What copywriting is
Copywriting is choosing the right words to help someone decide. Like writing a lemonade sign that says "Ice-cold lemonade, $1, fresh squeezed today" instead of just "Drinks."
- Copy = words written to get a specific action: click, sign up, buy, book, reply.
- Copy is everywhere: website headlines, product descriptions, captions, ads, emails, menus, signs, video scripts.
- Good copy is clear first, clever second. If people have to work to understand it, they leave.
- Every piece of copy should answer the reader's silent questions: What is this? Is it for me? Why should I care? Why trust you? What do I do next?
- AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) is covered in course 3.1. This course adds tools for the words themselves.
- Find one piece of copy you wrote: a bio, a caption or a flyer.
- Read it and ask the five silent questions: What is this? Is it for me? Why should I care? Why trust you? What do I do next?
- Mark each question "answered" or "missing" in the margin.
- Pick the most important missing answer.
- Rewrite one line so it answers that question in plain words.
- Check: a stranger could read your new line and say what you offer and what to do next.
Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.
Read the video script
[Host] "Copywriting isn't fancy writing. It's useful writing."
[Screen: sign 'Drinks' vs 'Ice-cold lemonade, $1, fresh squeezed today'] "Which sign sells more lemonade? The one that tells you exactly what you get."
[Text on screen: What? For me? Why care? Why trust? What next?] "Good copy answers five silent questions."
[Host] "Clear first. Clever second."
Find one piece of copy you've written (bio, caption, flyer). Check whether it answers all five silent questions. Rewrite one line.
ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude
Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.
For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.
I'm learning "Copywriting: Words That Sell" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "What copywriting is". What the lesson teaches: - Copy = words written to get a specific action: click, sign up, buy, book, reply. - Copy is everywhere: website headlines, product descriptions, captions, ads, emails, menus, signs, video scripts. - Good copy is clear first, clever second. If people have to work to understand it, they leave. - Every piece of copy should answer the reader's silent questions: What is this? Is it for me? Why should I care? Why trust you? What do I do next? - AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) is covered in course 3.1. This course adds tools for the words themselves. The exercise I'm working on: Find one piece of copy you've written (bio, caption, flyer). Check whether it answers all five silent questions. Rewrite one line. --- I'm stuck. Please: 1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example. 2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step. 3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "What copywriting is" from the course "Copywriting: Words That Sell". Here's what the lesson says: Copywriting is choosing the right words to help someone decide. Like writing a lemonade sign that says "Ice-cold lemonade, $1, fresh squeezed today" instead of just "Drinks." The activity: Find one piece of copy you've written (bio, caption, flyer). Check whether it answers all five silent questions. Rewrite one line. --- Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words. Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Research first: steal your customer's words
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Headlines that get read
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PAS and FAB: two frameworks for the body copy
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Offers and calls to action
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Honest claims (with Canadian rules as the example)
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Final project
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Quiz
What is copywriting?
Writing words meant to get a specific action (click, sign up, buy, book).
Where can you find your customer's own words?
Reviews, comments, DMs, emails, surveys, community questions.
What are the 4 Us of a headline?
Useful, Urgent, Unique, Ultra-specific.
What does PAS stand for?
Problem, Agitate, Solution.
Waterproof zipper: feature, advantage or benefit?
Feature.
When can you call a price the "regular price"?
When it was genuinely offered at that price for a substantial period, or a substantial volume sold at it within a reasonable time (this is how Canada's Competition Bureau puts it).
When do you need proof for a performance claim?
Before you make it (adequate and proper testing).
Can a mandatory "service fee" be added on top of your advertised price?
Generally no: regulators say adding mandatory fees on top of an advertised price (drip pricing) is misleading (the Competition Bureau in Canada says only government charges like sales tax should be added).
Final exam
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Certificate
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