20: Don’t write from scratch! Use the ACCA copywriting formula to get more sales and donations.
There is a common saying in the copywriting world: only rookies write from scratch.
Seasoned copywriters like me never start with a blank page. We typically have a considerable amount of customer research which gives us all of the messaging and words we need to write. And when we match that customer research with a copywriting formula or a framework, the copy is assembled into a sales message that's designed to connect and convert.
In this episode of ill communication, I’m sharing a copywriting formula that’s perfect for businesses and charities, especially as we approach the end of the year. This copywriting formula is a little bit different than some of the others that I have shared on the podcast.
This formula is called ACCA. This stands for Awareness, Comprehension, Conviction, and Action. It gives you a chance to provide a little more education and explanation behind the problems your reader is facing.
Topics We Cover in This Episode:
What this copywriting formula is
What this formula is great for
Examples of this formula in use
How to use this formula in your business
So there you have it! You’ll see this formula everywhere because it really works. The key to using it is conviction. You have to show your readers that change is possible, but only with their help. If you use it, let me know how it goes!
If you loved this episode and want more tips like this, make sure to join the Joy of Copy Club. It's a group copy coaching experience where you receive access to all my sales templates, writing prompts, and copy recipes. You’ll never write from scratch again!
-
Welcome to Ill Communication. Copywriting Tips and Sales Strategies for Small Business. I'm your host, Kim Keel. I'm a copy coach, sales strategist and direct response copywriter. It's my mission to help women leaders and changemakers amplify their voices through copy. It's why I'm dishing out all the juicy tips, writing prompts and sales formulas to help you generate more leads, book more calls, and get more high value clients on repeat. Sounds pretty good. It's time to ditch the overwhelm you might be feeling and find confidence in your copywriting so you can get your message out there and attract more soul mate clients. Let's get started. There's a common saying in the copywriting world, only rookies write from scratch. Seasoned copywriters like me never start with a blank page. We typically have a considerable amount of customer research which gives us all of the messaging and words we need to write. And when we match that customer research with a copywriting formula or a framework, the copy is assembled into a sales message that's designed to connect and convert. And today I'm going to share a copywriting formula that's perfect for businesses and charities, especially as we approach the end of the year. Hey there and welcome to the 20th episode of Ill Communication. Today you're going to get a copywriting formula that's a little bit different from some of the others I've shared with you on the podcast. The copywriting formula is AQA, a, c c A, which stands for Awareness, Comprehension, Conviction and Action. Now Akka is a little similar to the Mary Poppins of copy formulas ADA, which I've previously shared in Episode five.
But Akka gives you a chance to provide a little more education and explanation behind the problems your reader is facing. Or if you're a charity, it allows you to really dig into the problems our world is facing. And after you've made your reader aware of the problem and they comprehend why it's a problem and how to solve it, you provide data, statistics or stories to give them the conviction and belief that change is possible. And then you wrap it all up by asking your reader for the action, whether that's a sale, a donation or a simple next step. Now, as I alluded to, this formula is great for writing fundraising appeals for charities and nonprofits. You can really tug the heart strings when showcasing the problem data and details combined with compelling imagery and photos of the people you serve or your cause will enhance your readers understanding and help drive urgency. But the key here is creating the conviction that change is possible, but only with your readers donation. And be sure to make the donor the hero of the story, not your charity. So let's see, Akka used in a couple of examples. One for charity and one for business. I'm going to use one of my favorite charities, Carranza, as an example. And to be totally clear, I've written this just for the purposes of this podcast, not for Carranza, although I'd be totally fine if they wish to use it.
And remember, as I go through this example, listen for the different sections of Akka Akka, we're going to raise awareness about the problem. Provide more detail to comprehend and understand. The problem then will create the conviction and belief. This problem can be solved and then ask for the action. All right, here goes. Did you know that 12 million girls this year will become child brides before the age of 18? Mozambique has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world, where half of the girls will marry before they're 18. And 17% of girls will marry before they're 15 years old. Child marriage is rooted in gender inequality and a belief that girls are inferior to boys. Many girls get married off to older men because their families are experiencing high levels of poverty. Social customs place a high value on virginity, which leads to more girls marrying before 18. These young innocent girls will likely face a lifetime of abuse, poverty or abandonment, often with their own young children to look after. And one of the best ways to disrupt this harmful cycle is education. When girls receive education, they are 53% less likely to become child brides. They're able to find jobs and delay motherhood until they have the financial means and the physical and mental preparedness to care for their families. But unfortunately, most girls in Mozambique cannot access education because their families can't afford to send them to school. But you can change that when you give a girl in Mozambique an education, you change her life with a donation of just $50 a month.
You can provide a young girl in Mozambique with access to education for an entire year. With your generosity, you'll provide safe transportation, school supplies, uniforms and additional community supports to young girls like 15 year old Josephina or five year old Cassie. Without your help, these girls face a life of poverty or worse. But when you donate today, these girls can begin school on January 1st and receive the education and support they need to have agency and equality in their lives and break the cycle of poverty for future generations, please give generously. Right now at Carranza dot org slash donate. Well pretty compelling. Hey you can see why a lot of charities use the AKA formula for their year end giving. And if you're not a charity, it is still a super effective formula. Let's look at how you could use this to sell your own services or products. And I'm going to be a little cheeky here and use one of my own services as an example. Here we go. Are you a business owner struggling to keep up with the massive amount of writing you need to do for your business between the website, copy, email newsletters, social content and sales promotions. Entrepreneurs spend on average 20 hours per week on marketing alone, and it's so easy to second guess ourselves or get stuck procrastinating when we write our own copy and marketing, which means we don't get our offers out there and our messages to the audiences who need our help.
What entrepreneurs need is a supportive community. A great copy coach and proven templates to help you write all the copy you need for your business. But in less time and with way less stress. The Joy of Copy Club gives women business owners the tools and templates to write your own copy faster and more effectively. You'll receive dedicated time to get your writing done, plus support from a kind but direct copy coach who'll help you confidently write and publish your own copy without having to pay the huge five figure fees to work with a professional copywriter. As Kate Burrows, a fitness coach with three little kids at home, says, there's so much to write when you run a business. But I don't feel overwhelmed by it because I know I'll get it done on Tuesdays at Copy Club. Thank you for creating the copy club. It allows me to work with you at a level that's accessible for me. At the stage of my business, you won't feel overwhelmed by the amount of copy you need to write for your business when you join the Joy of Copy club. For more info or to enroll, visit Kim Alchemy Copy Club. Well, my friend. Those are two examples of how to use the Akka copy formula to sell an offer or seek a donation. Remember, ACCA stands for Awareness, Comprehension, Conviction and Action. You could use this formula to get year end donations for your favorite charity or to sell a new service in your business.
I think you could even use this formula to get something you want, like a promotion or something special under the Christmas tree. And actually, as I was preparing for this episode, I realized that my teenager unknowingly used this formula to persuade his dad and me to allow him to get an iPhone. I don't think he actually knew he was following the formula, but he totally was. And it clearly works because he definitely has an iPhone now. Anyway, if you use this formula, let me know how it goes. Thank you so much for joining me today. I'll catch you next time. Hey, would you like to hang out with me and other women business owners doing rad things in the world just like you? Then you should join the Joy of Coffee Club. It's a group coffee coaching experience where you receive access to all my sales templates, writing prompts and copy recipes. So you're never wondering what or how to write. Once a week you can pop into my open office hours where we'll live, review and edit any kind of copy you've written. Seriously, you can bring a social post, an email, or even some edits to your home page and I'll help you optimize it before you send it out into the world. The Joy of Copy Club gives you the tools and the confidence to get your message out there so you can grow your impact and your revenue. Find out more at Kim Qualcomm's Copy Club. I'll see you next week.
Resources Mentioned
Additional Resources
Follow & Review
Are you following the podcast? I want to encourage you to do that today so you don’t miss any future episodes.
I would also appreciate it if you would leave me a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! I read each of them, and they help me make sure I am providing the content that you love to hear! Plus, you get to pay it forward because it will allow other listeners like you to find the podcast!