One of the work horses in the copywriters stable is the Problem > Solution structure for organizing a sales argument.
So, I just finished studying several hundred ads on a search for standard problem > solution lead formulas.
Here are eight common problem > solution patterns I discovered in these ads.
I’ve categorized and arranged them from the most simple to the most complex. They also tend to follow a shortest to longest copy order. Though, I found many long copy letters and ads that lead with the shorter variations. You’re the artist. These are your paint colors. Use them as you will.
Note: In each case, I only take the format up to the mention of the solution. I figure you can bring the sale home from there with proper structure of proof, offers, bullets etc.
Simply State the Problem…
This lead opens with just one problem word - then immediately moves into selling the solution. You’ll see this format used extensively in small space ads.Examples:
Overweight? New doctor led discovery deep within Amazon Jungle may free you from unwanted pounds effortlessly! It began when Dr. Jackson was running from an attacking jaguar and became lost…
Week in math? Master short cut math secrets in just weeks - only 10 minutes a day with this math wizards secret weapon…
Snoring? End snoring tonight with this new, dentist-invented device that doesn’t require painful, expensive surgery and cost just pennies a day…
Add Emotion to the Problem Statement
Depressed about your back taxes? Your just days away from relief when you discover the secrets this former IRS agent reveals that can set you free - for a small fraction of what you owe….
Frustrated by your gout? Now there’s a simple secret that will have you pain free in as little as 24 hours…
The Problem Flurry
If one problem is good - 3 or more may be better. It was very common to find ads and sales letters that led with a flurry of problems and symptoms. Often this device is used on a less targeted market – or a more complex problem that may have different symptoms for different people. Hey, and what could be more challenging than teenagers?
Are you becoming concerned with your teenager? Defiance …. Isolation… Temper-tantrums … Mood swings… They are all clues… Something is wrong and now you have to admit it. You’re loosing your child to problems you are not able to deal with. The fact is your teenager may need more help than you able to give. Well, there’s hope. I say that because for 30 my practice has specialized in the unique challenges of teenagers…
Conditional Lead (Are you…Then… If…Then)
Are you tired of repainting ever couple years? Then you’ll love how our new ACME Plasti-Coat system can guarantee against fading, peeling or chipping for 30 years - the life of your mortgage. Here’s how this miracle of science works to keep your home looking beautiful year after year….
And here’s the famous Halbert lead…
If you are struggling with arthritis pain then this may be one of the most important letters you read in your life. Here’s why…
Identify the Customer Before Problem
For any copywriter who’s ever struggled with writers block…Here’s a simple system this million dollar a year, top gun, A-List copywriter uses to cheat his way to multi-million-dollar control killers.
The PAS Formula (Problem – Agitate –Solution)
Now we are going to start adding some complexity to the openings. One of the key elements master persuaders often ad is to amplify and agitate the pain before getting to the solution. Here’s a few examples…
Do you have too much to read? In this age of information overload lead you’re not alone. Yet, not keeping up with the latest books and white papers could be serious and expensive mistake - often the ideas these books contain are available no where else. One idea can create a million-dollar-breakthrough. But how can you know which are worth reading–let alone find the time to read and analyze all of them?Fortunately, there’s a solution. It’s called Executive Summary. Here’s how it works…
The PCAS Formula (Problem >Cause> Amplify > Solution)
Now, let’s kick our lead up another notch by adding in the “hidden cause” behind the problem. Let’s let copy master, Eugene Schwartz show us how its done.Note: Not only does he grind the pain in, he piles problem on problem so as not to miss any possible problem related to the eyes… And he uses the same conditional opening favored by Halbert.
If you suffer from a single one of these torturous symptoms of weeks eyes…bad eyes… failing eyes… Then these facts below may be the most important you have ever read in your life!
Because they reveal, for perhaps the first time in your life, how the muscles surrounding your eyes may have tricked you into following the agonizing symptoms: near sightedness…far-sightedness…a astigmatism…the inability to read without glasses…crossed eyes…
Easily fatigued eyes, and the headaches, tension, anxiety, insomnia, and bone weariness they so often cause…
And any other condition of the eye that causes you to be prisoner of glasses, where you are forced to watch your eyes weaken year after year, and go back to the doctor, year after year, for new glasses that are always thicker and thicker, stronger and stronger, uglier and uglier than the year before!
And everyone of these symptoms may actually be controlled…and then diminished…and then eliminated often by as little as this one simple insight into their hidden cause!
And that insight is this: If you suffer from any of the symptoms listed above, then you must understand at once that your eyes are not ill…they have not deteriorated…they have not lost their true power to see in any way!
What has happened to them instead is simply this: What has gone wrong with your eyes isn’t their lenses themselves, but the muscles surrounding them, that focus those eyes by lengthening or flattening them!
If these muscles are used properly, then your eyes are focused and corrected…
The Hero’s Quest
This variation pops up a lot in “story copy”. But works just as well in other forms as well. Notice how it combines many of the elements of the previous formulas… pain and amplification, the discovery the hidden cause of the problem, etc.. But then ads in another element - the “hail mary” and the “quest” – how much pain, trouble and trial it took to discover the solution.Here’s a few variations I ran across. First, one selling socks for runners…
I like everything about running - except when my feet sweat. It really bothers me. I’m embarrassed to take shoes off - my feet are sloshing around while I’m running — the smell.
I’ve tried different shoes, I’ve tried powders, I’ve tried vitamins. I’ve spent thousands of dollars on possible solutions but nothing ever made a bit of difference.
So I decided to solve the problem myself. Over the course of 3 years I conducted 500 different test and experiments. I spent thousands of hours researching, talking with doctors, with shoe designers, with research centers. All told I spend over $1 million dollars and had my home equity line maxed.
Finally, on my 501 experiment, I discovered a secret that ended my sweating, sloshing feet forever… I put “windows” in the socks… Here’s how this amazing invention will end your sweat and embarrassment forever…
Here’s another variation…
Despite the paradise-promises of many “get rich with copy” peddlers, the truth is that only 3% of copywriters actually earn over $100,000 a year.
That’s right, just 3%!
But get this…
The very top of those 3% just don’t earn $100,000 a year - but a half million and more.
They work with dream clients that respect them - and hand them the plumb, high-probability assignments. They get the speaking request and recognition… they have the life style of working from home while raking in multi-million dollar royalties. And they have the time (and money) to travel in style around the world with their families and friends.
Here’s the truth: There are 3 skills that set these top producers apart (and above) the rest of their peers. So, what’s the real difference between a $100,000 a year copywriter and a $1 Million a year copywriter?
1) They aren’t better copywriters…They are better negotiators.
2) They aren’t better copywriters…They are better marketers.
3) They aren’t better copywriters…They are better “cherry pickers”.
Look, these skills aren’t rocket science. You can master them.. and I’m going to introduce you to a resource that will help you…
But here’s a warning: If you don’t master these skills, you will be replaced by rising competition and be relegated to struggling to get by while watching the lucky few live the life of your dreams…
Fortunately, you can quickly and easily pick up these three critical skills from a series of exclusive, behind-closed-doors interviews I conducted with 7 Million-Dollar-A-Year copywriters.
These interviews will turn upside down everything you think you new about writing copy. For example, in the first interview you’ll hear how…
And here’s one more Hero’s quest for better eyesight…
Bob was desperate about his eyesight. For years his vision had been getting worse. He went to specialist after specialist. They were no help. Glasses didn’t help. In fact, he discovered they actually made his eyesight worse.
It got so bad his eyes were under constant strain - causing headaches, irritability with coworkers and his family.
Then a friend told him about a Chinese doctor who specialized in vision problems using an ancient healing technique. Bob scoffed at the idea. But after a few days broke down and decided to give the doctor a visit because nothing else had worked.
Amazingly, in just 3 months the strain was gone. The headaches were gone. And Bob could see a sparrow blink at 200 yards!
What was the Chinese Doctor’s secret?
There you have them…8 formulas for quickly creating a problem > solution lead that captures your readers attention and moving them into the sales copy. Next time your stuck for an opening–I invite you to use these formulas.
If you are looking for more ideas like those in this article…. May I suggest you take a look at this “Paul Revere” secret for boosting response and this Secret for taking out your competitors products and services in 30 seconds.
P.S. Doh! After a year, I’ve finally put some info in the “About” section of this blog — so, if you’ve been wondering who I am, what I’m about and how to contact me, you can view it here…
http://www.copyideas.com/about