Write More Persuasively Using the Copywriting Formula AIDA
I’m swimming in my thoughts about copywriting.
Between YouTube videos, online articles and one book, I’m hurtling toward self-awareness and becoming a better writer.
If my brain were a computer, I would have only so much space left. But luckily humans supposedly use only 5% of their brain capacity. So I’d say, given this data, I’m fine.
Today I’d like to share with you a lesson from a copywriting gem, “The Boron Letters.” Written in 1984 from the respected copywriter Gary Halbert to his son, it is a set of 25 letters about life, marketing and writing.
I’d like to address one topic from the letters. And that’s AIDA.
No, not the Verdi opera. Or eponymous Ethiopian princess.
AIDA is instead the copywriting formula that is used by copywriters and ad and marketing professionals to inspire action and persuade someone to get a product or service.
So basically, yes, you should still hit the right notes.
In this article, I will share a breakdown of the term and provide an example of how this persuasive tool can be implemented.
The Acronym, Deconstructed
History records AIDA’s first public appearance in 1921 from sales trainer C.P. Russell in the article “How to Write a Sales-Making Letter:
“An easy way to remember this formula is to call in the “law of association,” which is the old reliable among memory aids. It is to be noted that, reading downward, the first letters of these words spell the opera “Aida.” When you start a letter, then, say “Aida” to yourself and you won’t go far wrong, at least as far as the form of your letter is concerned.”
Are you singing yet?
Now, let’s take a look at the acronym, deconstructed.
A=Attention
Get the reader’s attention.
I=Interest
Pique the reader’s interest with interesting notes about your product or service.
D=Desire
Inspire the reader to want a product or service.
A=Action
Call the reader to take action. Doing a good job with the first three will make the CTA more effective.
Perhaps a Lived Example?
Based on this model, and after reading two more articles on the topic (such as this one), I want to share an example with you of what AIDA looks like. It’s actually not that difficult after you break things down.
Let’s say that there is a cloud storage space company. Maybe you have a subscription to one, or maybe we could swap out an example for a music-streaming service. A number of businesses use AIDA, I now see.
First, the company gets our attention.
Maybe you learn about a place through a Facebook ad, or one of those pesky 30-second or 5-second (before you can skip) ads on YouTube. Or somewhere out in the city you are in, on an ad on the side of a bus.
Second, the company gets our interest.
What is the ad about? Maybe the business is offering 2 free GB of space or a free trial. “Great,” you think. “I could use the space — I don’t need much anyway. And this product looks simple to use.” Or “Great, I can never have too much music, and it’s free. And easy-to-use. I can cancel anytime.”
Third, the company taps into our desire.
Maybe you run out of space as you reach your limit on saving documents or pictures. Or the free trial ends just as you started enjoying working with lite music in the background all month.
Now you know the sweet, sweet pain of abandon, and the need for more space, or more music — you’ve grown pretty attached to the service and its benefit to your life, after all.
Fourth, the company gives a call to action.
They get inside of your mind by letting you take their product out for a ride, so to speak. And when you have to return it, the cloud company or music streaming service invites you to upgrade.
I mean, do you really want to part ways with something that was so useful to you?
Dropbox hooked me in this way. I think I heard about the product through word-of-mouth (an indirect “Attention”) and signed up for 2 GB of free space. Then I eventually upgraded because I needed more space, and desired the familiarity of the platform.
So I’m a case study — could you be one, too?
AIDA is a great tool that can seem more complex than it actually is. Yet, its simplicity lies in playing to our psychology to connect with a product or service, allowing it to get inside our minds.
For a writer, this tool can be like spinning words into gold.
May you take this magic, and use it for good.
May you take this magic, and use it to “harmonize” a reader’s thoughts with whatever story your words are telling.
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