If you’ve read my review of Donald Miller’s “Building a StoryBrand”, you’ve surely understood that storytelling is an essential element if you want to attract readers to your content. However, surely you’ve asked yourself at least once how can I add this element to my posts? Can I create a compelling story in a social media status? If you have too, I have great news for you: there are copywriting formulas for this type of post.
Over the years, many storytellers and copywriters have tested several types of copy to draw readers to their content. Thus, several formulas for successful copy have been discovered that work quite simply in blog post introductions, in social statuses, in emails, in short, anywhere you can publish text online.
Below we’ve prepared a list of 3 of the most popular copywriting formulas that you can start using today if you want to write better copy!
3 copywriting formulas for copy that sells
- AIDA-AIDCA
AIDA is an extremely useful technique for longer copy, such as a blog post or email. AIDA is an acronym that translates as follows:
A – Attention
The first step in writing copy is to first capture the reader’s attention to get them to read on. You can do this with an engaging title, an impactful topic, a powerful sentence, an interesting question.
I – Interest
The next step to successful copy is to pique your reader’s interest in the product or service you are presenting. You can do this by highlighting a unique feature or telling a compelling story about the product, company or service.
D – Desire
At this point, your copy should make readers want the product or service you are promoting. You can do this by adding endorsements, statistics, testimonials, quality guarantees, evidence of the benefits of the product or service.
A – Action
The last step of this formula prompts the reader to take immediate action. You can prompt the reader by suggesting they enter a particular link, sign up for a trial period, subscribe to the newsletter, buy a product.
A different variant for AIDA is AIDCA.
Here, C (Convinction) stands for the part of the text where you convince the skeptic that your product or service is right for his needs.
- PAS
PAS is another common formula among successful texts, being an acronym for:
P – Problem
The first step you need to take here is to present your reader with a problem. This problem can be one that you, as a copywriter, imagine your target audience has and that is related to the product or service you are presenting.
A – Agitation
Next, all you need to do is appeal to the reader’s emotions to convince them that they absolutely must solve their problem. In this way, you prepare your target audience to appeal to a particular solution.
S – Solution
At this point you can present your product, describing how it works as the perfect solution to the problem your target audience identified earlier. Unlike the serious problem, keep in mind that the solution should be a simple one, within everyone’s reach.
- The 4 P
The 4 P’s is a unique formula and is a very useful structure for good copy because, instead of presenting a problem and the perfect solution, it focuses on an ideal world that every reader would like to live in.
P- Picure
Present your readers with a utopian world where they can achieve their goals, fulfill their deepest desires and find happiness. By creating a vivid image around this world, your target audience will immediately want to find a way to get there.
P- Promise
Promise readers that they can reach this ideal state through a specific product or service.
P- Proof
Stick to your promise above and give readers real proof. Show them tangible benefits of your product or service, add success statistics, testimonials, guarantees.
P – Push
Encourage the reader to take immediate action by moving to the action you want.
As you can see, there are many ways you can create successful copy. Some of these overlap, but the message is clear: persuade readers.
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