5 Time Tested, Highly Effective Copywriting Frameworks That Convert

“Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal”

-Pablo Picasso

If you are a copywriter…

Or want to become one…

Let me tell you, that COPYWRITING is an art.

An art of targeting the right human emotions using the power of words, to motivate, inspire, influence, persuade, or move people to act in a certain manner, towards a certain objective.

I am not saying this to manipulate people into taking whatever action you want…

...but if you use the art of copywriting in your business, you can turn your business into an ethical, legal(as your business already is), into an efficient and high revenue making machine.

Let me explain how…

Any marketing campaign needs three things to make itself successful:

1. Market
2. Media, and 
3. Message

It is the third one, the message that is the most important because that message is for humans.

Though the markets may vary for different businesses, and…

...media may change from Magazines to Instagram or Radio to Podcasts…

...it is the message that carries all the power.

Because in the end it is HUMAN BEINGS that will be reading your message, and…

Human Beings are bags full of emotions, roaming all around with their objections, solutions, problems, desires, pain points, goals, wishes, questions, hindrances, dreams, aspirations, missions, etc.

Human beings are constantly looking for something to make their lives better and it is your job to craft such messages that attract, interest, and engage them to buy your product or service that will let them achieve what they want.

But if you are reading this article after clicking on the headline about Copywriting Frameworks, you already know that writing a good copy is not that easy.

You know that you need to write a highly engaging copy for your business that connects directly with your audience but probably you are looking for something to ease your pain as a copywriter.

And the headline of this article is the solution to all your copy problems.

FRAMEWORKS

Frameworks are systems that you can use whenever you want to create something, but not from scratch.

And if the frameworks are already tested and proven to be successful, then your copy problem is already solved.

But then the new problem that arises is: 

Which framework to choose out of all available to attract the maximum amount of your target audience to your offers and encourage them to act the way you want to?

You need not worry because…

...I’ll be explaining below only the most widely accepted, and proven copywriting frameworks that have stood the test of time and delivered excellent results to businesses for half a century and still work…

...despite the change of mediums from traditional marketing to digital marketing.

So let’s get to them…

5 Time Tested, Highly Effective Copywriting Frameworks That Convert

Copywriting frameworks just plain work.

They eliminate all the guesswork from crafting an engaging copy.

That is why you should be using them whenever you sit to write copy for any marketing asset.

The first step is knowing what you are going to write a copy for. 

Is it going to be a:

• A web page in general...
• A long-form sales page...
• A video sales letter (VSL)...
• An email...
• An ad...
• A tweet...
• A blog post...

Being clear about the type of material you want to be writing copy for will help you organize your messages for the most persuasive impact.

After you’ve got your messages organized, you can start working through the elements on the page, VSL, email, or blog post, or anything else that you’re writing. 

You can then use the frameworks to write a better:

• Headline for a page OR a post (they’re different!!)
• Subheadline
• Explainer Video
• Value proposition
• Story
• Testimonial
• Bullet list
• Benefits
• Block of body copy
• CTA or button copy
• Subject line (for emails)
• Guarantee
• FAQs, etc.

Using the copywriting frameworks and filling in the blanks to craft copy for the required elements, you’re 90% of the way to completion.

Now it’s just a matter of optimizing your copy by applying persuasion principles to inspire, motivate, persuade, influence, drive, and move your target audience to your desired action.

This action can be either to:

• Comment on your social media post
• Like your Facebook page
• Follow you on Instagram
• Click on the link in your social media post that takes them to your landing page
• Fill up a form on the landing page
• Click on a button on the landing page
• Watch a video on the page
• Buy your product or service, etc.

Now that you know the different marketing assets that copywriting can be used for and…

...the different elements of a marketing asset for which copywriting needs to be done...

...let’s understand the most widely used copywriting frameworks that have the power to persuade your audience to act as you desire:

AIDA

This framework is one of the oldest out there. 

Not only is this framework used for creating compelling copies, but the 4 principles it's based on are also used to understand the flow of sales funnels for businesses.

American advertising pioneer Elmo Lewis developed the formula around 1900 for designing and writing adverts.

The idea behind AIDA is that the copy has to:

Attract the Attention of its audience...

Build Interest in their mind with unusual, counter-intuitive or fresh info...

Create a Desire in their heart so they want what you’re offering, and...

Encourage them to take Action

Check out this example to see how it works to inspire action that you want your readers to take:

This framework is so important that you should see not just one, but two examples to understand its importance. 

Take a look at this one from Moz:

This framework is so popular that a lot of other copywriting frameworks have been created as reincarnations of this framework. 

If you’ve understood how to use AIDA framework now, then you can use the other variations as well, because they follow a similar process:

• ACCA (Awareness – Comprehension – Conviction – Action)
• AIDPPC (Attention – Interest – Description – Persuasion – Proof – Close)
• IDCA (Interest – Desire – Conviction – Action)
• AAPPA (Attention – Advantage – Proof – Persuasion – Action)

Want to Get Better Engagements With Your Copy?

Use the AIDA framework to create compelling copies for almost any marketing asset like social media posts, stories, testimonials, product reviews, etc. 

It has been proven to be the most effective copywriting framework of all time.

Go ahead and create your first copy using this framework Now.

Did you notice what I did there? The 4 lines above this one represent the use of AIDA.

Isn’t it cool how easily you can use it almost anywhere?

Now, let’s move on to the next one to add in your copywriting secrets cookbook...

FAB

I have seen a lot of product descriptions on eCommerce sites and a lot of sales pages touting their own horns about how the different features of their product are the best in the market and how the technical specifications of the product are the best.

Let me tell you, your customer doesn’t care about you.

He cares about himself and your product descriptions and sales pages need to convey that.

This is where this framework can help you write better copy, focused on the user and not you.

Here’s what it stands for:

Features - What your product or service can do for your target audience

Advantages - How and why is that helpful to your target audience

Benefits - What does it mean for your target audience

FAB reminds you to always focus on customers. 

Your customers aren’t interested in features, and they aren’t interested in specifications, they don’t even care about advantages. 

All they want to know is what you offer to them. 

To create interest in and desire for your product you need to home in on the benefits you offer to your reader.

Buffer provides this great example of FAB in action in one simple Tweet:

Feature: Social media management

Advantage: Get help scheduling updates

Benefit: Get more clicks

Here’s one more example to help you understand:

Here, HubSpot highlights their software using the FAB formula:

“With HubSpot’s marketing, sales, and CRM software, you can grow like a company twice your size while connecting like a real human being.”

Features: Marketing, sales, and CRM software that help manage your “pipeline”

Advantages: Grow like a company twice your size

Benefits: Connect like a real human being

This framework makes it easy to convince your audience about why your product is the best for them. So remember: 

Benefits Sell.

Sell the Sizzle, Not The Steak

Clear?

Great. 

To learn about the other 3 copywriting frameworks, read the full article here.