Copywriting formulas.
They’re not exact recipes.
More like Grandmas secret recipe that she measures out by eye and can adjust depending on how many people have come for dinner.
They’re general guidelines you can follow, backed up by decades of use.
They can give you a rough outline to follow, or help you overcome a mental block and simply give you somewhere to start.
Let’s start with AIDA as it seems to be the old faithful of copywriting formulas. Many other formulas are simply adaptations or extensions of it.
What is AIDA?
AIDA – Attention, Interest, desire, action. They’re the 4 emotions or stages through which you’re trying to move the reader as they read your text.
You can use it almost anywhere. Email, sales, landing pages, TV, paid ads….
Doesn’t matter if you’re the coca-cola company or the corner store. AIDA will probably benefit you.
Attention
First things First. Grab the attention of the reader. Don’t let them leave so easily.
People are bombarded with so many messages, so many ads, so many emails… If you want yours to be noticed/seen/opened, you’d better stand out.
For example try using an interesting headline, or a hero image or video.
Interest
Keep the readers’ interest.
Talk about their problem then Introduce the solution.
Hit the pain point, rub a bit of salt into the wound (don’t go overboard though…), and then educate the reader about your product.
Maybe give an unusual or different piece of information, a fun fact, a counter-intuitive idea, or a quick story.
Desire
Now comes the emotional connection. Show how your product fits into customers’ lives.
Tell a story. Show the benefits. Take them on a journey from their troubled state to their desired state
May even combine insert a mini FAB section.
Action
You’ve got their attention, got them interested, they desire your product, get them to do to what you want, now!
Give your customers an obvious and concrete call to action.
Sign up, buy now… or whatever your goal is.
Create an additional sense of urgency; with time deadlines (only for the next hour!), or product scarcity (only 6 left!).
Create fear of loss, demonstrate the disadvantage of missing out.
Other techniques include adding some type of incentive, bonus, premium feature, discount… etc
AIDA Variations…
AIDCA
What’s with the ‘C’?
Confidence, Credibility, Conviction, Commitment….
The ‘C’ comes in handy if customer is sold on the idea of your product as the solution, but… is unsure if you are the one to provide it.
‘Yeah, ok’, they think. ‘but why should I trust you?’
Remove the last vestige of doubt by showing your credibility. Convince or reassure them with by demonstrating social proof and your credentials. Show you’re an expert who’s serious about what they do. Include details like customer testimonials, case studies, ratings, money back guarantees…
Summing up…
That should be enough to get you started or as a rough checklist to assess your writing. None of this is set in stone though. The formula can always be tweaked or a skip stepped or something different added.
But, as always, understand your customer, speak to them, solve their problems.
And be honest and authentic.
