Copywriting Is Hard: What I Learned Spending 20 Hours on One Landing Page

The Humbling Reality

Every developer thinks they can write copy. How hard can it be? Just describe the features. Explain what the product does. Add a buy button.

Then you check your analytics. 500 visitors. 2 signups. A conversion rate you're embarrassed to share.

In a recent conversation in the indie masterminds community, one founder captured what many of us have felt:

• spending 20 hours iterating on landing page copy, and finally understanding why professional copywriters command premium rates.

(This post is derived directly from the transcript of the call)

Copywriting looks easy from the outside. It's just words on a page.

But those words are doing heavy lifting: capturing attention, building desire, overcoming objections, and driving action.

Most of us get it wrong because we write like builders, not buyers.

The Core Problem: Feature-First Thinking

Developers default to feature-first thinking. We build features. We're proud of features. So we describe features.

"Advanced filtering with 15+ criteria"

"Real-time sync across devices"

"Built with the latest technology stack"

Here's what your visitor thinks: "So what?"

Features tell people what your product does. Benefits tell people what your product does for them. The gap between the two is where conversions die.

Feature: "Automated backup system"

Benefit: "Never lose a client's data again—even if you forget to save"

Feature: "Dashboard with 20+ metrics"

Benefit: "Know exactly which marketing channel is making you money"

Feature: "One-click export to CSV"

Benefit: "Get your data into any tool in 10 seconds, not 10 minutes"

The shift from feature-first to benefit-first sounds simple. It isn't. It requires you to stop thinking about what you built and start thinking about what problems your customers have.

Why It Takes 20 Hours

Let's trace why a "simple" landing page rewrite becomes a 20-hour project:

Hour 1-2: Research

You realize you don't actually understand your customers deeply. You read reviews of competitors. You browse forums where potential customers hang out. You document their language, their frustrations, their goals.

Hour 3-4: First Draft

You write something. It's bad. You lean on features because benefits are hard. Your headline is generic. Your CTA is "Sign Up" because you couldn't think of anything better.

Hour 5-8: Feedback Rounds

You share with trusted people. They tear it apart (constructively). They don't understand what the product does. They don't see why they should care. They have questions your copy doesn't answer.

Hour 9-12: Rewriting

You rewrite based on feedback. Then rewrite again. Each iteration surfaces new problems. Your positioning is unclear. Your target customer is everyone (which means no one). Your objection handling is weak.

Hour 13-16: Structural Experiments

You realize the problem isn't just words—it's structure. Do you lead with the problem or the solution? Where does social proof go? How much do you explain before asking for the sale?

Hour 17-20: Polish

Finally, you're refining. Word choice. Rhythm. Making sentences shorter. Cutting everything that doesn't earn its place. Testing different CTAs.

Twenty hours for one page. And you're still not sure if it's good.

The Frameworks That Actually Help

After going through this painful process, certain frameworks emerge as genuinely useful:

The PAS Framework

Problem → Agitation → Solution

1. Problem: State the pain clearly ("Losing track of customer feedback costs you features customers actually want")
2. Agitation: Make the pain vivid ("You're building in the dark while competitors ship exactly what users asked for")
3. Solution: Present your product as the answer ("Collect, organize, and prioritize feedback in one place")

The AIDA Framework

Attention → Interest → Desire → Action

1. Attention: Hook them (headline, hero image)
2. Interest: Keep them reading (relevant details, benefits)
3. Desire: Make them want it (social proof, outcomes)
4. Action: Tell them what to do (clear CTA)

The "Before and After" Grid

What is your customer's life like before your product? What is it like after?

The before column is their current pain. The after column is their desired state. Your product is the bridge.

The Mistakes That Kill Conversions

Mistake 1: Talking About Yourself

"We are passionate about building tools for developers..."

No one cares. Talk about the customer, not yourself.

Mistake 2: Jargon Nobody Understands

"Our ML-powered semantic analysis engine leverages NLP to..."

Unless your customer is an ML engineer, they just left.

Mistake 3: Being Vague to Seem Broad

"The all-in-one solution for your business needs"

This says nothing. Specific beats generic, always.

Mistake 4: No Social Proof

If no one else uses this, why should I be the guinea pig? Testimonials, logos, user counts—anything that shows others trust you.

Mistake 5: Weak CTAs

"Submit" is not a call to action. "Start Your Free Trial" is slightly better. "Start Organizing Feedback in 2 Minutes" tells them what happens when they click.

What Actually Works (After 20 Hours of Learning)

Clarity Over Cleverness

Clever headlines are tempting. But "The smart way to supercharge your workflow synergy" means nothing.

"Get customer feedback in one inbox" is clear. Clear converts.

Specificity Over Generality

"Save time" < "Save 3 hours every week"

"Many users" < "2,847 companies use this"

"Fast" < "Syncs in under 2 seconds"

Numbers. Timeframes. Concrete outcomes.

Addressing Objections Explicitly

Every visitor has objections. Too expensive? Too complicated? Will it actually work for my use case?

Your copy needs to answer these before they're asked:

• "No credit card required" (reduces risk)
• "Set up in 5 minutes" (not complicated)
• "Join 2,000+ [specific customer type]" (others like me use this)

Showing, Not Telling

Instead of "Easy to use," show a screenshot of the simple interface.

Instead of "Powerful analytics," show the dashboard with key metrics highlighted.

Instead of "Trusted by professionals," show actual testimonials with names and faces.

The Uncomfortable Truth

Copywriting is a skill. Like any skill, it takes practice. Most developers (and many founders) underinvest in it because:

• It doesn't feel like "real work"
• We'd rather build features
• We assume our product will sell itself

Your product won't sell itself. The words around your product do the selling. Every hour spent improving copy probably has better ROI than the next feature on your roadmap.

The Bottom Line

Twenty hours on a landing page feels excessive until you've done it. Then you realize:

• Feature-first thinking is the default, and it doesn't convert
• Benefits require deep customer understanding
• Frameworks help but don't do the work for you
• Iteration is not optional—it's the process

Copywriting is hard because it requires you to think like your customer, not like a builder. That shift in perspective takes practice.

The founders who convert at 5% instead of 0.5% have invested the hours. The question is whether you will.

Key Takeaways

1. Feature-first kills conversions - Always translate features into benefits (what it does FOR them)
2. 20 hours isn't excessive - Quality copy requires research, feedback, iteration, and refinement
3. Frameworks help structure thinking - PAS, AIDA, Before/After grids provide useful scaffolding
4. Specificity converts - "3 hours/week" beats "save time" every time
5. Copy is leverage - Better words often outperform more features

What's the hardest part of copywriting for you? Where do you get stuck?

BTW, do try out my free landing page copy generator with all these insights already embedded

• https://superframeworks.com/tools/landing-page-generator

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