Today I’m going to show you the basic structure of persuasive copy.

The example

Check out this screenshot from the Leaving Work Behind website by Tom Ewer. This email subscribe form is actually a cute little sales pitch! Let’s dissect it.

So, how does Tom persuade you to get on his email list?

First, he points out the problem: Many bloggers deceive you with get-rich-quick schemes.

Then, he makes a concrete promise to solve it: He’s going to show you how to build a blog with nothing but hard work.

Finally, he ends with a call to action: Join the club.

What can we learn from Leaving Work Behind?

When you want to persuade someone to do something you need to do at least 3 things:

1. Hit a pain point. What’s your ideal customer’s biggest problem? Why would they hire you? Why would they buy your product? That’s the main pain point. Remind them about it.
2. Make a promise. A believable promise. Notice how, in the example, the author doesn’t just say: “The advice on this website is real”. He explains why his advice is valuable: Because he creates online businesses with “nothing other than hard work”.
3. End with a CTA. Like Steve Krug said: “Don’t make me think.” Don’t expect people to know they are supposed to sign up when they see an opt-in. Tell them to sign up. Make the call to action obvious.

Back to you

Think about it: How can you do the same? On your website, in your cold emails, in your nurture emails… How can you use the problem-promise-CTA structure?

Next time…

I’ll show you how to leverage the fear of loss in your copywriting. To make sure you don’t miss the next tip, sign up to the newsletter below.