Compelling copy lies at the center of every successful marketing campaign. Without it, your marketing initiatives are likely to fall flat. But what is copy exactly?

In short, "copy" is the words you write to entice your potential customers to act. Writing copy (aka copywriting) combines the written word with psychological principles to help your ads, landing pages, brochures, headlines, and more get better results.  

Copywriting often takes years to master. Copywriters are not only good writers, but they're also knowledgeable about the psychological principles that motivate prospects and customers to take action. As a result, many businesses hire copywriters instead of trying to learn those skills themselves.

However, as a small business owner or entrepreneur, you likely don't have the luxury of hiring expensive copywriters to come in and craft your landing pages, ads, and social media posts – that's where copywriting formulas come into play. 

Copywriting formulas are proven frameworks to help you lay out your copy in an organized and compelling way. In other words, copywriting formulas are sort of like having a cheat sheet or template for writing persuasive copy – no expensive copywriter required.  

In this blog post, we're sharing seven of the most popular copywriting formulas to get you started. 

7 Incredible Copywriting Formulas

There are literally hundreds of copywriting formulas, but these seven are some of the most popular and proven ones out there. They're also some of the easiest to implement for the non-expert. 

1. The AIDA Formula

The AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) formula is among the most popular copywriting formulas. It's designed to capture the attention of your target audience, generate interest in your product or service, create a desire to purchase, and, finally, motivate them to take action.

The AIDA formula consists of four steps:

1. Attention: Grab the attention of your target audience with an attention-grabbing headline.
2. Interest: Generate interest in your product or service by providing information about the benefits and features.
3. Desire: Create a desire to purchase by focusing on the value of your product or service.
4. Action: Motivate your target audience to act by providing incentives and calls-to-actions.

You might notice this is the same formula you use when creating marketing funnels. It speaks to how powerful this particular principle is for getting people to convert! 

2. The PAS Formula

The PAS (Problem, Agitate, Solution) formula is another popular copywriting formula created by Dan Kennedy. This formula focuses on identifying a problem that your target audience is facing, agitating them with the problem, and then providing a solution.

The PAS formula consists of three steps:

1. Problem: Identify a problem that your target audience is facing.
2. Agitate: Agitate the problem by emphasizing how it's impacting their life (aka hit on their pain points). 
3. Solution: Provide a solution to the problem by introducing your product or service.

The PAS formula is excellent for long-form sales letters, landing pages, and social media marketing. 

3. The 4Ps Formula

The 4Ps (Problem, Promise, Proof, Push) formula is terrific for helping you create persuasive and effective copy. This formula focuses on identifying a problem, making a promise, providing proof, and then pushing your target audience to act.

The 4Ps formula consists of four steps:

1. Problem: Identify a problem that your target audience is facing.
2. Promise: Promise that your product or service can solve the problem.
3. Proof: Provide proof that your product or service can solve the problem.
4. Push/Proposal: Push your target audience to take action by providing incentives and calls-to-actions.

This one is a great option for websites and landing pages. 

4. The 4Us Formula

The 4Us (Unique, Useful, Urgent, Ultra-Specific) formula is ideal for getting users to take action quickly because it emphasizes the essential things your copy should include to get results fast.

The 4Us formula consists of four steps:

1. Unique: Highlight the unique features of your product or service.
2. Useful: Explain how your product or service can be useful to your target audience.
3. Urgent: Emphasize the urgency of using your product or service.
4. Ultra-Specific: Be as specific as possible when describing your product or service (e.g., instead of saying, "our app helps users save a lot of time," say, "our app helps save users 10 hours per week.").

You can use this formula for anything from headlines to PPC ads. 

5. The FAB Formula

The FAB (Features, Advantages, Benefits) formula is designed to help you emphasize your product or service's features, advantages, and benefits. 

The FAB formula consists of three steps:

1. Features: Introduce the features of your product or service.
2. Advantages: Explain how the features can be advantageous to your target audience.
3. Benefits: Describe how the features can benefit your target audience.

This formula is particularly useful for generating top-funnel leads or compelling your prospects to learn more. 

6. The AAPPA Formula 

Created by Victor O. Schwab, this formula is all about proving to your prospects that you aren't making empty promises. It's a formula emphasizing proof that your product or service does what you claim. 

The AAPPA consists of five steps: 

1. Attention. Grab the reader's attention. 
2. Advantage: Show them the advantage(s) of using your product or services.
3. Proof: Provide proof of what you just said.
4. Persuade: Persuade them with more points. 
5. Action: Move the prospect toward action. 

Many copywriting experts agree you should combine the proof and persuasion sections since proof is often very persuasive! 

7. The Before-After Formula

The Before-After formula works by helping you emphasize the transformation your product or service can provide. This formula highlights how your customers feel before and after using your product or service.

The Before-After formula consists of two steps:

1. Before: Describe how your customers feel before using your product or service.
2. After: Describe how they feel after using your product or service.

This particular copywriting formula is great for storytelling and works well for social media, sales letters, video scripts, and advertisements. 

Start Using Copywriting Formulas to Ignite Your Results

Copywriting formulas are like cheat codes that let you use the proven tactics that the experts use and put them to use in your business. They're also an excellent way to ensure your copy is engaging, persuasive, and effective. 

These seven copywriting formulas are some of our favorites. So, bookmark this page, and start trying these formulas with your copy. 

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