AIDA – Still Useful in 2012?

Copywriting is the art of persuasive writing. Writing in such a gorgeous way that the words sells products, services, ideas and concepts.

Depending on which copywriting flavour of the month you speak to, the main concern of a copywriter isn’t branding; it’s conversions.

Conversions are the the percentage of people who “buy” after reading your sales page.

I use the term buy loosely here as the conversion could be to subscribe or to join a newsletter and a good copywriter will help you create a sales page that gets people to take action.

Why is this of importance to bloggers? Because we are all selling something.

You might think you aren’t selling a thing, but trust me you are…

• You sell ideas, creative thoughts and advice
• You are selling yourself, demonstrating your expertise and showing your capabilities
• You are selling the relationship with yourself – readers, subscribers, followers

Even if you’ve never written a sales page (or landing page as they are sometimes known) before, learning some tips from great copywriters will allow you to greatly increase your blog’s conversion power.

A copywriters oldest trick is AIDA, not the opera but the formula. I love formulae. So let’s take a quick look at AIDA and then you can tell me if you still think it’s relevant.

Attention

May I have your attention please? Will the real Slim Shady please stand up? The first and most important step in the copywriting formula is attention. Attention is the first impression. Can you catch your readers’ attention in five seconds or less?

The best way to catch attention is through a strong headline. Your headline should speak directly to your readers’ needs and make an enticing promise that keeps them reading as they want more. Or you can ask for it Eminem style.

Most copywriters spend an inordinately high amount of their copywriting time on the headline. Why? Because if you don’t catch their attention, nothing else you write matters. Your headline should stop someone dead in their tracks and pay and give them no choice but to pay attention.

Want more attention? Get it here.

Interest

The interest phase is when you explain the problem and hint at a solution. This is where you outline what their life is like right now and describe what their life could be like if their problem was solved, preferably by the solution you are offering…

During this step, your goal is to get them emotionally involved. Some sales people describe this process as making the reader feel pain and demonstrating you understand what they are going through.

Most people try and avoid pain, so be careful if you try this method – too much and your readers will hate you, although a few will know you have suffered the same as them. Use descriptive words and phrases to paint vivid pictures of what their lives could be like in the future.

If you want to avoid the pain scenario, then you can go for making your readers feel smarter and sexier for using your product or service. But don’t mix them, the pain and the sex thing makes a horrible mess and your readers feel bewildered and confused.

if you do it really badly you will land up with lots of stalkers on Twitter and Facebook but in all seriousness, the pain thing works, so practise it.

Use powerful and provoking words to hit emotional points and build the connection.

Desire

Desire is where you introduce your product and use rock solid proof to show that you can deliver on your promise. Your product should be introduced as if it were the greatest thing since sliced bread . As if all their life, your reader has just been waiting for something like your product.

Tangent alert… is there anything better than sliced bread?

Anyway, back to the post – in order to back up this kind of claim, you need to have proof.

• Testimonials are a good start.
• Before and after videos are good as well.
• Proof videos can go a long way.
• Photos of your product in action can be very convincing.
• Videos of your products in use are interesting but not usually big product sellers

Action

There’s a world of difference between getting someone interested and having someone take out their credit card and pay you. The action step bridges this gap.

In the action step, you bring the emotional desire back to a peak and end with a strong, specific call to action. You tell the reader exactly what you want them to do and reiterate exactly what they’ll get if they do it.

• Tell them to place the order.
• Tell them to call the phone number.
• Tell them to take out their credit card and punch it in the next page.
• If they do, they’ll finally get “X” (benefit) in their life.

AIDA is used in copy, in advertising, in articles… it’s used everywhere, every day.

Come and share with us examples of where you have used it and your experiences.

photo credit: Adam Crowe