Website Copywriting Templates: A Word Of Warning

Everyone always wants them.

The formulas.
The templates.
The fill-in-the-blanks.

Which is smart, because they *do* make starting the copywriting easier. They give a platform to push off from so you can swim.

But they’re not everything.

They’re just somewhere solid to begin.

So, my courses are always going to give them to you. The ones I think may work, the ones I’ve tried, the ones that’ve been used since people began writing stuff that made other people realise how flippin’ fabulous their particular thing is.

I’m not here to tell you you’re wrong about what you want. You’re smarter than that. And I respect you too much.

But I’m always going to hand them out with a warning.

No formula, template, or even writing process is *the* one.

I’m never going to teach you *the* process, either. Because there’s not just one.

I’m not going to rebrand something that’s been done before and try to convince you it’s original. I’ll show you how I do it, I’ll teach you my process, and then I’ll leap about ungracefully, jazz hands until you’re sick of them, and sing loudly about finding your own way.

Because the only one thing is your voice.

And for that, you need to dig around in your soul a little. Get messy. Stick your fingers in the dirt. Question yourself. Find silence, and then let your voice rise.

It’s amazing how many fine, smart business women think they’re good to go if they just download a $27 copywriting template off the internet. The assumption is that you can use any old website copywriting templates, literally fill in the blanks, and hit publish. This is like thinking that you can use a blueprint to build your house. Sure, it’s a useful starting tool, but it’s only one piece in the puzzle.

This is why you see so many Sales Pages that start with ‘Imagine if…’

And honestly, it’s pretty easy to slip into the reassuring idea that literally copying what a famous copywriter wrote will make your words better.

But the truth is that like all writing, copywriting is a skill. To get better at something, you need to practice that skill. If you want to be a better writer, you need to write. If you want to be a better copywriter, you need to write. Copywriting is a skill that can be acquired and improved upon with time and patience.

But this blog isn’t in existence simply to bag website copywriting templates.

I’ve said it before: prompts aren’t everything. They’re certainly not copy. They’re a starting point. But, darn, they’re a pretty good starting point, if you don’t think your starting point is the end product!

But what more do you need at that moment when you’re staring down a blank screen, willing it to be your tool you use to amplify your own magnificence to the world?

Without a copy prompt, all you’re armed with to tackle that blank page is sheer hope. And that’s no fun.

So, how do you use website copywriting templates and have the final product not sound like… a website copywriting template?

How best to use them:

• Get a bit of knowledge about structure and headlines and how the copy marries with the visuals and the layout to convert your reader
• Know what you want your reader to do! (Kinda important)
• Use the actual prompts/template
• Put the whole lot through your own Brand Voice filter
• Edit using the 3 step process so your final draft doesn’t sound like it could possibly have ever come from a copywriting template

Psst: same goes for AI generated copy.

Personally? I like a template. I like them for women who want to DIY their own copy without spending a year learning the fundamentals. I like them for women who are ready to sell their things and are up for giving something tried and tested their own twist to make the conversions. And I like them for getting over the rather large road barrier of actually starting writing your own copy.

‘Coz if you don’t start, you canna finish. And writing requires both.

Your people are waiting for you to write for them.

Write.

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