# Landing Page Copywriting Frameworks

## Overview

Four copy frameworks with worked SaaS examples you can adapt. Each framework includes a complete before/after example plus specific guidelines for each section.

## 1. AIDA Framework (Attention - Interest - Desire - Action)

The classic direct response formula, ideal for product landing pages.

**Example — Project management SaaS:**

> **Attention:** "Your Team Loses 12 Hours Every Sprint to Status Meetings"
>
> **Interest:** "Engineering teams at Series A-C startups spend 23% of their week in sync meetings — not writing code. We tracked 847 teams over 6 months. The pattern was clear: the more people in a standup, the less code shipped that day."
>
> **Desire:** "Teams using AsyncStand ship 31% more story points per sprint. No more 15-person standups where 13 people zone out. Replace your daily sync with a 2-minute async check-in that your engineers actually complete (94% response rate vs 67% attendance for live standups)."
>
> **Action:** "Start Your Free 14-Day Trial — No Credit Card Required"

### Attention
- Lead with a specific, quantified pain point (not vague claims)
- Weak: "Save time on meetings" → Strong: "Your Team Loses 12 Hours Every Sprint to Status Meetings"
- Keep headlines under 10 words for maximum impact

### Interest
- Back up the headline with specific data or a relatable scenario
- Weak: "Meetings waste time" → Strong: "We tracked 847 teams — the more people in standup, the less code shipped that day"
- Use their language: mirror words from customer reviews, support tickets, and G2 feedback

### Desire
- Stack measurable outcomes, not features
- Weak: "AI-powered async updates" → Strong: "31% more story points per sprint, 94% response rate"
- Compare directly to the status quo they already endure

### Action
- Single, clear CTA with action-oriented verb
- Reduce friction: "No credit card required," "Set up in 2 minutes"
- Repeat CTA after each major content block

## 2. PAS Framework (Problem - Agitate - Solution)

Best for pain-point-driven products where the problem is well understood.

**Example — Expense management tool:**

> **Problem:** "Your finance team is still chasing receipts in Slack DMs."
>
> **Agitate:** "Last quarter, your team spent 46 hours manually reconciling expenses across email threads, shared drives, and 'I'll submit it later' promises. That's $4,200 in payroll — spent on data entry. And when audit season hits? Good luck finding that client dinner receipt from February."
>
> **Solution:** "Snap a photo of the receipt. ExpenseFlow auto-extracts vendor, amount, and category in 3 seconds. Your monthly close drops from 5 days to 1. 2,400 finance teams already made the switch."

### Problem
- Name the exact scenario (not the abstract category)
- Weak: "Expense tracking is hard" → Strong: "Your finance team is still chasing receipts in Slack DMs"
- Mirror language from reviews and support tickets

### Agitate
- Quantify the cost in dollars, hours, or missed opportunities
- Weak: "This costs you money" → Strong: "46 hours last quarter, $4,200 in payroll — on data entry"
- Acknowledge the workarounds they've tried and why those fail too

### Solution
- Lead with the user action, not the technology: "Snap a photo" not "AI-powered OCR"
- Include one proof point: number of customers, time saved, or before/after metric
- Make the mechanism clear in one sentence: what happens when they use it

## 3. BAB Framework (Before - After - Bridge)

Ideal for aspirational products and lifestyle-oriented landing pages.

**Example — Sales enablement platform:**

> **Before:** "It's 9 PM. You're rebuilding a deck for tomorrow's demo because the prospect is in healthcare, not fintech. You copy-paste from three old decks, pray the logos are right, and rehearse the new talk track in the shower."
>
> **After:** "It's 9 AM. You type 'healthcare, 200-bed hospital, HIPAA-concerned CTO.' DeckGen builds your slides in 40 seconds — case studies, compliance badges, ROI calculator pre-loaded. You walk into the call with the best deck your prospect has ever seen."
>
> **Bridge:** "DeckGen connects to your CRM, learns your win patterns, and generates prospect-specific decks in under a minute. 340 AEs at companies like Stripe and Notion already use it. Start free — your first 5 decks are on us."

### Before
- Describe a specific, lived moment — not an abstract pain category
- Weak: "Sales decks take too long" → Strong: "It's 9 PM. You're rebuilding a deck for tomorrow's demo..."
- Use second person and present tense to make it feel immediate

### After
- Same level of specificity — show the transformed version of that exact moment
- Include a measurable outcome: "40 seconds," "best deck your prospect has ever seen"
- The after state should feel effortless compared to the before

### Bridge
- Name the product explicitly and explain the mechanism in one sentence
- Include one social proof data point
- End with a low-friction CTA that connects to the after state

## 4. 4Ps Framework (Promise - Picture - Proof - Push)

Strong for SaaS and B2B landing pages with measurable outcomes.

### Promise
- Make a clear, specific, believable promise
- Tie it to a measurable outcome
- Example: "Reduce customer churn by 25% in 90 days"

### Picture
- Help the reader visualize success
- Use scenarios they can relate to
- Show the product in context (screenshots, demos)

### Proof
- Back the promise with evidence
- Customer testimonials with specific results
- Case studies with before/after metrics
- Third-party validation (awards, analyst reports)

### Push
- Give a compelling reason to act now
- Limited-time offer, bonus, or guarantee
- Risk reversal (money-back guarantee, free trial)

## Headline Formulas

### Benefit-Driven
- "Get [Desired Outcome] Without [Common Objection]"
- "[Specific Result] in [Timeframe]"
- "The [Adjective] Way to [Achieve Goal]"

### Problem-Driven
- "Stop [Painful Activity]. Start [Better Alternative]."
- "Tired of [Problem]? There's a Better Way."
- "[Problem]? Not Anymore."

### Social Proof-Driven
- "[Number] Teams Trust [Product] to [Outcome]"
- "Why [Notable Company] Switched to [Product]"
- "Rated #1 for [Category] by [Authority]"

### Question-Driven
- "What If You Could [Desirable Outcome]?"
- "Ready to [Transformation]?"
- "Still [Painful Status Quo]?"

## CTA Best Practices

### Language
- Use first-person: "Start My Free Trial" > "Start Your Free Trial"
- Be specific: "Get My Report" > "Submit"
- Include benefit: "Start Saving Time" > "Sign Up"
- Add urgency naturally: "Start Free Today" > "Sign Up Now!!!"

### Placement
- Primary CTA above the fold
- Repeat after each major content section
- Sticky CTA on scroll (mobile especially)
- Exit-intent as last chance

### Design
- High contrast color (stands out from page palette)
- Sufficient whitespace around the button
- Large enough to tap on mobile (min 44x44px)
- Micro-copy below button to reduce anxiety ("No credit card required")

## Above-the-Fold Principles

The first viewport must accomplish these goals within 5 seconds:
1. **Communicate what you do** - Clear, jargon-free headline
2. **Show who it's for** - Audience identification
3. **Demonstrate value** - Primary benefit or outcome
4. **Provide next step** - Visible CTA button
5. **Build credibility** - One trust signal (logo bar, metric, badge)

### Above-the-Fold Checklist
- [ ] Headline states primary benefit (under 10 words)
- [ ] Subheadline adds specificity or addresses objection
- [ ] Hero image/video shows product in use
- [ ] CTA button is visible without scrolling
- [ ] At least one trust signal present
- [ ] No jargon or ambiguity in messaging
