Setup

---
name: setup
description: Guided onboarding — discover your copywriting style, specialization, and quality preferences (20-30 min)
---

# Welcome to The Copywriter's Second Brain

This guided setup will discover your unique copywriting style and configure your entire system. Take your time — this is the foundation everything builds on.

**What happens:** I'll interview you across 5 phases. At the end, I'll generate your personalized configuration files automatically.

**Time:** 20-30 minutes (worth every minute — you only do this once)

---

## Phase 1: BASICS (2 min)

### Questions

1. **What's your name?**
   > [Wait for response]

2. **What language do you primarily write in?**
   > - **English** — Quality checks use Robert Bly's Copywriter's Handbook + industry best practices
   > - **Dutch (Nederlands)** — Quality checks use Schrijfwijzer + Schrijf.be + B1 Klare Taal rules
   > [Wait for response]

**If Dutch:**

3. **Vlaams or Nederlands?**
   > This affects vocabulary, register, and specific language rules.
   > - **Vlaams** — Belgian Dutch
   > - **Nederlands** — Netherlands Dutch
   > [Wait for response]

### Language Configuration

**If English:**
- Load English reference material (`reference/en/`)
- Set CLAUDE.md language to `en`

**If Dutch:**
- Load Dutch reference material (`reference/nl/`)
- Load Schrijfwijzer principles, ontkrachter list, B1 word replacements
- Set CLAUDE.md language to `nl`, dialect to `flemish` or `dutch`
- Inform user: "Your texts will follow Schrijfwijzer and Schrijf.be principles. Ontkrachters are systematically eliminated. The U-vs-wij ratio is tracked (target: 3:1)."

---

## Phase 2: SPECIALIZATION (5 min)

### Questions

4. **What industries do you primarily write for?**
   > Examples: B2B tech, healthcare, financial services, real estate, e-commerce, education, government, non-profit, food & beverage, travel
   > List your top 2-3.
   > [Wait for response]

5. **What text types are your bread and butter?**
   > Choose your core types (you can use all 16+, but these get priority in pattern learning):
   > - Email / Newsletter / Direct mail
   > - Landing page / Product page / Process page
   > - Blog / Social media
   > - Brochure / Catalog / Sales material
   > - Banner / Paid media (ads)
   > - Press release / Video script
   > - UX copy / Triggers
   > [Wait for response]

6. **Do you work mostly for:**
   > - **B2B** — Business-to-business
   > - **B2C** — Business-to-consumer
   > - **Both** — Mixed portfolio
   > [Wait for response]

---

## Phase 3: STYLE DISCOVERY (10-15 min)

### Round 1: Influences (3-4 min)

7. **Name 2-3 copywriters, marketers, or authors whose writing style you admire. For each, what do you use from their approach?**
   > Examples:
   > - "Robert Bly — his directness and reader-first approach"
   > - "David Ogilvy — headline craft and long-form persuasion"
   > - "Ann Handley — conversational warmth without losing authority"
   > - For Dutch: "Wim Van Rompuy — clarity and brevity"
   > [Wait for response]

8. **What copywriting patterns make you cringe?**
   > Examples: "Corporate buzzwords", "Generic benefit claims", "Exclamation marks everywhere", "'Solutions' without saying what the solution actually is"
   > [Wait for response]

### Round 2: Your Rules (5-7 min)

Now we build your personal copywriting principles — your "Commandments." These become the quality gates that enforce YOUR standards.

I'll present a framework with 10 slots. For each, I'll offer an example rule. You can adopt it, adapt it, or create your own.

**For each rule you choose, I need:**
- The rule itself (one sentence)
- Why it matters to you
- A correct example (1-2 sentences of copy)
- A wrong example (the same moment written badly)

9. **Rule 1: Reader Perspective**
   > Example: "Always write from the reader's perspective. U/you before wij/we. Every sentence answers: 'What's in it for me?'"
   > Your version?
   > [Wait for response]

10. **Rule 2: Specificity**
    > Example: "Never make a claim without a specific number, fact, or proof point. 'Save time' becomes 'Save 3 hours every week.'"
    > Your version?
    > [Wait for response]

11. **Rule 3: CTA Discipline**
    > Example: "Every text has exactly one primary CTA. It contains a verb, is specific, and answers 'Why now?'"
    > Your version?
    > [Wait for response]

12. **Rule 4: Brevity**
    > Example: "Average sentence length: 10-15 words. If a sentence needs a comma, it needs splitting."
    > Your version?
    > [Wait for response]

13. **Rule 5: Anti-Buzzword**
    > Example: "Ban 'innovative', 'cutting-edge', 'leverage', 'synergy', 'solutions'. If everyone says it, it means nothing."
    > Your version?
    > [Wait for response]

14. **Rule 6-10: Your Choice**
    > Other areas to consider:
    > - Headline approach (question? command? number?)
    > - Emotional vs. rational balance
    > - Social proof requirements
    > - Scannability standards
    > - Brand voice consistency rules
    >
    > Add as many as feel right. Skip what doesn't resonate.
    > [Wait for response — iterate until satisfied]

### Round 3: Voice Synthesis (2-3 min)

15. **Share a piece of copy you're proud of (100-300 words).**
    > This can be an email, a landing page section, a headline set, or ad copy. I'll analyze it to understand your natural style.
    > [Wait for response]

**After receiving the sample, analyze it:**
- Sentence length distribution
- Vocabulary register (formal, conversational, technical)
- Persuasion approach (emotional, rational, mixed)
- Structure pattern (pyramid, narrative, list-based)
- Tone (warm, authoritative, urgent, playful)

**Present the analysis:**
> "Based on this copy, here's what I see in your style:
> - **Style name suggestion**: [e.g., "The Clean Persuader" — direct, specific, warmly authoritative]
> - **Persuasion mode**: [e.g., "You lead with benefits, prove with specifics, close with urgency"]
> - **Tone**: [e.g., "Professional but accessible — like a