CASE FILES / CASE 001 · COPYWRITING
CASE 001
Training programme · clearance level 1+
Copywriting
The ten principles that actually matter. No mystical scrolls required.
Copywriting isn't rocket science, but it isn't as simple as "just write good stuff" either. A handful of core principles separate copy that converts from copy that sits there looking pretty and doing nothing. Each briefing teaches one principle, shows you intercepted copy rewritten, and ends with a field mission you run on your own writing.
APPROVED
File summary
Briefings10 principles
Reading timeAbout 22 minutes
Field missions10, saved as you type
Issued withThe Copywriting Cheat Sheet
Your progress0 / 10 briefings complete
— Mission objectives
By the end of this file you will:
- AWrite about the reader's world, with one clear message they remember.
- BSwap vague claims for specific ones, and back every big promise with proof.
- CGive honest reasons to act now, and tell stories instead of listing facts.
- DOpen curiosity gaps, format for skimmers and write calls to action that convert.
— File contents
Keep one real piece of your own copy open. Improve it one briefing at a time.
The ten briefings.
01Nobody Cares About You (Sorry, But It's True)WRITE ABOUT THE READER, NOT YOURSELF. · ABOUT 2 MINOPEN →02Pick One Thing (Seriously, Just One)TRYING TO SAY EVERYTHING MEANS SAYING NOTHING. · ABOUT 2 MINOPEN →03Get Inside Their Head (In a Non-Creepy Way)GENERIC UNDERSTANDING PRODUCES GENERIC COPY. · ABOUT 2 MINOPEN →04Be Specific or Be IgnoredVAGUE IS FORGETTABLE AND UNBELIEVABLE. · ABOUT 2 MINOPEN →05Back Up Your Big Claims (Or Nobody Believes You)THE BIGGER THE PROMISE, THE BIGGER THE PILE OF PROOF. · ABOUT 2 MINOPEN →06Give Them a Reason to Act NowREAL SCARCITY CREATES ACTION. FAKE SCARCITY CREATES CONTEMPT. · ABOUT 2 MINOPEN →07Tell Stories (Because Facts Are Boring)FACTS INFORM. STORIES MOVE PEOPLE. · ABOUT 2 MINOPEN →08Create Curiosity (But Always Deliver the Payoff)OPEN A LOOP THE READER HAS TO CLOSE. · ABOUT 3 MINOPEN →09Make It Easy to Read (Or They Won't)WALLS OF TEXT GET SKIPPED. · ABOUT 2 MINOPEN →10Tell Them Exactly What to Do NextCONFUSED PEOPLE DON'T BUY. · ABOUT 3 MINOPEN →
— Field tool
The 60-second copy audit.
Run every piece of copy through these ten tests before it goes out. Fail three or more, and rewrite before you publish.
Tick each test your copy passes.
PSY · CASE 001The Copywriting Cheat Sheet
— Issued with this file
Keep it next to your keyboard.
All ten principles on a few printable pages: the problem, the fix, a quick test and an exercise for each, plus the 60-second audit and five before-and-after flips.