Copywriting Formulas (AIDA, PAS)
Copywriting formulas are simple, tested structures for writing persuasive text, such as ads, captions, emails and landing pages. Each one sets the order in which you speak to the reader, from catching attention to asking for action. AIDA and PAS are the best known, and a formula gives a first draft shape fast, whether a person or an AI writes it.
- Purpose: Give a message a clear order, so the reader is led from interest to action.
- Formulas: The common ones are AIDA, PAS, BAB (Before After Bridge) and FAB (Features, Advantages, Benefits).
- Uses: They work in ad text, reels scripts, product pages, emails, WhatsApp messages and headlines.
- Inputs: Every formula needs a clear customer, a real problem and true product facts.
- AI: Naming a formula in a prompt is one of the easiest ways to get useful drafts from AI.
This lesson follows one example: a D2C brand from Coimbatore that sells cold-pressed groundnut oil, pressed in a wooden mill (a "chekku" or "ghani") and sold in tins on its website and on marketplaces. Its buyers are home cooks, many of them switching from refined oil. Each formula below is written for the same oil.
Key Characteristics of Copywriting Formulas
- Order: A formula tells you what to say first and what to say next, while the words still come from you and your customer.
- Reader-first: Every formula starts from what the reader feels or wants, not from what the brand wants to say.
- Flexible: A formula can be used in a two-line caption or a long sales page.
- Testable: Two versions of the same ad, each in a different formula, can be compared in an A/B test.
- Stage-aware: Some formulas suit people who have never heard of you; others suit people who are already comparing options.
How Copywriting Formulas Work
- Reader: Pick one reader, which for the oil brand is a home cook in a city who fries often and worries about what is in refined oil.
- Words: Read reviews, comments and WhatsApp questions to find the phrases customers use, such as "smells burnt", "heavy after eating" and "tastes like my grandmother's cooking", and reuse them in the copy.
- Formula: Choose AIDA for a new product launch, PAS when the problem is well known, BAB for a clear change, FAB for a product page.
- Steps: Fill each step with one idea, since one sentence or line per step is enough for an ad.
- Action: End with one action, such as "Order a one-litre tin", not a list of five options.
- Testing: Run two formulas side by side, let the results decide, and keep the winner.
Example: Four Formulas for One Oil Brand
AIDA: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action
The classic path from a cold reader to a sale.
- Attention: "The oil your grandmother trusted is back in your kitchen."
- Interest: "Our groundnuts are pressed slowly in a wooden mill, the old way."
- Desire: "Your sambar and pakoras get their real, nutty taste back."
- Action: "Order a one-litre tin today, delivered across India."
PAS: Problem, Agitate, Solution
Best when the reader already feels the pain.
- Problem: "Does your kadai oil smell burnt after one batch of pakoras?"
- Agitate: "You throw it away or use it again and hope for the best, and the next batch tastes of the last."
- Solution: "Wood-pressed groundnut oil with a clean smell and taste. Try a one-litre tin."
BAB: Before, After, Bridge
Shows a change the reader wants.
- Before: "You buy whatever oil is on offer and never think about it."
- After: "You open a tin and your kitchen smells like a village mill."
- Bridge: "Our cold-pressed groundnut oil gets you there. Order your first tin."
FAB: Features, Advantages, Benefits
Useful for product pages, where buyers compare details.
- Feature: "Pressed in a wooden mill."
- Advantage: "Slow pressing keeps the natural smell and taste of the groundnut."
- Benefit: "Your food tastes the way it did at home when you were a child."
The formulas change the order and the angle. The facts stay the same, and none of them claims a health result the brand cannot prove.
Benefits of Copywriting Formulas
- Speed: A blank page becomes a structured draft in minutes.
- Clarity: Each line has one job, so the message is easier to follow on a small phone screen.
- Consistency: New team members and outside writers produce copy with the same shape.
- Prompting: A formula in the prompt gives AI a structure, which cuts vague, rambling drafts, and AI copywriting covers the full workflow.
- Testing: Each formula is a ready-made variant that can be tested against the others.
Limitations of Copywriting Formulas
- Stiffness: Readers notice copy that follows a template too closely, so edit until it sounds like a person, using your brand voice.
- Insight: A formula cannot tell you what the customer truly cares about, which has to come from research and a clear buyer persona.
- Overreach: PAS used carelessly turns into fear-selling, which damages trust.
- Offer: If the price, product or page is wrong, better copy will not save it, so check the page with landing page optimization.
How AI Changes Copywriting Formulas
What AI Automates Now
AI tools can write ten versions of an ad in any formula in seconds, shorten copy to fit character limits, and translate or adapt it into Hindi, Tamil or other languages. Ad platforms can also generate text variations from your existing ads.
What Still Needs a Human
A person chooses the customer, supplies true product facts, picks the version that sounds like the brand, and removes anything that promises too much. Local language copy needs a native speaker to check tone and meaning.
Risk to Watch
AI often adds claims that sound good but are not true, such as "doctor recommended" or "lowers cholesterol". For food, health claims need evidence and must follow food safety and advertising rules. Treat every AI draft as unchecked, as explained in AI hallucinations and fact-checking in marketing.
Do It with AI
This prompt writes one version of your copy in each formula, ready for testing. It works in ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.
You are a direct-response copywriter for an Indian D2C brand. Product: [name, what it is, price, pack sizes] True product facts: [list only facts you can prove] Customer: [who they are and what they worry about] Customer phrases: [paste 5 to 10 phrases from real reviews or chats] Where the copy will run: [for example, Instagram ad primary text, 125 characters] Write one version in each formula: AIDA, PAS, BAB and FAB. Label each step. Keep each version within the length limit. Use the customer's own phrases where they fit. Do not add health claims, awards, ratings, statistics or any fact not listed above.
- Collect real customer phrases from reviews, comments and chats.
- List only the product facts you can prove, and paste them into the prompt.
- Pick the two strongest versions and edit them into your brand's voice.
- Run them as an A/B test on the same audience and budget.
- Keep the winner and try a new challenger against it next month.
Check Before You Use It
- Facts: Every claim must be on your verified fact list; delete anything the AI added.
- Brand fit: Read each version aloud; if it does not sound like your brand, rewrite it.
- Compliance: No unproven health or "best" claims, no fear-based pressure, and follow ad platform and ASCI rules on claims.
Quick Quiz
Pick an answer to check yourself. Nothing is saved.
Question 1 / 3
1. The oil brand's ad opens with 'Does your kadai oil smell burnt after one batch of pakoras?' Which formula starts like this?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the AIDA formula in copywriting?
AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. The copy first stops the reader, then gives a reason to keep reading, then makes them want the product, and finally tells them exactly what to do next.
What is the difference between AIDA and PAS?
AIDA builds up from attention to action and suits product launches and general ads. PAS starts from a problem the reader already feels, makes it sharper, then offers the fix. PAS works best when the audience already knows the pain.
Which copywriting formula is best for Instagram ads?
No single formula wins everywhere. Short formats often suit PAS or Before After Bridge, because the first line has to name a problem or a change quickly. Test two formulas against each other and keep the one that performs better for your audience.
Can I use copywriting formulas with ChatGPT or other AI tools?
Yes. Naming a formula in the prompt gives the AI a clear structure, and asking for one version per formula makes testing easy. You still need to supply the real product facts and edit the result into your own voice.
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