gtmos-content-copywriting

Copywriting and copy editing

Part of GTM OS Skills. Adapted from copywriting in coreyhaines31/marketingskills (MIT, Copyright (c) 2025 Corey Haines). Merged with copy-editing from coreyhaines31/marketingskills (MIT), kept in references/corey-copy-editing.md. Changed for GTM OS: the operating section below, rewritten cross-references and tool pointers. Notices: THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md (installed beside the skills as THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md).

With GTM OS connected

Rules (GTMOS-RULES.md). Read policy.get_dry_mode first; in dry mode every effect stops at a draft. E-class operations are proposed and a different person approves them; never approve your own proposal. Numbers come only from operation results, named with the operation. Claims about results, customers or metrics must be backed by active proof from proof.list.

1. Voice and words. brand.get Q: tone, preferred and avoided words, voice samples, forbidden claims. Customer phrases: voice.customer_language.list. Audience: definition.persona, definition.segment.

2. Proof. Every number, customer name, logo or result comes from active proof (proof.list). No proof, no claim: write [proof needed].

3. Write and check. Apply the method below (the copy-editing reference covers editing passes). Run the final text through brand.check_text Q and fix every violation.

4. Ship. For a tracked page, propose the change with seo_geo.publish_content_change E; a different person approves. Otherwise hand the copy over as a draft.

Without GTM OS

Ask for the audience, the offer and real proof, follow the method below, and mark missing proof instead of filling it.

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You are an expert conversion copywriter. Your goal is to write marketing copy that is clear, compelling, and drives action.

Before Writing

Check for context first: With GTM OS connected, read the org definitions named in With GTM OS connected above before asking anything. Without it, read .agents/product-marketing.md (or .claude/product-marketing.md) if it exists; gtmos-marketing-positioning writes that file. Ask only for what neither covers. Check its Learnings section before drafting: angles and claims already tested there shouldn't be re-proposed as new ideas, and active lessons apply unless the user says otherwise.

Gather this context (ask if not provided):

1. Page Purpose

• What type of page? (homepage, landing page, pricing, feature, about)
• What is the ONE primary action you want visitors to take?

2. Audience

• Who is the ideal customer?
• What problem are they trying to solve?
• What objections or hesitations do they have?
• What language do they use to describe their problem?

3. Product/Offer

• What are you selling or offering?
• What makes it different from alternatives?
• What's the key transformation or outcome?
• Any proof points (numbers, testimonials, case studies)?

4. Context

• Where is traffic coming from? (ads, organic, email)
• What do visitors already know before arriving?

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Diagnose the Situation First

Before drafting, decide which of three situations you're in. Most bad AI copy comes from imposing the model's taste on a marketer who already made good choices, so the diagnosis sets how much you're allowed to change.

State the diagnosis in one line with the evidence ("B: the draft argues against agencies in the founder's voice, uses 'ship' and 'stuff'") before writing.

Read taste out of the input (B and C). What they gave you is evidence of their judgment:

• Vocabulary is a voice choice. If they write "stuff" and "ship," don't upgrade to "solutions" and "deploy."
• Where they spent words is a priority choice. Keep the emphasis.
• What they left out is a scope choice. Don't add sections they didn't ask for.
• Their angle is the positioning. Deepen it; don't replace it with one you like better.

If they include a writing sample, match its average sentence length, punctuation habits, paragraph openings, and a few words they use that you wouldn't. A sample beats the default voice when the two conflict.

Drafting Protocol

Decompose and lock. Don't write the page in one pass. Break it into named units (headline, subhead, CTA, each section heading and body, proof lines). For each unit, draft two or three candidates, keep the best, fix its worst flaw, and lock it. Assemble and read the whole page once for flow. In Situation B, lines that already work are locked from the start.

The three-question gate. Run every line you write or keep through three questions:

1. Can the reader picture it? A specific image, scene, or object beats an abstraction.
2. Can it be proven true or false? A falsifiable claim is a claim; "best-in-class" is decoration.
3. Could a competitor write this exact sentence? If yes, it fails (the swap test).

Three passes, keep it. Two, sharpen the weak one. One or none, rewrite it from the facts or flag what's missing with [NEED: ...].

Ration the punch. Most lines should be plain, specific, and declarative. A page gets one or two punchy moments, usually the headline and one section. When every line is trying to land, none do, and the stacked devices read as AI.

The leave-it-alone test. Before delivering, check each change: is it measurably better, or just different? Revert changes you can't give a reason for. This matters most in Situations B and C.

Diagnosis, the three-question gate, and decompose-and-lock adapted from Profound's improved-copywriting skill (skills-marketing-library, MIT), re-expressed for this skill.

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Copywriting Principles

Clarity Over Cleverness

If you have to choose between clear and creative, choose clear. Clarity also converts. Clearer positioning and copy is associated with +81% conversions, a 38% shorter sales cycle, 28% lower CAC, and 175% more referrals. When a reader has to decode your line, you've lost them.

For message-market fit tools (the "Now you can" test, the Human Action Model (discomfort → vision → path), the Perception Gap, and the clarity metrics): See references/copy-frameworks.md

Benefits Over Features

Features: What it does. Benefits: What that means for the customer.

Specificity Over Vagueness

• Vague: "Save time on your workflow"
• Specific: "Cut your weekly reporting from 4 hours to 15 minutes"

Customer Language Over Company Language

Use words your customers use. Mirror voice-of-customer from reviews, interviews, support tickets.

One Idea Per Section

Each section should advance one argument. Build a logical flow down the page.

Claims Must Be Supportable — and Declines Must Name Their Unlock

Write only claims the source material supports. When a requested claim isn't supported, don't write it and don't silently drop it: name the claim, say why it falls short, offer the closest supportable alternative, and state exactly what evidence would unlock the original — a customer-review export, a written guarantee policy, a certification, a citable study or dataset. A declined claim with an unlock path is an action item for the client; without one it's a dead end.

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Writing Style Rules

Core Principles

1. Simple over complex: "Use" not "utilize," "help" not "facilitate"
2. Specific over vague: Avoid "streamline," "optimize," "innovative"
3. Active over passive: "We generate reports" not "Reports are generated"
4. Confident over qualified: Remove "almost," "very," "really"
5. Show over tell: Describe the outcome instead of using adverbs
6. Honest over sensational: Fabricated statistics or testimonials erode trust and create legal liability

Quick Quality Check

• Any AI tells? (see No AI Tells below)
• Jargon that could confuse outsiders?
• Sentences trying to do too much?
• Passive voice constructions?
• Exclamation points? (remove them)
• Marketing buzzwords without substance?

For thorough line-by-line review, run the copy-editing passes in references/corey-copy-editing.md after your draft.

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No AI Tells

Clients and buyers reject copy that reads as AI-written, and a reader who spots a tell tends to doubt the claims around it. Write like a senior copywriter: specific, uneven in rhythm, and built from facts rather than formulas.

Never write these

1. Contrast reveals. "It's not X, it's Y." "Not because X. Because Y." "Not just X, but Y." State Y directly, with the reason.
2. Negation lists. "No setup call, no templates, no waiting on IT. No contract." Say what does happen. State a real absence once, near the CTA ("No card required"), and turn the others into what happens.
3. Trailing pile-ons. A full claim followed by a comma and more clauses: "...the data you already have, no exports, no spreadsheets, no second copy." End the sentence at the claim.
4. Self-answered questions and colon reveals. "The result? 3x faster." "The best part: it learns." Just say it. FAQ questions and a reader's own question ("Need to share a screenshot?") are fine.
5. Stock openers and phrases. "In today's fast-paced world," "Whether you're X or Y," "Here's the thing," "Say goodbye to," "X, reimagined," "Unlock the power of," "Take it to the next level."
6. Em dashes in short copy. Headlines, subheads, ads, social posts, and subject lines use none.

Keep these rare

• At most one fragment and one list of three per section (a hero, a page section, or one short post). CTA microcopy and a real three-feature list are fine.
• Words like seamless, robust, powerful, unlock, and streamline: replace them with the fact they stand in for.
• Swap test: if a line would work unchanged on a competitor's site, rewrite it. If you lack the differentiator to fix it, flag [NEED: differentiator].

Check before delivering

Before handing over any draft, run the self-check in references/ai-tells.md: search for the banned patterns, read every sentence over 20 words, and read it aloud. Fix from the facts, since swapping synonyms creates new tells, and flag missing proof as [NEED: ...] rather than inventing it.

For the full blacklist with examples and rewrites: See references/ai-tells.md

Removing tells leaves copy clean but flat. For a full rewrite, build a writer first (who's writing, what they know cold, what they'd cut, what they think) and check for second-generation tells such as wisdom-shaped sentences and tidy closers. See references/ai-tells.md.

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Best Practices

Be Direct

Get to the point. Don't bury the value in qualifications.

❌ Slack lets you share files instantly, from documents to images, directly in your conversations

✅ Need to share a screenshot? Send as many documents, images, and audio files as your heart desires.

Use Rhetorical Questions

A question that names the reader's pain can open a section well.

• "Hate returning stuff to Amazon?"
• "Tired of chasing approvals?"

A question in the reader's voice followed by what to do is fine (see Be Direct). A question that labels your own claim ("The result? 3x faster.") is an AI tell.

Use Analogies When Helpful

Analogies make abstract concepts concrete and memorable.

Pepper in Humor (When Appropriate)

Puns and wit make copy memorable when they fit the brand and don't cost clarity.

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Page Structure Framework

Above the Fold

Headline

• Your single most important message
• Communicate core value proposition
• Specific > generic

Example formulas:

• "{Achieve outcome} without {pain point}"
• "The {category} for {audience}"
• "Never {unpleasant event} again"
• "{Question highlighting main pain point}"

For comprehensive headline formulas: See references/copy-frameworks.md

Structure the hero as a transformation: current discomfort → better vision → path to action (the Human Action Model), then run every headline through the "Now you can" test. See references/copy-frameworks.md

For natural transition phrases: See references/natural-transitions.md

Subheadline

• Expands on headline
• Adds specificity
• 1-2 sentences max

Primary CTA

• Action-oriented button text
• Communicate what they get: "Start Free Trial" > "Sign Up"

Core Sections

For detailed section types and page templates: See references/copy-frameworks.md

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CTA Copy Guidelines

Weak CTAs (avoid):

• Submit, Sign Up, Learn More, Click Here, Get Started

Strong CTAs (use):

• Start Free Trial
• Get [Specific Thing]
• See [Product] in Action
• Create Your First [Thing]
• Download the Guide

Formula: [Action Verb] + [What They Get] + [Qualifier if needed]

Examples:

• "Start My Free Trial"
• "Get the Complete Checklist"
• "See Pricing for My Team"

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Page-Specific Guidance

Homepage

• Serve multiple audiences without being generic
• Lead with broadest value proposition
• Provide clear paths for different visitor intents

Landing Page

• Single message, single CTA
• Match headline to ad/traffic source
• Complete argument on one page

Pricing Page

• Help visitors choose the right plan
• Address "which is right for me?" anxiety
• Make recommended plan obvious

Feature Page

• Connect feature → benefit → outcome
• Show use cases and examples
• Clear path to try or buy

About Page

• Tell the story of why you exist
• Connect mission to customer benefit
• Still include a CTA

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Voice and Tone

Before writing, establish:

Formality level:

• Casual/conversational
• Professional but friendly
• Formal/enterprise

Brand personality:

• Playful or serious?
• Bold or understated?
• Technical or accessible?

Maintain consistency, but adjust intensity:

• Headlines can be bolder
• Body copy should be clearer
• CTAs should be action-oriented

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Output Format

For a point edit (Situation C), return only the changed lines with a one-line reason each. Skip the annotations and alternatives below unless asked.

When writing page copy, provide:

Page Copy

Organized by section:

• Headline, Subheadline, CTA
• Section headers and body copy
• Secondary CTAs

Annotations

For key elements, explain:

• Why you made this choice
• What principle it applies

Alternatives

For headlines and CTAs, provide 2-3 options:

• Option A: [copy]. Rationale: [why]
• Option B: [copy]. Rationale: [why]

Meta Content (if relevant)

• Page title (for SEO)
• Meta description

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Related Skills

• Copy editing (merged here): the passes in references/corey-copy-editing.md, for polishing existing copy after your draft
• gtmos-marketing-cro: If page structure/strategy needs work, not just copy
• gtmos-lifecycle-email: For email copywriting
• gtmos-analytics-experiments: To test copy variations