dry-three-copy-tests
Harry Dry's Three Copy Tests
Based on Harry Dry's public method. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Harry Dry.
When to use
Use this skill when marketing copy needs to help a particular reader understand an offer and take a next step. It suits both new drafts and revisions, especially polished sentences that hide the product behind abstractions or could fit almost any advertiser. The deliverable is finished copy accompanied, when useful, by a brief explanation of its imagery, evidence, and distinctive truth. [S1][S2]
Apply the tests most closely to the main selling promise. Supporting lines can explain the mechanism, substantiate the promise, and answer objections. A button or factual label need not carry an entire sales case. Adapt the scope to the requested channel and length; use this as a writing method rather than a requirement to redesign every page. [S3]
Before drafting, read the relevant sections of references/method.md. The examples illustrate decisions, not reusable claims. Source citations identify the public advice behind the method; they are never evidence that a user's product delivers a particular result.
Procedure
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Define the assignment. Record the reader, channel, desired action, length, and reader's most important problem. Use the brief fields in templates/output-template.md. Choose one primary promise so the copy has a clear job; do not silently widen a headline request into a full campaign.
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Gather usable facts. Inventory the actual offer, mechanism, constraints, proof, and objections. Separate supplied evidence from assumptions and missing information using references/method.md, section "Build the evidence base." Ask for a fact only when it changes the promise; otherwise draft within what is known.
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Listen for customer language. Extract recurring frustrations and desired outcomes from supplied interviews, reviews, or support notes. Follow "Build the evidence base" in references/method.md. Preserve meaning without inventing testimonials or making one comment represent everyone. If no customer material exists, label audience assumptions. [S4]