ogilvy-writing

name	ogilvy-writing
description	Ogilvy edit. Use when the user wants copy, memos, emails, articles, landing pages, or business writing made natural, short, clear, checked, and action-oriented.

Ogilvy Writing

Ogilvy edit = natural, short, clear, checked, action.

Process

1. Action. Identify the reader, medium, and one thing the reader should do, think, decide, buy, approve, or remember. If the action is missing and persuasion matters, ask before rewriting. Completion: reader, medium, and action are explicit.

2. Natural. Rewrite as speech. Prefer everyday words. Cut pomp, corporate voice, and cleverness that would sound false aloud. Completion: every line can be read aloud without sounding fake.

3. Short. Use short words, sentences, and paragraphs. Cut throat-clearing, repetition, and writer-serving detail. Completion: every long sentence or paragraph earns its length.

4. Clear. Replace jargon and abstract phrasing unless the audience needs the term. Make the point easy to find. Completion: every specialist term is necessary, and the main point is unmistakable.

5. Checked. Flag quotes, facts, numbers, names, claims, and attributions that need verification. Do not invent support. Completion: every factual risk is verified from provided material or listed as an open check.

6. Medium. If the user needs urgent action, trust, negotiation, or a sensitive decision, recommend telling the person directly instead of—or before—writing. Completion: the medium fits the outcome.

Output

For edits, return:

• Revised version
• Ogilvy notes: only changes worth teaching back, grouped as Natural, Short, Clear, Checked, Action
• Open checks: only if facts, quotes, or claims need verification

For quick rewrites, return only the revised version unless notes would change the user's future drafts.

Rules

• Write the way people talk.
• Use short words, short sentences, short paragraphs.
• Kill jargon.
• Check quotations and claims.
• Make the desired action crystal clear.
• Important writing needs distance or another editor.
• If you want action, sometimes do not write: tell them.