What Makes Good Copy?

Emrys sits at his kitchen table with a torn sleeve spread in front of him. He's reading Pebblequill Repair's page: does he have to post the jacket before getting an estimate?

I've invented Emrys, the jacket-repair service Pebblequill Repair, and its policies and copy for this lesson.

Establish the reader and the decision

Write a context card before scoring: "A jacket owner with a small tear is deciding whether to request an estimate." It gives you a decision to review against. A line about repair quality earns space if it helps Emrys judge whether to send a photo.

Record the page's purpose beside the reader. If the assignment is educational, copywriting versus content writing can help define the review. For this estimate page, Emrys needs to understand the photo request before deciding whether to begin.

How should you score a copy draft?

Use the rubric below as an editorial tool; it hasn't been validated as a predictor of sales.

Score each criterion zero for failure, one for partial success or two for a clear pass. Attach a passage from the draft to each judgment so another reviewer can check it.

"Start your transformation" earns zero for action because it conceals the next step. Record the destination beside the score: a form requesting a photo and an email address. Another reviewer can inspect that mismatch.

Mark unsupported material claims and unusable actions as reasons to stop publication. Resolve those before ranking the remaining weaknesses, regardless of the total score.

Six criteria for a draft review

Reader and meaning

• Relevance: does the page address this reader's actual decision?
• Clarity: can the reader explain the offer and important terms?

Claims and evidence

• Specificity: are claims concrete enough to inspect?
• Support: is there appropriate evidence for material claims?

Action and choice

• Action: does the next step match the reader's readiness and explain the commitment?
• Respect: can the reader decide without being misled or pressured?

Relevance: does this belong in the argument?

Emrys needs to know whether the service handles his torn sleeve. Ask the repair team which damage qualifies. Replace "For all your adventures" with "Mail-in repairs for small tears in outdoor jackets" once the team confirms that scope.

Put eligibility limits before the photo request. A close-up patch example helps him compare the repair with his tear; a history of the office move leaves his question unanswered.

Clarity: can someone explain the offer back?

Ask a fresh reader to describe what Pebblequill provides. If they expect a repair kit, locate the words that suggested one before explaining the mail-in service. Keep their account beside that passage.

NN/g distinguishes comprehension from ease of reading. "Send it in" uses familiar words and still leaves Emrys unsure whether "it" means a photo or his jacket. Spell out "Send a photo for an estimate before you ship your jacket."

Writing clear copy covers revisions once you've located a misunderstanding. Check this one by asking a reader what stays at home after they submit the form.

Specificity: could someone check what you mean?

"Expert repairs" gives Emrys little to inspect. Replace it with patch examples that accurately show the service's work, then tell him which photo to supply. "One clear photo showing the whole tear" can be checked against the upload form.

For the complete revision below, assume operations has confirmed the stated terms and a reviewer has checked the patch examples and photo form. Those records let you assess the copy against a defined service.

Pebblequill's draft and revised headline

Draft submitted for review

Bring your beloved gear back to life with our expert restoration solutions and repairs that last a lifetime. Don't be the person who throws good gear away. Start your transformation today.

Revised headline; full page below

Mail-in repairs for small tears in outdoor jackets.

The headline identifies eligible damage. The page elements below explain the photo request and later shipping decision.

Here is the full revision, separated into the page elements Emrys needs:

Headline: Mail-in repairs for small tears in outdoor jackets.

Repair examples: See our patch examples below.

Photo instructions: Send one photo showing the whole tear and your email address.

Estimate terms: Keep your jacket at home while we email repair and shipping costs for review before you decide to send it.

Button: Request a free photo estimate.

Keep the photo instructions beside the request button, where Emrys needs them to choose his image.

Support: is the evidence equal to the promise?

Before a new year's bank holiday dates go live on GOV.UK, the team checks the developers' draft against legislation. Its publishing design guide documents that check, because clear wording couldn't rescue an incorrect date.

That check has a named source. Give each material claim in your draft a supporting record too. For "free estimate," keep the confirmed fee policy beside the review so another editor can check it.

The FTC's substantiation policy requires US advertisers to have a reasonable basis for objective claims before publication, including implied claims. For "tests prove," it expects at least the advertised level of evidence.

A patch photograph shows appearance. It can't establish that every repair lasts a lifetime, so remove that unsupported promise from this draft. Testimonials and Proof on Landing Pages explores matching claims with evidence.

Action: does the next step fit the decision?

Follow Pebblequill's request through to its destination. Upload the image the page asks for and check that the form accepts it.

"Request a free photo estimate" now matches the form. The lesson on persuasive tone covers direct invitations without pressure.

Record the submission result beside the action score.

A finding from the next screen

Suppose an earlier draft asked for two views of the tear while the form accepted one file. Record an action failure. The revised page requests one suitable image; submit it through the form to check the correction.

Respect: what would disappoint someone later?

Read the revision as someone who has sent a photo. "Keep your jacket at home" leaves the shipping decision open; the promise to send shipping costs tells Emrys when he'll learn them. Check that the estimate email delivers both amounts.

Delete "Don't be the person who throws good gear away." It turns a repair decision into a judgment of Emrys. Showing him the price before he ships leaves room to decide that the repair isn't worth the postage.

Before approving the estimate page

• Eligibility and excluded damage are stated.
• The photo request matches the next screen.
• Any fee and likely next step are explained.
• Every durability or warranty claim has appropriate support.
• A reader can decline without a shaming message.

Use the review to choose a revision

Try scoring this intermediate draft before reading the table:

Mail-in repairs for small tears in outdoor jackets. Send it in for a free estimate.

What has it clarified, and what still needs work? Score all three versions against the same context card. Each number needs evidence from the page or the service records:

A one marks something useful that remains incomplete. "Send it in" names an estimate request, yet leaves Emrys guessing what to send. The full revision earns two by specifying the photo and keeping the jacket at home.

The first draft stops at the unsupported lifetime claim, even with a point for relevance. For the revision, ask fresh readers whether they must post the jacket to get an estimate. Save their answers beside the clarity score.

Copyhackers separates drafting from validation and experimentation. This review checks the page against the service; a claim about increased orders would need a performance test.

If reviewers disagree about the assignment, return to what copywriting does. Settle which decision the page serves before revising it for different imagined audiences.

Review a page with evidence

The Fundamentals lessons provide context for reviewing your own page. Put the reader's decision beside the draft, then attach a passage and a check to each score. Start with any failure that would stop publication.

At the kitchen table, Emrys finds "Keep your jacket at home" beside the photo instructions. He spreads the sleeve flat and photographs the whole tear. He uploads the image and enters his email address.