Strategy
Part of How to plan a UK copywriting services strategy before you write the brief
A copywriting services strategy framework you can score in one sitting
Build a copywriting services strategy framework you can audit in an afternoon, with a scoring rubric, evidence checks and a practical decision on what to fix first.
What to take away
- Decide first whether you are buying words, a repeatable system, or both, because the framework only scores what that choice implies.
- Score six criteria out of five and set a minimum pass mark before you commission anything.
- Check the evidence behind each claimnamed sources, dated figures and a written owner.
- Fix the lowest-scoring criterion first, then re-score after one campaign cycle.
The decision in front of you is not which supplier to hire. It is what the strategy must prove before money moves. A framework is simply the list of things you will score, the evidence you will accept, and the score that triggers a stop.
Start with the strategy and planning guide, which sets out the objectives and choices this scoring sits underneath.
Set the decision first
Write one sentence: what changes if this content works? A framework without that sentence scores activity, not progress.
For a professional services firm, the sentence might be that enquiries from one named sector double within two quarters. For a retailer, it might be fewer returns because product pages answer sizing questions earlier.
If you cannot write the sentence, stop. Commissioning copy before you have it produces content that reads well and decides nothing.
Pick six scoring criteria
Keep the list short enough to apply in one sitting. These six cover the common failures without turning into a procurement exercise.
Six scoring criteria
- Audience specificityname reader and decision
- Message disciplineone page, one argument
- Evidence qualityclaims sourced, dated, checkable
- Format fitformat matches where reader meets it
- Compliance readinessmarketing and data rules covered
- Ownershipnamed person accountable for next revision
Score with a rubric
| Criterion | 1 (weak) | 3 (adequate) | 5 (strong) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audience specificity | Reader unnamed | Segment named | Reader, trigger and objection named |
| Message discipline | Several competing points | One point, loosely held | One point, stated in the first two sentences |
| Evidence quality | Assertions only | Some sources | Named source and date for each claim |
| Format fit | Long page, wrong channel | Reasonable fit | Format chosen from channel behaviour |
| Compliance readiness | Not considered | Reviewed once | Owner and review date recorded |
| Ownership | Nobody named | Team named | Named person, next date set |
Set a pass mark of 24 out of 30 for anything going live. Score before commissioning, not after delivery.
Scoring rubric: 1 vs 3 vs 5
1 (weak)
- Audience specificity
- Reader unnamed
- Message discipline
- Competing points
- Evidence quality
- Assertions only
- Format fit
- Wrong channel
- Compliance readiness
- Not considered
- Ownership
- Nobody named
3 (adequate)
- Audience specificity
- Segment named
- Message discipline
- One point, loose
- Evidence quality
- Some sources
- Format fit
- Reasonable fit
- Compliance readiness
- Reviewed once
- Ownership
- Team named
5 (strong)
- Audience specificity
- Reader, trigger, objection
- Message discipline
- One point, first two sentences
- Evidence quality
- Named source and date
- Format fit
- Chosen from channel behaviour
- Compliance readiness
- Owner and review date
- Ownership
- Named person, next date
Check compliance before publishing
Two rule sets bite on most content programmes. The first is data and electronic marketing: the ICO's guide to PECR covers consent, cookies and tracking that sit behind email and landing pages.
The second is honesty in commercial communication. The Fraud Act 2006 on legislation.gov.UK is the statute that catches deliberately misleading representations, so claims you cannot substantiate are a governance issue, not a tone issue.
For format decisions, the IAB UK's introduction to creative best practice explains how placement shapes what a reader will actually absorb.
Turn scores into a plan
The lowest score is your next piece of work, not your next invoice. If ownership scores 1, no amount of rewriting fixes the programme.
For a team spending, say, £1,500 a month on copy, a framework that moves evidence quality from 1 to 3 changes what you ask for in the brief. It does not necessarily change the budget.
Use the planning template to record the scores, the named owner and the review date in one place, so the next cycle starts from evidence rather than memory.
Review and re-score
Re-score after one campaign cycle, not after one article. Criteria that move are working; criteria that do not move need a different intervention.
If compliance readiness stays at 3 across two cycles, the problem is process, not copy. If audience specificity stalls, the brief is too broad.
Keep the same six criteria for at least a year. Changing the rubric mid-cycle makes comparison meaningless.
Common questions
How long should scoring take?
Around 45 minutes for a single campaign set, assuming the sources are already gathered. If it takes longer, the brief is doing too little work.
Can one person score everything?
They can, but a second scorer on compliance and evidence quality catches more. Two people scoring the same set independently is enough.
What if everything scores 1?
Fix ownership first. Without a named person, the other five criteria have nowhere to land.
Does the rubric work for small budgets?
Yes. The criteria are about decisions and evidence, not spend, so a single-page brief can score as highly as a full programme.
