How to critique your own copy using four core checks

Executive overview

Most copywriters submit work with obvious flaws they could have caught themselves. A self-critique framework built around four checks — hooks, flow, close, and voice — lets you improve daily without a coach.

Each check has concrete questions to answer before you submit anything for external review.

Strong copy earns eights across all four checks before it needs outside eyes.

Hook: balancing emotional appeal and intellectual interest

• Every reader subconsciously asks three questions: Have I seen this before? Do I care? So what?
• A hook that answers all three confidently is a strong hook.
• Emotional appeal without freshness is generic — "how to make money online" triggers no curiosity.
• Intellectual novelty without emotional appeal leaves readers uninterested in the payoff.
• Combine both: "How this 16-year-old made $300 yesterday from his bed" is familiar in theme, fresh in detail.
• Review your hook: is it compelling, or just familiar? Is it interesting, or just benefit-led?

Flow: keeping the reader's attention sentence by sentence

• Flow fails when copywriters assume a good hook and offer carry the middle.
• Readers ask three questions as they read: What is this? What does it have to do with me? What should I do?
• Answer these in order and the argument moves forward naturally.
• Each section should transition into the next — never let the reader stall or drift.
• Study well-written copy by breaking it into sections and labelling what each one does.

Close: building excitement before the call to action

• Most copywriters exhaust themselves writing the lead and phone in the close.
• A stronger close can double or triple email performance on the same open rate.
• Collect closes that work, reverse-engineer why they work, and name them (conditional, assumptive, crossroad, direct, hidden).
• Don't jump straight into the CTA — build excitement first, then transition into the ask.
• Weak: "If you want my help, click the link below." Stronger: build why it matters, show it's possible, then invite action.
• Check the close for missing elements: objection handling, price anchoring, excitement build-up.

Voice: making copy sound like one specific person

• If your copy could belong to any business, it has no voice.
• Voice has three elements: style (rhythm, sentence length, spacing, punctuation patterns), personality (humor, energy, storytelling approach), and values (core beliefs the business owner repeats).
• Readers assume an email was written by the sender — one off-note breaks that trust permanently.
• To write in voice, document all three elements per client and use them as a brief when writing or prompting AI.
• AI can produce strong on-voice copy when given explicit style, personality, and values inputs.

Grading your own copy before submission

• Score each check out of 10: hook, flow, close, voice.
• Only submit for external review when all four reach at least 8/10.
• Submitting a 6/10 hook wastes a coach's time on feedback you already know.