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From Reads to Leads is a newsletter for B2B tech founders and marketing leaders whose marketing isn’t working. It’s about positioning, messaging, content strategy, operations, and results. If this was sent to you, subscribe here so you don't miss the next email.
In today's newsletter:
It’s the oldest rule in copywriting. Good copy begins with pain. Most writers only know three ways to do it:
Stop doing X
Struggling with Y?
You need better Z!
It's one thing to tell people they have a problem. It's the other thing to show them living with that problem.
Below are 8 ways to write about problems that go beyond "Stop doing X." Plus, AI prompts you can use to speed up the process.
Before you get too excited, remember: Formulas only work if you fill them with specific details from your customers' actual experiences. That's the hardest part. And it's on you. In this issue, I'll only talk about the easy one: Formulas.
Here we go:
This formula addresses people’s challenges by basically saying, “If you have this problem, then buy this solution.” Here’s how you can make use of it:
"If you want to understand how to get your blog heard through the noise but you're confused about which strategies could work for you and which will waste your time, then check out [my course] because I've carefully crafted it for someone exactly like you."
AI prompt:
Write a Problem-Agitate-Solve paragraph for [product/service].
Problem: [specific customer pain point]
Agitate: Why this problem gets worse when ignored
Solution: [your offering]
Format: "If you [describe problem situation] but [describe frustration], then [solution] because [specific reason it works for them]."
Keep it under 60 words. Use "you" throughout.
People tend to ignore problems, hoping they’ll somehow resolve themselves. Sometimes they do. But most often, unsolved problems get even worse. Driving this point home encourages people to act. This formula shows what happens when problems get worse.
"If you're not investing in regular SEO and content marketing, your competitors will crush you. You'll lose your positions in Google search results until you're forced to spend more money and twice as much time to get back on track as the market gets more competitive. Why wait for this to happen?"
AI prompt:
Create a Before-After-Bridge sequence:
Before: [current problematic situation]
After: [worse situation if they don't act]
Bridge: [your solution]
Start with "If you're not [taking action], then [specific bad outcome]."
Include concrete consequences: lost money, time, opportunity.
End with a question that assumes they don't want this outcome.
Max 80 words.
We all want to be faster, prettier, and smarter than others. This formula uses that desire.
"What most people do about their SEO is copy what their competitors are doing and call it good. But you're not like most people. You're someone who knows that successful strategies are based on knowledge of the customer and how they search for information. That's why you won't work with SEO folks who mine the same tired opportunities. You'll partner with someone who thinks exactly like you."
AI prompt:
Write Star-Story-Solution copy:
Star: Make the reader the hero who's different from "most people"
Story: What most people do wrong [specific behavior]
Solution: What the smart reader (them) does instead
Format: "What most people do about [topic] is [common mistake]. But you're not like most people. You're someone who [positive trait]. That's why you [better action]." Make them feel superior for choosing differently.
70 words max.
Think about your solution. Why does it exist? Most likely, it solves a problem to achieve a successful outcome. You can get people to picture themselves experiencing this outcome in a way that makes it too seductive to let go of.
"Imagine your content marketing efforts start bringing your company so many more leads than any other marketing activity. Imagine top players in your industry coming to you for content marketing advice. Imagine your boss giving you a big fat raise because she doesn't want you to take a job anywhere else. Does that sound like fantasy? Well, it isn't."
AI prompt:
Create a Feel-Felt-Found visualization:
Write 3 "Imagine..." statements showing increasingly better outcomes:
1. Immediate win [specific result]
2. Status boost [how others see them]
3. Ultimate payoff [biggest desire]
End with: "Does that sound like fantasy? Well, it isn't."
Each imagine statement should be more ambitious than the last.
Keep each under 20 words.
Your sales pitch most likely contains many benefits of your product or service. The formula “if the only thing you get is…” gives you unique opportunities to list all those benefits.
"If the only thing you get is certainty about who you need to hire to crush it in content marketing... If the only thing you get is a plan that points you toward building an effective content marketing process... If the only thing you get is deep understanding of what tactics actually move the needle... If you get any one of these things, it'll be worth the investment. But you won't get only one. You'll get them all."
AI prompt:
Write Feature-Advantage-Benefit copy using this structure:
"If the only thing you get is [benefit 1]...
If the only thing you get is [benefit 2]...
If the only thing you get is [benefit 3]...
If you get any one of these things, it'll be worth [the investment/time/effort].
But you won't get only one. You'll get them all."
Benefits should escalate in value.
Each benefit: 15 words max. Focus on outcomes.
Our most powerful negative emotion is fear. People are more likely to act to avoid pain than to get gain. If you want to motivate people to act, here’s how to incorporate the fear of missing out into the “don’t let this happen to you” formula:
"Content marketing changes as fast as technology. Don't let yourself fall behind. Instead, be the first person in the room to use new tools, apply new strategies, and get faster results. Subscribe to [my newsletter] to be that person."
AI prompt:
Create FOMO copy:
Opening: State what's changing rapidly in [industry/field]
Warning: "Don't let yourself [specific bad outcome]"
Alternative: "Instead, be the first to [specific advantage]"
CTA: Simple action to avoid missing out
Structure: [Change happening] + [Risk of falling behind] + [Opportunity to lead] + [Action]
50 words maximum.
Create urgency without panic.
If I could write a book in a week... If I could speak 20 languages… If I could fly… And what magical possibilities would you like to have? Wait, not you. Your customer. Use the “what if” formula to evoke a sense of endless possibilities in readers. For example:
"What if you could be ahead of everyone else for high-frequency commercial keywords?"
AI prompt:
Write 3 "What if" statements that escalate in ambition:
What if you could [achievable goal]?
What if you could [ambitious goal]?
What if you could [dream scenario]?
Each statement should make the previous one seem small.
No more than 12 words each.
Focus on outcomes they secretly want but think are impossible.
Remember Hamlet? Like Hamlet, people always doubt. To inspire action, you can go Shakespeare and give your readers a binary choice: to use your offer or not to use it.
"You're standing at the crossroads. One road: continuing to use the same approaches you and every other company in your industry have been using for years. Or you can take another road and start applying new content marketing methods that get better results, are more engaging, and cost less. This road is the one you'll take if you team up with [my marketing agency]. Make sure you choose the right road."
AI prompt:
Write a Crossroads choice:
Setup: "You're standing at the crossroads."
Road 1: Status quo [what everyone else does] - make it sound tired
Road 2: Your solution [what they could do] - make it sound fresh
Connection: "This second road is the one you'll take if [your solution]"
Close: Direct call to choose
Use specific details about what "everyone else" does wrong.
100 words max.
Make the right choice obvious without saying it's right.
The thing is, the more vividly you can paint the pain that your target audience is experiencing, the more you demonstrate that you understand. And that’s a fast track to trusting you.
What is your problem? If you could just ask this question to your target audience, life would be so much easier. Yet people don’t like to tell you about their problems (unless you’re a licensed therapist or a family member). Problems are entirely a writer’s job to find out. And the only way to do it is by getting to know the people you’re selling to.
You can ask your prospects to give you an interview, talk to your existing customers, browse X, read blogs, check out Reddit threads, or investigate your competitors’ websites. All of that might shed some light on your customers’ pains. You can toil away days, weeks, months, and years trying to figure out those pains, but in the end — voilà! You’ll know how to position your solution as the miracle cure.
When you can accurately describe your reader’s problem in your reader’s terms, your reader will instinctively feel that you must have an answer to that problem. This brings about another feeling that we all want to achieve through words: trust. When readers trust you, they’re much easier to persuade.
Watch it on YouTube:
Read next: Classic Copywriting Formulas to Never Start from Scratch Again
Remember my Context Engine series? We've published an entire book about this approach on Zmist & Copy website. Check it out if you want to know how to create content that builds a brand.
Kateryna
P.S. If we aren't connected already, follow me on LinkedIn and Instagram. If you like this newsletter, please refer your friends.
P.P.S. Need help with quality content? Zmistify your content with Zmist & Copy
Hey, writer! Struggling to write an article? Let me show you how to use ChatGPT to get the job done.
Can’t come up with an effective message? Copywriting formulas might be the perfect solution! Check out my favorite copywriting formulas to use in article intros, social media captions, emails, landing pages, ads, and everywhere else you write online.
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