Darling MarTech — Copy & Voice Skill

2. Voice Calibration (Before / After)

3. Copy by Context

Hero Headlines

The hero is the first impression. It should stop scrolling. Cabinet Grotesk at full weight at full size. One thought. Not a tagline. Not a slogan. A statement of fact that makes the right person think: "this is for me."

Formula options:

• Statement of capability: "15 years of marketing and technology — in one person."
• Statement of contrast: "Most consultants know marketing or technology. I've spent 15 years doing both."
• Statement of outcome: "I build the marketing infrastructure that makes small businesses grow."

Rules:

• One headline. Maybe a sub-line in smaller Cabinet Grotesk or Instrument Serif italic.
• The Instrument Serif italic moment (if used) should be Jacob's voice at its most personal — a line you'd say to someone across a table, not in a pitch deck.
• No question marks in headlines. Jacob doesn't ask — he tells.
• No exclamation marks. Confidence doesn't shout.

CTAs

Every CTA should describe the outcome of clicking, not the action of clicking.

CTA rules:

• Start with a verb.
• Match the destination — "See the Work" goes to /work, not to a contact form.
• If a CTA includes an arrow (→), it belongs on a link, not a primary button.
• Primary button: action + implied outcome. Secondary: more details.

Error Messages

Structure: What happened + Why (if helpful) + What to do next. Tone: Calm, helpful, never apologetic, never cute.

Empty States

Structure: What this is + Why it's empty + How to start. Keep it useful, not apologetic.

Navigation Labels

Darling MarTech site nav:

• Home → (logo, no label needed)
• Work → Work
• Lab → Lab
• Studio → Studio
• Contact → Start a Project (primary CTA button)

Rules for nav labels:

• Short. One word where possible.
• Sentence case, not Title Case (except primary CTA which can be two words).
• Active state: subtle but visible — never just color alone for accessibility.

Form Copy

Contact form fields:

Label: Your name
Placeholder: (empty — labels do the job)

Label: Company or project
Placeholder: (empty)

Label: What are you working on?
Placeholder: (empty — the question is the prompt)

Submit CTA: Send It

Rules:

• Labels above inputs, always. No placeholder-only fields.
• Helper text optional but meaningful: "Jacob responds within 1 business day."
• Never ask for phone number unless strictly necessary.
• Character limit notes only if there's a hard limit.

Case Study Headlines

Each case study needs: client name, the transformation, the key number. Pattern: [Client] → [What Changed] — [Result]

Examples (use real data from MEMORY.md):

• "Hoosier Boy Barbershop — 4.1× booking increase in 90 days"
• "Behr Pet Essentials — 3× conversion rate, −40% support load"
• "Primary Colours — $46k+ revenue from a nonprofit arts campaign"
• "Russell Painting — 4.9★ reputation, 43 years of heritage made visible"

Rules:

• The number comes last or in the sub-line — let the transformation land first.
• Industry context in a small label above the headline (not in the headline itself).
• Outcome framing: what the client got, not what Jacob did.

Testimonial Framing

When displaying testimonials, never editorialize. Let the quote do the work. Attribution format: First Last, Role (if available).

Use full quotes from MEMORY.md — not truncated versions. The full quote has more weight than an abbreviated one.

Order for impact: Jesse Wey first (specific, forward-thinking), Andrew Bastnagel second (technology curiosity), Kevin Martin See third (ROI), Ben Worrell fourth (energy/execution). Add Nick Brown when added to site.

About / Bio Copy

Jacob's about page should read like a direct conversation, not a LinkedIn summary.

Lead with the differentiator, not the credential:

"Most consultants hand you off to a team the moment you sign. I work with you directly. I've been doing both sides of this — the strategy and the build — for 15 years."

Career history should be selective:

• Graston Technique: 400+ automations, GPT assistant, 48hrs/week saved
• Pike Medical: 210% ROI, fractional CMO across 3 clinics
• RBE Law: 7+ years marketing partnership
• Don't list every role — select the ones that prove the thesis

Stats row (these exact numbers, in this order):

• 15+ years — experience
• 400+ automations — technical depth
• 30,000+ users — scale
• 40% avg lift — outcomes

4. Microcopy Patterns

Loading states

• Framer Motion transitions handle visual loading — no spinner needed for most cases
• If a form is submitting: "Sending..." (not "Loading..." or "Please wait...")
• If a page section is loading: keep it invisible — use a skeleton that matches layout

Tooltips

Short. One sentence max. Helpful, not obvious.

• "This is your primary contact form" — useless. Delete.
• "Responses within 1 business day" — useful. Keep.

Accessibility labels (aria-label)

Write these for real users, not for audits:

• aria-label="Open main navigation" — not aria-label="menu"
• aria-label="Send contact form" — not aria-label="submit"
• aria-label="View Hoosier Boy Barbershop case study" — not aria-label="link"

5. What to Avoid

The AI-copy tell patterns (purge on sight):

• "In today's fast-paced world..." — Delete the whole sentence.
• "At Darling MarTech, we believe..." — Jacob doesn't "believe" — he does.
• "Our mission is to..." — Skip mission statements. Show the work.
• "Whether you're a..." — Too broad. Jacob knows who he's talking to.
• "Don't hesitate to reach out" — Passive. "Let's talk." or just the CTA.
• Exclamation marks anywhere except direct speech quotes.
• Three-word phrases that end in "-tion": "transformation", "optimization", "acceleration" used as abstract nouns. Name the thing specifically.

Punctuation rules

• Em dash (—) for emphasis and clarification. Use it. Jacob uses it.
• No ellipses (...) for drama. Full stop, move on.
• No Oxford serial comma confusion — use it consistently.
• No ALL CAPS for emphasis. Bold or a larger type size instead.
• Sentence case for headings (not Title Case Everywhere).

6. Copy Output Format

When delivering copy, always structure the output as:

## [Context: Hero headline / CTA / Error message / etc.]

### Recommended
[Primary recommendation]

### Alternatives
| Option | Copy | When to use |
|--------|------|-------------|
| A | [copy] | [context] |
| B | [copy] | [context] |

### Why this works
[1–2 sentences on the reasoning — what makes it on-brand, specific, or effective]

If reviewing existing copy, always include a before/after table. If the copy is good, say so and explain why — don't suggest changes for the sake of it.