Ethos, Pathos, Logos
| Item | Description |
|---|
Ethos (Credibility) | Why should they trust you? Demonstrating expertise, citing credentials, showing track record. |
Pathos (Emotion) | Appeal to hopes, fears, desires. Stories, vivid language, 'imagine if...' scenarios. |
Logos (Logic) | Data, facts, statistics, case studies. 'Companies using X saw 34% improvement.' Structured reasoning. |
Balance | Too much logos = dry. Too much pathos = manipulative. Use all three, lead with the one your audience values. |
Audience Matters | Engineers = logos-heavy. Marketing = pathos. Executives = ethos (credibility) + logos (results). |
AIDA Formula
| Item | Description |
|---|
Attention | Headline, hook, provocative question. 'What if your deployments took 30 seconds instead of 30 minutes?' |
Interest | Make them care. 'Slow deployments cost the average team 5 hours per engineer per week.' |
Desire | Paint the better future. 'Imagine shipping 10x faster, with zero midnight rollbacks.' |
Action | Clear CTA. 'Start your free trial. Set up in 5 minutes. No credit card required.' |
Variation: PAS | Problem-Agitate-Solution. 'Deployments are painful (P). Every hour of downtime costs $X (A). Our tool eliminates both (S).' |
Cognitive Biases to Leverage
| Item | Description |
|---|
Social Proof | 'Join 10,000+ developers who...' People follow the crowd. Logos, testimonials, user counts. |
Scarcity | 'Only 50 spots available.' Limited supply increases perceived value. Use ethically. |
Loss Aversion | People fear loss 2x more than they value gain. 'Don't lose $X/month to inefficiency.' |
Anchoring | First number mentioned becomes reference. '$500/year' makes '$30/month' feel cheap. |
Reciprocity | Give value first (free guide, audit, tool). People feel compelled to give back. |
Calls to Action (CTAs)
| Item | Description |
|---|
Be Specific | 'Download the guide' not 'Click here.' User should know exactly what happens next. |
One CTA | One primary action. Multiple CTAs = decision paralysis. Secondary link small below. |
Reduce Friction | 'No credit card required.' 'Set up in 2 minutes.' Address objections before they arise. |
Urgency (careful) | 'Offer ends Friday.' Only use if true. Fake urgency damages trust permanently. |
Benefit-First | 'Get faster deployments' not 'Sign up.' CTA should promise the outcome, not the action. |
Pro Tip: People make decisions emotionally and justify them logically. Lead with pathos (emotion), support with logos (logic/data), and establish ethos (credibility) throughout.