It's How You Say It: 7 Copywriting Formulas That Drive Engagement

Where do you begin when you want to engage prospects with your copy and persuade them to convert?

You’ve probably heard that if you want to catch your audience’s attention and get them to move down the sales funnel, then you need to tell a story. But, can you tell a compelling story on a landing page or through a social media update?

The answer is yes. You just need to use the right copywriting formula.

It's How You Say It: 7 Copywriting Formulas That Drive Engagement

It's How You Say It: 7 Copywriting Formulas That Drive Engagement: eAskme

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Here’s a look at some of the most effective ones from a professional SEO content writing service.

AIDA – Attention, Interest, Desire, Action

AIDA is one of the oldest and most frequently used formulas. It has been used for direct mail,
radio, television, newspapers and now social media.

The key to this formula’s effectiveness is understanding your audience well enough to be able to get their attention. Once you get your prospects’ attention, build their interest by writing descriptive copy that makes them want to learn more.

PAS – Problem, Agitate, Solve

Another popular copywriting formula is PAS. It works like this: first, you identify a problem your audience has. Then, you stir it up by stressing how the problem can negatively impact them. In the end, you offer your product/service as the solution.

The 4 P’s – Promise, Paint, Proof, Push

The 4 P’s formula shifts the focus from yourself or your product to your audience’s problems. This formula is used to describe a problem, and then gradually move to a solution.

Start by promising your audience that their problems can be solved. Continue by describing how beautiful a life without that particular problem would be. Give examples of others who now live a problem-free life. Finally, push them to take action and live that fantastic life you’ve promised.

The 1-2-3-4 Formula

This formula works something like this:

1. What I  have for you – let your audience know what your product/service is;


2. What it’s going to do for you – let them know about the benefits your product/service has;


3. Who am I – why should they trust you;


4. What you need to do next – explain to them what they should do to benefit from your product/service (call to action).

FAB – Features, Advantages, Benefits

This formula focuses on the benefits of your product/service, not the features. It starts by stating what you or your product can do. Then, it moves slowly to why is it helpful (the advantages) and how the person using it can benefit from it.

The 4 U’s – Useful, Urgent, Unique, Ultra-specific

The 4 U’s is an excellent formula to use when creating social media content. The beauty of it is that it provides a sense of urgency, making people to take action.

Let’s imagine you will be speaking at a conference about online business opportunities. To get people engaged and click on your link tell them why attending this conference will be useful to them and what they can learn. Create a sense of urgency by offering free tickets to the first ten people that subscribe, for example.

The Inquisitive Headline

This formula is extremely simple and highly effective. Explain your audience what they should do by asking them if they are doing it already.

Picture this: you have a lifestyle blog, and you just wrote a post about lesser known uses of the microwave. You want to get some traffic from your Facebook page and create some engagement. You can make that by writing a post using this formula.

“Are You Making the Most Out of Your Microwave?”

Final Word

Instead of a conclusion, here is a mnemotechnic tool to help you write smart and not forget anything essential:

A FOREST

A – Alliteration (use words that start and with the same letter)

F – Facts (use research and provide information)

O – Opinions (show testimonials and quote experts)

R – Repetition (explain, then explain again)

E – Examples (demos, tutorials, etc.)

S – Statistics

T – Three's (Repeat three times to make it memorable.)

Any of the techniques featured here can help you write engaging copy and increase conversion. What you choose depends on your context and purpose.