Hook, line and sinker
Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Curly, Larry and Moe
There’s something catchy, convincing and captivating about things that come in threes (I’ll stop the triplets for now), and it’s a great tool to use when you want a message to stand out in your web copy or on a sales page.
Having 3 steps in a tag-line or to convey a point gives a sense of resolution and completion. Each step builds a small part of your message and when read together in sequence can really make an impression.
The First Steps: How to make it work
Imagine your first two steps are like a drum roll to your final point.
They work to build suspense, warm up the audience and have them receptive for when you hit home with the final point.
You can build the progression in different ways
Increasing chronologically
Your dry-cleaning delivered: morning, noon and throughout the night
Increasing numerically
One Goal, Two Authors, One Million Life-Changing Books…For Free
Increasing in importance
Acme suits. Making the right impression: from interview, to promotion, to CEO
The Third Step To Heaven
As the final piece of the puzzle, the last step should create an “ah” moment with your audience that drives the message home or intrigues people into finding out more. The previous two steps should be working hard to build up the impact to the final unveiling of the point you want to emphasise.
It’s not just dry-clean deliveries, it’s deliveries around the clock.
It’s not just a co-written book for sale, it’s a jaw-dropping giveaway
It’s not just a suit for a CEO, it’s a suit that makes you into the CEO
Try it out next time you’re trying to think of a catchy title, or selling slogan for one of your business services or products. What are your favourite 3 step phrases? I’d love to hear them in the comments below.
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