Every founder eventually has to write their own copy, A landing page, An email, A product description. Here's a practical framework, The one I teach to non-writers. For getting it 80% of the way there without agency budget.
I have a soft spot for founders who have to write their own copy. It's almost always a stage when there's no budget for a full-time writer, the website desperately needs words, and the founder. Brilliant at many things. Is staring at a blank doc wondering how to make "B2B data platform" sound compelling.
Here's what I tell them. You don't need to be a copywriter to write copy that works. You just need a framework and the discipline to edit aggressively.
This post is that framework. It's the one I walk founders through in our first working sessions. It works for landing pages, emails, product descriptions, and any other marketing copy you'll write this year.
The three questions every piece of copy answers
Before you write a word, answer these three questions on paper:
- Who is the reader? Not a persona, A real person, with a specific role, dealing with a specific problem today.
- What's the one thing they should believe after reading this?
- What's the one action you want them to take?
If you can't answer all three in one sentence each, don't start writing, The piece won't work. It'll be a collection of claims about your product, and the reader will feel it in the first three lines.
The before-and-after technique
Most copy fails because it describes what the product is. Good copy describes the change the product creates in the reader's life.
The technique: before you write the copy, write two paragraphs, The "before" state and the "after" state.
Before: what does the reader's day look like today, before they use your product? What's frustrating? What's slow? What are they working around?
After: what does their day look like after your product is installed, adopted, working? What's easier? What's faster? What's possible now that wasn't before?
Your copy is the bridge between those two paragraphs, The more specific and tangible the before/after, the more powerful the copy. Vague change ("streamline your workflow") is weak. Specific change ("cut your Monday close from 6 hours to 45 minutes") is strong.
Four rules for sentences
1. Short sentences beat clever ones.
A 12-word sentence that lands is better than a 30-word sentence that almost lands. Cut hard. If a sentence has two ideas, make it two sentences.
2. Concrete words beat abstract words.
"Accelerate" is abstract. "Cut your monthly close from 6 hours to 45 minutes" is concrete. Concrete wins every time. Readers forget abstract claims. They remember specific numbers.
3, The second person beats the first person.
"Our platform offers seamless integration". Nobody cares. "Connect your stack in 3 clicks". Now it's about the reader. Write "you" more than "we." The product description isn't about you; it's about what the reader gets.
4. Verbs beat nouns.
"Our solution provides a comprehensive dashboard" has four nouns and one weak verb. "See your pipeline in one glance" has two strong verbs and no fluff. Verbs drive the sentence. Nouns clog it.
The copy editing pass
Writing copy is 30% writing and 70% editing. Here's the pass I do on every piece:
- Cut the first paragraph. It's almost always warm-up. You don't need it.
- Replace every adjective with a number or a noun. "Fast" → "3x faster." "Easy" → "Set up in 5 minutes." If you can't replace it, the claim is too vague to keep.
- Find every "we" and turn it into "you". Unless "we" is specifically the right frame.
- Read it out loud. If a sentence is hard to say, it's hard to read. Rewrite it.
- Cut 20% more. Seriously. Whatever you have, you can say it in 80% of the words. Readers thank you.
The "will it convert" test
Before you publish, run it through this mental checklist:
- In the first 10 words, is it clear what the product does?
- Is there a specific, concrete outcome the reader will recognize from their own life?
- Is there a single, obvious next action?
- Could a competitor put their name on this copy and have it still make sense? (If yes, it's too generic. Rewrite with specifics.)
- Does it sound like a person wrote it? Or does it read like an agency slide deck?
If any of those fail, another editing pass.
What to do when you're stuck
Every founder I work with gets stuck at some point, The advice I give:
Stuck on the headline?
Write ten bad ones. Then ten more. Your best headline is almost never the first one you write. It's the one on the edge of your first twenty. Quantity breaks the mental block.
Stuck on the body?
Pretend you're explaining the product to a specific person you know, A friend, a former colleague, a customer you've talked to. Write the explanation as a message to them. Then edit it into copy. You'll skip all the corporate warm-up and get straight to what matters.
Stuck on the call to action?
Most CTAs are too generic ("Learn more," "Get started"). Replace them with the specific action that comes next: "Book a 15-min intro call," "See pricing for 50 seats," "Start your 14-day trial." Specificity lifts click-through significantly.
Good copy isn't about being a better writer. It's about being a better editor of your own thinking.
The short version
You don't need to be a copywriter to write copy that converts. Answer three questions (who, what, action), use the before-and-after technique, follow four sentence rules, edit aggressively, and apply the will-it-convert test. That'll get you 80% of the way. Which is further than most startups ever make it.
When you need the last 20%, The brand voice, the nuanced positioning, the launch campaign that has to work. Hire a copywriter, But for most of the copy you'll write this year, this framework is enough.
