lens-value-framing
Lens mode. Source authority: Alex Hormozi's value-equation discipline — perceived value as a function of dream outcome, perceived likelihood, time delay, and effort.
When to use
Use when the deliverable has to make a reader want the thing badly enough to act. Ad copy, sales-page hero blocks, offer descriptions, email body copy, DM scripts, course landing pages. Trigger this lens when the brief is "people read it and don't convert" or "the offer is good but the copy feels flat."
Procedure
- Name the dream outcome in their words. Not the feature. The end-state the reader is privately rehearsing. ("Stop dreading Monday inbox" is the outcome; "AI email triage" is the feature.) If you cannot state it without using product vocabulary, run customer-voice first.
- Name the pain with specificity. One concrete pain statement, ≤20 words, ideally a verbatim line. The reader has to read it and think that is me, written down. Generic pain ("you're overwhelmed") fails this test.
- Make a promise. What does the reader get, exactly? Number it. Timebox it. "Three changes; first one in 10 minutes" beats "transform your workflow." Vague promises read as low-conviction.
- Frame the value. Show the work the reader does not have to do. Time saved, mistakes avoided, paths skipped. The reader is implicitly asking "what is this worth to me?" Answer that before they have to do the math.
- Lower the friction. What is the lowest-effort first action that proves the value? The CTA angle is not "buy now" — it is the smallest credible next step that lets the reader feel the promise.
- Write 5 hooks ≤15 words. Each hook leads with a different lever (pain, promise, value frame, identity, contrast). The chained pipeline will pick one.
End every output with this exact contract:
HOOKS:
- 5 hooks (≤15w each): ...
- Pain statement: ...
- Promise: ...
- Value frame: ...
- CTA angle: ...
Decision rules
- Use this lens when conviction is the bottleneck, not attention. If the reader is not arriving at all, run curiosity-packaging first; this lens is for what happens after they land.
- Pain before promise. A promise without a named pain is a feature list. The reader has to feel the from before the to lands.
- Specific numbers over big numbers. "47 minutes saved" reads truer than "save hours every day." Real specificity is its own credibility.
- Skip this lens for unaware audiences. They cannot want a solution to a problem they do not yet feel. Run awareness-stages first.
- Don't stack five value levers in one line. Pick the dominant one; let the rest live in the body.
Anti-patterns
- Impersonation. Writing in capital-V "Value Equation" voice — all-caps emphasis, "dream outcome" jargon, sales-bro cadence. The discipline is the math under the copy, not the cadence.
- Pain inflation. Manufacturing pain the reader does not actually feel ("you are bleeding revenue every second you wait") to force a value frame. Reads as panic-selling; trust drops.
- Promise without proof. "Triple your reply rate" with nothing to anchor it. Either name the proof, narrow the claim, or rewrite the promise.
- Feature lists in promise slots. "Includes 12 modules and a workbook" is a feature list. "Write a cold email in 10 minutes that gets replies" is a promise. The reader buys the second.
- CTA disconnected from the value frame. If the hook promises "five minutes saved" and the CTA asks for a 30-minute call, the math breaks.
Before / after
Brief: Cold-email hook for a junior recruiter targeting heads of engineering at 50-person startups.
Before:
Hi — we help engineering leaders hire faster with our AI-powered candidate scoring platform.
Feature-led. No pain. No promise the reader can price.
After:
You shortlisted 40 senior backend candidates last month and hired two. The other 38 ghosted, ranked wrong, or wasted a panel. Here is the 20-minute filter that catches all three before the first call.
Pain stated in their numbers. Promise sized to a real meeting cost. Value frame is the panels avoided. CTA implied: read the filter.
1---2name: copy-lens-value-framing3description: **Lens mode.** Source authority: Alex Hormozi's value-equation discipline — perceived value as a function of dream outcome, perceived likelihood, time delay, and effort.4---56# lens-value-framing78**Lens mode.** Source authority: Alex Hormozi's value-equation discipline — perceived value as a function of dream outcome, perceived likelihood, time delay, and effort.910## When to use1112Use when the deliverable has to make a reader *want the thing badly enough to act*. Ad copy, sales-page hero blocks, offer descriptions, email body copy, DM scripts, course landing pages. Trigger this lens when the brief is "people read it and don't convert" or "the offer is good but the copy feels flat."1314## Procedure15161. **Name the dream outcome in their words.** Not the feature. The end-state the reader is privately rehearsing. ("Stop dreading Monday inbox" is the outcome; "AI email triage" is the feature.) If you cannot state it without using product vocabulary, run customer-voice first.172. **Name the pain with specificity.** One concrete pain statement, ≤20 words, ideally a verbatim line. The reader has to read it and think *that is me, written down.* Generic pain ("you're overwhelmed") fails this test.183. **Make a promise.** What does the reader get, exactly? Number it. Timebox it. "Three changes; first one in 10 minutes" beats "transform your workflow." Vague promises read as low-conviction.194. **Frame the value.** Show the work the reader does *not* have to do. Time saved, mistakes avoided, paths skipped. The reader is implicitly asking "what is this worth to me?" Answer that before they have to do the math.205. **Lower the friction.** What is the lowest-effort first action that proves the value? The CTA angle is not "buy now" — it is the smallest credible next step that lets the reader feel the promise.216. **Write 5 hooks ≤15 words.** Each hook leads with a different lever (pain, promise, value frame, identity, contrast). The chained pipeline will pick one.2223End every output with this exact contract:2425**HOOKS:**26- 5 hooks (≤15w each): ...27- Pain statement: ...28- Promise: ...29- Value frame: ...30- CTA angle: ...3132## Decision rules3334- **Use this lens when conviction is the bottleneck**, not attention. If the reader is not arriving at all, run curiosity-packaging first; this lens is for what happens *after* they land.35- **Pain before promise.** A promise without a named pain is a feature list. The reader has to feel the *from* before the *to* lands.36- **Specific numbers over big numbers.** "47 minutes saved" reads truer than "save hours every day." Real specificity is its own credibility.37- **Skip this lens for unaware audiences.** They cannot want a solution to a problem they do not yet feel. Run awareness-stages first.38- **Don't stack five value levers in one line.** Pick the dominant one; let the rest live in the body.3940## Anti-patterns4142- **Impersonation.** Writing in capital-V "Value Equation" voice — all-caps emphasis, "dream outcome" jargon, sales-bro cadence. The discipline is the math under the copy, not the cadence.43- **Pain inflation.** Manufacturing pain the reader does not actually feel ("you are bleeding revenue every second you wait") to force a value frame. Reads as panic-selling; trust drops.44- **Promise without proof.** "Triple your reply rate" with nothing to anchor it. Either name the proof, narrow the claim, or rewrite the promise.45- **Feature lists in promise slots.** "Includes 12 modules and a workbook" is a feature list. "Write a cold email in 10 minutes that gets replies" is a promise. The reader buys the second.46- **CTA disconnected from the value frame.** If the hook promises "five minutes saved" and the CTA asks for a 30-minute call, the math breaks.4748## Before / after4950**Brief:** Cold-email hook for a junior recruiter targeting heads of engineering at 50-person startups.5152**Before:**53> *Hi — we help engineering leaders hire faster with our AI-powered candidate scoring platform.*5455Feature-led. No pain. No promise the reader can price.5657**After:**58> *You shortlisted 40 senior backend candidates last month and hired two. The other 38 ghosted, ranked wrong, or wasted a panel. Here is the 20-minute filter that catches all three before the first call.*5960Pain stated in their numbers. Promise sized to a real meeting cost. Value frame is the panels avoided. CTA implied: read the filter.
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