cover image copywriting

Copywriting is the branch of professional writing that deals with the drafting of commercial texts. This is why this occupation is strongly associated with marketing and advertising. After all, the goal of copywriting is to persuade the reader into buying a product or service. Writing copy for advertising has been done for centuries now. This art has since adapted to every single medium that offers a commercial opportunity, including magazines, television, internet ads, social media, among many others. In this article, we show you how you can follow a few simple formulas to become a copywriter who can put out out commercial texts that lead to conversions.

Writers must be careful to make sure texts are attention-grabbing and action-oriented. However, the process is not limited to the final text you see in advertisements. A copywriter is involved throughout the creative process from beginning to end. They create a voice for a brand (or adapt texts to existing guidelines), work with graphic designers and brand mangers to make sure that the text works well in both form and format, adapts copy to the various formats of a campaign, carries out competitive research to see what competitors are doing and to be aware of brand trends, among many other duties.

Whether for in-house, agency, or freelance work, copywriters are always on demand, and there are sub-specializations within this profession. They may be dedicated to print ad, scripts for broadcast media, copy for large-format media such as billboards, SEO-oriented copy for websites, or a mix of these. It is a highly-marketable skill – it will even help you better market yourself by applying its principles to your portfolio, website, CV and cover letters, as well as professional emails.

Jon Brosio is a professional content creator and copywriter. He works as a freelancer and has developed a course to teach the fundamentals of online writing and audience building. In a bookmark-worthy Twitter thread, he shares 7 simple formulas to make sure the copy you write is efficient and gets the reader to take the desired action. While AI is quickly adopted in the world of copywriting, machine-written text is still not yet able to convey the same depth and emotion as human-written text. Follow these principles to make your work stand out from both human- and machine-written copy!

7 formulas to become a copywriter that writes top-notch and effective copy

1. A-I-D-C-A (efficient for one-page advertising with a CTA)

  • Attention: Attract the attention of the reader
  • Information: Inform the reader about the subject
  • Desire: Bring the problem worth solving to light
  • Conviction: Persuade the reader that what you offer works
  • Action: The takeaway action, what you want the reader to accomplish
become a copywriter: Attention, Information, Desire, Conviction, Action

Attention, Information, Desire, Conviction, Action (© Jon Brosio)

2. B-A-B (excellent for self-promotion)

  • Before: How things were before something
  • After: How things became after something
  • Bridge: The transformation process between the before and after
become a copywriter: Before, After, Bridge

Before, After, Bridge (© Jon Brosio)

3. F-A-B (ideal for product or service marketing)

  • Feature: What the product or service does
  • Advantage: How the product or service helps
  • Benefit: The tangible benefit this product of service will do
become a copywriter: Feature, Advantage, Benefit

Feature, Advantage, Benefit (© Jon Brosio)

4. R-A-D (great for SEM/Paid Google Ads)

  • Require: What you need to get the offer
  • Acquire: What you will get with the offer
  • Desire: The desire that will make the reader take action
become a copywriter: Require, Acquire, Desire

Require, Acquire, Desire (© Jon Brosio)

5. V-A-D (useful for website landing pages)

  • Verb: The action that will be accomplished by the product or service
  • Application: To what or to whom the benefit will apply
  • Differentiator: What sets you apart from competitors
become a copywriter: Verb, Application, Differentiator

Verb, Application, Differentiator (© Jon Brosio)

6. P-A-S (applies to most copyright needs)

  • Problem: What your product or service will solve
  • Agitate: The element of the text that will incite the reader’s emotion
  • Solution: The way in which your product or service solves the problem
become a copywriter: Problem, Agitate, Solution

Problem, Agitate, Solution (© Jon Brosio)

7. A-I-U (perfect for online advertising):

  • Attention: Capture the reader’s attention
  • Interest: Spike interest by providing context
  • Urgency: Generate urgency for the reader to act upon
become a copywriter: Attention, Interest, Urgency

Attention, Interest, Urgency (© Jon Brosio)


And there you go, seven fantastic formulas that you can follow as a copywriter to make your work more compelling, efficient, and most importantly, to get results and conversions. We thank Jon for sharing these on his Twitter. Make sure to follow him on Twitter @JonBrosio, this is just one of the almost-daily threads he shares with his community!

And while you’re here, why not take a look at our free downloads section, where you’ll find all our compilations of freebies from all over the creative corners of the internet?

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