Do you want to write content that engages your salty surf readers and gets them excited about your surf blog or website?
If so, you need to learn the PAS copywriting formula.
This copywriting strategy is simple but effective. It can also be used to create great content for your website, blog articles, newsletters or landing page.
In this blog post, I’ll discuss what PAS is and how you can use it to create engaging surf content that will keep customers and guests coming back for more!
What is PAS? Problem, Agitation, Solution!
If you’re a surf tourism, surf tech or surfwear business owner that writes their own blog articles, web copy or newsletters (or gets an intern to do it) – then you’re in luck.
PAS is a simple and effective copywriting technique. It’s designed to present a problem, agitate that problem and provide a solution. It’s often used in marketing and advertising to get people to take action, but it can also be used to write great surf content.
When done well, the PAS formula can be highly effective at getting people to take action – whether that’s buying a product, signing up for a newsletter or even just reading an entire blog article.
Why does PAS work for surf blogs and websites?
The PAS formula works for one simple reason – pain motivates people to take action.
If someone is experiencing a problem (the pain) and that problem or pain is agitated, they’ll become more motivated to find a solution. And that’s where your surf blog or website comes in – you provide the solution to their problem.
Still not convinced? Check out this example.
Let’s say you run a surf blog and someone lands on your site after Googling “how to surf”. The problem (or pain point) here is pretty obvious – they don’t know how to surf! But beyond that, there are a few other things going on.
They might be feeling embarrassed that they don’t know how to surf (agitation). They might be feeling frustrated because they’ve been trying to learn on their own but it’s just not clicking (agitation). Or they might feel angry because everyone else seems to have it figured out (once again… agitation).
Enter your surf blog or website!
You can provide the solution to their problem by offering up tips, tricks and tutorials on how to surf using writing that’s got a bit of spice and flair. And voila – you’ve just created content that resonates with your audience and provides them with value.
How to use the PAS formula to write great content
Let’s start with the P – Problem
What’s a common problem that your target audience has to deal with? You’ll have to do some digging here as it’s not always immediately obvious.
Say you own a wetsuit brand and you’ve received feedback that your wetsuits don’t dry fast enough. What’s the actual problem here? Do people want faster drying wetsuits because they hate wet gear hanging around the house or dripping on the tiles?
Nope.
The real reason that they want a dry wetsuit is that it’s uncomfortable to put on a wet wetsuit when it’s cold and windy. It could also be that a wet wetsuit won’t keep you warm for as long, which means less time surfing epic waves. And that, my friends, is an example of the real problems you’re trying to identify.
Then it’s the A – Agitation
Once you’ve found the problem, it’s time to move on to the A… although truth be told this could also be called the Poke stage.
Why?
Because you’re essentially poking at that problem until your audience is so agitated about it, they can’t help but keep reading to find a solution. My tip is to describe how life isn’t as good as it could be because of this problem. And how life will continue if it isn’t resolved.
If you’re a surf school owner trying to convince people to book with you, you might write an article that agitates the frustration of learning on your own. The worry that comes with being in the ocean alone. Or even the anxiety of trying to identify a safe place to surf when you don’t know what you’re looking for.
Of course, you shouldn’t scare your readers or engage in fearmongering. That’s not what this is about.
As I said, all you’re doing is poking at the problem so that your audience begins to feel it in their bones and nod in agreement as if to say “I’m ready to make the pain stop”!
Finally, the S – Solution
Writing about the problem and then agitating like there’s no tomorrow means nothing if you don’t follow through with a solution, which brings us to the S.
This is when you position your product or services as a painkiller for their problem. Going back to our surf school example, you might talk about how your surf lessons are the perfect solution for anyone who wants to learn in a safe and fun environment.
Summary
The PAS formula can be applied to practically any type of written copy, whether it’s a surf blog post, a landing page or an email newsletter.
Remember to start with the problem, agitate it and then provide a solution. And always keep your target audience top of mind so you can craft content that speaks to their specific needs.
Stay stoked and keep writing!