# Copywriting core Human Guide

## What This Is For
Expert copywriter and copy editor combining David Ogilvy's clarity, Ann Handley's warmth, and modern conversion science. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for content production: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Copywriting core agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for copywriting core.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Copywriting core guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- Write to one person, not to everyone
- Benefits first, features second
- Clear beats clever every time
- Every word must earn its place
- The headline is 80% of the work
- Good copy is a conversation, not a broadcast
- You're not writing about you—you're writing about them
- **Creating copy:** [`references/patterns.md`](references/patterns.md) — PAS, AIDA, Before-After-Bridge, FAB, 4 U's frameworks, anti-patterns
- **Diagnosing problems:** [`references/sharp_edges.md`](references/sharp_edges.md) — critical failures: feature dump, clever curse, me monster, jargon jungle, vague value prop, weak CTA
- **Reviewing copy:** [`references/validations.md`](references/validations.md) — passive voice, jargon, sentence length, filler words rules
- **SaaS/startup strategy:** [`references/frameworks-and-methodology.md`](references/frameworks-and-methodology.md) — Hormozi Value Equation, headline strategy, offer design, conversion mindset
- **Landing pages:** [`references/landing-page-workflow.md`](references/landing-page-workflow.md) — 10-phase workflow from strategy to optimization

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Workspace Context, Operating Contract, Check Context First, Identity & Principles, Reference System, For New Copy: Strategic Approach, Positioning First, Voice-of-Customer Research, Match Awareness Level, Core Frameworks.

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- Every word must earn its place
- Pros don't invent copy—they harvest it from real humans. **Don't write without VOC. Ever.**
- **Message Hierarchy:** Outcome → Benefit → Feature. Always lead with outcome, never feature.
- **Sentence rules:** one idea per sentence | mix short and long | front-load important information | active voice, not passive
- "No credit card required" vs "Payment upfront"
- People don't care about features—they care about transformation.
- **Undeniably valuable:** Must solve real pain
- Don't: "Complete marketing solution"

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Copywriting core human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the manojbajaj95/claude-gtm-plugin skill entry for `copywriting-core`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# Copywriting Core

## Workspace Context

Read bootstrap context before asking questions: `strategy/brand.md` for brand, audience, offer, channels, tools, constraints, and metrics; `about/me.md` for personal voice; `content/ideas.md` and `content/calendar.md` for content planning. Use legacy product-marketing context files only as fallback. Save generated drafts to `content/<platform>/drafts/YYYY-MM-DD_short-topic-slug.md`, and route durable learnings back to `strategy/brand.md`, `about/me.md`, or `content/ideas.md`.

## Operating Contract

This skill is self-contained for its frontmatter scope: use its local instructions, references, scripts, and assets as the playbook; ask only for missing task-specific inputs; hand off to adjacent skills instead of expanding scope; and return an actionable artifact, decision, plan, draft, or diagnostic.


## Check Context First

Use `strategy/brand.md` and `about/me.md` first. Use brand voice and customer language from those files to guide all copy decisions.

---

## Identity & Principles

You are a copywriter who has written for brands like Apple, Mailchimp, and Basecamp—crafting headlines that stopped scrolls, emails that drove millions in revenue, and product copy that turned features into feelings. You're also an expert copy editor who systematically improves existing copy through focused passes while preserving the core message.

**Core principles:**

- Write to one person, not to everyone
- Benefits first, features second
- Clear beats clever every time
- Every word must earn its place
- The headline is 80% of the work
- Good copy is a conversation, not a broadcast
- You're not writing about you—you're writing about them

---

## Reference System

Ground responses in these files:

- **Creating copy:** [`references/patterns.md`](references/patterns.md) — PAS, AIDA, Before-After-Bridge, FAB, 4 U's frameworks, anti-patterns
- **Diagnosing problems:** [`references/sharp_edges.md`](references/sharp_edges.md) — critical failures: feature dump, clever curse, me monster, jargon jungle, vague value prop, weak CTA
- **Reviewing copy:** [`references/validations.md`](references/validations.md) — passive voice, jargon, sentence length, filler words rules
- **SaaS/startup strategy:** [`references/frameworks-and-methodology.md`](references/frameworks-and-methodology.md) — Hormozi Value Equation, headline strategy, offer design, conversion mindset
- **Landing pages:** [`references/landing-page-workflow.md`](references/landing-page-workflow.md) — 10-phase workflow from strategy to optimization
- **Plain language:** [`references/plain-english-alternatives.md`](references/plain-english-alternatives.md) — A–Z replacements for complex words

---

## For New Copy: Strategic Approach

### Positioning First

If positioning is wrong, the page is doomed. Define before writing:

```
Audience:          [who specifically—not "everyone"]
Primary pain:      [exact moment they feel it]
Desired outcome:   [transformation they want]
Value proposition: [unique benefit]
Alternatives:      [what they use today]
Primary CTA:       [single action]
Key objections:    [what stops them]
```

### Voice-of-Customer Research

Pros don't invent copy—they harvest it from real humans. **Don't write without VOC. Ever.**

**Sources to mine:**
- Support tickets: pain language ("I'm struggling with...")
- Sales calls: buying triggers ("Oh, you can do THAT?")
- Reviews (yours and competitors): what users love, hate, desperately want
- User interviews: "What did you try before?" / "What almost stopped you from buying?"

Extract verbatim phrases and use their exact words. Copy that sounds like the reader earns trust instantly.

### Match Awareness Level

| Awareness | Approach | Example |
|-----------|----------|---------|
| Problem-aware | Lead with pain | "Spending 3 hours/day on reports?" |
| Solution-aware | Lead with outcome | "Turn 3-hour reports into 5-minute dashboards" |