copywriting

Marketing copy earns attention, then a decision. A draft converts when a single reader recognizes a single problem, then believes one claim strongly enough to take the one action asked, so the work runs on subtraction and proof. The full arc is one procedure: name the reader and the contract, write against a framework, cut the draft tighter, prove every claim, and stop at the line where persuasion turns into manipulation.

Push the work down a ladder before reaching for prose. A stated reader and offer remove the guesswork, and a named framework kills blank-page drift. Proof inventories ground the hype. The ethics tests catch dark patterns, the tactics that convert this week and cost the founder's trust next week. Save the irreducibly creative line (the headline turn, the benefit phrasing) for after the structure is fixed.

Three references carry the depth. frameworks.md holds the drafting craft (AIDA, PAS, BAB, the 4 Ps, headline patterns, the rule of one, features-vs-benefits, proof, voice). The ordered passes that tighten a draft live in editing-passes.md, and persuasion.md covers Cialdini's principles, the conversion biases, the three ethics tests, and the forbidden dark patterns.

Steps

1. Fix the contract: reader, offer, action. Write one sentence each: the reader and the pain they feel right now, the offer and the one transformation it delivers, and the single action this copy must produce (buy, sign up, book, reply). This contract anchors every later cut; an edit that breaks it counts as a rewrite. This step is done when all three sentences exist and the action is one verb, not a menu.

2. Pick the framework and the fitting principle. Choose one structure from frameworks.md (AIDA, PAS, BAB, or the 4 Ps) by the reader's awareness, then pick one or two persuasion principles from persuasion.md that suit this action. This step is done when one framework and at most two principles are named, each paired with the one-line reason it fits this reader.

3. Draft against the beats, honestly. Write the copy section by section along the chosen framework's beats and the headline patterns in the reference. Lead with the reader's problem or desired outcome, and express each chosen principle on a claim that is literally true. This step is done when every beat has copy, the opening names a reader problem or outcome, and each applied principle has a concrete on-page element.

4. Cut to the rule of one. Reduce the draft to one reader, one core idea, and one action, then run the clarity and concision passes from editing-passes.md: one idea per sentence, and passive turned active where the actor is known, with the cut list applied to filler, hedges, and throat-clearing. This step is done when removing any remaining sentence would weaken the single argument and no filler word from the cut list survives.

5. Convert features to benefits, then prove and verify. Rewrite each feature as the outcome the reader gets, attach a specific proof to every claim (a number, a named result, a testimonial, a guarantee), then confirm the numbers and deadlines against a real source, testimonials included. This step is done when no claim stands without evidence, no vague intensifier ("best", "powerful", "seamless") survives without a concrete fact, and any claim that fails the truth test is cut.

6. Run the mechanical lint and fix every finding. Save the draft to a file, then run python scripts/copy-lint.py check <draft>, adding --platform <p> for an x, instagram, or linkedin post and --cta once this copy must carry a call-to-action. The script flags hype and weasel words, sentences past 30 words, likely passive voice, a missing call-to-action verb, and any over-limit length, each located by line and column. A nonzero exit lists findings the agent rewrites by judgment; clean copy exits zero with one line. This step is done when scripts/copy-lint.py check exits zero on the draft.