Course description

Good copy gets the right reader to act: to book, buy, enquire or sign up. This course teaches you to write it, step by step, for websites, sales pages, emails and ads, with copy that persuades because it's clear, specific and true.

It's written for small business owners who write their own copy, marketers who want to sharpen their persuasive writing, and anyone thinking of starting out as a freelance copywriter. You learn to research your reader and find the words customers use, build an offer and one main message, and write headlines, openings and body copy with proof, honest answers to doubts and clear calls to action. You then apply it all to home pages, service pages, landing pages, sales pages, launch emails and ads. You also learn to edit and check your copy against the UK advertising rules, and, if you'd like to write for clients, how to take a brief, price your work and build a portfolio.

There are 10 sections and 50 written lessons, each with a worked example, common slips, questions people often ask and a short exercise to try, and each section ends with a short quiz. You follow two made-up people: Goronwy, a dog trainer in Barnstaple rewriting his own website and launching an online course, and Amity, a new freelance copywriter in Leicester writing for her first clients. Every section has a practice pack with a worksheet, example answers, a cheat sheet and worked examples, plus extras such as a swipe file of original examples, headline and offer worksheets, before-and-after rewrites, practice briefs, a copy checklist, a claims and evidence log, a freelance brief template and a pricing worksheet.

What you'll learn

• How copywriting works: what copy is and how it differs from content, how readers decide, a seven-step process from brief to review, and a swipe file of your own.
• Researching your reader: picturing one reader, gathering the words customers use, turning features into benefits, finding an honest point of difference and a one-page research summary.
• Offers and the main message: the parts of an offer, a one-sentence value proposition, one main message, and writing prices, free offers and deadlines honestly.
• Headlines and openings: the jobs of a headline, twelve headline patterns, writing twenty and choosing one, opening lines and a skim path that works on a phone.
• Body copy that persuades: three outlines, proof, answers to doubts, clear calls to action and a full first draft.
• Website copy: home pages, service and product pages, about pages and landing pages, and a full page rewrite.
• Sales pages and sales emails: the parts of a sales page, a full draft, sales emails that follow the email rules, a short launch sequence and an honest review.
• Ad copy: search ads, social media ads, posters, leaflets and local ads, and comparing two versions fairly.
• Editing and the rules: editing in passes, reading aloud, feedback, proofreading, the UK advertising rules, reviews and endorsements, and a copy checklist.
• Working as a copywriter: taking a brief, pricing your work, handling feedback, agreeing terms, building a portfolio and a final project.

Who it's for

Small business owners, marketers and aspiring copywriters. You don't need any experience of copywriting, just the ability to write a clear sentence and a business, a job or a practice brief to write for.

What this course is, and isn't

This course is about persuasive copy. For blog posts and clear writing in general, for running email lists, for setting up paid ads or for the business side of freelancing, the course points you to other Rootlet courses by name. The advertising rules are explained in general terms from the official ASA, CMA, ICO and GOV.UK pages, read on 1 November 2026; it isn't legal advice. All example copy was written for this course, for made-up businesses, and Goronwy, Amity and their clients are fictional.

What will I learn?

• Explain what copywriting is, how it differs from content writing, and how readers move from noticing copy to acting on it
• Research your reader and gather the words customers use, then turn features into benefits and find an honest point of difference
• Build a clear offer, a one-sentence value proposition and one main message for each piece of copy
• Write and choose headlines, opening lines and a skim path that get your copy read
• Write persuasive body copy with proof, honest answers to doubts and clear calls to action
• Write home pages, service and product pages, about pages and landing pages
• Plan and write a sales page and a short launch email sequence that follows the UK email marketing rules
• Write ad copy for search, social media and print, and compare two versions fairly
• Edit in passes, gather useful feedback and check every claim, price and review against the UK advertising rules
• Take a client brief, price your work, handle feedback, agree terms in writing and start a portfolio

Frequently asked questions