The Feature Dump Problem
Your homepage probably reads something like this:
“Our platform offers AI-powered analytics, seamless integrations, real-time dashboards, customizable reports, and enterprise-grade security.”
That’s a feature dump. It’s a list of things your product has. And it’s exactly what your competitors say too.
Here’s the problem: Features don’t sell. Pain does.
A feature is a statement about you. Pain is about your customer. And your customer doesn’t care about you. They care about themselves, their problems, and whether you can make those problems go away.
When a founder lands on your site, they’re not thinking “I wonder what integrations they have.” They’re thinking: “I’m drowning in spreadsheets, my sales team is missing leads, and my boss is breathing down my neck.”
If your copy doesn’t reflect that reality, they’ll leave.
1. The PAS Framework: Problem, Agitate, Solve
The most reliable copywriting formula in existence is PAS: Problem, Agitate, Solve. Most founders get the “Problem” (e.g., “Your site is slow”) and the “Solve” (e.g., “We make it fast”).
They skip the most important part: Agitation.
Agitation is about twisting the knife. It’s explaining the consequence of the problem in human terms.
- Problem: Your site is slow.
- Agitate: Every second of lag is a VP of Marketing closing the tab and forgetting you ever existed. You are literally paying for traffic that never sees your offer.
- Solve: Our platform shaves 3 seconds off your load time instantly.
Why Agitation Works: It moves the problem from a technical metric to an emotional loss. People don’t buy to save 3 seconds; they buy to stop wasting money and losing reputation.
2. Mirror, Don’t Invent (The Reddit Strategy)
One of the biggest mistakes founders make is inventing “professional” sounding copy.
- ❌ “Leverage our synergistic platform to optimize your workflow.”
Nobody says that. Not even the people who buy it.
The Mirror Technique: Stop writing “copy” and start “stealing” language from your customers. Go to where they complain.
Where to Find Customer Voice:
- Reddit (r/saas, r/entrepreneur): Search for “frustrated with [Competitor]” or “how do I [Problem].”
- Sales Call Scars: What is the one question that always makes a prospect’s eyes light up? That’s your headline.
- Support Tickets: How do they describe their pain when they are angry?
If a customer says, “I’m sick of jumping between 10 tabs just to see my revenue,” that is your headline. When your copy mirrors their internal monologue, they think: “This company actually gets me.”
3. The “So What?” Stress Test
For every sentence of copy on your homepage, ask the brutal question: “So what?”
If your copy says “We have a mobile app,” the customer thinks “So what?” If it says “Check your leads while you’re on the subway,” the customer thinks “That helps me.”
Translation Guide:
| Feature-First (Weak) | Benefit-Driven (Strong) |
|---|---|
| “Our tool automates reporting." | "Stop spending your Sunday nights building reports." |
| "We integrate with 50+ tools." | "Get all your data in one place, finally." |
| "Enterprise-grade security." | "Rest easy knowing a data breach won’t sink you.” |
Every feature is a fact. Every benefit is an emotional relief. Lead with the relief.
4. Emotional Triggers Beat Logical Features
People make decisions based on emotion and justify them with logic.
The Pain vs. Gain Paradigm: Research shows that the “fear of loss” is a more powerful motivator than the “hope of gain.”
- Hope of Gain: “Increase your revenue by 20%.”
- Fear of Loss: “Stop leaving $5,000 on the table every month.”
The second headline triggers a sense of urgency and regret. It forces the reader to acknowledge a hole in their bucket that needs to be plugged now.
The Copywriting Checklist
Before you publish any page, run it through this checklist:
- Pain First: Does the headline address a problem, not a feature?
- PAS Structure: Is the flow Problem → Agitate → Solve?
- Mirrored Language: Are you using words your customers actually say?
- Emotional Triggers: Are you triggering a feeling, not just stating a fact?
- “So What?” Test: Does every feature translate to a clear benefit?
- No Jargon: Are words like “leverage,” “synergy,” and “solution” removed?
Conclusion: Nobody Cares About Your Product
That sounds harsh, but it’s liberating.
Your customers don’t care about your product. They care about their problems. When you make your copy about them, not about you, conversions follow.
Stop dumping features. Start solving problems.
Your copy is the foundation of your conversion rate. But even the best copy fails if your value proposition is unclear or your social proof is missing. This is the core of Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO).
Take the next step: Is your website copy speaking to your customers, or at them?
Get an automated review of your headline clarity, value proposition, and messaging structure to see where your copy is losing readers.