8 content formula that got millions of readers

With a simple keyword “how to write good content”, or “how to write effective content”, you can easily get hundreds of thousands of sharing/tutorial articles. But which one could really help you improve your writing skills?

Now, your bounce rate might still increase, the time on site is too low, and the high conversion rate is far from your expectation. But don’t give up!

To provide valuable content for your readers, attracting them to stay on your page longer, or even click to follow your new content is not easy.

However, every writer will have loyal fans, and will be able to write good content as long as they constantly strive to develop their skills.

To help you do that, these are 8 content formulas that can’t (and shouldn’t) be ignored.

What is good content?

It’s hard to define what is good content. No one can tell you the exact good content criteria. However, content that readers appreciate will first include the following characteristics:

Unique: It provides valuable and new information. It’s never appeared on the Internet

Relevant: Content is thoroughly organized, covering a wide range of topics

Helpful: Helpful content that solves a searcher’s problem

Great UX: Content optimizes user experience on any device

Viral potential: Which can raise the question: Who will spread your content and why?

And remember, you can’t write good content if you only skim through this article. The opportunity to become an “excellent” content marketing writer is within your reach.

8 popular content creation formula

1. (AIDA Attention – Interest – Desire – Action)

In verbal communication and writing content, raising curiosity and directing people to act as writers’ navigation is essential.

The AIDA formula

And the AIDA formula will be a wise choice to help you quickly achieve that goal.

Created by Elias.St.Elmo and published in August 1948, AIDA is one of the oldest, most standardized copywriting formulas.

In particular, it has been used for years to create direct mail, television, radio, sales pages, landing pages, etc.

This SEO standard content writing structure follows the order of:

• Attention
• Interest
• Desire
• Action

For example:

[FREE GIFT] VIDEO CREATION TIPS FOR BEGINNERS -> Attention

Detailed steps in this complete free fit! -> Interest

Only for the first 100 registrants! -> Desire

Click here to download now! => Action.

2. 4A (Aware – Attitude – Act – Act again)

4A model is built on the AIDA model with the following formula:

• Aware – Get to know
• Attitude
• Act
• Act again – Repeat the action

Today’s readers no longer want to read the same content over and over again from different perspectives, making them find it’s challenging to buy.

Do engaging content to ensure the quality when you apply the 4A model

Therefore, action repetition is the two critical points in the 4A model.

In the 4A model, brand attitudes and brand identity are more focused, helping any business create their personality.

However, since the Internet has become a vital part of life, there has been a significant change in customer behavior, making the 4A model no longer fit for the customer’s buying journey.

That’s why the “father” of modern marketing – Philip Kotler, based on the 4A model has developed the 5A model as a new marketing structure for the digital era.

This model consists of 5 phases:

• Awareness
• Appeal – Attract readers
• Ask – Find out
• Action
• Advocate – Brand advocacy

Practice writing the 5A model then soon becomes an outbreak in the marketing world.

It’s not exaggerating to say that this is the ideal model in the 4.0 era of Marketing.

The difference between the 5A model and the AIDA or the 4A model is the 5A model has no specific steps.

You can cut down on a few steps or go against the AIDA to flexibly arrange your content structure while ensuring its quality.

Because now, the customer journeys are complicated, so your customers can jump to the Act step without following a process or any rule.

However, to apply the A5 model, you need to ensure your brand credibility with honest content, a good telesales department, and responsible customer service.

3. 4C (Clear – Concise – Compelling – Credible)

4C is considered the general formula that has all conditions to create appealing content. In other words, 4C is an optimal solution to help you build effective content.

Try to make your content clear

This consists of 4 factors:

Clear

According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, writing clearly means making readers understand you and not misunderstand the message you convey.

Tip: Combine long documents into well-organized paragraphs and give each a title.

Concise

Concise content means telling the whole story in a few words without making it ramble, redundant, or repetitive.

Compelling – Convincing

An easy-to-read copywriting isn’t enough.

It needs to be interesting, engaging, convincing, and informative enough so that readers cannot ignore, or at least feel they should skim through to collect the important ideas.

This is one reason why there are so many unattractive articles because marketers always write about what they expect, not what potential customers expect.

Specifically, marketers are interested in the product, organizational factors and messages they want to send to readers.

However, readers are more concerned with their needs, fears, worries, challenges, and wants.

Credible – Reliable

As Copywriter Herschel Gordon Lewis: “We’re living in the age of skepticism.”

That means your potential customers don’t believe what you say because they think you’re trying to make a sale.

However, they tend to rely on advice from trustworthy experts.

Therefore, you can fade away their skepticism by imagining yourself as an authentic expert.

Customers may not trust advertising, but they have more trust in news sources such as websites, blogs, or magazine articles.

Another way to build credibility is to proactively promote testimonials who have already used your product/service.

You can encourage customers to provide their testimonial videos; then you post them on your website and landing pages to attract attention and increase authenticity.

4. 4P (Picture – Promise – Prove – Push)

Commit about the product effect if one of 4 step in the 4P model

Picture 

One or several pictures stimulate the readers’ mind, enhance the products’ value and evoke viewers’ wishes.

Promise

Commitments about the product’s effect or use.

Prove – Offer

Provide testimonials that can convince readers why your product and your promise are trustworthy.

These may include case studies or expert advice, etc.

Push

What motivates readers to take action with promotions, scarcity….

This is one of the typical formulas to write content on Facebook sales ads.

5. APP (Agree – Promise – Preview)

One of the most accessible writing formulas you should follow to create a good article is the APP.

Brian Dean used this compelling structure in his Case Study on Copywriting. And it was so effective that we couldn’t help but mention it.

APP formula is quite simple:

• Agree: Identify the readers’ problem, acknowledge and agree with it.
• Promise: Promise to solve their problem.
• Preview: Tell them what you will mention in your post.

Identifying readers’ problems is the first step in the APP model

It’s easy because you only need to fill in the blanks to have a great opening immediately.

First, you agree with the readers’ problem

For example: “It’s hard to make a viral video”

You have shown that the readers have found the right article for their search purpose from the first sentences.

Simple but perfect, right?

The next step is to promise and show them a preview.

Now you can either merge the two into one or separate them. Actually, you will find both to be effective, depending on your article and who your audience is.

Promise and preview

Now, you should specify the problem you will solve and let readers know the upcoming information mentioned in your article.

To be more explicit about the APP formula, you can take a look at the APP template below.

“You will certainly agree when I say:

… (Subject) is really … (negative meaning)

Right?

But it turns out… (the expected result) is probably not… as you might think. What you need to do is… (solution)

In the article below I will show you in detail how I…

If you’d like to know more, all you have to do is keep reading…”

For example:

“You will certainly agree when I say:

Losing 10kg in 2 months is impossible.

Right?

But it turns out – getting in a fit body might not be as difficult as you might think.

What you need to do is follow the 9 simple steps I will reveal now.

In the article below I will show you in detail how I lost 10kg in 2 months while staying healthy.

If you want to know more, all you have to do is keep reading!”

6. PAS (Problem – Agitate – Solve)

A lot of marketers call this the dominant formula for social media because of its popularity.

You can use it in blog posts, PR articles, emails, leaflets, newsletters, etc.

This formula is relatively concise, easy to understand.

It includes:

• Problem: Identify the problem
• Agitate: Deepen the matter
• Solve: Solve the problem

PAS is a quite popular formula

PAS will make your content efficient thanks to impacting on customers’ paint points skillfully

However, this might kill what you write if you have vague intentions with your clients.

7. FAB (Features – Advantages – Benefits)

It’s true that today, readers are not only interested in the problem raised in an article, but they also love to hear the story behind that problem.

That’s why content creators need to create attractive, effective stories to stimulate curiosity in readers.

Attractive, effective stories are the key factor of FAB method

And FAB (Features – Advantages – Benefits) can help you organize the message you are trying to convey into a compelling, convincing story.

FAB writing formula includes the following key elements:

Features 

Include product or service features such as parameters, components, what the product/service can do.

Example: XXX serum is flexible. You can use it in the morning and evening.

Advantages 

Features your product/service have

Example: XXX serum has 15% Idebenone higher than any serums.

Benefits

What benefits your product/service can bring to customers.

Example: This serum can help you have smoother and whiter skin within 2 weeks.

FAB formula helps readers see the use of the product, and the benefits they can get from it, which convinces them to choose that product but any other ones.

To practice FAB, you need to be knowledgeable about your product and be wise in choosing the right words to highlight its benefits.

Apple used the FAB formula to let their customers know how watchOS had innovated. Take a look at what Apple stated below.

Features: It’s like users’ coach and fitness partner, keeping up with users’ music tastes.

Pros: Smarter, better, and more proactive.

Benefits: Accompany users more than ever.

Although this mixes the formula a bit (for example, the features and advantages are mixed together), it benefits FAB structure.

8. BAB (Before – After – Bridge)

It’s one of the effortless tactics that save your time to brainstorm.

Thanks to this bridge model, you can attract users to stay in your post within 3 steps:

• Beautiful scene: Let readers sketch the scene they desire.
• Present Status: Bring them to reality.
• Bridging: Creating a bridge between perspectives and cruel reality. Then your article will figure out the solution.

Bringing customers back to reality is the second core step in BAB formula

In fact, most copywriters typically use only one or two steps in the entire process.

But when you combine all three, you will see how this formula really works.

Below are 3 steps to write good content based on BAB formula.

Step 1: Draw the picture you want

Example:

“Imagine your video attracts thousands of views.

You become famous, and people start paying attention to you, watching your following videos.

With a growing number of interactions, you can start to turn on the making money button on Youtube.

You’re making more and more money. What’s better than this?”

In this example, do you find out that the writer is drawing a great picture to attract, engage readers?

Step 2: Drag readers back to the current situation

This will make your readers feel sad.

“But, everything is not as easy as you expect…

Only a few people watch your video, the bounce rate is high and the conversion rate is…”

Dragging readers back to harsh truth is an effective way to catch their attention.

Step 3: Turn your article into a bridge to narrow the distance between prospect and reality

“Hold on! Who told you there is no solution.

You’re close to the secret of creating good videos.

Get out of this miserable situation by 5 tips of making a great video right in this article.”

Connect reality to the possible future, you can hook and make readers scroll down to keep reading your article.

BAB meets all the following factors:

• Satisfy the search purpose
• Rich in emotion
• Let readers question
• Promise committed
• Outline the concept

If you successfully apply this method, you can retain readers’ attention and convince them to read everything you write.

It’s not easy to have appealing content, but you can do it if you’re determined and always try your best. Applying one of the 8 formulas to see an immediate effect. It will reach a promised result that your current articles can’t achieve. 

What prevents you from testing them right now!

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