Sales Copy Frameworks

The structures that work, with prompts. Frameworks are scaffolding — they organise what you know about the customer. They do not substitute for knowing it.

Before any of these

Copy fails for one reason far more than any other: you are writing about what you sell instead of what they get.

Fill this in first. Every framework below depends on it.

Who exactly
What they are trying to achieve
What is currently in the way
What they have already tried
What they say to themselves about it
What they would need to believe to buy
What they will lose if nothing changes

PAS — Problem, Agitate, Solve

The workhorse. Best for a problem the reader already feels.

Write PAS copy for [OFFER].

PROBLEM: state the specific problem in their words, not mine
AGITATE: the real cost of it continuing — time, money, or the thing
         they actually care about. One concrete consequence, not a list.
SOLVE: how this fixes it, and the first step

Audience: [WHO]
Their words for the problem: [ACTUAL LANGUAGE THEY USE]
Length: [N] words

Do not exaggerate the agitation. If it reads as manipulation, it fails.

Where it goes wrong: agitation that overreaches. One honest consequence beats three dramatic ones.

AIDA — Attention, Interest, Desire, Action

Best for a colder audience who do not yet know they have the problem.

Write AIDA copy for [OFFER].

ATTENTION: a specific, surprising fact or observation — not a question
INTEREST: why this matters to them specifically
DESIRE: what life looks like after, concretely
ACTION: one clear next step, low friction

Audience: [WHO]
Specifics I own: [NUMBERS, INCIDENTS]

Where it goes wrong: the attention line being a rhetorical question. "Struggling with admin?" is not attention, it is wallpaper.

BAB — Before, After, Bridge

Best when the transformation is the product.

Write BAB copy for [OFFER].

BEFORE: their situation now, described so precisely they recognise themselves
AFTER: the specific, believable improved state
BRIDGE: what gets them from one to the other

Make AFTER concrete and modest. An overclaimed after-state destroys trust.

The 4 Ps — Promise, Picture, Proof, Push

Best when you have real proof.

PROMISE: the specific outcome
PICTURE: what it looks like in their week
PROOF: [YOUR ACTUAL EVIDENCE — numbers, named results, case detail]
PUSH: the next step, and why now

Proof I have: [PASTE]
Use only this proof. Do not invent testimonials, numbers or case studies.

Where it goes wrong: fabricated proof. Never let AI generate a testimonial or a statistic. This is the single most dangerous thing in this document.

Features to benefits

The conversion everyone knows and few do properly.

Here are the features of [OFFER]: [LIST]
For each, work down three levels:

Feature -> What it lets them do -> What that means for them -> Why they care

Example:
"Automated weekly reports" -> "reports generate themselves" ->
"Friday afternoon is free" -> "they stop working weekends"

Stop at the level where it stops being true. Do not inflate.

Objection handling

My offer: [WHAT]
Price: [PRICE]
Objections I actually hear: [LIST]

For each:
1. What is the real concern underneath the stated objection?
2. Address it in two sentences, without dismissing it
3. What proof would settle it?

Do not use "I understand, but". Do not reframe the objection as a benefit.

Subject lines and headlines

Write 10 subject lines for [EMAIL ABOUT WHAT], audience [WHO].

Mix: a specific number, a question they genuinely cannot answer,
a direct statement of the outcome, a curiosity gap that the email pays off.

Rules:
- Under 50 characters
- No "Don't miss out", no false urgency, no "Re:" fakery
- Each must be honest about what is inside

Then tell me which three are strongest and why.

The honesty checks

Run these before anything ships. They matter more than the frameworks.

• Every claim is true and I can support it
• Every number came from my data, not the model
• No testimonial or case study is invented
• Urgency, if any, is real — a genuine deadline or genuine scarcity
• The promise matches what the product actually does
• I would be comfortable if a customer compared this copy to their experience
• It does not manufacture anxiety that did not exist

That last one is the line between persuasion and manipulation. Copy that creates a fear in order to sell the cure is the thing that makes people distrust marketing.

The test that predicts performance

Show it to one person in your target audience and ask: "What does this do, and who is it for?"

If they hesitate, the copy is not clear yet. No framework fixes unclear.