| name | ad-copy |
| description | Writes performance ad and landing page copy in German and English. Use when the user asks for "ad copy", "Werbetext", "headlines for", "CTA ideas", "A/B variants", "copy for the campaign", or needs finished text for Meta/Google/LinkedIn ads, landing pages, or banners. Provides headline systems (benefit, curiosity, social-proof, urgency), a funnel-stage CTA library (DE+EN), an A/B/C variant protocol with per-variant hypotheses, a tonality matrix, German-specific rules (Du/Sie, compound words, character lengths), and compliance guardrails. NOT for campaign ideation or creative routes (use ad-concepts), NOT for long-form content strategy, blog posts, or SEO articles (use seo-content skills). |
Ad Copy — Performance Copywriting (DE + EN)
Write conversion-focused copy for ads and landing pages in German, English, or both. Output is finished, publishable text — not concepts, not briefs.
© GEKKOS Tech. Licensed under MIT.
Before writing
Establish from the brief (infer and state assumptions if missing):
- Language(s): DE, EN, or both. If the market is DACH and the user didn't specify, default to German and offer English variants.
- Funnel stage: cold (never heard of the brand), warm (knows the problem/brand), hot (retargeting, cart, comparison shoppers).
- Voice position: locate the brand on the tonality matrix in references/tonality-matrix.md before writing a single line. State the chosen cell.
- German address form: run the Du/Sie decision tree (below) and state the decision.
- Channel + placement: determines length limits and register (see tonality matrix, platform axis).
Headline systems
Four systems. Pick the system that matches funnel stage and channel; write within it, don't mix systems inside one headline.
1. Benefit-led
Formula: [Outcome] in/ohne/without [timeframe/pain] — lead with what the customer gets, stated concretely.
- EN: "Payroll done in 4 minutes. Every month."
- DE: "Lohnabrechnung in 4 Minuten. Jeden Monat."
Use for: cold traffic, search ads (matches query intent), products with a clear measurable outcome.
2. Curiosity
Formula: [Specific subject] + [information gap] — open a gap the reader can only close by clicking. Must pay off; never bait.
- EN: "The onboarding email 9 out of 10 SaaS teams get wrong."
- DE: "Der Fehler, den fast jedes Onboarding-Mailing macht."
Use for: content-adjacent ads, advertorials, warm audiences. Avoid for: search (intent mismatch), regulated categories.
3. Social-proof
Formula: [Number/name of adopters] + [what they did/found].
- EN: "14,000 clinics switched. Here's why."
- DE: "14.000 Praxen sind umgestiegen. Aus gutem Grund."
Use for: skeptical audiences, high-consideration B2B, retargeting. Proof must be real and current.
4. Urgency
Formula: [Deadline/scarcity fact] + [benefit at stake]. Only when the urgency is true.
- EN: "Early pricing ends Friday — lock in 30% off."
- DE: "Frühbucherpreis nur bis Freitag – 30 % sichern."
Use for: hot traffic, launches, seasonal offers. Fake countdowns are a compliance and trust violation — refuse to write them.
For every headline task, deliver at least 5 candidates per language across at least 2 systems, then mark your recommended pick with one line of reasoning.
CTA library by funnel stage
Match CTA commitment level to funnel temperature. High-commitment CTAs on cold traffic kill CTR.
| Stage | EN | DE |
|---|
| Cold — learn | See how it works · Get the free guide · Watch the 2-min demo | So funktioniert's · Gratis-Guide sichern · 2-Minuten-Demo ansehen |
| Cold — soft try | Try it free · Explore examples | Kostenlos ausprobieren · Beispiele ansehen |
| Warm — evaluate | Compare plans · Get your quote · Book a demo | Pakete vergleichen · Angebot anfordern · Demo buchen |
| Warm — start | Start your free trial · Create your account | Jetzt kostenlos testen · Konto erstellen |
| Hot — buy | Get started now · Claim your discount · Complete your order | Jetzt loslegen · Rabatt einlösen · Bestellung abschließen |
| Hot — reassure | Try risk-free for 30 days | 30 Tage risikofrei testen |
Rules: verb-first, first-person framing where the platform allows ("Get my quote" / "Mein Angebot anfordern" lifts on landing pages), one primary CTA per asset, never "Submit"/"Absenden".
A/B variant protocol
Every copy deliverable ships as A/B/C — never a single version:
- Variant A — Safe: the proven pattern for this category and stage. Benefit-led, clear, no risk. This is the control candidate.
- Variant B — Bold: same core message, aggressive execution — stronger claim framing, curiosity or urgency system, punchier voice. Tests whether the audience rewards salience.
- Variant C — Different angle: a genuinely different persuasive angle (different benefit, different objection addressed, different emotional register) — not a rewrite of A. Tests the message, not the wording.
For each variant, state the hypothesis in one line: "B tests whether loss-framing ('Stop overpaying…') outperforms gain-framing for this retargeting audience." A variant without a hypothesis teaches nothing when it wins.
Keep everything except the tested element constant across variants where the user is running a real test (same offer, same CTA unless the CTA is the test).
German-specific rules
Du/Sie decision tree
- Existing brand voice documented? → follow it, flag if it clashes with audience norms.
- B2B, audience 40+, finance/legal/medical/insurance, or high ticket? → Sie.
- B2C lifestyle, fitness, apps, fashion, gaming, or audience skews under ~35? → Du.
- B2B SaaS targeting startups/tech/marketing teams? → Du is now standard; Sie reads distant.
- Genuinely ambiguous? → recommend Du for Meta/TikTok placements, Sie for LinkedIn/print, and say so explicitly. Never mix forms within one asset.
Compound words & readability
German compounds inflate visually: "Kundenbindungsmanagement" is one unreadable brick in a headline. Prefer verb constructions ("Kunden binden – automatisch") or split with a hyphen only where Duden-conform. In headlines, avoid words over ~16 characters; rewrite around them.
Character-length pitfalls
German runs ~20–35% longer than English. Never translate EN copy 1:1 into a character-limited field — rewrite natively.
- Google RSA headline: 30 chars — an EN benefit headline often needs a different German construction, not a translation.
- Meta primary text truncates around ~125 chars on mobile: front-load the benefit in the first ~90 chars in German.
- CTA buttons: German verb phrases get long ("Jetzt kostenlos herunterladen" = 29 chars); check button width, shorten to "Gratis laden" style if needed.
Compliance guardrails
- No misleading claims: every factual claim (numbers, test results, "clinically proven") must come from the user's brief or be marked
[VERIFY: source needed]. Never invent statistics, reviews, or awards.
- Superlative caution: "der beste / the best / Nr. 1" requires substantiation (DE: Alleinstellungswerbung under UWG); default to defensible framing ("one of", specific dimension, or verified rating source).
- Health: no healing promises (DE: HWG restricts Heilversprechen), no before/after implications for medical outcomes, no "prevents/cures/treats" without approved substantiation.
- Finance: no guaranteed-return language, include risk framing where the user's legal team requires; never write copy that promises specific investment outcomes.
- Urgency/scarcity: only when factually true.
- Flag any brief that requires claims you cannot verify, and deliver compliant alternatives alongside.
Output format
For each asset: language(s) → chosen tonality cell + Du/Sie decision (one line) → A/B/C variants with hypotheses → character counts for length-limited fields → any [VERIFY] flags. Stay out of ideation (ad-concepts) and long-form strategy (seo-content) — if the user needs a campaign idea first, say so and hand off.
