It has been said and repeated relentlessly (as it should be) that:

COPYWRITING is salesmanship in print.

And the sales formula of AIDA, which stands for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action is fine and there are several variations of it. Let me share the OLD world one, that I learned as a young boy...and how it will make a HUGE difference in your copy careers.

Attention
Interest
Desire

CONCLUSION which has been lost in the modern formula
Action which is the sale...and the one thing that today is hard to find in the formula but will make a huge difference in your career...is

SATISFACTION.

AIDCAS is the formula you want to add to your thinking, why?

Because AIDA can make a sale...ABSOLUTELY...but AIDCAS will make a customer.

A customer may have a LIFE TIME VALUE (LTV) 100 X, even a 1000X more profitable than ONE sale.

It is also the start of the next sale. The best time to make an offer to a NEW customer? Right after they receive their order. IF they are SATISFIED, then they may order right away.

A satisfied customer is a referral machine, a testimonial, a person that adds value to your offers again and again.

A dis-satisfied customer will shout it from the rooftops.

NOW, ATTENTION is the most important part of the formula for a prospect...but SATISFACTION is the essential item for a LTV of profits.

As a copywriter, if you use AIDCAS, it helps you to prevent any hype or hyperbole that could make the product not live up to the copy...and result in a disappointed customer. Also, the AIDCAS formula is more along the lines of how a person makes a buying decision...

like I said, AIDA can and will make you a sale...but AIDCAS will make you a better copywriter much faster if you THINK through the elements of a sale.

ADD a BIG S to the formula and watch as your clients (the sale you are making) are SATISFIED with your work and come back to you again and again...and if you writing on a commission too, the LTV of your work could give you a very nice flow of change.

Don't make the customers like Mick Jagger, who can't get no satisfaction...

AIDCAS. It's old world salesmanship, but it works.

gjabiz

Neat.

I couldn't care less about the AIDA formula.

But I'm very much into client satisfaction.

I'd also put a bloody great P before those AIDA letters because you're not going to be able to get attention, build interest and desire and get your prospect to take action unless you understand who your prospect is and what he wants.

P is for prospect. A prospect who is a real live Person.

S is for client satisfaction. The satisfaction of clients who are real live people.

Marketing is and always will be about understanding people, the way they behave and influencing the way they behave.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

I'll submit one more.

Homework - the continuous study of the art and science of our craft. Whether it be product research, split-testing sales copy, market research, self-development, whatever. It's my own opinion that you can never have enough information.


P - prospect
A - attention
I - interest
D - desire
C - conclusion
A - action
S - satisfaction
H - homework


PAIDCASH - you'll see this formula in a book I write someday!


Ok, I'm just kidding. Gordon and Andrew do add great points - gotta admit PAIDCASH would make a great copywriting acronym though.