The Tale of Two Young Men:
In 1975, copywriter Martin Conroy wrote a 2-page sales letter.
The goal of the letter was to sell subscriptions to The Wall Street Journal. It sold an astonishing $2 billion in subscriptions and ran continuously (with little or no changes) for 30 years.
I've spend the last 2 mornings copying that same letter, by hand, in my copyworking notebook.
(In case you don't know what copyworking is, it's the act of writing down winning ads in your own handwriting, word-for-word, on a piece of paper.)
Why was this letter so compelling?
And more importantly, why did people buy?
When we dissect the 2-page letter, what you'll find is the AIDA framework, baked inside of the letter.
A - Attention:
The letter opens with a story of two young men who went to the same college. It tells the reader that both these men returned for their 25-year reunion. Both married. Both with 3 children. Both working at the same manufacturing company. One was the manager of a small department of this company. The other was its president.
It grabs the reader's attention, and arouses his curiosity.
I - Interest:
The letter goes on to explain that the key difference between these men was "Knowledge", and "the application of that knowledge."
It sets up the reader. They're now interested in knowledge, too.
D - Desire:
It further creates the perception that, inside The Journal, the reader will acquire the exact knowledge (in daily bulletins, weekly columns, monthly reports, etc.) that they need to accelerate their career. This creates a burning desire for the reader to not to miss out.
And once the desire is there, the next step flows naturally...
A - Action:
The writer makes the ask. He tells his reader to take specific actions to claim their 13-week trial for $28. He tells them what will happen next. He gives them a guarantee, and makes it as easy as possible for the reader to say "yes."
He even adds a "P.S." to tell the reader how their purchase may be tax-deductible.
$2 billion in sales:
It pays to write well.
You and I may not be The Wall Street Journal, but we, too, have our own valuable offers to sell. But for your offer to grab attention, capture interest, create desire, and compel action?
Your copy needs to do a job.
P.S.
Here are X different mediums where I've used AIDA before to great effect:
(it works for nearly any medium to get a response from a prospect)
- LinkedIn content (4M+ impressions)
- Paid ads (2,000+ leads for less for less than $1 per lead)
- Emails (average 40%+ open rates)
- DMs (one got me a response and an enquiry from a dream client. I wrote about it here.
- Landing pages (20%+ average conversion rate)
Give AIDA a try!
