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Marketing Academy · Field Work●Copywriting
All projects·From: The Copywriting Canon
CoreBuild the Asset· 45 minutes

Building a Direct-Response Landing Page Section Using the Canon

Coinbase

Objective: Given a real product brief, write a Hook headline and a Close section for a landing page that apply Halbert's specificity principle and Sugarman's guarantee-then-one-action close.

You're a lifecycle copywriter at Coinbase launching a new recurring-buy feature. Marketing wants landing page copy that converts skeptical, crypto-cautious readers, not just crypto enthusiasts.

Apply the Hook-Close structure: a specific, curiosity-driven headline instead of a category claim, and a close with a real guarantee sentence paired with exactly one call to action.

Before you start

What you'll need

Free path (everything below is enough to finish)

Google Docs
FreeDraft and iterate the headline and close copy

Free, comment and version history built in

The process

2 steps

Step 01 of 02

Writing a specific, curiosity-driven hook instead of a vague headline

The lesson's Stage 2 says the hook's only job is to earn the next sentence, using a surprising fact, a specific promise, or a curiosity gap. Ogilvy wrote at least 100 headline variations before picking one.

Given the brief ('recurring weekly crypto buys, set once, no manual trading'), which headline actually earns the next sentence: 'Investing made easy' or 'Buy $25 of Bitcoin every Friday without opening the app'?

Google Docs— Draft in a Google Doc, write at least 8 headline variations before picking one.

Procedure

  1. Write down the one specific fact about the feature you'd tell a friend (e.g. 'set once, runs every Friday')
  2. Draft at least 8 headline variations built around that one fact, not the product category
  3. Cut every headline that could describe a competitor's product just as well
  4. Select the headline with the most specific, verifiable detail
Sample output
8 headline drafts (excerpt)
1. Investing made easy [cut, vague]
2. Buy $25 of Bitcoin every Friday without opening the app [kept]
3. Set it once. Never think about it again. [kept as subhead]
4. Crypto investing, simplified [cut, vague]

Healthy

The winning headline names the exact mechanic (weekly, $25, no manual trading) instead of a category claim.

Unhealthy

Shipping 'Investing made easy' because it 'sounds like a headline' even though it says nothing a competitor couldn't also claim.

What this means

A headline that could sit on any competitor's page unchanged is not doing its job; specificity is what makes it yours.

So what do I do about it?

SymptomActionEffort
Draft headline reads like generic fintech marketing copyRewrite around the single most specific fact about the feature30 min
YouYou can do this yourself, no engineering access required.

Step 02 of 02

Closing with a guarantee and a single call to action

The lesson's Stage 4 states all three masters agreed: remove risk with a guarantee, then give exactly one specific action. Two calls to action and the reader takes neither.

The draft page currently has two buttons, 'Learn More' and 'Get Started', and no guarantee language. What's the fix?

Google Docs— Same Google Doc, close section at the bottom of the page draft.

Procedure

  1. Write one specific, real guarantee tied to the feature (e.g. 'Cancel your recurring buy anytime, no fee')
  2. Delete every button except one
  3. Replace 'Learn More' with a specific action verb phrase, e.g. 'Set my first buy'
  4. Read the close out loud, confirm it removes risk before it asks for action
Sample output
Close (before)
[Learn More]  [Get Started]

Close (after)
Cancel anytime, no fee, no lock-in.
[Set my first buy]

Healthy

One guarantee sentence followed by exactly one button with a specific action verb.

Unhealthy

Two buttons competing for the same click, or a guarantee buried in a footer terms link instead of next to the CTA.

What this means

Risk removal has to sit right next to the single action, not somewhere else on the page.

So what do I do about it?

SymptomActionEffort
Landing page has more than one primary CTA buttonCut all but one CTA and move the guarantee sentence directly above it5 min
YouYou can do this yourself, no engineering access required.

Final deliverable

A landing page Hook + Close section (headline, subhead, guarantee line, single CTA) ready to hand to design, plus the 8 rejected headline variants showing the elimination work.

See a reference example
Sample output
Robinhood recurring-buy landing page (excerpt)

HOOK
Buy $10 of any stock every payday, automatically.
Set it once. Never think about it again.

CLOSE
Pause or cancel anytime, no fees, no minimums.
[Set my first buy]

Success criteria

You're done when you can:

  • Headline names one specific, verifiable mechanic instead of a category benefit
  • Close pairs a real guarantee sentence directly above exactly one CTA button