Copywriting is the skill of writing words that cause a specific action -- a click, a signup, a purchase, a belief change. It is not creative writing, not content writing, not blog writing. Copywriting is salesmanship in print. Every line of copy has one job: sell the reader on reading the next line. The headline sells the click. The click sells the landing page. The landing page sells the opt-in. The opt-in sells the email. The email sells the call. Every step is copy. The difference between great copy and average copy is not talent or vocabulary -- it is discipline: using the customer's exact language, writing at a third-grade reading level, making damaging admissions to build trust, and having a systematic checklist that ensures nothing is left to chance. Hormozi's internal copywriting checklist has 12 points. Most businesses follow zero of them.
Hormozi's 12-Point Copywriting Checklist:
1. Headlines First.
"Once you've written your headline, you've spent 80 cents of your advertising dollar" (Ogilvy). Going from 1% to 3% CTR triples everything downstream. Nothing else in the funnel can 3-5x performance like a headline can. Spend disproportionate time on headlines. Write 20-30 variations before picking one. Test organically before spending on ads.
2. Say What Only You Can Say.
Proof outperforms promise. Competitors can copy your offer but cannot copy your proof. "Why should I listen to you?" is always at the top of everyone's mind. Lead with credentials, results, specific numbers, case studies. If you've helped 4,000 customers, say 4,000 -- not "thousands." Specificity is credibility.
3. Call Out Who You're Looking For -- And Who You're NOT Looking For.
"If you're below $250K/year, this isn't for you" communicates positioning powerfully. Saying no to wrong customers polarizes right customers toward you. Don't be vanilla. "I'm everything to all people" means no one feels pulled. Advertising speaks to ONE person. The reader should think "How does he know my secrets?" -- and you can only create that feeling by writing to a single, specific person.
4. Always Have a Reason Why.
The "because" principle (Cialdini): having any reason for an offer is better than no reason. The word "because" is one of the most influential words in persuasion. The reason doesn't even need to be great -- "It's my dog's birthday month" works. Every discount, every deadline, every offer needs an explicit reason.
5. Damaging Admissions.
"Probably the most powerful" copywriting technique. Own your flaws upfront. "What you sacrifice in promise you gain in trust, and trust trumps promise." The "but" amplifier: the statement after "but" is what people believe. "These markers smell terrible BUT they write 4x longer" = people believe the longevity. Flip it: "They write 4x longer BUT they smell terrible" = people focus on the smell. The Eminem principle: own all your flaws first so the other person has nothing left to say. Example: "Our gym has honestly pretty terrible parking, our AC is kind of on and off, I don't have the best equipment, but our sessions are more fun than everyone else's" -- now people believe the fun claim because the rest was clearly honest.
6. Show Don't Tell.
Describe the EXPERIENCE of the outcome, not the outcome itself. Not "get more sales" but "running out of order forms because customers are reading their credit cards to you over the phone too fast." Not "lose weight" but "stepping on the scale and seeing a number you haven't seen since college." Describe the future problems they'd prefer to have. "Having to reorganize your gym to make room for more people at sessions."
7. Tie Benefits to Status.
Not "cook meals fast and easy" but "so fast your friends will wonder how you found the time to be fit and cook for your family." Use the What/Who/When framework: What benefit? Who gives them status? (family, friends, colleagues, rivals) When? (past self, present peers, future aspirations). Every benefit should be framed in terms of how it affects the buyer's social standing.
8. Urgency and Scarcity.
These are different. Scarcity = function of quantity ("Only 12 spots"). Urgency = function of time ("Closes Friday at midnight"). Can use both. Key: make it legitimate. Say no to people who try to buy after the deadline. "You're digging your well before you're thirsty." Undersell demand so you always have more later. If everyone knows your scarcity is fake, you lose all future leverage.
9. Implied Authority.
Longevity ("40 years in business"), awards (even obscure ones), aggregated team experience ("300 combined years of experience"), celebrity associations, media mentions, social proof math. 4,000 reviews at 4.6 stars beats 3 reviews at 5.0 stars every time. "Did you find us on the Vegas Best Boot Camps list?" -- reference authority signals casually, as if everyone already knows.
10. Always Have a PS.
The two most-read parts of any ad/email: (1) the headline, (2) the PS. Three strategies for the PS:
11. Clear CTAs.
Tell people exactly what to do next and what will happen. "Click the button, on the next page fill your information, then select a convenient time." Said-do correspondence: when you tell someone to take a step and what you said would happen actually happens, you gain influence over them. Martha Stewart gave recipes; people followed them; the cake came out good; she gained influence. Make promises, keep promises, over and over. A confused mind does not buy, and a confused mind certainly does not click.
12. Third Grade Reading Level.
Most copy doesn't convert because people pause to understand it. "Fancy equals friction, simple equals sales." Short sentences. Small words. Big promises. Big proof. Few adverbs -- use better verbs instead ("he sprinted" not "he quickly ran"). Simplicity trumps concision -- a longer sentence of simple words beats a shorter sentence of complex words. Run every piece of copy through a free reading level tool. Edit until third grade.
Bonus: Use Humor.
Old Spice had the highest-converting ad of all time. Entertainment goes broad, education goes deep. Build humor like comedians build sets -- test in small venues, keep what works, frontload the winners. Humor earns attention, builds memorability, and creates positive brand association. But humor that confuses the message is worse than no humor at all.
The "How to YAY Without BOO" Formula:
"How to [desired outcome] without [biggest insecurity] even if [biggest fear]."
Example: "How to speak confidently in front of strangers without ever practicing even if you're deathly afraid of speaking in public."
This formula works because it addresses three layers simultaneously: the aspiration, the barrier, and the underlying fear. It pre-handles two objections in a single sentence.
Cross-Industry Hook Stealing:
Take hooks working in travel and apply to business. Take weight loss hooks into B2B. "Steal like an artist from a different industry." Your competitors are watching each other's ads. Nobody is watching ads from a completely unrelated vertical and adapting the structure. This is where the most original-seeming copy comes from.
Write in the Customer's Exact Language:
Don't use industry jargon. Don't use your internal terminology. Use the exact words your customers use when they describe their problems. Mine these from: customer service complaints, product reviews, Facebook group discussions, YouTube comments, Reddit threads, sales call transcripts. When your words match their internal monologue, they feel like you read their mind. "When you write words they strike like lightning because they specifically talk to the pain points of your marketplace."
Writing at an adult reading level: What it looks like -- sentences averaging 20+ words, multisyllabic vocabulary, dependent clauses. The reader has to re-read sentences to understand them. Why -- educated people default to writing at their reading level, which is far above their audience's attention level. Fix -- Run every piece through a reading level checker. Target 3rd grade. "Short sentences. Small words. Big promises. Big proof."
Leading with features instead of outcomes: What it looks like -- "Our platform has 47 integrations, real-time analytics, and AI-powered insights." Why -- you're proud of what you built and want to show it off. The customer doesn't care about features; they care about what the features DO for them. Fix -- Translate every feature into an experience: "Connect to every tool you already use so you never switch tabs again."
Fake scarcity/urgency: What it looks like -- "Only 3 spots left!" (there are unlimited spots). "Offer expires tonight!" (it runs every night). Why -- people learn your patterns. Once they see the urgency is fake, they lose all trust. Fix -- Use real scarcity and real urgency. If you say the price goes up Friday, raise the price Friday. If you say 12 spots, close enrollment at 12.
No CTA or competing CTAs: What it looks like -- beautiful sales page, compelling story, no clear next step. Or: three different buttons going to three different destinations. Why -- the writer focused on persuasion but forgot to direct the action. Fix -- One page, one goal, one CTA. If you have multiple offers, create multiple pages.
Copying competitors instead of cross-pollinating from other industries: What it looks like -- every competitor in your space has nearly identical copy because they all copied each other. Why -- watching only your own industry creates an echo chamber. Fix -- Build a swipe file from 5+ unrelated industries. Adapt structures, not content. A weight loss headline formula applied to B2B SaaS will feel original because nobody in SaaS has seen it before.
Your competitors are watching each other's ads. Nobody is watching ads from completely unrelated verticals and adapting the structure. The most original-seeming copy comes from stealing hook structures from travel and applying them to B2B, or taking weight loss headline formulas into SaaS. This is where genuine creative advantage lives because the audience has never seen these patterns in your category.
Most copy doesn't convert because people pause to understand it. A longer sentence of simple words beats a shorter sentence of complex words. Educated founders default to writing at their own reading level, which is far above their audience's attention level.
Going from 1% to 3% CTR triples everything downstream — more leads, more calls, more revenue — from the same spend. No other element in the marketing funnel can 3-5x total performance. Yet most businesses write one headline and move on.