Sheri, you may not have realized you were using a formula, but you were.

How do I know? Because it's impossible to write an effective sales letter without incorporating the 4 elements of AIDA:

ATTENTION

INTEREST

DESIRE

ACTION

The key word being "effective."

If you try writing a sales letter without those 4 elements, it's just going to be another bad sales letter...thus the reason for this article.

Dale King

Dale, you created a masterful thread. I am going to print it and place it in my Basic Copywriting Notes binder. You explanation of AIDA was very succinct.
I have two questions:

1. Wouldn't in the AIDA formula, bullets be considered to be in the D (desire) step of the copywriting process?

2. Wouldn't in the AIDA formula, testimonials also be considered to be in the D (desire) steop of the copywriting process?

If not, which step do would testimonials and bullets fall into, using the AIDA formula?

Thanks.

Rob

Testimonials & bullets can fall anywhere, they are merely tools to be used.

Testimonials can be great attention getters, can pique interest, create desire, even demand action. Same for bullets. It depends how you use them.

Thanks for the compliment, Rob.

I apologize for not answering your question until now. Somehow, I must have missed it, when you first posted it.

While I agree with Mr. Kyle about testimonials and bullets being tools, I also think he missed a very important function the use of testimonials play in a salesletter.

That function is credibility. I think the most important function of testimonials is the credibility or proof factor, which in turn leads to "Desire," which in turn leads to "Action."

The same thing goes for bullets. They can also be used to offer credibility or proof, which in turn leads to Desire, which in turn leads to Action.

Dale King

I thought that was a given But credibility is not specifically part of AIDA...

I think AIDA is a damn fine foundation to build off and if you can get that down pat you'll be writing better than most, but you've got to rememeber that it is only a foundation and there are plenty of other components that will enhance your copy.

You've got to read between the [AIDA] lines.

Nothing should be considered to be a given when it comes to copywriting. Sometimes what you don't tell people is just as important as what you do tell them.

It's also important to bear in mind that a lot of newbies and inexperienced copywriters visit this forum. You have to assume that they don't know certain things, like reading between the lines.

So you have to do it for them.

Dale King

I am one of those newbies and wanted to say THANKS!!!

Great insight! Great instruction! Those are the kind of specifics I am hoping to learn by doing all this "homework"

Thanks again CatherineDiane

Thank you CatherineDiane.

It's people like you and the others whom responded to this post that make writing these articles so worthwhile.

Dale King

Nice article. However, I fail to see where you employed "D" and "A" in it.