3 Reasons You Should Use The PAS Formula In Online Marketing
Tom Fenske
How to ramp up those conversion rates
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
The PAS formula stems from copywriting and is a step-by-step guide that will help you write compelling online marketing copy. By following the framework, you’ll be able to create content that resonates with your target audience, increases conversions, and builds your brand.
This article will discuss how the PAS formula works and why it is so powerful.
Let’s get started!
What is the PAS framework again?
PAS is a well-known copywriting framework that writes out as Problem-Agitate-Solve.
During the three steps of the framework, you’re laying out a problem that your target customer/your target audience faces. You then agitate the problem by diving deeper into it to make the prospects feel the pain even more, thirsting for relief from this pain.
You then present your product as the solution to this specific pain and describe precisely how it will relieve the pain from your target.
It becomes more vivid by going through an example, so let’s dive right into it:
Problem:
Sounds familiar? Every other day, you wake up with an aching back.
Agitate:
If you sleep on a mattress that isn’t suited to your sleeping position and body weight, it puts unnecessary stress on your muscles leading to morning aches. Having the wrong mattress can also mess with your sleeping patterns, resulting in not enough deep sleep, making you feel tired and unfocused the entire day.
Solve:
Head over to our online mattress shop, where you can fill out a short questionnaire so we can find the best mattress for your sleeping habits, which means you’ll get up refreshed and energized every single day!
After exmining what the PAS framework and how to fill it out, let’s look at the three resons why it is so powerful.
Reason #1: Your target customer feels understood and acknowledged
When using the PAS framework, you already did your customer research and identified the pain points your product will solve. Throughout the research, you define your target prospect and engage them with the language they usually speak.
Talking precisely the way the prospects would in their inner monologue, they feel like you understand them.Empathy is a powerful tool for connecting to your target customers. See a short example to get a better grasp of this point:
Let’s say you reach out to your target audience by asking
“Saturday evening and still stuck with your honey-do list?”
This is stating a real-life problem your target customer would have.
Agitate the problem by diving deeper into the pain
“While you’re occupied mounting the new kitchen drawers, you even miss the football game you wanted to view on your comfy couch with a cold drink in your hand.”
You’re describing the exact thought your prospect may have in his mind so they feel understood and acknowledged. By connecting to your prospect in their language, you show empathy.
Now is the time for your pitch:
“Our new 18-volts powered drill equipped with hardened bits will let you put holes in your concrete wall like a hot knife in butter. Shop now and get your home improvement done in no time so you can spend more time relaxing”
This is one of the main reasons the PAS framework is so robust for marketing: Your target customers or your audience feelsunderstood. Which human being doesn’t want to feel understood and acknowledged?
Reason #2: PAS leverages a basic psychological bias
When you introducethe framework by talking about problems and pain points, you leverage a human psychological bias calledloss aversion.
It is well-known and researched in microeconomics and especiallyinvestment theory. The term explains that a human values a loss higher than an equivalent gain.The pain of losing something is experienced much harder than the joy of winning something of equal worth.
For example, this asymmetric behavior forces stock investors to hold onto falling assets for too long before cutting their losses. They also rather choose a seemingly less-risk alternative than another with higher overall returns.
Establishing ties to online marketing, the loss aversion will make your message more powerful if it’s crafted out of problems and pain points. As humans are psychologically hard-wired to avoid pain much more than to gain treats, you’ll be in harmony with your prospects right from the start.
Or take it with legendary copywriter Dan Kennedy:
When you understand that people are more likely to act to avoid pain than to get gain, you’ll understand how powerful this first formula is. […] It may be the most reliable sales formula ever invented.” —
Reason #3: PAS uses the power of structured storytelling
Humans are hard-wired to listen to stories. It simply was a question of life and death to listen to the stories at the campfire in the old stone age. The elders shared stories about where the sabretooth tigers had their hunting grounds (and why to keep away from them) and where to find edible berries (painting a clear picture of what will happen when eating poisonous plants.)
The natural tendency to listen to a delightful story is well-known and used in fiction writing and non-fiction. A story lures the prospect in and leads them to the CTA before even knowing they are on a sales page.
In particular, PAS mimics the well-knownrags-to-riches storysetting. It usually starts with a character living in poverty and making its way up to social status and wealth while overcoming several challenges. It’s used in older fiction pieces likeCinderellaorOliver Twistand modern adaptions likeRockyorSlumdog Millionaire.
People love a good rags-to-riches story, and they will also respond well to your PAS framework as it takes them on the journey from an uncomfortable spot to a bright future by overcoming obstacles/using your products.
Where to use PAS
Use the PAS framework everywhere where you want to grab attention and convert your prospect with a short amount of copy. PAS works excellent on every channel where you want to connect with your target customers in a few words andget your message across.
It will work like a charm on landing pages, product pages, or CTA’s, for example to make people sign-up for your email list.
You can also use it for postings on social media, cold emails, orblog post introductions.
Final Thoughts
The PAS framework is a compelling way to write copy that sells. It’s simple, easy to understand, and can be used in various contexts. Using this framework will help you focus on the most essential elements of your sales message and make it more effective.
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Posted Jun 15, 2022
The PAS formula stems from copywriting and is a step-by-step guide that will help you write compelling online marketing copy.
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