Copywriting Glossary A to Z — Copywriting

Copywriting glossary — 137 definitions

Every term defined across the guide's sections, in alphabetical order.
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"About" page: A very-visited page that builds trust and connection; must link your story to the mission and the reader.
"So what?": The question to ask of each feature to extract the real benefit for the customer.
"Which means that…": A bridge phrase to turn a feature into a customer-oriented benefit.
A/B testing: Comparing two versions of a text with real audiences to see which converts best.
Above the fold: The zone visible without scrolling; must contain the essentials (promise + CTA).
Action: Step 4: clearly call to action (CTA) to turn desire into reality.
Action verb: A verb opening a CTA ("Get," "Start," "Join"); makes the instruction direct and concrete.
Action-oriented: Said of a text designed to trigger a specific behavior, not merely to inform or please.
Active voice: Construction where the subject does the action ("you save"); more direct and lively than the passive.
Agitate: The PAS step where you dig into the pain and its consequences to make the problem tangible and pressing.
AIDA: A 4-step structure: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action; guides the reader to the action.
Anchoring: A bias: the first number/price seen serves as a reference and influences perception of the next.
Attention: Step 1: grab the eye (headline) so the reader starts reading.
Audience: The specific public the text addresses; you write for one person, not for "everyone."
Authenticity: The truth of the story told; an invented or exaggerated story that rings false destroys trust.
Automation: Automatic email sending per rules/triggers, via a tool (Brevo, Mailchimp…); works continuously.
BAB: Before – After – Bridge: current situation, dream situation, offer as the passage.
Batching: Producing several pieces in a row in one session, rather than one by one, for efficiency.
Benefit: What the feature concretely brings the customer: result, gain, emotion, problem avoided.
Benefit in the title: Highlighting, right in the headline, the concrete result for the reader (rather than a neutral description).
Brand tone (tone of voice): A brand's written personality: its recognizable way of expressing itself, consistent across all channels.
Brand voice: The brand's stable verbal identity, at the intersection of its identity (values) and its audience.
Brand-as-a-person: A trick: imagine the brand as a person to define how it would "speak."
Brief: Framing a project with the client: offer, audience, goals, expectations, constraints; the basis of good work.
Call to action (CTA): A clear instruction telling the reader what to do next (click, buy, sign up): the destination of the text.
Case study: Presenting a project with its goal, audience and results achieved; a strong element of a portfolio.
Cialdini's principles: Six (then seven) levers of influence: reciprocity, social proof, authority, scarcity, consistency, liking, unity.
Clarity: The quality of a message understood immediately, without jargon or effort; the absolute priority before cleverness.
Clickbait: A sensational headline promising more than the content delivers; gets one click but destroys trust.
Concrete word: A term that evokes a real image or experience (pan, plug, minute) vs vague abstraction.
Consistency / commitment: The tendency to stay consistent with a first "yes" or a small commitment; basis of micro-commitments and trials.
Content funnel: The content journey: attract (discovery) → engage → convert → retain.
Content pillars: 3 to 5 recurring themes that structure content; avoid scattering, build identity.
Content strategy: A plan that defines why, for whom, what, where, how and how often to produce content.
Content writing: Writing that informs and gets found (articles, SEO); builds trust, often upstream of the sale.
Continuous improvement: An iterative approach: test, keep the winner, test again, learn from your audience continuously.
Conversational tone: A human, direct style, like a conversation; expected on social, unlike the corporate release.
Conversion: The reader moving to the intended action (purchase, sign-up, click); the central goal of copywriting.
Conversion rate: The share of the audience that completes the target action; the main metric to compare between versions.
Copywriter: A person who writes to persuade and drive action, in service of a commercial or marketing goal.
Copywriting: The art of writing text meant to drive reader action (click, sign up, buy): results-oriented writing.
Credibility: Elements that lift rational doubts: guarantees, certifications, sources, transparency, real contact details.
Curiosity (gap): A gap created in the reader's mind (question, promise) that makes them want to read to close it.
Customer avatar / persona: A precise, embodied portrait of the ideal reader: problems, desires, fears, objections, vocabulary, context.
Customer-centered page: A page that talks about the visitor and their problem ("you"), not the company for its own sake ("we").
Cut: Remove useless words, sentences and filler; the main lever of the rewrite ("when in doubt, cut").
Dark patterns: Deceptive interfaces/texts (hidden unsubscribe, pre-checked boxes, fake buttons) that trap the user; to ban.
Desire: Step 3: create wanting via benefits, projection into the result, proof and emotion.
Differentiator: What sets your offer apart from competitors (unique, or better, or for a precise audience).
Editorial calendar: A plan of what you publish, when and where; ensures regularity, anticipation and an overview.
Editorial consistency: Keeping the same tone and style from one text to the next; builds recognition and trust.
Email sequence: A series of emails (often automated) leading to a specific action; see automation (section 4.3).
Emotional benefit: What the product makes you feel (pride, peace of mind, confidence); often more powerful than the functional one.
Engagement: Reactions triggered (like, comment, share, save); favored by algorithms.
FAB: Feature – Advantage – Benefit: unfold feature → advantage → benefit for a product argument.
Feature: What the product is or has: a technical fact, an attribute (size, material, contents, function).
First draft: The initial version of a text; for getting ideas out, not for being perfect. To be reworked afterward.
Framework (structure): A proven frame that organizes a persuasive text; an angle of attack rather than a rigid recipe.
Freelance copywriter: An independent writer who sells copywriting services; runs both the writing and a small business.
Friction: Everything that slows the move to action (effort, doubt, perceived risk, steps); to reduce around the CTA.
Give before you ask: The principle: regularly delivering value earns the right to sell from time to time.
Guarantee: A commitment (refund, result) that reassures and tips the decision; to be genuinely honored.
Headline: The title or first line of a text; grabs attention and makes people want to read on. Element #1.
Homepage: The page that, in seconds, says who you are, what you offer, for whom, and the action to take.
Hook: The first line of a post; must stop the scroll and make people want to read on ("see more").
Identification: The mechanism by which the reader recognizes themselves in the character and feels concerned by the story.
Inner dialogue: The series of silent questions and objections the reader has before acting; the copy must answer them.
Inspiration (vs plagiarism): Drawing on the structures and principles of a good text, without copying; the basis of learning by observation.
Interchangeable claim: A phrase so generic a competitor could reuse it verbatim ("quality and service"): to banish.
Interest: Step 2: hold the reader by talking about them, their problem or a promise that concerns them.
Internal linking: Links between a site's own pages; aids navigation, SEO and content discovery.
Jargon: Technical or abstract vocabulary the audience doesn't naturally use; a barrier to understanding.
Keyword: The phrase a page targets and the audience types; to place naturally (title, intro, subheadings).
Landing page: A page dedicated to one conversion action (email, sign-up, download), with no distraction.
Legal frame (advertising): Rules governing selling and advertising (misleading ads, disclosures, data); varies by country, to check locally.
Let it rest: Re-read a text cold (after a delay) to spot its weaknesses with distance.
Level of awareness: How much the audience knows about its problem and the solutions; drives the angle and message.
Long vs short: The length debate: as long as needed to convince, never longer than useful (depending on the offer).
Loss aversion: A bias: we fear losing more than we like winning; frame what the reader risks losing.
Message match: Consistency between the ad/clicked link and the landing's title; otherwise the visitor leaves, disoriented.
Narrative arc: A story's structure: character, situation, problem, obstacles, turning point, transformation, result.
Newsletter: A regular email that nurtures the relationship through value (info, tips, story), not just promotion.
Nurturing: Feeding, over time, contacts not yet ready to buy, through value, until they are.
Objection: A barrier, doubt or question preventing the reader from acting (price, trust, risk, fit); to anticipate.
One idea per paragraph: A readability rule: a short paragraph carries a single idea, which eases scanning.
One post, one idea: A clarity principle: a post carries a single message rather than saying everything at once.
Open / click rate: Metrics: share of emails opened (depends on subject/trust) and clicked (depends on content/CTA).
Page goal: The main action a given page targets; every page guides toward a clear action.
Pain point: A concrete problem, frustration or fear the audience feels and the offer can solve.
PAS: Problem – Agitate – Solution: name the pain, dig into it, then present the offer as the relief.
Persuasion vs manipulation: Persuasion: making a good offer desirable, helping people decide well. Manipulation: deceiving, exploiting, harming the reader.
Platform adaptation: Adjusting tone and format to each network's codes (LinkedIn, Instagram, X, TikTok).
Portfolio: A copywriter's showcase of work (examples, context, results); proves competence to land work.
Positioning: How you place yourself in the market: generalist or specialized (by sector or deliverable type).
Practice projects: Examples created (rewrites, spec pieces, offered work) to build a portfolio when starting out.
Price presentation: The way to introduce the price against value, after establishing benefits and proof.
Price reframe: Presenting the price against value (cost per day, expected return, comparison) rather than raw.
Product page: A page describing a product; a mini sales argument (benefits, proof, practical info, CTA), not a plain list.
Promise: The main benefit the customer will get; the heart of the value proposition, to be genuinely kept.
Prospecting: The active pursuit of clients (network, platforms, content, direct outreach, LinkedIn).
Reading aloud: A fluency test: if you stumble or run out of breath, the sentence needs shortening/rewriting.
Reciprocity: The tendency to give back what we received; underpins "give before you ask" (free value, sample).
Responsible copywriting: An honest, respectful copywriting practice; builds trust, the most profitable asset in the long run.
Rewrite: The revision phase that turns a first draft into an effective text (cut, clarify, strengthen, correct).
Risk reducer: A reassuring note near the button ("free," "no commitment," "2 min") that lifts a barrier to action.
Risk reversal: Transferring risk from buyer to seller (a "satisfied or refunded" guarantee) to lift the barrier.
Sales page: A whole page dedicated to selling an offer; leads the visitor from arrival to purchase without a salesperson ("salesperson on paper").
Sales-page frame: The typical chain: headline, problem, solution, benefits, proof, offer, price, objections, guarantee, urgency, CTA.
Salesperson on paper: The idea that a sales page reproduces the dialogue a good salesperson would have: anticipate questions and objections.
Scan reading (F-pattern): How we skim a web page: diagonally, sweeping titles and line beginnings, without reading everything.
Search intent: The real need behind a query (inform, compare, buy); the content must answer it.
SEO: The set of practices for a page to rank well in search engine results.
Short form: A form limited to the strict minimum; every extra field reduces conversion.
Single goal: The principle of one targeted action per page/text; multiplying requests dilutes conversion.
Single variable: The test rule: change only one element between A and B to know what to attribute the difference to.
Slippery slide: The principle where each sentence makes you want to read the next, keeping reading momentum.
Social proof: The bias by which we rely on others' opinion and behavior; we believe a customer more than the brand.
Specific testimonial: A review naming the starting problem, the concrete/quantified result and an identifiable person (name, photo).
Specificity: Using precise details and numbers ("in 7 days," "3 mistakes"); more credible and striking than the vague.
Statistical significance: The reliability of a result, reached with enough data; a gap on too few cases proves nothing.
Storytelling: The art of conveying a message through a story; creates emotion, identification and memory.
Style guide: A document that sets and shares the brand voice (tone, vocabulary, rules) for consistent writing.
Subheading: An intermediate title that summarizes a part and guides the reader; lets you understand by scanning.
Subject line: The email's title; the headline that decides the open. Short, specific, curious or benefit, human.
Swipe file: A personal collection of good-copywriting examples (headlines, emails, pages) saved to draw inspiration from and learn.
Targeted re-read: Re-read in the intended reader's shoes: is it clear, desirable? what would make them drop off?
The customer is the hero: The principle that in a brand story, the hero is the customer; the brand plays guide/mentor.
Title tag / meta description: Title and summary shown in Google results; the "headline" that triggers (or not) the click.
Transparency: Clarity about what you sell, the price, the terms; flagging sponsored content (often mandatory).
Triggered email: An email sent automatically after a behavior (abandoned cart, download, etc.).
Usage numbers: Reassuring data ("50,000 users," average rating) showing adoption and satisfaction.
Value proposition: The key sentence saying what you offer, to whom, and how it's better/different: the central message.
Value-based pricing: Charging by the result/value brought to the client, rather than by time spent; a more mature approach.
Verifiable proof: The principle that any proof advanced must be true and checkable; a fake proof discovered ruins trust.
Voice of customer: The real words and phrases the audience uses to describe its problem; to reuse in the text.
Welcome sequence: First emails after sign-up: introduce, deliver value, build trust (interest at its hottest).
White space: The empty zones around the text; rest the eye, air the page and highlight — not wasted space.