I’ve developed a framework for writing website headlines and instagram bios. When writing these, it’s difficult to boil down all the things we want to say into few enough words. We want the message to come across, but deciding what to leave out is hard. It’s also difficult to decide whether we should focus on product features, or emotional calls to action.

I’ve developed something I call The 3-by-3 Copywriting Framework, and I use it often, as a great exercise and starting place for my copywriting projects. This framework has worked for my clients in the past, helping them generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in online sales.

Check it out:

3-By-3

The framework is built on 3 sets of 3 words. Each set has a different focus. You’ll see that sometimes I add up to 5 words per line, but usually only with supporting words, not new concepts. The backbone of each set is stated in 3 words or less.

Here’s the framework in action for Jeremiah Davis’ online class, Full-Time Creator Class.

Find your style.
Win great clients.
Take Your Career Full-Time.

The 3-By-3 Framework can be morphed into a full sentence for increased clarity and readability, depending on the context.

Here’s the full sentence version for the online class:
An online videography class to help you find your style, win great clients, and take your career full-time.

The Breakdown

Set 1 - Internal success

In the first set, you need to show people how your product or service will solve an internal, confidence problem for people. Finding one’s style is a difficult and scary thing to do, but if this class can help someone do that, then it’s already priceless.

Set 2 - External success

In the second set, show how the internal success will lead people to an external, hard outcome. In this case, finding one’s videography style will help them win great clients.

Set 3 - Philosophical Success

Finally, what’s the bigger picture here. No one really wants to just have great clients. They want to achieve an ideal identity. In this case, it’s becoming a full-time creator.

Here’s a sample for an eyeglass store.

Get your free eye exam.
Find your perfect pair.
See the world more confidently.

In a full sentence:
A local eyeglass store that helps you find your perfect pair so you can see the world more confidently.

You can see here, I switched set 1 and set 2, so the progression was more clear. The internal success is a customer finding a pair that looks good on them. The external success is an eye exam that doesn’t cost anything. But the progression goes from eye exam, to glasses choice, so that’s why I switched them. I chose the word “confidently” for the final set because I felt like it applied to both clearer eyesight and stylistic appeal.

Here’s a sample for a CPA.

Simplify your taxes.
Get financial clarity.
Achieve your life’s biggest goals.

In a full sentence:
We help our clients simplify their taxes, giving them the financial clarity to achieve their life’s biggest goals.

I switched set 1 and set 2 here again because the progression made more sense that way. Simplifying taxes is already a great value prop, because they’re so confusing. But the internal value is financial clarity, which is also a valuable commodity for many in-debt Americans. At the end of the day, what is the financial clarity for? It’s so people can achieve their goals in life. Buying a house or traveling or creating art. The content opportunities here are rich. The CPA could do a lot of brand marketing that tells the stories of how different clients are achieving their goals.

Here’s a sample for a water bottle company.

Durable bottles.
Modern design.
Save the planet one sip at a time.

In a full sentence:
We create durable water bottles with a modern design so you can start saving the planet one sip at a time.

The external success is a durable bottle, because it’s a nod to quality. It’s something that will last a long time. The internal success is a modern design, because people will feel cool using it. And the philosophical success, for this company, is being ecologically friendly.

Closing

Copywriting is tough because there are usually a hundred different ideas to choose from. This framework helps you choose and arrange just 3 helpful ideas that really get the point across. I hope this helps clarify your headlines and bios.

The 3-By-3 Copywriting Framework