Welcome! Let's start with one simple question
What do you think copywriting actually is?
If you said "writing that sells," you're close. But let's make it more useful than that. Here's the one-sentence version we'll use for the whole course:
Copywriting is writing that helps a specific reader take one clear next step.
That step might be buying a product. It might also be booking a call, signing up for a newsletter, donating, or just clicking through to the next page. The words are there to do a job, and the job is action.
Keep that sentence in mind. We'll come back to it again and again.
Think of a signpost, not a poster
Here's an analogy. Picture yourself walking through a busy train station. A poster on the wall might be beautiful, and you might glance at it. But a signpost tells you exactly where to go next: "Platform 4 →".
Good web copy is much more like a signpost. It knows who's walking past, what they're looking for, and which way they should turn.
That matters online, because people don't really read web pages. They scan. Jakob Nielsen's research on how people use the web estimated that on an average page, readers take in only about 20% of the words. So your copy has to point the way fast.
Three things copywriting is often mistaken for
Let's clear up some confusion. There are three things people often mix up with copywriting.
1. Content writing. Blog posts, guides and articles mostly aim to inform or entertain. They build trust over time. That's valuable! But copywriting has a narrower goal: to move this reader to act, right now. A guide to pruning roses is content. The page that gets you to book a gardener is copy.
2. Grammar polish. Perfect spelling and punctuation are lovely, and they help people trust you. But a flawless paragraph can still fail completely if nobody knows who it's for or what to do next. Proofreading cleans up the words. Copywriting decides what the words are for.
3. Hype. "Revolutionary! World-class! Unbeatable!" Loud words feel persuasive, but readers have seen them a thousand times and tune them out. Real persuasion comes from being clear and relevant to the reader, not from shouting. In the UK, advertising rules also expect you to be able to back up claims people could take literally. We'll cover that properly later in the course.
So copywriting isn't content, it isn't polish, and it isn't hype. It's helping a real person take a clear next step.
Let's look at a weak example
Imagine you've landed on a gardening company's website. Here's the first paragraph:
Founded in 2009, Greenleaf Gardening is a leading, passionate provider of innovative, high-quality landscaping solutions. We pride ourselves on our dedication to excellence and our expert team. We offer a wide range of services for all your needs.
How does that make you feel? Probably... nothing much.
Let's work out why. First, look at who it's about. It's all about the company: "we," "our," "Greenleaf." You, the reader, barely appear. Second, it's vague. "Solutions," "excellence" and "a wide range" could describe almost any business. Third, there's no next step. You finish reading and you don't know what to do.
Now let's rewrite it
Here's a stronger version:
Has your back garden got away from you this summer? We'll clear it, cut it back and leave it tidy, so you can actually sit out there again. We cover Leeds and nearby villages. Book a free 15-minute call and we'll give you a fixed price.
See what changed?
It opens by talking to you about your situation. It says plainly what happens and why you'd care. It tells you where the company works, so you know whether it's for you. And it ends with one clear action, and makes that action feel easy.
Notice what we didn't do. We didn't add exclamation marks or fancy adjectives. We just pointed the reader at the next step.
Your quick three-point checklist
Whenever you write or judge a piece of copy, ask yourself three questions:
- Reader: Can I name who this is for, and does it speak to them as "you"?
- Purpose: Is it clear what this piece is meant to achieve?
- Action: Is there one clear next step, and is it obvious how to take it?
If any answer is "not really," that's where to start editing.
Here's a handy extra test: count the "we"s and the "you"s. If "we" is winning by a mile, the copy is probably about the business, not the reader.
Your turn
Find one paragraph you've written, or pick one from a website you know. Maybe it's an "About us" intro or a shop description. Rewrite it in no more than 60 words so that it:
- talks to one kind of reader as "you"
- says plainly what's in it for them
- ends with exactly one action
Then run it through the checklist. Be honest with yourself! You'll get much better at this as the course goes on.
Key takeaways
- Copywriting is writing that helps a specific reader take one clear next step.
- It's often confused with content writing, grammar polish and hype, but it's none of these.
- People scan web pages and read only a small share of the words, so clarity beats cleverness.
- Weak copy is usually self-focused, vague and missing an action.
- Judge any copy with three checks: Reader, Purpose, Action.