Copy Formulas
Behdety, the winged sun spread over temple doors as protection.
Direct response formulas for headlines, bullets and calls to action.
How to use these
A formula gives you a shape, not the words. Fill each one with the specific detail only you have: the number, the name, the moment. Write five versions with different formulas, then pick the one a stranger would understand fastest.
Before you write, have three things in front of you: the one result your buyer wants, the main thing stopping them, and the proof you have.
Headlines
| Formula | Template | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Result + time + without | Get [result] in [time] without [pain] | Get your first 10 booked calls in 30 days without cold DMs |
| How to | How to [result] even if [obstacle] | How to sell a high-ticket offer even if your list is small |
| Number list | [Number] [things] that [result] | 7 email subject lines that get replies from cold leads |
| Who else | For [audience] who [situation] | For coaches who are booked out and still not profitable |
| The secret of | The [simple thing] behind [impressive result] | The one-page offer behind a fully booked calendar |
| Warning | Do not [action] until you [check] | Do not raise your ad budget until you check this number |
| Question | Are you [mistake] without knowing it? | Are you paying for leads your follow-up throws away? |
| Before and after | From [bad state] to [good state] in [time] | From empty calendar to waitlist in one quarter |
| Named mechanism | The [Name] method: [result] in [time] | The Reactivation Method: revenue from leads you already have |
| Contrarian | Why [common advice] is [costing you] | Why posting every day is keeping you broke |
Your five
1. … 2. … 3. … 4. … 5. …Bullets that make people want the rest
A good bullet promises a benefit and holds back the answer. Each one should make the reader think "I need to know that".
| Formula | Template | Example |
|---|---|---|
| The why | Why [surprising fact], and what to do about it | Why your best leads book and never show, and the two-line text that fixes it |
| The how | How to [result] in [short time] | How to write a week of emails in one hour |
| The mistake | The [thing] mistake that [cost] | The pricing mistake that makes buyers trust you less |
| The page number | [Benefit] (page [n]) | The exact script for the first 60 seconds of a sales call (page 12) |
| The never | Never [action] again: [better way] | Never write a proposal from scratch again |
| The one thing | The one [thing] to [do] before [event] | The one question to ask before you quote a price |
| The if-then | If [situation], do this first | If your ads stopped working this month, check this before you change the creative |
| The specific number | The [number]-[unit] [thing] that [result] | The 3-email sequence that recovers abandoned checkouts |
Calls to action
The button says what they get, not what they do. "Submit" and "Click here" ask for effort. Say the result.
| Formula | Template | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Get + thing | Get my [thing] | Get my offer template |
| Start + result | Start [result] today | Start booking calls today |
| Show me | Show me [how / the thing] | Show me the funnel |
| Yes + result | Yes, I want [result] | Yes, I want a fuller calendar |
| Reserve | Reserve my [spot / seat] | Reserve my seat |
| Risk reversal under the button | [Guarantee or reassurance] in small text | Cancel any time. No contract. |
Frameworks for whole sections
Problem · Agitate · Solve
Name the problem. Make it vivid: what it costs, how it feels. Then present the fix.
Problem: … / Agitate: … / Solve: …Attention · Interest · Desire · Action
A hook that stops them, a fact that keeps them, a picture of the result that makes them want it, one clear next step.
Attention: … / Interest: … / Desire: … / Action: …Before · After · Bridge
Where they are now, where they could be, and your offer as the way across.
Before: … / After: … / Bridge: …Useful · Urgent · Unique · Ultra-specific
A checklist for any headline. Score each from 1 to 4. Rewrite anything under 12 in total.
Edit pass before you publish
- Every claim has a number, a name or an example behind it.
- "You" appears more often than "I".
- No sentence needs to be read twice.
- Every adjective that could describe any product has been cut.
- The first line would make sense on its own as an ad.
- There is one call to action, repeated, not three different ones.
- Read aloud, it sounds like a person talking.
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