3. We also edit.
As a general rule of thumb, most anything larger
or longer than a landing page should be
checked off by both copywriters.
Ask “Has [Bill/Angelee] reviewed this?” – we
won’t be offended. As perfect as everything
we write always is, sometimes the mistake
gnomes get into our documents and make
errors. Review will make sure the gnomes
don’t win.
5. But enough of that.
When we are writing, we have a few
ways of communicating that you
should know.
• “HD” is the headline. It’s the largest and most
prominent text on the page
• “SubHD” is sub-headline, the secondary message
• Anything written in blue like this is our note to
you, and the actual text should not appear on the
live page.
6. We’d love to be able to sit down with you one-
on-one for every project, but sometimes there
just aren’t enough hours in the day. Here’s
what you can do to help us write you the most
perfect copy for a project.
7. When Making A Request
• Try to give us concrete numbers
– Word count
– Character count
– Number of bullet points
– Number of pages we’re going to be dealing with
This helps us know how concise we have to be
and how much time we’ll need to budget.
8. When Making A Request
• Have a wireframe, or at least an idea of what
kind of format you want the text in
– Baseline LPs are usually HD, SubHD, and 4 bullet
points
– Do you want a copy box?
– Is more long-form copy needed?
Larger projects like Microsites should address
formats and sitemaps in the kickoff meeting
9. When Making A Request
Give us the context and scope of what we are
writing for
– Are we A/Bing against an existing page/site?
– Are we writing for SEO?
– Do we have a specific audience that we’re
targeting?
– Are we setting a baseline test?
– Has the PM given you keywords?
11. What do we need specifics on?
• Length
– “Can we shorten/lengthen this?” – We can always
re-work copy for length by cutting, adding , or just
re-phrasing.
• Message
– Emphasis on content: action words, CTAs, specific
benefits, or keywords missing
12. What do we need specifics on?
• Focus: we are writers, we sometimes tend to
ramble
– Fewer adjectives, more to the point
– What should we focus on? (consumer benefit,
functionality, features, etc)
• Keywords/SEO: Some copy is centered
completely around keywords
– Sometimes we have to “take liberties” with the
English language to hit tricky keywords
14. Don’t be vague!
• Can you just make this sound a little better?
• I like it but can you just make it shorter?
• I don’t think this works, I need you to fix it.
(then turn and walk away)
15. Don’t accept copy from
someone else!
Don’t let a PM or SEM or whoever tell you “I’ll
just write something up for you.” Invariably
there will be an issue there, and someone will
ask who wrote it, and the copywriters will all
point at each other.
Unless someone is our boss’s boss’s boss, then
they can do whatever they want. If nothing
else, volunteer one of us for the job.
16. Don’t keep your opinions to yourself!
• Just like the laws say: “If you see
something, say something.” If you don’t think
something sounds good to you, or it looks
awkward, or the punctuation is weird, our
users will think so too.
• We are working as a team, and good copy lifts
good design just as much as good design lifts
good copy.
