," "unlock," "leverage," "dive into," "delve," "cutting-edge," "transformative," "revolutionize."
- No excessive adjectives or adverbs. Let specifics do the work.
- No broad generalizations. Every claim tied to specific context.
- Use specific examples, data, and scenarios.
- Pose at least one thought-provoking question per skill.
- Mobile-friendly: short paragraphs, clear headers, scannable.
- Practical and actionable. Every section connects to a next step.

---

## What This Skill Does

This skill reviews and improves existing marketing copy. It applies to homepage copy, landing pages, product pages, email campaigns, ad copy, case studies, blog posts, and any other marketing text that already exists and needs to be better.

The output is either a marked-up version of the existing copy with specific edits, an editorial review document with observations and recommendations, or a revised draft. Which format to use depends on what the user needs.

Before editing, gather:

- The copy to be reviewed (pasted in full or linked)
- The intended audience for the copy
- The goal of the copy (what should a reader do or feel after reading it?)
- The brand voice guidelines, if they exist
- Any performance data (conversion rates, bounce rates, heatmaps, user feedback)
- Whether a light edit or a significant rewrite is in scope

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## The Copy Editor's Perspective

Good copy editing is not just fixing grammar. It is looking at a piece of writing and asking whether it does what it was built to do. Does it reach the right person? Does it speak to their actual situation? Does it move them toward an action?

Most marketing copy has specific, fixable problems. Identifying those problems precisely is the first job. Fixing them is the second.

Here is the test that makes this concrete: read the copy out loud. If you stumble, readers will stumble. If a sentence requires you to read it twice to understand it, readers will not bother reading it twice. They will leave.

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## The Five Dimensions of a Copy Sweep

A copy sweep looks at five dimensions. Each one identifies a different category of problem.

### Dimension 1: Clarity

Every sentence should say exactly one thing. If a sentence requires a re-read to understand, it fails the clarity test.

What to look for:

Long sentences with multiple clauses: "We help companies that are looking to improve their customer onboarding process by providing a streamlined, automated workflow that integrates with their existing CRM and reduces time-to-value for new users." This is one sentence doing the work of three. Break it apart.

Abstract nouns where specific ones would work: "We deliver solutions that provide value" means nothing. "We cut your onboarding time from 14 days to 3" means something.

Jargon the audience would not use themselves: "End-to-end paradigm shift" is not a thing your customer says. If you would not hear a customer say it on a sales call, cut it from the copy.

Passive constructions that bury the actor: "Results are achieved through our platform" versus "Our platform drives results." The first version obscures who does what. The second is direct.

Compound qualifiers that slow reading: "highly efficient and cost-effective fully integrated solution." Trim until only the specifics remain.

### Dimension 2: Specificity

Vague copy is copy that nobody believes. Every claim should be anchored in something specific: a number, a named customer, a concrete outcome, a described scenario.

What to look for:

Superlatives without evidence: "The fastest, most reliable platform available" is a claim that requires proof. "Processes 10 million records per hour with 99.99% uptime" is the same claim with evidence.

Generic benefit statements: "Improve productivity" should be "reduce time spent on manual reporting by 3 hours per week."

Customer quotes without specificity: "Working with them has been a great experience" says nothing. "We reduced our onboarding time by 60% in the first month" says something.

Unnamed customers: "A Fortune 500 company" is less credible than "Salesforce." If you can name customers, do it. If you cannot, the proof loses half its power.

Feature descriptions without outcomes: "Automated scheduling" is a feature. "Eliminate the back-and-forth of scheduling by letting clients book directly based on your availability" is a benefit.

### Dimension 3: Flow

Copy should pull the reader forward. If a piece of copy has the reader at the headline and loses them by the third paragraph, there is a flow problem.

What to look for:

Paragraph length: Paragraphs longer than four sentences create a visual wall. Break them up, even if the content is connected.

Buried ledes: The most important point in a paragraph should be the first sentence, not the last. Readers scan. They read first sentences and decide whether to keep going.

Repetition: If the same idea appears in multiple places, the copy is padded. Find the best place for the idea and cut the others.

Dead transitions: "Furthermore," "Moreover," "In addition" are filler. Remove them. If the ideas are connected, the connection should be evident without a transition word.

Mismatched rhythm: A section with three very long paragraphs followed by one short one breaks the flow. Neither long nor short is always right. The rhythm should suit the content and the page type.

### Dimension 4: CTA Strength

Every piece of marketing copy has a job. The CTA is where that job either gets done or does not. A weak CTA wastes the investment in everything that came before it.

What to look for:

Generic CTA copy: "Learn more" and "Get started" tell the reader nothing about what they are starting or learning. "See how it works in 5 minutes" or "Start your free trial, no credit card needed" are specific and address objections.

CTA mismatch: The CTA should match the commitment level of the copy and the audience temperature. A cold prospect reading a blog post should be asked to subscribe or download, not to "book a demo." A warm prospect on a pricing page is ready for the demo ask.

One CTA per unit: A page or section with three different CTAs splits reader attention. Choose one. If the page has multiple sections targeting different audiences or stages, each section can have a different CTA, but each one should be singular.

Missing CTA: Some pages describe what a product does beautifully and then fail to ask the reader to do anything. If the reader finishes and wonders "okay, so what do I do now," the CTA is missing or buried.

### Dimension 5: Voice Consistency

Marketing copy should sound like it came from the same brand across every page, email, ad, and social post. When it does not, readers sense the inconsistency even if they cannot name it.

What to look for:

Tone shifts within a page: One section is casual ("Hey there, let's talk about your data problem") and the next is formal ("Our enterprise-grade solution provides robust functionality"). Pick a register and hold it.

Off-brand adjectives: Some brands are confident without being boastful. Others are expert without being stuffy. Adjectives reveal tone. "Simple, powerful, and delightful" reads differently from "enterprise-grade, scalable, and compliant." Check whether the adjectives match the intended brand position.

Inconsistent use of "you" versus "your team" versus "users": Pick one mode of address and use it consistently.

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## How to Identify and Fix Weak Copy

Weak copy follows predictable patterns. Once you know the patterns, you can spot them quickly.

Pattern 1: The feature dump. Listing features without connecting them to outcomes or the reader's situation. Fix: for each feature, add "which means you can" and complete the sentence with a specific benefit.

Pattern 2: The credential lead. Opening with how long the company has been around, how many customers it has, or how many awards it has won. The reader does not yet care. They care about themselves. Fix: open with the reader's problem or situation, then earn the right to mention credentials.

Pattern 3: The "we" center. Copy that is full of "we do this" and "we have that" instead of "you get this" and "your team can do that." Fix: rewrite every "we" sentence as a "you" sentence and watch what changes.

Pattern 4: The watery adjective. Words like "innovative," "comprehensive," "seamless," and "robust" that describe everything and commit to nothing. Fix: replace each one with a specific fact. "Comprehensive analytics" becomes "analytics that show you where users drop off and why, so you can fix it."

Pattern 5: The passive victim. Passive constructions that remove the actor and soften the claim. "Revenue is increased by teams using our product" versus "Teams using our product increase revenue by an average of 23%." Fix: identify the actor and make them the subject of the sentence.

Pattern 6: The endless caveat. Qualifiers like "can," "may," "often," "in some cases," and "typically" that undermine every claim. Fix: use them only where genuinely necessary. "Our platform can reduce onboarding time" is weaker than "Our platform reduces onboarding time."

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## How to Refresh Outdated Content Without Rewriting from Scratch

Old content is often more valuable than it looks. A blog post from three years ago that ranks on page two for a relevant keyword can often be pushed to page one with targeted updates rather than a full rewrite.

The refresh process:

Step 1: Identify what is outdated. Statistics, dates, product features, pricing, named competitors, and regulatory context all go stale. Flag every element that is no longer accurate.

Step 2: Update the specifics. Replace outdated numbers with current ones. Update any references to your product to reflect current features. Replace any competitors that have rebranded, been acquired, or shut down.

Step 3: Improve the headline and introduction. The headline is the most important element for both click-through rate from search and reader engagement. If the headline is weak, a better one can improve performance without touching the rest of the post.

Step 4: Add what the original missed. Look at the questions that people are currently asking around the topic (in forums, on Reddit, in "people also ask" boxes). If the original post misses a common question, add a section that answers it.

Step 5: Improve internal links. Link to newer related content published after the original post. Remove internal links that now go to pages that no longer exist.

Step 6: Update the publish date only after you have made substantive changes. Updating the date without updating the content is dishonest and increasingly flagged by search engines.

Step 7: Check and update the CTA. CTAs that point to offers that no longer exist, or that ask for a level of commitment the updated content does not yet earn, need to be fixed.

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## When to Edit versus When to Rewrite

Not all copy is worth fixing. Sometimes the most efficient path is starting over.

Edit when: The structure and core argument are sound but the execution is weak. The key information is present but the writing is verbose or unclear. The voice is right but specific sections need tightening.

Rewrite when: The core claim is wrong for the current audience or moment. The page is structured in a way that does not match how buyers think about the problem. The voice is so far from the brand that line edits would not be enough. The page was written for a product that has significantly changed.

A useful rule: if you find yourself rewriting more than 60 percent of a piece, start over. The remaining 40 percent will be easier to write cleanly if it is not constrained by the structure of the original.

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## Common Copy Problems by Page Type

Homepage: The headline tries to serve everyone and ends up speaking to no one. The most common fix is narrowing the audience and making the primary claim more specific.

Landing pages: The headline and the ad that drove traffic to it say different things. The message match is broken. Readers land and feel disoriented. Fix by aligning the headline to the specific promise of the traffic source.

Pricing pages: The tier names are abstract ("Basic," "Pro," "Enterprise") rather than audience-descriptive ("For freelancers," "For growing teams," "For large organizations"). The upgrade path is unclear. The FAQ section is absent. All three are fixable without a redesign.

Email campaigns: The subject line does not match the email body. The first sentence repeats the subject line instead of extending it. The CTA asks for something the email body did not earn. These are structural problems that require rearranging rather than rewriting.

Case studies: The case study describes what the customer did without naming a specific outcome. Or it names an outcome without explaining the situation that made it impressive. Fix by following the structure: situation before, specific challenge, what changed, specific result with numbers.

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## The Copy Review Output Format

When reviewing copy, deliver the feedback in one of these three formats depending on what the user asked for:

Marked-up draft: The original copy with specific suggested changes inline. Deletions struck through, additions in brackets. This format works for copy that needs line-level editing.

Editorial memo: A structured document identifying the top five to ten issues with the current copy and the recommended direction for fixing each one. This format works for copy that needs substantial rethinking, where providing a line edit would be premature.

Revised draft: A clean rewrite incorporating the feedback. This format works when the user wants a ready-to-use improved version, not a process document.

If unsure which format the user wants, default to the editorial memo first, then offer to produce the revised draft once they have confirmed the direction.