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22 Comments

I am terrible at copywriting. Send help.

Context: plaudy.com

The good: my branding (simple, mostly black with a touch of gold), I think my demo is decent.

The bad: ALL of my copy. I can't seem to connect the dots between what my product does and the customer understanding the value proposition.

I'm just so bad at this. Any tips?

  1. 4

    It's probably boring, but I think you need to open a google doc (or notion page or whatever you use), and just start breaking it down, writing everything over and over in different ways until it's clear.

    My first thought when I saw your website (which, btw, your design/branding is beautiful to me!) was: "Hmm, looks like another clone of Fathom."

    But digging a little more, I thought "Ok, is this interesting metrics on top of the generic web stats?"

    Your headline was kind of intriguing, but not in a way where I thought "Ah, I immediately understand what it does and why."

    I'd read up on PASTOR (or AIDA) copywriting. Most people have a headline that catches attention (yours might be ok, you can write out 10 different attention-catchers as a brainstorm), then a subheading that says how you're going to (and this is really important): Solve a critical pain point that saves them time/money, or makes them money.

    "Your analytics tracks critical events, but doesn't give them meaning."
    "Plaudy tracks those events, and then <not sure... helps you actually make sense of all that data?>"

    You can also try building a list that explains your product at different levels.

    • This item would be super generic, like "saves you time and money by giving you the analytics you need at your fingertips"
    • less generic
    • less generic
    • ...
    • And the last item would be: "You write code to track an event, then you write code to query those events and <x> happens"

    PASTOR is cool because it helps you write a long-form description (You have x problem. It causes Y issues. We solve it with Z. ...). It can really help clarify what problem you're solving, and what the end user likely wants to know.

    1. 3

      Oh! I've been working with @tabansi on simple, free template. He created a free landing page template with a focus on copywriting, and I loved it so much, I collaborated with him on a web-based editor.

      I think it's great for practicing copywriting (because you can just throw it away and start from scratch afterward): https://edit.uselander.xyz

      1. 2

        This is awesome! Thank you so much for all the advice! I'll check out. edit.uselander.xyz for sure.

        I don't think any of that is "boring" advice! I'm going to run through a few of the exercises you suggest here and nail something down better. I like that you're suggesting a more systematic approach, because I think that's what I really need.

        Thanks again. Lander looks like a really awesome tool for playing with some of these things. Nice work!

        1. 2

          Cool, let me know if you have any feedback - would love to know if anything is confusing or hard to use!

          And don't worry, I suck at copy writing too. I think you just keep working at it and get better. And talk to anyone who signs up to find out what got them interested so you know what the writing should focus on :)

  2. 2

    You're right, the copy could use some work but the site looks really nice overall. I left some notes and suggestions on a screenshot here https://app.pilotui.com/?id=5f3de32fc6da370017ccb506

    1. 1

      Hey Nick! Thanks for taking the time!

      So, it actually is truly customer-facing analytics, not just "customer analytics." Definitely a difference to be careful about!

      I think you're right about the emoji being vague. I've started working on some new headlines and possible sub-headers.

      I appreciate the feedback! I'll keep working on it!

  3. 2

    Of course @dustinm, happy to help here are a few tips!

    Copywriting is all about answering your visitor objections/questions...Here are a few you haven't answered yet:

    1. What type of customer insights/metric can I track?
    2. How does this API work?
    3. What do I get by signing up for early access
    4. What features are available now?
    5. How is this better than what they are currently using or other competitiors.

    What do people think about your value prop since you mention you have trouble communicating it?

    1. 1

      Thanks @pedrocortes! These are all great, and I love the mindset of thinking about what questions are left unanswered!

      People really like my value prop once they really understand... It's just a whole conversation to get to that point, instead of people understanding it right away by hitting the site!

  4. 1

    Hey @dustinm, hit me up! I run Brief-er. Copy and I'm looking for cool projects like the one you're building. Let's chat. :)

    1. 1

      Talk to me! Mind sending me an email at [email protected]?

      1. 1

        In your inbox. ;)

        • Evgeni
  5. 1

    Your site aint loading here either!

    1. 1

      What in the world... I thought I fixed it 🧐

      1. 1

        I still can't see it, can you take a screenshot of your whole page top/to/bottom - Im curious now :P

        1. 1

          Haha I'm so bummed it still isn't working yet. Webflow said 24-48 hours yesterday. We'll have to see... Until then, here's a full screen capture of the landing page:

          Landing Page Screenshot

          1. 1

            Image link doesn't work, permission or whatever are wrong, just upload to imgur :P

            1. 1

              Okay, okay. Turns out I'm not good at a few things lol

              Imgur link for you, friend: https://imgur.com/u4c2E4G

              1. 1

                Awesome! Now the image works, but the website still doesn't :D

                1. 1

                  😂 Hopefully it’ll be working soon. If it isn’t by tomorrow, it’ll be a bigger problem for me!

  6. 1

    Just a heads up @dustinm, not able to pull up your website.

    1. 1

      Okay, I've had this feedback from a number of people and CANNOT figure it out! Any ideas anyone?

      1. 2

        I'm not an expert on these issues but seems like DNS issue.

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