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Effective Copywriting | 4 Approaches to Copy that Sells

Writer's picture: MelMel

Updated: 4 days ago

The aim of copywriting before and above everything else is to sell. This should be your guiding principle both when formulating your overarching content marketing strategy and when writing copy for individual ads, commercials, and sales letters. 


How many ads do you remember seeing that you found funny, but can’t even remember the name of the product they are trying to sell?


Quite a few. This is a problem. Copywriting is not meant for entertainment. They are also not creative writing. The point of an ad is always to sell. To achieve this goal, you need to first understand the psychology of the customer.


There are four approaches to ad copywriting that do just that. These can be referred to as “copywriting formulas.” They are the following: 


  1. AIDA —- Awareness, Interests, Desire, and Action

  2. ACCA — Awareness, Comprehension, Conviction, Action

  3. The 4 P’s —- Picture, Promise, Prove, Push

  4. The Motivating Sequence


In this article, we will take a brief look at each approach and how they can be used to do what copywriting is meant to do — craft copy that sells. 

Billboard ads on Time Square

1. AIDA

The first “copy formula” for formulating effective copy for advertisements is probably the most popular —- AIDA. AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. 


AIDA is typically used as a model for the sales funnel, where customers are nurtured from the very beginning of the customer journey when they become aware of the product until the end of that journey when they finally make a purchase (or Action). 


However, for copywriting, this process is flattened or collapsed into a journey that is more immediate and that focuses on one individual customer at a time. 


With AIDA, the copy must first capture the reader’s attention. Then generate some interest in the product. That interest is then turned into a strong desire to want to own the product. Lastly, the reader is asked to buy the product. 


2. ACCA 

ACCA stands for Awareness, Comprehension, Conviction, and Action. The first stage of ACCA is similar to AIDA. It begins with awareness. This means that the reader of the ad is made aware of the existence of the product.  


However, in the second stage of the process, the customer has to comprehend the product in terms of how it will work for and benefit them. Comprehension is a necessary step for the next stage of the process — convincing the customer that the product is right for them. 


Lastly, just as in the final step in AIDA, the customer must take action and proceed with the purchase. 


3. The 4 Ps 

The third copywriting formula is the 4 P’s — Picture, Promise, Prove, Push. This begins with the copywriter painting a picture of what the product can do for the targeted reader. 


Samuel Johnson once said that the soul of every advertisement is large promise. However, you have to prove that large promise in your copy.  This should be the third stage. 


The picture painted will become a reality when the reader buys the product. Your copy after proving what the product has done for others through things like testimonials, will then push for immediate action. 


4. The Motivating Sequence 

The fourth copywriting method is the motivating sequence.  This is a five-step process. The motivating sequence relies on a formula made up of five steps:


  1. Get attention

  2. Show a need

  3. Satisfy the need

  4. Prove your product’s effectiveness

  5. Aks for a specific action


First, the copywriter gets attention through a captivating headline. This should be done by focusing on the main benefit of your product. In the second step, you show the need for your product. Don’t take it for granted that it is obvious that your product solves a need. 


In the third step of this process, you satisfy that need by showing how your product is the solution. In the fourth step, you prove that your product works by relying on things like customer testimonials or reviews. Lastly, you ask for a specific action, such as a purchase. 


What to remember for effective copywriting 

As mentioned earlier, the point of effective copy is to sell. Copywriting should always be motivated and written with this idea in mind. Remember what copywriting is not:


  1. Copywriting is not academic writing

  2. Copywriting is not poetry or literary writing

  3. Copywriting is not entertainment


i. Copywriting isn’t academic. Academic writing is logical, and the logical process behind it might even serve you well as a blogger or copywriter. In fact, one type of academic writing is persuasive writing. 


Although the broad goal in persuasive writing may be similar to an ad, there is a major difference between academic writing and copywriting. The point of academic writing is to make an intellectual argument to convince fellow intellectuals. This could be your professor, the editors and reviewers of a journal, or members of your thesis committee. 


With copywriting, the point is to make a sale. The arguments used are often less intellectual and logical than psychological and emotional. Your target audience is typically the ordinary person. 


With academic writing, you have to worry about the conventions of grammar and punctuation. With copywriting, you have to take a much more loose or creative approach when necessary.


Use slang when necessary. Use memes if you have to. Include sentences made up of a single word, or use periods in the same way that you use commas. Whatever gets your message across is what should be chosen. 


Academic writing is notorious for long laborious paragraphs that look fat and heavy on a page. If your copy resembles that, your reader will take one look and turn away. Copy should be based on the simple 4s formula: short words, short sentences, short paragraphs, and short sections. 


ii. Copywriting is not creative or literary writing. The point of your ad is not to qualify for rhetorical analysis where it scores impressively in terms of how it uses ethos, pathos, and logos and rhetorical devices.


Although, I for one take pleasure in analyzing ads in this way. See the following article: Advertisements with Rhetorical Devices. At the end of the day, analysis that ignores how well the ad works in terms of achieving business objectives is an empty academic exercise. 


iii. Copywriting is not entertainment. Many ads focus on making viewers laugh. But as I mentioned earlier, how many funny ads have you seen, where you don’t even remember the product being advertised? 


To be fair, there are ad campaigns that focus on increasing brand awareness and such, and direct sales may not be their goal. They could get away with copywriting that has another focus besides selling.


However, in establishing a content writing or content marketing strategy geared toward business goals, never lose sight of the big picture and tactics you should employ. The big-picture strategy includes a content funnel that nurtures customers at every stage of the process and copy that focuses on pushing readers to make that sale. 


The difference between content writing and copywriting

Copywriting is not exactly the same as content writing. So, what is the difference? Content writing refers to long-form copy where the intention is to inform and educate, whereas copywriting is laser-focused on persuading the reader to buy.


In short, copywriting literally means "copy that sells." It typically belongs to the lowest rung of the sales funnel. It targets customers who are fully informed about the product and who are ready to buy. The reader at this point only needs a small push to make the purchase. Examples of copywriting include:


  • Copy for landing pages

  • Copy for service pages

  • Copy for product pages


Copywriting should work in conjunction with content writing. Blog articles are used to inform and educate customers over the long term at the beginning of the buyer's journey. when these customers are fully informed and aware of the solutions to their problems, this is where the copywriting comes in.


Your copy should focus on convincing the customer or potential customer as to why your product is the ideal solution for the problem. If your blog content does its job well enough, the customer would have by then developed enough trust for your brand to trust that your product can solve their problem.


How EminentEdit can help with your copywriting

EminentEdit understands what it takes to write copy that sells. We focus on crafting content that turns your blog into an engine that drives leads and sales. Our content writing services include: 



Your blog should be part of a comprehensive and holistic strategy to attract, nurture, and convert visitors into buyers and returning customers. Our writers and editors here at EminentEdit focus on creating content that educates and gains the trust of your site visitors. 

 

EminentEdit provides content repurposing services that are:


  • Affordable

  • Professional 

  • Reliable


More importantly, we are adaptable to your specific needs.

Get in touch with us for help in crafting awesome content.




We know what you want to say. We help you say it better.

 

At EminentEdit, our content writers and editors understand the importance of content marketing to your business goals. We ensure that your content works to drive your business goals. Contact us today to create awesome content that works — Let’s Go! 

 

Cite this EminentEdit article

Antoine, M. (2025, January 27). Effective copywriting | Four Approaches to Copy that Sells. EminentEdit. https://www.eminentediting.com/post/effective-copywriting




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