marketing-copy

Clear over clever. Specific over vague. Honest over hype. (Distilled in our own way from Corey Haines' marketing skills, MIT.) This governs the words, not the layout — pair with anti-slop-frontend / redesign-existing-projects for the page itself.

1. Positioning first (ask if missing — don't guess)

Before writing, pin these down (from the user, or the site/codebase): one-liner · category ("what shelf you sit on") · ICP (company type + decision-maker role) · primary job-to-be-done · core problem + emotional tension · #1 differentiator · top-3 objections · verbatim customer words to use / to avoid. Capture the customer's exact phrases, not polished descriptions.

2. The 6 principles (hard checklist)

Clarity over cleverness. 2. Benefits over features. 3. Specific over vague ("Cut reporting from 4hrs to 15min", not "save time"). 4. Customer language over company language. 5. One idea per section. 6. Honest over sensational. Style: use not utilize; active not passive; confident not qualified (kill "almost / very / really"); show don't tell; remove every exclamation point; ban buzzwords (streamline / optimize / innovative / game-changing).

3. Always output options

For any headline or CTA, give 2–3 alternatives with rationale. CTA formula: [action verb] + [what they get] + [qualifier] — never "Submit / Sign Up / Learn More" ("Start my free trial", "Get the checklist").

4. Frameworks (in the reference)

Headline formulas, the 11-section landing-page structure (+ compact & launch-post variants), the offer Value Equation, objection handling, the psychology bank, and the Seven Sweeps QA pass all live in references/copy-frameworks.md. Read it when drafting.