Copywriters use the Pain Agitate Solution (PAS) formula to create compelling pitches for various offerings.

The pain-agitate-solution copywriting formula has been around since the late 1800s and is still an effective tool in today’s market. From sales presentations, to blog post headlines, to email subject lines, copywriters know how to use this emotional formulas to snag prospects.

Here are some effective ways to integrate the Pain-Agitate-Solution formula into your content and promote your brand in an authentic way.

What is the Pain Agitate Solution Formula?

The PAS formula is short, simple, and the oldest and most effective method of building sales.

  • Pain refers to the upfront, dis-beneficial experience the advertisement tries to solve. It correctly identifies the issue at hand.
  • Agitate refers to the dialogue between the customer and the advertisement. It asserts the issue’s severity and, sometimes, could even aggravate it.
  • Solution is the emotional selling tool that takes the pain away and provides a tangible, pleasure-filled result. It shows how your offering addresses the issue. It reveals how you want to remedy the problem with your products or services.

The pain agitate solution formula is the link between sales and marketing.

If you want your readers to take action after reading your landing page, flyer, or sales letter, use the Problem Agitate Solution method.

Selective focus photography of three books beside opened notebook
Photo by Mikhail Pavstyuk on Unsplash

What Makes PAS Effective?

PAS is effective because people have a strong desire to avoid discomfort. We desire relief from all kinds of physical, mental, and monetary pain.

PAS generates strong emotional responses. The logical brain is activated, and the emotions are recognized.

When given a choice between a painkiller and a vitamin, most people will choose the former. In a vacuum, the vitamin may be the better choice down the road.

Nonetheless, we won’t make it a habit of taking one daily unless we have to. We stop everything till the discomfort diminishes. Yet, if we awaken in pain, we immediately dial the doctor, seek out the heating pad, take some Advil, and hope for the best.

When faced with adversity, we prioritize relief over merely better conditions. Some could argue that avoiding suffering is more important to us than seeking pleasure.

From this concept, we craft opening sentences emphasizing the suffering the target audience is experiencing.

Methods of Applying the PAS Formula

To what issue do you hope to provide a solution with your offering? What is the source of the problem? Who are the customers that are most associated with the issue?

Effective PAS formulas are about developing ideas that address these questions and find the best solution to the problem. It all starts with getting a sense of the urgency of a situation and what kind of pain the solution needs to alleviate.

1. What’s their Pain?

Discover the actual issues facing your target audience by conducting research. The real problem should be pinpointed in your copy.

2. How do you Agitate?

This is where your agitation should begin. Use strong language to convey the frustration, anger, and sadness you feel because of this issue. Speculate about how real life falls short. And what it’ll be like if we can’t fix this.

This is not an endorsement of scare tactics or doomsday scenarios. Most individuals would be turned off by such, raising serious doubts about your reliability.

However, the reality remains that people are considering solutions to their issues. That’s the whole point of reading your copy. You are merely confirming it to be true and prodding at it.

You’ve pinpointed the issue. You’ve shown sympathy for the suffering, and written in such a way that the reader can’t help but nod in agreement, thinking, “Yes! That’s precisely how disappointed, lonely, anxious, stressed, weary, and horrible I feel!” Remove it!

3. Present the Solution

You’re presenting the remedy that finally puts an end to their misery. Solution is simply a way to eliminate the problems creating their pain through your products and services.

To Wrap Up

If you’re writing sales copy of any kind, you should use the Problem Agitate Solve (PAS) formula. The underlying problem, the agitated part, and finally, the perfect solution are essential for convincing visitors to act on your CTA.

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

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