Problem-Agitation-Solution (PAS): A winning copywriting formula for your SaaS landing page

When you Google 'landing page copywriting', you’ll find the same advice repeatedly: create a catchy and engaging hero text and image, add social proof, and offer irresistible benefits.

I get it. They are key ingredients of a high-converting landing page.

However, only a few resources show you how to write something that gets you conversions. You’ve found one of the very few.

Let me introduce the PAS formula.

PAS stands for Problem-Agitation-Solution. In a few words, the idea is to make website visitors feel the pain and urge to solve it and then offer a solution on a silver platter.

It’s one of the most efficient copywriting formulas.

Let’s look at concrete examples of the PAS copywriting formula in action and see how you can use it on your SaaS landing pages, too.

Three components of the PAS formula

Before we dive into full landing page examples, let’s briefly explore each component of the PAS copywriting formula separately.

Problem

The first step is to introduce the problem.

Sometimes, the problem is introduced in the hero section, but to maximize the power of this formula, the problem section is placed immediately after the hero.

Your goal is to make the landing page feel like you are talking to the visitor directly. Show that you really know the pain yourself and that you are on their side. This will build trust immediately.

For example, if your SaaS helps companies provide a smooth customer service experience via WhatsApp, you might have a few lines like this in your problem section:

If you are using the PAS formula for the first time, I’d recommend you choose the most painful problem your customers experience. Your SaaS might solve more than one problem, but copywriting gets relatively tricky when you try to combine multiple problems on one page.

Agitation

After introducing the problem – which often is just a line or two of text – you want to agitate it by describing the negative feelings and inefficient parts of the process.

Do it in the most authentic way possible. Do not overplay your hand by dramatizing the problem too much. Summarize the words your customers would use to describe it.

Say your SaaS helps designers and developers collaborate more efficiently: you could, for example, describe how a pixel-perfect design doesn’t always turn into a pixel-perfect code when teams use disconnected tools.

Notice how you can have a mix of concrete disadvantages (collaboration suffers) and things appealing to emotions (frustration sets in).

Solution

You might think this part is simple and easy, but many landing pages disappoint here.

They might copy and paste their generic solution descriptions from another landing page.

Instead, make sure you align the solution and its benefits tightly with the agitated problem.

Penpot is doing a stellar job by connecting the agitation we saw above to their solution – it all feels like a magic bullet solving the problem.

Three fantastic PAS copywriting examples on SaaS landing pages

Let’s dive into three examples of the PAS formula in action with Frankli, Antimetal, and Lemlist.

Frankli

In the website hero section, Frankli promises to simplify performance reviews and management for HR teams.

I would have probably chosen a slightly more actionable title and used you/your in the description text, but the gold is found in the problem section.

The left-hand text, ‘Performance management is a shared responsibility, but people managers often lack the tools needed to actively support the process.’ describes the problem using simple language.

As you might notice, you don’t need to be overly dramatic – the agitation on the right makes sure that the message lands perfectly.

In the agitation copy, Frankli cleverly combines their research with the problems their customers face. This gives them further credibility and makes the reader feel that they are not the odd one out and alone with the problem.

You can almost hear the HR professionals say ‘hell yeah’ – even if you would not be a people manager.

Three solutions introduced straight after are very aligned with the problems.

For example, the first problem states that there should be more 1-on-1s – as a direct response, Frankli comes with tools to help managers run them more frequently. Bingo.

Are you interested in seeing how the PAS formula could work for your SaaS? Share your landing page with us via X or LinkedIn, and we’ll send you the problem and solution copy texts in return (for free!).

Antimetal

Antimetal’s hero goes straight to the point – ‘Save time & money on AWS’ resonates with all SaaS developers and product teams that have chosen AWS for their growing businesses.

I’ve been there and done that – and the problem and agitation part straight after the hero really speaks my language.

Showing a bunch of authentic customer questions is a great way to agitate the problem – chances are the website visitor is your ideal customer and recognizes some of the questions that have kept them up at night.

On the other hand, if the page visitor isn’t one of Antimetal’s ideal customers, they will hit the back button by the time they’ve read the questions. And as controversial as it might sound, it’s actually a great thing.

You want your landing pages to resonate with ideal customers – and to keep not-so-ideal leads at bay.

After the problem section, it all comes together neatly. With Antimetal, you get instant savings through automation, visibility on your spending, and guardrails to protect you from surprises.

Lemlist

Lemlist plays in a crowded space of cold email outreach tools, which makes it even more critical to get the copywriting right.

You might not be able to compete in terms of the number of features, but nothing stops you from writing high-converting copy for your SaaS landing page.

The hero has all the right building blocks – it uses actionable language (build, write, etc.) and a second-person format (you) – and tells you the benefits.

Excluding the design, the problem and agitation content is stellar. If you are running cold outreach campaigns for your SaaS, I’m sure you’ve spent long days and evenings gathering leads and materials for personalization.

Just like on Frankli’s landing page, the solution section answers directly to the three problems introduced above.

Are you hoping to use the PAS copywriting formula on your SaaS website? Share your landing page with us via X or LinkedIn, and we’ll send you the problem and solution copy texts in return (for free!).