The persuasion skeletons

A formula is not a substitute for having something to say. It is scaffolding that makes sure you do not leave out anything essential while you say it. Used that way, a handful of simple structures are worth knowing cold. The long catalogue of named formulas you will find in some books is mostly the same few ideas rearranged, so learn a small set well and ignore the rest.

The most useful four:

Problem, Agitate, Solution. Name the reader's problem, twist the knife so they feel the cost of leaving it unsolved, then present your thing as the relief. The agitate step is where most people go soft. Done honestly, it is not manipulation, it is making a real pain vivid enough to act on.

Before, After, Bridge. Show the reader's world now, paint the better world after, then present your offer as the bridge between them. This one is pure transformation selling, the chain from Chapter Two given a shape.

Problem, Promise, Proof, Price. Name the problem, make a clear promise about solving it, prove the promise with evidence, then ask for the sale. The discipline here is that the promise must be matched by the proof, in that order, before you dare mention price.

Star, Story, Solution. Introduce a character, tell their story, reveal the solution that changed it. This is how you smuggle a sales message inside a narrative, which we will come back to.

The key is to pick the structure that fits the reader's awareness, not your habit. A cold reader who does not yet feel the problem needs Problem-Agitate-Solution to wake the pain first. A warm reader who already knows the problem and is comparing options needs Problem-Promise-Proof-Price, because they are past the pain and onto the evidence.

And the warning that matters most: a formula with no idea inside it is just well-organised filler. The structure guarantees nothing essential is missing. It cannot guarantee the thing is worth reading. That still comes from the message you chose in Part One. Use the skeleton to hold the body upright. Do not mistake it for a pulse.

INTERVIEW EWOUD: Pick a real venture and tell its story as Before, After, Bridge. What was the world before, what's the after you're promising, and what's the actual bridge?

INTERVIEW EWOUD: When have you used a structure that fought the reader, hit them with proof before they even felt the problem? How did you reorder it?