# Writing Styles & Voice Reference How to write copy that sounds like a human wrote it. Built from the principles of Ogilvy, Schwartz, Hopkins, Halbert, Sugarman, Caples, and Collier. --- ## The One Rule That Overrides Everything Write like you're talking to one person. Not an audience. One person. The specific person who has the specific problem your product solves. Read every sentence back as if you're saying it out loud to them across a table. --- ## The Legendary Principles ### Ogilvy: Show, Don't Explain "At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock." He never said "this car is quiet." He showed it through a single detail that made the reader feel the quietness. This is the single most important lesson in copywriting. **What this means in practice:** - Don't say "high quality." Show what high quality looks like in a specific, concrete detail. - Don't say "easy to use." Describe someone using it in a way that feels effortless. - Don't say "customers love it." Quote one customer saying one specific thing that only someone who actually used it would say. - The reader should arrive at your conclusion themselves. Your job is to arrange the details so that conclusion is obvious. **Examples:** - BAD: "Our supplement is made with premium, high-quality ingredients." - GOOD: "We source our omega-3s from wild-caught mackerel off the coast of Peru. Not farmed. Not blended." - BAD: "Our app is incredibly intuitive and easy to use." - GOOD: "My 67-year-old mother set it up herself. Took her 4 minutes. She texted me a screenshot." ### Schwartz: Match the Message to Where They Actually Are Eugene Schwartz defined 5 levels of awareness. Most copy fails because it writes to someone at the wrong stage. | Level | Where they are | What your copy should do | |-------|----------------|--------------------------| | Unaware | Don't know they have a problem | Name the problem in a way that makes them go "wait, that's me" | | Problem-aware | Know they have a problem, don't know solutions exist | Validate the problem. Make them feel less alone. | | Solution-aware | Know solutions exist, haven't picked one | Show why your solution is different from what they've tried | | Product-aware | Know your product exists, aren't sure it's for them | Remove objections. Show proof. Make the decision easy. | | Most aware | Ready to buy, just need the final nudge | Make the CTA frictionless. Remove the last excuse. | **Why this matters:** If someone is Problem-Aware and your copy leads with features and specs, they leave immediately. If someone is Most-Aware and your copy starts from scratch explaining the problem, they feel like you're wasting their time. ### Hopkins: Advertising Is Salesmanship in Print Claude C. Hopkins wrote "Scientific Advertising" in 1923. Still relevant. His core rules: - **Lead with "reason why."** Don't just claim something. Explain the mechanism. People are skeptical by default. Give them a reason to believe. - **Be specific.** "Saves you time" is meaningless. "Saved our users 2.4 hours on average in the first week" is a claim. Specificity = credibility. - **Test everything.** Assume your first instinct is wrong. Write two versions. The data decides. - **Speak to the individual.** "Dear Reader" energy, not "Dear Customer" energy. ### Halbert: The Starving Crowd Gary Halbert's golden rule: find the hungry crowd first, then write to them. What this means for copy: - The best copy in the world falls flat if no one who reads it actually has the problem. - Before writing a single word, ask: who is already desperate for this? What are they already googling at 2am? Write to that moment. - **Write to one person.** Imagine the single most frustrated version of your customer. Write to them specifically. The copy that works for them works for everyone. ### Sugarman: The Slippery Slide Joseph Sugarman's principle: every element of your copy should pull the reader to the next one. No friction. No stopping points. The headline pulls them to the first sentence. The first sentence pulls them to the second. And so on until they hit the CTA having already said yes in their head. **How to apply it:** - The first sentence of your copy should be the easiest sentence in the world to read. Short. Punchy. Impossible to stop at. - Don't put a wall of text after your hook. Put one short sentence. - Each paragraph earns the next one. If a paragraph doesn't pull the reader forward, cut it. - The CTA should feel like the obvious next step, not a demand. ### Caples: Headlines Do 80% of the Work John Caples tested thousands of headlines. His findings: - Most people read headlines only. If your headline doesn't hook them, the body copy doesn't exist. - The strongest headlines create a curiosity gap or a specific promise with a timeframe. - Odd numbers outperform even numbers. Specific numbers outperform round ones. - Headlines that self-select ("If you hate Mondays...") outperform broad ones. ### Collier: Enter the Conversation Already Happening Robert Collier's rule: don't start a new conversation. Join the one already happening in your reader's head. **In practice:** - Figure out what they're already thinking about when they see your ad. - Start your copy from that exact thought. - If a founder is already frustrated about their team missing deadlines, your first line should reference missed deadlines, not "project management." --- ## AI Tells: The Banned List These are patterns that make copy sound like a machine wrote it. Every single one of these kills trust instantly. If you catch yourself writing any of these, stop and rewrite. ### Banned Phrases (Never Use) - "And honestly?" - "It's not X. It's Y." / "This isn't about X. It's about Y." - "The truth is..." - "Here's the thing..." - "At the end of the day..." - "In today's fast-paced world..." - "Game-changer" / "game-changing" - "Let's dive in" / "Let's dive into" - "Whether you're a X or a Y..." - "Unlock your potential" - "Take it to the next level" - "Seamless experience" - "Leverage your assets" - "Streamline your workflow" - "Revolutionize" - "Robust" - "Delve" - "Empowering" - "Tailored solutions" - "Drive results" - "Synergy" ### Banned Punctuation Habits - Em dashes used for dramatic effect. ("Write great copy — or don't bother trying.") Use a period or restructure the sentence instead. - Multiple exclamation marks. - Ellipses for fake suspense ("But wait...") ### Banned Structural Patterns - Starting a paragraph with "Now," as a transition word. - Writing three short fragments in a row for "punch." (One fragment for emphasis is fine. Three in a row is a tic.) - Ending a section with a one-liner that restates what you just said. ("That's how you win.") - Fake vulnerability openers that are actually humble bragging. ("I almost quit. But I'm glad I didn't, because now I do $50K/month.") - Listing benefits as a bulleted wall. Three bullets max. If you have more, weave them into sentences. ### The Em Dash Rule Em dashes have one job: a brief aside that adds a detail. Use them sparingly, at most once per paragraph. Never use them to build drama. Never use them twice in the same sentence. WRONG: "This tool — unlike anything else on the market — will completely change — the way you work." RIGHT: "This tool will completely change the way you work. Nothing else comes close." --- ## What Human Copy Actually Sounds Like ### Use Contractions "You are going to love this" sounds corporate. "You're going to love this" sounds like a person. ### Use Fragments. Intentionally. "Best part? It's free." This is a fragment. It works because it feels like speech. ### Use "I" and "You" Freely Good copy is a conversation between two people. "I" and "You" should appear in almost every paragraph. ### Have Opinions "Most project management tools are bloated garbage." This is an opinion. It's also a hook. Bland copy has no opinions. Good copy has strong ones. ### Admit Limitations "This won't work if you need X." Saying what your product can't do builds more trust than pretending it does everything. The reader respects honesty and stops being skeptical. ### Use Sensory and Specific Details "The dashboard loads in 0.8 seconds" is specific. "Lightning fast" is meaningless. Specificity is the fastest way to sound credible and human at the same time. ### Revenue and Number Transparency Sharing real numbers makes copy feel authentic. "$45,000/month in revenue" is a real claim. "Six figures" is vague and suspicious. --- ## How to Structure Sentences That Sell ### Short First. Long Second. Open with a short sentence. Follow with a longer one that explains. This is how humans actually talk. GOOD: "I wasted 6 months building the wrong product. I had a great idea, a solid team, and zero customers by the end." BAD: "After spending approximately six months developing what I believed to be an innovative solution, I found myself confronted with the uncomfortable reality of having attracted zero customer interest." ### Vary Your Sentence Length Read your copy out loud. If every sentence is the same length, it sounds like a robot. Mix short punchy ones with longer ones that build. ### The Specific Detail Over the Adjective INSTEAD OF: "incredibly effective marketing strategy" WRITE: "the marketing strategy that brought in 340 leads in 11 days" INSTEAD OF: "a user-friendly interface" WRITE: "the whole thing fits on one screen. No menus, no dropdowns." --- ## CTAs That Actually Work Don't say: "Sign Up" / "Submit" / "Learn More" / "Click Here" Say what happens when they click: - "Get the free template" - "See my first 30 days" - "Start your free trial" - "Download the guide" - "Book a 15-minute call" Add a friction reducer after the CTA: - "No credit card needed." - "Takes 2 minutes to set up." - "Cancel anytime." - "See results in 14 days or your money back." --- ## Testimonial Format That Works A testimonial with structure converts. A vague one doesn't. WEAK: "Great product, highly recommend!" STRONG FORMAT: [Before state] + [Specific action taken] + [Specific result] + [Timeframe] + [Emotion or implication] STRONG: "I was getting 12 leads a month from cold outreach. Started using the new templates on a Tuesday. By Friday I had 4 booked calls. Didn't change anything else." --- ## Quick Sanity Check Before Finalizing Read the copy out loud. If any of these are true, rewrite: - You stumbled over a sentence (it's too complicated) - You felt bored halfway through (it's not pulling you forward — Sugarman's slippery slide is broken) - You heard any of the Banned Phrases - You saw an em dash used for drama - You couldn't find a single opinion or specific number - It could have been written about any product (it's not specific enough) - It sounds like it was written by someone trying to sound smart (it wasn't written to sell) ---