Heard of the AIDA method before? Well, for starters, all that it really stands for is Attention Interest Desire Action, and it is really one of the most widely used writing formulas on the internet.
Honestly, you’d be surprised how far the use of AIDA has spread. Nowadays it isn’t just used for articles, but is even used for basic copywriting, and pretty much anything else that would require a compelling piece of writing that is geared towards convincing the reader of a certain action.
To fully utilize the strength of the AIDA method though, you’re going to need to understand what each part of its formula entails.
1. Attention
First and foremost, before you can advocate any course of action, or even start to interest a reader, you’re going to have to get their attention.
Grabbing attention is an art that is key to a number of different fields, and primarily it is the focal point of the headline. Remember this always: Your headline is not just there to inform the reader what your article is about, but it is also there to get their attention right from the get go.
Most readers decide within the span of the headline whether or not they’re going to keep on reading, so the importance of this cannot be stressed enough.
2. Interest
After you’ve successfully managed to grab attention, you need to build on that and really start to interest the reader. Due to this, the first paragraph or two of each article should be dedicated towards building an interest in the reader as to the contents of the article.
Getting this interest sorted out is relatively easy though. Ideally, your article should be about a certain topic that is, by nature, interesting, and so all that you really need to do is tell the reader what they’ll obtain by reading your article.
Should the reader feel that they’re going to gain something of value from your article, they will naturally be interested.
3. Desire
Note that desire and interest are two very different things. Having successfully started to interest a reader, what you ultimately want to achieve is to have them truly desiring an outcome of your choosing.
To do this, you’re going to need to advocate your points strongly, and harp on the advantages and reasons why they should desire the outcome that you intend them to. Don’t try to ‘sell’ the idea to them, so much as present it and let them come to their own conclusion.
4. Action
Finally, you are going to want to encourage action, and this means giving incentives in the form of something tangible or a really strong reason why the reader should do what you want them to.
If you’ve followed the rest of the method, this should be an easier prospect than it otherwise would be!
As you should see, the AIDA method is a guide that ensures that each and every essential is in place so that your articles will deliver the type of results you desire. Few other formulas compare to this one when it comes to article marketing, so be sure to use it carefully and effectively!