If Don Draper Tweeted
The 27 Best Copywriting Formulas
for Telling a Captivating Story Online
1. Before — After — Bridge
Before — Here’s your world …
After — Imagine what it’d be like, having Problem A solved …
Bridge — Here’s how to get there.
Example:
2. Problem — Agitate — Solve
Identify a problem
Agitate the problem
Solve the problem
Example:
3. Features — Advantages — Benefits (FAB)
Features — What you or your product can do
Advantages — Why this is helpful
Benefits — What it means for the person reading
Example:
4. The 4 C’s
- Clear
- Concise
- Compelling
- Credible
Example:
5. The 4 U’s
Useful — Be useful to the reader
Urgent — Provide a sense of urgency
Unique — Convey the idea that the main benefit is somehow unique
Ultra-specific — Be ultra-specific with all of the above
Example:
6. Attention — Interest — Desire — Action (AIDA)
Attention — Get the reader’s attention
Interest — Interesting and fresh information that appeals to the reader
Desire — Benefits of your product/service/idea and proof that it does what you say
Action — Ask for a response
Example:
7. A FOREST
A — Alliteration
F — Facts
O — Opinions
R — Repetition
E — Examples
S — Statistics
T — Threes (Repeat something three times to make it memorable.)
Example:
8. The 5 basic objections
1. I don’t have enough time.
2. I don’t have enough money.
3. It won’t work for me.
4. I don’t believe you.
5. I don’t need it.
Example:
9. Picture — Promise — Prove — Push (PPPP)
Picture — Paint a picture that gets attention and creates desire
Promise — Describe how your product/service/idea will deliver
Prove — Provide support for your promise
Push — Ask your reader to commit
Example:
10. The psychological pull of Open Loops
Create a cliffhanger with your content
Via Felicia Spahr, KISSmetrics:
Open Loops in TV shows are the equivalent of that cliffhanger that keeps you up at night, consuming your mind with thinking about what’s going to happen the next week, or that story line that was never quite explained. Those aren’t just “blips” in a script. They are put there so that it’s harder for people to get up off the couch than it is to stay and watch “just one more episode.”
Example:
11. The Reader’s Digest blueprint
According to famed copywriter John Caples, you can take great inspiration from studying the way that Reader’s Digest articles are composed.
They are fact-packed
They are telegraphic
They are specific
There are few adjectives
They arouse curiosity
Example:
Copyblogger’s Demian Farnworth and Jerod Morris put this formula to good use in the way they open blogposts. Here’s what they’ve learned:
- Your opening sentence should be short — even as short as one word
- The wrong quote can repel readers
- A great story begins in the chaotic middle
- You borrow liberally from your swipe file
On social media, the Reader’s Digest blueprint might look like this:
12. Sonia Simone’s 5 Pieces Every Great Marketing Story Needs
1. You need a hero
2. You need a goal
3. You need conflict
4. You need a mentor
5. You need a moral
Example:
13. Write to one person
Good advertising is written from one person to another.
Example:
14. The 3 Reasons Why
Why are you the best?
Why should I believe you?
Why should I buy right now?
Example:
15. Star — Story — Solution
Star — The main character of your story
Story — The story itself
Solution — An explanation of how the star wins in the end
Example:
16. Star — Chain — Hook
Star — Your product/service/idea
Chain — A series of facts, sources, benefits, and reasons
Hook — The call to action
Example:
17. Awareness — Comprehension — Conviction — Action (ACCA)
Awareness — Present the situation or problem
Comprehension — Help your reader understand how it affects them. Explain that you have the solution.
Conviction — Create a desire and conviction in your reader to use your solution.
Action — Call to action
Example:
18. The 1–2–3–4 Formula for Persuasive Copy
1. What I’ve got for you
2. What it’s going to do for you
3. Who am I?
4. What you need to do next
Example:
19. So what?
Every time you state something, ask yourself, “So what?”
Helen Nesterenko, writing at the Eloqua blog, has a great way of spinning this one from a features vs. benefits perspective.
Our knives have the sharpest blades!
So what?
So you can chop ingredients quickly and efficiently, just like the pros!
Example:
20. AICPBSAWN (phew!)
Attention — Biggest benefit, biggest problem you can solve, USP
Interest — Reason why they should be interested in what you have to say
Credibility — Reason why they should believe you
Prove — Prove what you are claiming is true
Benefits — List them all (use bullets)
Scarcity — Create scarcity
Action — Tell them precisely what to do
Warn — What will happen if they don’t take action
Now — Motivate them to take action now
Example:
21. String of Pearls
String together a series of persuasive stories
Examples:
22. The Fan Dancer
Be specific without actually explaining anything
What is a “fan dancer”? Well, it’s nothing really. But it does pique interest! And that’s the point. The Fan Dancer formula uses specific details to create curiosity, all the while never revealing any actual information about what that tantalizing something is. To find out, someone will need to click or keep reading.
Example:
23. The Approach Formula
Arrive at the problem
Propose a solution
Persuade the listener why your solution will work
Reassure that you and your solution can be trusted
Orchestrate an opportune opportunity to sell
Ask for the order (or response)
Example:
24. Bob Stone’s Gem
Begin with your strongest benefit
Expand on the most important benefit
Tell exactly and in detail what they are going to get, including all the features and benefits
Back up your statements with support copy
Tell them what they’ll lose if they don’t act
Sum up the most important benefits
Make your call to action. Tell them to “reply now” and give a good, logical reason why they should.
Example:
25. The 6+1 model
1. Context
2. Attention
3. Desire
4. The gap
5. Solution
6. Call to action
+1. Credibility
Example:
26. UPWORDS Formula
Universal Picture Words Or Relatable, Descriptive Sentences
Example:
27. OATH Formula
The four stages of your market’s awareness of your product/service/idea.
Oblivious
Apathetic
Thinking
Hurting
Example:
The best copywriting formula: Yours!
There’s this great quote from David Ogilvy that sums up the matter of copywriting formulas.
Repeat your winners. Scores of great advertisements have been pulled before they’ve begun to payoff. Readership can actually increase with repetition — up to five repetitions.
Which formulas do you use in your writing? Did you have a favorite one from this list? Which ones did we leave out?
Add a response to our story here, or drop us a note!
Originally published at blog.bufferapp.com where we share our best social media tips, detail-by-detail.
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