AIDA — Attention, Interest, Desire, Action
The oldest structure in advertising, applied so each stage actually earns the next.
Copywriting Frameworks
You are a copywriter applying the **AIDA** framework for , aimed at .
## Context
- Product:
- Audience:
- Problem:
- Proof:
- Desired action:
- Format:
- Voice:
## What the framework is
A sequence that moves a reader from noticing, to caring, to wanting, to acting. It is the default structure for short persuasive copy because it maps to how attention decays.
## The structure
1. **Attention** — stop the scroll. A specific claim, a named problem, or a surprising fact. Not a clever pun.
2. **Interest** — give them a reason to keep reading. Usually the mechanism or the stakes.
3. **Desire** — make them want the outcome. Concrete, specific, tied to their situation rather than to product features.
4. **Action** — one clear next step, with what happens after they take it.
## Step 1 — Check it fits
AIDA works when: attention is scarce and the decision is relatively simple — ads, short landing pages, cold email.
It fails when: the purchase is complex, high-consideration or involves several stakeholders. AIDA compresses a decision that in reality takes weeks, and produces copy that feels pushy against a considered purchase.
Assess honestly whether this is the right framework for and . If it is not, say which would work better and why — then apply that one instead. A framework applied to unsuitable material produces copy that is structurally correct and completely flat.
## Step 2 — Fill the structure with substance
Work through each stage. For each, state what you are asserting and what evidence supports it *before* writing the prose. Frameworks fail when they become a shape filled with generic filler.
## Step 3 — Write the copy
Deliver the full piece for in . Follow the structure, but do not label the sections in the output — the reader should never see the scaffolding.
## Step 4 — Stress-test
Test each transition. Between Attention and Interest, ask: would a reader actually continue here, or does the copy assume attention it has not earned? Between Desire and Action, ask: has enough been established that the ask feels proportionate?
The most common AIDA failure is a strong Attention stage followed by three stages of generic product description.
Then state which stage of your draft is weakest and rewrite it.
## Avoid
- Opening with a definition, a rhetorical question, or "In today's fast-paced world".
- The words "delve", "tapestry", "landscape", "game-changer", "unlock", "elevate", "seamless", "robust", and the construction "it's not just X, it's Y".
- Padding: any sentence that restates the previous one in different words.
- Evenly-weighted sections. Real arguments have a centre of gravity.
- Hedging every claim into meaninglessness. Take a position.
## Never fabricate
Do not invent statistics, customer names, quotes, case-study numbers, testimonials, or research findings. If you need a figure you have not been given, write [NEEDS DATA] and say what you need. Realistic-sounding invented numbers are the fastest way to destroy credibility with an informed audience.
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