Copywriting examples: real headlines, pages and emails, and what each one proved

Most lists of copywriting examples are a gallery of famous ads with a sentence of praise under each. You finish reading and still do not know which move to use on Monday.

The examples below were picked for a different reason. Each one is a piece of copy where someone either measured the result or the brand itself documented what the line was meant to do. They cover the formats a DTC team actually writes, and each comes with its source, the number where there is one, and the move you can take.

If you only need ads, we covered paid social copy separately in good ad copy, with a five-point check you can run on any ad. This page is wider: copywriting anywhere a reader decides whether to keep going.

What counts as a good copywriting example?

A good copywriting example is copy whose effect you can check. Either someone ran a test and published the result, or the brand documented the line and why it exists. A tested headline teaches you a move you can repeat.

The formats in this list

Copy does a different job in each format, so the examples are grouped by the job, not by fame.

Why readers skim, and why it changes the copy

Nielsen Norman Group found in 1997 that 79 percent of test users always scanned any new page; only 16 percent read word by word. In the same study, a concise version of a site measured 58% better usability and a scannable version 47% better (Nielsen Norman Group, 1997).

What this means for a DTC brand: your product page is read in pieces. The headline, the first line of each block and the button label carry most of the sale, so those are the lines to write and test first.

Which headline copywriting examples were actually tested?

Headlines are the easiest copy to test, because one line changes and everything else stays the same. Two published tests from the same software company show how much one line can move.

Highrise: put the risk reversal in the headline (2009)

37signals launched the Highrise signup page with the headline "Start a Highrise Account" and the words "30-day free trial" in the subhead. Jason Fried then tested new headlines. The winner moved the free trial into the headline and used the subhead to say that signup is quick. It converted 30% better than the original, and the runner-up, which also led with the free trial, did 27% better (37signals, Signal v. Noise, 2009).

What this means for a DTC brand: whatever removes the risk, such as a free trial, free returns or a 60-night guarantee, usually belongs in the headline and not in the small print under it.

The move to steal: list what makes buying safe, then test a headline that leads with the strongest item on that list.

Moz: a headline that does not sell anything

When Conversion Rate Experts rebuilt the Moz (then SEOmoz) landing page, they wrote a headline designed to make visitors stop and pay attention rather than to sell: "When eBay, Disney, and Marriott need SEO help, here's what they do…" The case study reports that the first split test produced a 52% improvement in sales, and that within the first four months of work annual revenues rose by $1 million (Conversion Rate Experts).

What this means for a DTC brand: the names of customers a reader already trusts can do more work in a headline than any adjective you write about yourself.

The move to steal: if you have recognizable stockists, press or customers, open with them and let the reader draw the conclusion.

Is long copy or short copy better?

Neither wins on length alone. Long copy wins when the reader has many questions before buying. Short copy wins when one strong piece of proof answers them.

The long page that won: Moz

The winning Moz page was six times longer than the control, according to the case study. The extra length was not filler: it added the key points of a sales presentation the founder gave.

The short page that won: Highrise "Person Page" (2011)

37signals first found that a Long Form design got 37.5% more people to sign up for Highrise than the version before it. Then they tested a far shorter "Person Page" built around one large photo of a customer and her testimonial. It produced a 47% increase in paid signups over the Long Form design. When they added more information to the bottom of the Person Page, it performed over 22% worse (37signals, Signal v. Noise, 2011).

What this means for a DTC brand: one real customer, shown large and quoted in her own words, can beat a page of features.

The move to steal: test your longest page against a version that keeps only the strongest review and the offer. You learn which objections actually needed answering.

What does a tested call to action look like?

A call to action is often the cheapest line to test. The best-documented example is political, but the lesson applies to any checkout.

Obama 2008: "Learn More" over a harder ask

In December 2007 the Obama campaign tested buttons and images on its splash page. Dan Siroker, who ran the experiment, wrote that the best combination was the "Learn More" button with a family photo. It had a sign-up rate of 11.6% against 8.26% for the original page, an improvement of 40.6%. He estimated that the lift added about 2,880,000 email addresses and $60 million in donations (Optimizely, 2010).

What this means for a DTC brand: the button and the picture were tested together, so the result does not prove the label alone. It does show that a softer next step can collect far more people at the top of a funnel.

The move to steal: where the visitor is not ready to pay, test a button that promises information ("See how it fits") against one that asks for the purchase.

How do product descriptions sell a story?

Most product descriptions list materials and sizes. The J. Peterman catalog is the standard counterexample: it sells the scene the buyer imagines being in.

J. Peterman: the scene first, the specs second

In a 2009 post, 37signals quoted J. Peterman catalog copy as an example of selling stories, not just products. The shirt description opens: "Thos. Jefferson disliked stuffy people, stuffy houses, stuffy societies. So he changed a few things." The dress description opens with a sandal in the Colosseum in Rome kicking over a chunk of marble and revealing a silver coin from the reign of Emperor Hadrian (37signals, 2009).

Why it works: the reader is cast as a character before any fabric is mentioned. The specs still appear, but by then the reader wants the shirt.

The move to steal: write the first sentence of your best seller about the person wearing it, and keep the specs for the second paragraph. It works best for products bought for how they make someone feel. A phone charger does not need a Roman coin.

What do email subject line examples show?

The Obama 2012 campaign is one of the few email senders whose results were reported subject line by subject line.

Obama 2012: subject lines that read like a person

ABC News reported in November 2012, from data the campaign gave Bloomberg Businessweek, that one email with the subject line "I will be outspent" raised $2.5 million. The same message under other subject lines, such as "Thankful every day" and "Michelle time", raised less. The report also notes that a plain "Hey" was the subject line of at least five messages Obama sent (ABC News, 2012). This is press reporting, not the campaign's own publication, so treat the figures as reported.

What this means for a DTC brand: the subject line, not the body, decided most of the difference between versions of the same email. It is the line worth testing first on a small slice of your list.

The move to steal: write the subject line the way one person would write to another, and test two versions on a small segment before the full send.

How do brands keep their copy sounding like one voice?

Copy from many writers needs rules that fit on one page. Mailchimp publishes its rules openly.

Mailchimp: three short lines and one priority

The Mailchimp Content Style Guide describes the voice in short lines: "We are plainspoken." "We are genuine." "We are translators." It also sets a priority every writer can apply: "Mailchimp's tone is usually informal, but it's always more important to be clear than entertaining" (Mailchimp).

Why it works: any writer can check a draft against three short sentences. Nobody can check a draft against "be on brand".

The move to steal: write your voice as three or four "We are" lines and one tie-breaker for when clarity and personality pull apart. We collected more of these in brand voice examples.

Which tagline examples have lasted?

A tagline is the shortest copy a brand writes and the one it keeps longest. Two brands document the origin of theirs on their own sites.

De Beers, "A diamond is forever" (1947)

De Beers Group's own history timeline records that in 1947 Frances Gerety, a young copywriter at the N W Ayer agency, created the slogan "A diamond is forever" (De Beers Group).

Why it works: it ties the stone to one lasting idea, permanence, and names no feature at all.

Nike, "Just Do It" (1988)

Nike's newsroom says that when it launched "Just Do It" in 1988, the first ad showed 80-year-old runner Walt Stack jogging across the Golden Gate Bridge (NIKE, Inc., 2025).

Why it works: three words in the imperative let every reader put their own story into the line.

The move to steal: a tagline names the feeling the product gives, in words a customer would repeat. Test candidates as ad headlines first. The one that wins clicks for months is the one worth printing on the box.

How do you know your own copy works?

You know when the numbers move, not when the room likes the line. For your own copy the fastest check is the click-through rate of two versions that differ in one line.

Compare two versions on CTR

Put the clicks and impressions of each version into the calculator below. Change only the headline between the two, keep the image and the audience the same, and let both run long enough to collect a few thousand impressions each.

If version B wins on clicks and loses on sales, the copy promised something the page did not deliver. Fix the page or the promise. For the full process, from research to testing, read our guide on how to write ad copy.

How Selzee turns proven ads into copy for your brand

The examples above share one habit: the team looked at what already worked and changed one thing at a time. Selzee does that research for ads. It reads the ads trending and running longest for other brands in your market, and what your customers say about you, then recreates the winning ads for your brand with your products, logo, fonts and colors. Every ad comes with the angle and the insight it is built on, and you can change a headline in seconds before you approve it.

If you already have the words and need ad lines from them, the free ad copy generator works from text you paste, such as a review or a product description. It ranks your own sentences and frames them as hooks, headlines and primary text, without inventing a claim you did not make.

For the long-form side of copywriting, a page written like an article before the sale, see our advertorial examples.

Copywriting examples: FAQ

What are some examples of copywriting?

Copywriting is any text written to make a reader act: headlines, landing pages, product descriptions, emails, ads and taglines. Documented examples include the Highrise signup headline test (2009), the Moz landing page by Conversion Rate Experts, J. Peterman catalog descriptions, the Obama 2012 email subject lines and the De Beers slogan "A diamond is forever" (1947).

What is the difference between copywriting and content writing?

Copywriting asks the reader to do one thing now: click, buy, sign up or reply. Content writing informs or entertains and earns attention over time. A product page is copywriting. A guide like this one is content, with copy in its headline and its call to action.

Is long copy better than short copy?

Neither is better by default. Conversion Rate Experts reported a Moz page six times longer than the control that lifted sales by 52%, while 37signals found a shorter page built on one customer testimonial beat its long page by 47% in paid signups. Test both on your own traffic.

How do I test which copy works better?

Change one line, keep everything else the same, and send equal traffic to both versions. Compare click-through rate and conversion rate together. A version that wins on clicks and loses on sales overpromised.

The short version

The copywriting examples worth studying are the ones with a result attached. Put the risk reversal in the headline, write as long as the buyer's questions need and no longer, sell the scene before the specs, write subject lines like a person, and keep your voice in a few short rules. Then test one line at a time.

If you want the winning ads in your market found and remade for your brand, see how Selzee works on your own brand.