---
name: marketing-copy-craft
description: Apply persuasive writing techniques for marketing and sales copy. Use when writing landing pages, product descriptions, announcements, pitch decks, or any content where the goal is to persuade and convert. Activate when you need to capture attention, communicate value, and drive action. Essential for launches, campaigns, positioning, and any writing where engagement metrics matter.
allowed-tools: Read
---

# Marketing Copy Craft

Transform features into desire. This skill provides the principles and techniques copywriters use to capture attention, communicate value, and drive action.

## Core Philosophy

**The Goal**: Move the reader from indifference to action. Not to inform—to persuade.

**The Test**: Does this copy make someone want to do something?

**The Principle**: Benefits over features. Emotion over logic. Action over understanding.

## The Jobs to Be Done

Marketing copy serves multiple functions:

| Role | Core Job | Key Question |
|------|----------|--------------|
| **Attention Capturer** | Stop the scroll | Does this interrupt the pattern? |
| **Value Communicator** | Translate features to benefits | What's in it for them? |
| **Objection Handler** | Address resistance before it blocks | What's holding them back? |
| **Trust Builder** | Establish credibility | Why should they believe this? |
| **Action Driver** | Create momentum toward conversion | What should they do next? |

## Foundational Frameworks

### 1. AIDA: Attention → Interest → Desire → Action

The classic persuasion sequence:

| Stage | Goal | Techniques |
|-------|------|------------|
| **Attention** | Stop the scroll | Bold claim, striking number, unexpected statement |
| **Interest** | Keep them reading | Relevance, curiosity, "this is about me" |
| **Desire** | Make them want it | Benefits, transformation, emotional appeal |
| **Action** | Get them to move | Clear CTA, urgency, low friction |

### 2. PAS: Problem → Agitate → Solve

The empathy-first approach:

| Stage | Function | Example |
|-------|----------|---------|
| **Problem** | Name the pain they feel | "Deployments take 4 hours and fail 30% of the time." |
| **Agitate** | Make them feel it acutely | "Every failed deploy means late nights, pager stress, and weekend fixes." |
| **Solve** | Present your solution as relief | "What if every deploy took 5 minutes and succeeded automatically?" |

### 3. Before → After → Bridge

The transformation framework:

| Stage | Content |
|-------|---------|
| **Before** | Their current painful reality |
| **After** | Their desired better future |
| **Bridge** | How your product/service creates the transformation |

## Hook Mastery

The first line determines everything. Master these hook patterns:

### Hook Types

| Type | Pattern | Example |
|------|---------|---------|
| **Number Hook** | Specific, surprising metric | "Deploy 47x faster with zero config" |
| **Question Hook** | Provokes self-reflection | "Still debugging in production?" |
| **Challenge Hook** | Confronts assumption | "Everything you know about scaling is wrong" |
| **Story Hook** | Micro-narrative entry | "Three weeks ago, our database melted" |
| **Curiosity Hook** | Open loop | "The one setting 90% of teams get wrong" |
| **Benefit Hook** | Direct value statement | "Ship in minutes. Sleep through the night." |
| **Contrast Hook** | Juxtaposition | "10 engineers or 10 minutes. Your choice." |

### Hook Formulas

**The "[Unexpected Number] [Benefit]" Formula**:
- "Deploy in 47 seconds"
- "Zero config. Zero maintenance. Zero stress."
- "One click. 10,000 servers."

**The "[Stop Doing X]" Formula**:
- "Stop wasting weekends on deployments"
- "Stop debugging in production"
- "Stop babysitting your infrastructure"

**The "[What If]" Formula**:
- "What if deploys just... worked?"
- "What if scaling was automatic?"
- "What if you could ship on Friday afternoon?"

## Benefit Translation

Features describe what it is. Benefits describe what it does for them.

### The Translation Pattern

**Feature**: "Automated rollback"
**So What?**: Catches failures and reverts automatically
**Benefit**: "Sleep through the night"

**Feature**: "Real-time collaboration"
**So What?**: Multiple people can edit simultaneously
**Benefit**: "Ship together, even when you're apart"

### The "So What?" Ladder

Keep asking "so what?" until you reach emotional benefit:

```
"Container orchestration" (feature)
↓ So what?
"Manages deployment automatically" (function)
↓ So what?
"You don't have to configure servers" (advantage)
↓ So what?
"Ship faster without DevOps expertise" (benefit)
↓ So what?
"Spend time building, not managing" (emotional benefit)
```

### Feature → Benefit Table

| Feature | Benefit |
|---------|---------|
| Automatic scaling | Never worry about traffic spikes |
| One-click deploy | Ship ideas in minutes |
| Built-in monitoring | Catch problems before users do |
| Zero downtime | Changes without risk |
| Team collaboration | Work together seamlessly |

## Emotional Resonance

Logic justifies. Emotion motivates.

### Core Emotional Drivers

| Emotion | Appeals To | Example Copy |
|---------|-----------|--------------|
| **Fear** | Loss aversion | "Don't lose customers to slow load times" |
| **Greed** | Desire for more | "Get 3x more done with the same team" |
| **Pride** | Status, achievement | "Build what the industry talks about" |
| **Laziness** | Efficiency, ease | "Deploy in one click, not one day" |
| **Trust** | Security, reliability | "99.99% uptime, guaranteed" |
| **Belonging** | Community, status | "Join 50,000 developers who ship daily" |

### Emotional Language

| Functional | Emotional |
|------------|-----------|
| Reduce errors | Sleep through the night |
| Save time | Get your weekends back |
| Improve efficiency | Move faster than competitors |
| Scale automatically | Be ready for your biggest day |
| Monitor systems | Catch problems before users complain |

## Social Proof

People do what other people do. Use proof strategically:

### Types of Proof

| Type | Use When | Example |
|------|----------|---------|
| **Numbers** | You have scale | "Trusted by 50,000 teams" |
| **Logos** | Recognizable brands use you | [Company logos] |
| **Testimonials** | Specific outcomes to share | "Reduced deploy time by 90%—Jane, CTO" |
| **Case Studies** | Complex value to demonstrate | "How Stripe scaled to 1M API calls/sec" |
| **Reviews** | Third-party validation | "4.9/5 on G2 from 500+ reviews" |

### Testimonial Formula

Strong testimonials include:
1. **Specific result** (not vague praise)
2. **Before/after** (the transformation)
3. **Name and credibility** (why they matter)

**Weak**: "Great product! Highly recommend." —User

**Strong**: "Cut our deploy time from 4 hours to 15 minutes. We ship 5x more often now." —Sarah Chen, CTO at Acme

## Call to Action (CTA)

Every piece of copy exists to drive action. Master the CTA:

### CTA Principles

1. **Specific**: "Start your free trial" beats "Learn more"
2. **Benefit-Oriented**: "Start shipping faster" beats "Sign up"
3. **Low Friction**: Minimize perceived effort
4. **Singular**: One CTA per context (don't offer 5 options)

### CTA Formulas

| Formula | Example |
|---------|---------|
| Start + Benefit | "Start shipping faster" |
| Get + Object | "Get early access" |
| Join + Community | "Join 50,000 developers" |
| See + Promise | "See it in action" |
| Try + Risk Reversal | "Try it free for 14 days" |

### Reducing Friction

| Friction | Reduction |
|----------|-----------|
| "Sign up" | "Start free" |
| "Buy now" | "Try for 14 days" |
| "Request demo" | "Watch demo" |
| "Contact sales" | "Get pricing" |
| [Form with 10 fields] | [Form with 1 field] |

## Structural Patterns

### Landing Page Structure

```
1. HEADLINE (5-10 words)
   [Benefit-focused, specific, different]

2. SUBHEADLINE (15-25 words)
   [Clarifies or extends headline, addresses "how"]

3. PRIMARY CTA
   [Single, specific, low-friction action]

4. SOCIAL PROOF
   [Numbers, logos, or quick testimonial]

5. BENEFITS (3-5)
   [What they get, not what you do]

6. HOW IT WORKS (3-4 steps)
   [Simplify the complex]

7. FEATURES (with benefits)
   [What + why it matters]

8. TESTIMONIALS/CASE STUDIES
   [Specific outcomes from real people]

9. PRICING/CTA
   [Clear options, primary CTA repeated]

10. FAQ
    [Handle objections]
```

### Announcement Structure

```
1. NEWS HOOK
   [What's new, why it matters now]

2. BENEFIT
   [What this means for the reader]

3. DETAILS
   [Key features or changes]

4. AVAILABILITY
   [When, where, how to get it]

5. CTA
   [What to do next]
```

## Quality Checklist

Before publishing marketing copy:

- [ ] Does the headline stop the scroll?
- [ ] Is the benefit clear in the first 10 words?
- [ ] Are features translated to benefits?
- [ ] Is there social proof?
- [ ] Is the CTA specific and low-friction?
- [ ] Does it sound like a person, not a corporation?
- [ ] Are claims believable and specific?
- [ ] Is there emotional resonance?
- [ ] Can someone scan it and get the point?

## Integration with Other Skills

This skill provides the **persuasion layer** for commercial content:

- **human-voice-tone**: Authentic voice builds trust that enables persuasion
- **concise-writing-craft**: Brevity respects attention and increases conversion
- **structured-communication**: Hooks capture; structure maintains attention
- **recognition-feedback**: Testimonials and social proof are recognition at scale

## Quick Reference: The 7 Principles

1. **Benefits Over Features** - Translate what it is to what they get
2. **Emotion Over Logic** - Logic justifies, emotion motivates
3. **Specific Over Vague** - "47% faster" beats "much faster"
4. **Proof Over Claims** - Show don't tell (logos, numbers, testimonials)
5. **Action Over Information** - Every piece drives toward a CTA
6. **Simple Over Complete** - One message, one action
7. **Them Over You** - "You" not "we," their problems not your product

---

*"Good copy doesn't convince. It connects what they want with what you offer."*