---
name: landing-pages-and-copy
description: Use when writing, rewriting or auditing landing pages, sales pages, product pages (PDPs), advertorials/listicles, VSLs and video scripts, checkout pages and conversion copy for digital products (courses, ebooks, workshops, apps) or physical products — page structure, ad-to-page message match, buy box and CTA, headlines and hooks, voice-of-customer research, proof and testimonials, guarantees and offers, copy psychology and formulas (ABC, wheel of persuasion, 4 C's), funnel paths (ad → advertorial → VSL/PDP → checkout), writing advertorials with Claude. Triggers on "audit my sales page", "my ads get clicks but no sales", "write a landing page", "improve my product page", "make this copy better", "headline ideas", "why isn't my page converting", "write an advertorial", "script my video/VSL", "which hook should I test".
---

# Landing pages, sales pages and conversion copy

Synthesised from Joanna Wiebe (Copyhackers — copy craft and psychology), Ezra Firestone (Smart
Marketer — e-com product pages, 2023), Sofi at Dose (DTC persona landing pages, 2026), Ben Bennett
(Smart Marketer — ad hooks), Will on Dara Denney's channel (AI-built pages, 2026), Alex Cattoni
(Copy Posse — hooks, formulas, video scripts, 2026) and Stefan Georgi (direct-response funnels,
advertorials with Claude, checkout tests). Mostly
practitioner experience and single-case numbers — A/B test before declaring winners. Notes live in
`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/`.

## Core playbook

1. **Audit with the checklist, top to bottom; fix the first broken layer first.** → sales-page-audit-checklist
2. **List → offer → copy.** Wrong traffic or weak offer can't be fixed with words; homepages convert badly because traffic is mixed. → list-offer-copy-hierarchy
3. **One page per ad angle/persona; repeat the ad's hook (verbatim is fine); start at the awareness stage the ad left them in.** Meta also reads the page for targeting. → ad-landing-page-message-match
4. **"Clicks but no conversions" = hook without heart, or page mismatch.** Show the viewer they're "on the ground"; then check the page's value perception. → ads-get-clicks-no-conversions
5. **Assemble copy from customers' words** — message bucket (themes) vs copy bucket (weird standout lines). → voice-of-customer-copy-mining
6. **Lead with the problem; hook fast but don't keep it short; the hook picks the framework (PAS / DOS / AIDA / PCPO).** SweatBlock +108% from a problem headline. → headline-hooks-and-copy-frameworks
7. **TOFU: name the audience, mirror identity, be fluent. MOFU: mechanism, plausible claims, boring objection-killers. BOFU: three options, honest trade-off, one big proof.** → funnel-stage-copy-triggers
8. **Name the problem mechanism and the solution mechanism; pass the 10-word test.** → name-the-unique-mechanism
9. **Specific claims, proof attached to each claim, demonstrations over adjectives; testimonial opens the buy box.** → proof-and-believable-claims
10. **Offers kill anxiety, not price; guarantee + USPs under the CTA (~10% lift).** → guarantees-and-anxiety-reducing-offers
11. **Buy box: testimonial → ownership benefit → recap; CTA above the fold, ≥80% wide on mobile, contrasting colour; offer/GWP/badges in the first image.** → product-page-buy-box
12. **PDP: ≥8 images incl. in-use, short demo video, "2 headlines, 6 bullets, 1 story", FAQ, second CTA, cross-sell.** → product-page-carousel-and-description
13. **Paid traffic → persona LPs/listicles with the buy box on-page; no exits; promos via countdown + banner on proven pages.** → persona-landing-pages-and-listicles
14. **Angles that sell identity: mirror, bigger problem, dream, remove blame, flip status, hidden door, ritual, superpower.** → identity-and-desire-selling-angles
15. **Creative headlines last: write the converting page, then make headlines/crossheads taglines (idiom swap) with a payoff line.** → creative-headlines-for-approval
16. **Selling expertise: courses are weakened by AI; sell workshops via a live self-diagnostic and high anchors.** → selling-expertise-workshops-vs-courses
17. **Build ad-matched pages with Claude Code in under an hour** from ad angle + PDP + brand assets + a playbook. → ai-landing-pages-with-claude-code
18. **Judge hooks on revenue per lead, not opt-in rate.** The pain hook won opt-ins (24.4%) and sold nothing; curiosity + identity ("the smart freelancer's secret") won sales. Specific beats broad on cold traffic, and mechanism hooks need an aware audience. → landing-page-hook-test-optin-vs-revenue
19. **Pick the formula by length:** ABC for short opt-ins, the wheel of persuasion (problem → pain → prescription → pivot → positioning → product) for sales pages, a story bridge for emails, the 4 C's for ads. → copywriting-formulas-short-and-long
20. **Five triggers:** reframe gains as losses, structured testimonial questions, question headlines, value before the ask, micro-commitments. → psychological-triggers-in-copy
21. **Video/VSL scripts: attention (restate the click promise + proof), retention (open-loop chain), trust (show, don't tell), direction (a CTA that continues the content).** → video-script-four-forces
22. **Match the next page to the platform** (YouTube → video page, native → advertorial). Long advertorial → PDP, short advertorial → VSL. Ad → advertorial → PDP → checkout is the common 8-figure e-com path. → presell-funnel-paths-advertorial-vsl
23. **Advertorials with Claude:** extract inputs from the sales page, have it analyse a proven advertorial's structure, write one per avatar, fact-check spokespeople and studies. → writing-advertorials-with-ai
24. **Checkout button: use the buyer's verb.** "Check out" beat "Submit my order", 37.5% vs 28%, and $34 → $46 revenue per checkout visitor. → checkout-button-copy-test

## Note map

| Note | Read when |
|---|---|
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/sales-page-audit-checklist.md` | Auditing any landing/sales/product page — start here |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/list-offer-copy-hierarchy.md` | "Let's fix the copy" — check traffic and offer first; 9-point diagnostic |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/ad-landing-page-message-match.md` | Deciding which page each ad sends to; awareness stages |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/ads-get-clicks-no-conversions.md` | Good CTR, poor conversion rate |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/voice-of-customer-copy-mining.md` | Researching what to say; mining reviews/Reddit; message matrix |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/headline-hooks-and-copy-frameworks.md` | Writing the headline/hook; picking PAS/DOS/AIDA; 14 ad hook types |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/funnel-stage-copy-triggers.md` | Making copy persuasive section by section; objections; option framing |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/name-the-unique-mechanism.md` | Explaining *why* the product works; differentiation |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/proof-and-believable-claims.md` | Placing testimonials/demos; making claims credible |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/guarantees-and-anxiety-reducing-offers.md` | Designing the offer, guarantee, urgency |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/product-page-buy-box.md` | Buy-box copy, CTA design, value perception (e-com) |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/product-page-carousel-and-description.md` | Full PDP structure: images, description formula, FAQ, cross-sell |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/persona-landing-pages-and-listicles.md` | Persona pages, listicles/advertorials, PDP vs LP, BFCM promo assets |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/identity-and-desire-selling-angles.md` | Choosing the big idea/angle when the product isn't objectively better |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/creative-headlines-for-approval.md` | Headlines feel "meh" or stakeholders reject copy |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/selling-expertise-workshops-vs-courses.md` | Selling courses, workshops, consulting; high-ticket pricing |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/ai-landing-pages-with-claude-code.md` | Building a page fast with Claude Code; deploy to Vercel |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/landing-page-hook-test-optin-vs-revenue.md` | Choosing or testing headline hooks; opt-in vs buyer quality |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/copywriting-formulas-short-and-long.md` | Need a ready structure: opt-in page, sales page, sales email, ad |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/psychological-triggers-in-copy.md` | Loss framing, testimonial questions, curiosity, reciprocity, micro-commitments |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/video-script-four-forces.md` | Scripting a YouTube video, reel, webinar or VSL; video hooks |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/presell-funnel-paths-advertorial-vsl.md` | Deciding what comes after the click: advertorial, VSL, PDP; what a VSL does |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/writing-advertorials-with-ai.md` | Writing advertorials (fast, with Claude); prompts, editing passes, health-claim pitfalls, stock-up upsell script |
| `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/marketing/landing-pages-and-copy/checkout-button-copy-test.md` | Optimising the checkout page / buy button copy |

Related elsewhere: web2app quiz funnels and web paywalls (`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/mobile-apps/web2app/web2app-first-screen-hook.md`, `web2app-paywall-best-practices.md`, `web-quiz-social-proof-and-trust.md`) and app paywall copy (`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/wiki/mobile-apps/monetization/paywall-cta-copy.md`, `long-paywall-sell-the-outcome.md`, `paywall-visuals-and-social-proof.md`).

## Gaps

- Few controlled A/B results with sample sizes; most numbers are one brand or one client (SweatBlock +108%, BOOM! testimonial buy box, Ezra's ~10% guarantee lift, Alex Cattoni's ~90-lead-per-arm hook test, Stefan Georgi's 2020 checkout-button test).
- Not covered: long-form sales-page structure for courses/ebooks section by section (only principles), pricing-table design on the web, checkout-page and cart optimisation beyond button copy (form fields, order bumps, upsell pages: only web2app notes cover these), page speed/Core Web Vitals impact, legal/compliance of claims (health, EU consumer law, fake urgency), non-English markets, B2B SaaS homepages, VSL scripts in full detail (only structure), email/sales sequences beyond the story-bridge formula, advertorial compliance (FTC/ASA/EU).
- E-com PDP advice is from 2023 Shopify practice; Meta's use of landing pages for targeting is a 2026 practitioner claim, not verified against Meta documentation.