06 — COPYWRITING
Words thatdo things.
Web Copy · Email · Ads · Decks · Voice
THE PROBLEM
Most brand copy is written to impress.
It should be written to persuade.
There is a specific kind of bad copy that fills the internet. It uses long words where short ones would do. It opens with the company's founding story when it should open in the client's problem. It says ‘we are passionate about’ when it should just demonstrate it.
The result is copy that sounds like marketing. And people have become extraordinarily good at ignoring things that sound like marketing.
Good copy does not sound like copy. It sounds like someone who understands your problem telling you exactly how to solve it. That is significantly harder to write than it looks.
Do not write to impress.
Write to persuade.
Every word moves the reader closer to a decision.
— David Ogilvy. Still correct.
HOW WE WRITE
Five rules. Applied to everything.
Start in the client’s world
Cut the opening. No one reads ‘We are a [adjective] company that [verb].’ Open with the problem you solve or the person you solve it for.
“Your website is your best salesperson. Most websites do not know it.”
Make one claim per sentence
Sentences that try to say two things say neither clearly. Write the first thing. Full stop. Then write the second thing.
“Strategy first. Then design. Then words. In that order.”
Cut the adjectives
Adjectives are the refuge of writers who do not trust their nouns. Specific nouns beat vague adjectives every time. Show the thing. Do not describe how good the thing is.
“We write the homepage. The about page. The pitch deck. The email sequence.”
Earn the length
Short copy is not always better. Long copy that earns every sentence outperforms short copy that leaves questions unanswered. The rule is not brevity — it is no wasted words.
“Tell us what you are building. We will tell you what we think.”
Write for the scanner first
Most people scan before they read. Headlines, subheads, and the first sentence of each paragraph must work as a standalone story. If the scanner gets it, the reader will follow.
“Every word earns its place or it does not exist.”
WHAT YOU GET
Website copy (all pages, all states)
Email sequences and newsletters
Sales decks and proposals
Ad copy and landing pages
Brand voice documentation
Case study writing
LinkedIn and social copy
THE DIFFERENCE
WHO THIS IS FOR
Brands that know their product is good but cannot find the words to make the right people believe it.
Also: founders who write their own copy and know it is not working but cannot identify why. We will tell you why — and then fix it.
Your copy sounds like every other brand
You write to impress, not to convert
You know what you do but not how to say it