A Copywriter’s Guide to the PASTOR Framework
The most difficult audience to convert is the cold traffic. They do not know you, they do not believe you and they are a scroll away from knowing that you exist. However, here is most of your growth potential.
Introduce the PASTOR formula, a time-tested formula of copywriting that will turn doubtful strangers into enthusiastic customers. No matter what you are writing, landing pages, video sales letters, or ad campaigns, this six-step structure will help bring your prospect to the awareness of a problem, all the way to making the actual purchase decision.
I will demonstrate to you how it works using an actual-world example, a local artisan bakery that is seeking to lure in health-conscious customers who have never heard of them.
P – Problem: Identify the Pain Point.
Every great copy begins with a recognition of the issue that your audience has. However, the point is that here you should not speak about your solution yet. Discuss their Frustration.
Unless your prospect feels seen and understood, they will not give you a minute of their time to listen to what you have to say.
You are willing to eat healthier, but all the “clean eating” stuff tastes like cardboard. Protein bars that are available in stores are full of chemicals that you cannot even pronounce. Preparing meals is a time-consuming task. And when you, at last, treat yourself to something that is actually good, the guilt is even more severe than the sugar crash.
Incidentally, this is a direct address to the clash within oneself, which is the need to be healthy and the need to be satisfied. We are not selling bread yet; we are justifying their plight.
A – Amplify: Pour Salt in the Wound.
Having found out what the problem is, magnify it. Make them experience what happened when they did not solve it. It is not fear-mongering, but it is about making them realize the actual price of doing nothing.
Demonstrate to them the consequences of sticking to their present course.
“So what happens? You bounce between extremes. Monday to Thursday, you gulp tasteless so-called health food and dream of the real taste. By Friday, you can no longer stand and demolish a whole sleeve of cookies. The cycle repeats. Your vitality remains irregular. Every month, you have a new fit of clothes. And that creepy experience that you can never rely on yourself around food? It gets louder.”
We have taken the first issue and presented the consequences: irregular energy, physical discomfort, and emotional distress. The suffering cannot now be denied.
S – Story/Solution: Introduce Hope.
Here you are leaving pain behind and moving on to possibility. Give an example of how someone else has overcome the very same issue and then show the solution that is the link between their problem and their success.
The emotion-making aspect of the story is the connection, and the solution is a logical justification.
“Sarah felt the same way. A working mother who has no time and even less willpower in the presence of sweets. Then she found what made it all different: bread and pastries prepared using old grains, natural sweeteners, and real ingredients that do not help to crash your body but make it run.
This is the very problem that we have been working on at Harvest & Hearth Bakery for over three years. Our sourdough is made with sprouted wheat that is more digestible. We use dates and maple to sweeten our morning pastries, which provides you with long-term energy without the spike. And it is fresh every day, made with ingredients that you can get in your own kitchen.”
We have now presented our bakery organically in a way that it is the solution to their problem in particular.
T – Transformation: Paint the After Picture.
Never simply describe your product but describe the life your customer will live after use. What is a typical day in their life? How do they feel? What becomes possible?
Change is a better selling feature than any feature there ever is.
“Would you not start your day with a warm almond croissant, and would it not keep you until lunch. No mid-morning crash. No temptation of vending machines. You are attentive, revitalized and actually happy.
Imagine having a comfort food that you can be proud of, it could be your daily sourdough bread toast or a cinnamon roll on Sundays with your children. No more guilt. No longer any more restrictive diets that will make you miserable. Real food that is just, and is so good.
Your association with food changes into something easy and pleasant once more instead of a battlefield.”
What we are selling is the emotional delivery; confidence, freedom and a peaceful state of mind surrounding food preferences.
O – Offer: Make It Irresistible
Since they are already emotionally invested in the transformation, now is the right moment to make your offer clear and urgent. Eliminate friction, create value and provide them with a strong motivation to move now and not later.
“Here is a way to begin: Get our Health-Conscious Starter Box, $34 (usually $52). You receive: 1 fresh sourdough loaf, 4 sprouted grain morning buns, 2 protein-filled muffins, and our entire ingredient guide to know exactly what you are eating.
Besides, place an order within the next 48 hours and we will send you our most popular brownies, which are grain-free and, of course, with a lesser charge valued at $12.
Delivery over 10 miles is free. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee: We will consider refunding your entire money, should you not like it.”
Pay attention to the structure: definite price, definite contents, bonus incentive, a deadline, and reversal of risks. All the factors are put in such a way that it is easy to say yes.
R – Response: Command Them What to do Next.
Do not just think that people know what to do. Give the crystal clear instructions and make the action step clear. Perplexity destroys conversions.
“Click on the ‘Order Your Starter Box’ button below. Choose your delivery date. Fresh-baked goods will be at your doorstep in 48 hours.
Stop fighting with food. Start enjoying it again.”
Uncomplicated, to the point. No ambiguity.
Putting It All Together
PASTOR framework succeeds because it employs the psychology that is only natural in decision-making. You find them where they are (Problem), make them aware of the stakes (Amplify), reveal to them a better way (Story/Solution), get them to dream of their new reality (Transformation), make it easy to start (Offer), and lead them to action (Response).
In the case of cold traffic, particularly, such a structure creates trust at a very fast rate since it shows that you understand their world and then asks them to give their money.
The next time you need to write to an audience that is not familiar with you, follow these six steps. Your conversion rates will be appreciative.
