copy-quality-gatelisted

# Copy Quality Gate ## The Law ``` COPY THAT CANNOT ANSWER "SO WHAT?" IS MARKETING FOR THE WRITER, NOT THE READER. "It explains what we do" passes the author's test — the reader's test is "what does this mean for me?" and the reader leaves if the answer isn't in the first sentence. Passing all three tests — "so what?", "who cares?", "why now?" — IS copy that earns attention. ``` ## When to Use Trigger before: - Publishing any homepage, landing page, or hero section - Sending any email campaign or outbound sequence - Running any ad copy - Publishing any sales collateral or pitch deck ## When NOT to Use - Internal documentation (no reader conversion goal) - Legal disclosures (accuracy and completeness are the goals, not engagement) - Help centre articles (utility copy — different standards apply) ## The Three Tests All three must pass. Passing two and failing one is a fail. ### Test 1 — "So What?" For every claim in the copy, ask: "so what does this mean for the reader?" **Apply the chain:** ``` Claim: "Our AI automatically categorises support tickets." So what? "You spend less time manually triaging." So what? "Your team handles 3× more tickets without adding headcount." ``` The final answer in the "so what?" chain is the real claim. If it is not in the copy, the copy is incomplete. **Rule:** If the "so what?" chain reaches a benefit the reader cares about in 2 steps or fewer, the claim is positioned correctly. If it takes 3+ steps, the copy is describing features