18 copywriting templates to get your marketing off the ground

If you’ve ever stared at that cursor on a blank page, fresh out of ideas on how to start your next copywriting project, you’re not alone.

But you don’t have to stay stuck! We’re working in the golden age of the search engine. And if you’re lost on where to begin, that is the best place to start! Thousands of copywriting templates (outlines of proven copywriting formulas for any type of project) are literally at your fingertips.

A great copywriting template can get you 50% of the way there on your next project without having to type a single word. 

The only caveat with using templates is that you have to know how and where to find a great one, and the time searching cannot be outweighed by structuring your own. 

Luckily, you’ve stumbled upon this handy article! We’ve gathered 18 of the best copywriting templates on the web for marketers and organized them into sub-categories so you can quickly find the type of template you need.

We’ve summarized all the important details on our favorite resources for:

  • Email marketing copywriting templates
  • Social media copywriting templates 
  • Headline and tagline copywriting templates
  • And call to action templates 

18 of the best copywriting templates for marketers:

All of the templates can be easily manipulated to meet your needs. Go ahead and nab ideas and include your own unique flair! 

Email marketing copywriting templates 

If you’ve been in the marketing or copywriting space long you’ve probably heard someone exclaim, ‘email is dead! But, statistics show they are dead wrong.

Among online adults, 92% use email, and 61% use it daily. So while email is very much alive, it’s up to you to add some life to your emails. The following templates can help you do just that:

1. Optimize your welcome emails with these 5 templates

Welcome emails can be pretty intimidating. Making a great first impression can make or break a customer relationship and your welcome email acts as that first handshake. 

This set of templates from customer.io focuses on helping you craft a welcome message to remember. This one gives examples for five different types of welcome emails: general/product info, newsletter subscription, personal outreach, free welcome sample, and invitation.

For each type, customer.io discusses best practices with examples, and includes a link to download the template for easy customization. ‍

Help Scout invitation email - customer.io
Source: customer.io

2. Collection of the most used email copywriting formulas

While anything in marketing dubbed ‘most used’ might set off alarm bells in your head — this collection of email templates should be an exception. In this resource, chamaileon.io shares tested, successful copywriting formulas and examples for all of the following:

  • Subject lines
  • Body copy
  • Confirmation and order status emails 
  • Special offer emails
  • Special occasion emails
  • Educational emails
  • Cart abandonment emails 
  • Emails asking for testimonials and ratings 

While these are pretty e-commerce focused, with a little bit of tweaking they could also be adapted for other B2B and B2C readers. So, get your copy and pasting fingers ready, and get creative making them work for you.‍

3. Digital marketer’s 101 best email subject lines

The subject line is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of your email, if not the most. After all, if your subject line flops, the rest of your email is not even likely to be read.

This list of best email subject lines from Digital Marketer gives you 101 subject lines to try out. It also includes average open rates for the top 10 email subject lines (just bear in mind these are stats from last year).

Digital Marketer continues to update this resource so bookmark it and revisit when you’re ready to write your next marketing/sales email. ‍

4. 3 tested email marketing templates you can use right now

This trio of templates from Copyblogger is super workable. They are quite generic so you can easily input your own content and voice. That’s not to say that the structure isn’t clearly thought-out though. 

Copyblogger’s templates focus on being interesting and persuasive for your reader. Each one helps you tell a story before making an ask so you can properly connect with your reader.‍

5. 5 cold email templates 

Did you shudder when you read “cold email”? It gets a bad rep in the marketing world because so many cold emails are pretty poor. It’s no wonder that some people consider cold email synonymous with spam! But cold email can actually be a great outreach strategy if it’s done with care.

These templates from close.io aim to get you a response rate of about 10–30% (which is pretty great, considering the average cold email open rate is just 1%).

Social media copywriting templates

Similar to email, the stats on who is using social media and how often might surprise you. A study by Ipsos found that the average social media user spends 3.6 hours on social media every day.  And, because social media networks are such influential platforms, every business needs to aim for an active and engaged social presence.

But keeping your social media relevant can take a lot of time that many marketers and business owners don’t have.

Time to turn to the templates! Templates can help you dramatically reduce your time-spend on social media and still reap the rewards. Check these out:‍

6. 15 new social media templates to save you even more time with your marketing

We love this list of templates from Buffer. It includes not only great copywriting templates for social media headlines and updates, but a ton of bonus templates, too. 

Buffer knows there is a lot of pre-work that happens before you can sit down and write social posts. So, they’ve included ones for social media reports, content calendars, schedules, and image sizes to help organize and support your copywriting efforts. ‍

7. The best social media copywriting guide to be a social word ninja

This resource from CoSchedule promises to make you a ‘social media copywriting master’ in one blog post – count us in!

It includes specific social media post templates for each channel based on which types of posts perform best on that platform. It also includes a downloadable list of emotionally-triggering words you can plug-in to your social headlines to capture your audience’s attention.

Anyone who runs a social media account should save this one! 

8. How to write a powerful linkedin message (with 5 templates)

With 500 million current users, the power of LinkedIn is hard to ignore. 

Beyond being a social platform, it can also be a powerful tool for prospecting. But if you’ve ever written what you think is the perfect update about your business only to get two likes, don’t give up just yet. A good template can give you a helping hand.

This resource from Sumo offers copywriting templates tailored just for LinkedIn. They cover the end-to-end experience of sending a connection request message, to building a relationship, pitching, and more. 

9. Facebook ad copy: Templates and examples (that don’t suck)

Need to write some Facebook ads? These templates from Turbo (that don’t suck) can save you countless hours of trial and error, tweaks and A/B testing. 

Facebook ads are finicky things. You need to grab your audience’s attention in a very saturated environment, compliment your imagery and pay attention to your character max. Using these pre-set ones can help you stay within your bounds while sparking new ideas. 

The examples they’ve included are mainly geared toward e-commerce, but can still be adapted to fit a variety of different industries. ‍

10. The 27 copywriting formulas that will drive clicks and engagement on social media

This is now the second resource we’re including from Buffer on this list. If you’re familiar with Buffer then you know they are a really great authority on this subject.

This template set focuses on anatomy. The blog lists 27 different formulas you can use to format your posts, and then gives real-life examples of each.

Of all the different types of copywriting templates that are available on the web, finding great social media copywriting ones arguably takes the most research. Odds are you’re using social almost daily, so keep this resource handy. 

Copywriting formulas for social media engagement by buffer.com
Source: buffer.com

Headline and tagline copywriting templates

Trying to explain to someone why your product, email, or blog is the best thing since sliced bread in just a few words can be pretty daunting! But that’s exactly what writing headlines and taglines entails. 

That’s why having an extensive backlog of proven headline and tagline templates to rely on is a huge timesaver for any copywriter.

Here are a few of our favorites to add to your repertoire:‍

11. 9 proven headline formulas that sell like crazy

Another great resource from our friends at Copyblogger. This no-fluff list of copywriting templates for headlines can give you a great start. It lists 9 formulas for writing headlines, and each formula includes a couple of specific examples you can use.

The headlines really run the gamut as far as industry and product are concerned. Regardless of what you’re selling, you can probably adapt a few of these for your own use. 

12. Smart blogger’s 52 headline hacks 

You’ll need to enter your email to get access to this e-book, but trust us, it’s worth it. 

This is an in-depth look on how to structure headlines that can help your blogs go viral. (You know those headlines you see and just can’t help but click? This resource wants to help you write those.)

The ebook is 70 pages long (so not a short read)! But as a reference resource on writing great blog headlines, we can almost guarantee it has everything you need.‍

13. 30 foolproof tagline formulas for copywriters who need to phone it in

In a pinch? 

Check out this resource from content strategist Hal Werner on tagline templates that can be quickly adapted to fit your needs. 

Werner focuses on how you can use these solid templates on a short deadline. He includes 30 organized by purpose (what you want to achieve with your tagline) so you can easily pinpoint the one that works best for you. ‍

14. How to craft a meaningful tagline (for your small biz)

Writing good taglines can be emotionally and mentally draining even for the best copywriters. Especially if we’re trying to compete with the taglines of McDonald’s or Apple on memorability.

But trying to emulate the greats shouldn’t be the focus. A great tagline should do two things:

  • Clearly communicate what your business does, and 
  • be catchy enough for someone to remember.

If you’re stuck, check out this resource from Enchanted Marketing to help jog some ideas. We like this because it focuses specifically on writing small business taglines (instead of just dissecting taglines from well-known companies and asking you to apply the principles on your own). 

Call to action templates

Watch out! Your conversion rates are about to explode!

Ok, that was a nerdy marketing joke, but seriously, we saved this one for last because the call to action is the pinnacle of any copywriting project. It’s the true measure of your copywriting — whether or not you can get the customer to buy-in, subscribe, purchase, or schedule a call. 

What we love most about call to action (CTA) copywriting templates is that most of the time, they have already been tested and found some success before they are shared. So, you can remove much of the uncertainty of starting from scratch. 

These templates can help you feel confident (before you even begin writing) that you’re working with a formula that can convert.

15. How to write a call to action in a template with 6 examples

How To Write A Call To Action By Coschedule
Source: coschedule.com

We love these examples of CTA’s from CoSchedule because they focus on two ways to get people interested in something: using the promise of exclusivity and FOMO (fear of missing out). 

The attractiveness of exclusivity is what makes these two principles a great foundation for CTAs. This resource gives you spot-on examples on how to use them for your business.

16. 11 kick-ass call-to-action examples (and why they work)

While your call to action might be super obvious to you, there’s a myriad of reasons why it might not connect with your customers. Not only does this Wordstream resource share examples of good CTA’s, but it also helps to explain why each one is proven to be successful, and what is happening in the customer’s mind when they read it. 

So, yes, you can use these templates for your CTA’s. But, what’s even more special about this is that you can apply the theory behind each one to every CTA you write in the future. 

17. 50 call-to-action examples (and how to write the perfect CTA)

We understand that not every CTA can be used effectively across every one of your marketing channels, which is why we wanted to include this resource from Adespresso on the list.

It breaks down what an effective call to action looks like for each different marketing channel (aka Facebook, Instagram, Email, Landing pages, etc.). It also helps you figure out what post length and tone can help you increase conversions. Nifty!‍

18. 21 captivating call-to-action examples to steal

The last gem on the list is a really in-depth resource from Crazy Egg. It explains, what makes a great CTA, how to adapt it to different digital formats and which metrics to measure to make sure it’s performing. 

Not only can you steal some great templates from this, but you’ll walk away with a better knowledge of how to construct future CTA’s — a nice little perk!‍

Need another time-saving tip?

How’s that for a good start? We hope your swipe file folder is looking pretty robust!

If you’re looking to save even more time than what a template can give you, check out Scribly. We have a worldwide network of experienced and talented copywriters and content marketers who can help you craft any of the above. (The only thing more satisfying than a great template is a project that’s done for you!)‍

What did we miss? Pay it forward like some of the fine folks included on this list and share some of your must-have copywriting template resources with us!