---
title: Nine copy triggers by funnel stage
slug: funnel-stage-copy-triggers
summary: Joanna Wiebe's nine psychology-based writing triggers mapped to top (framing, identity matching, fluency), middle (unique mechanism, typically atypical claims, boring objection-killers) and bottom of funnel (three-option choice framing, transparent trade-offs, one big proof).
domain: marketing
tags: [copywriting, psychology, persuasion, funnel, objections]
related: [name-the-unique-mechanism, proof-and-believable-claims, headline-hooks-and-copy-frameworks, sales-page-audit-checklist, psychological-triggers-in-copy]
sources: [yt:7gjtI1rnds4]
updated: 2026-10-24
---

# Nine copy triggers by funnel stage

Joanna Wiebe ([[people/joanna-wiebe]]) frames them with System 1 (fast "highway") and System 2 (slow, sceptical "tollbooth"): good copy keeps System 2 asleep until the reader is ready to justify a yes[^1].

## TL;DR
- **TOFU — "Am I in the right place?"** Name a narrow category, mirror their identity, keep it fluent.
- **MOFU — "Will it work for someone like me?"** Name the mechanism, make big results sound plausible, kill objections in boring sentences.
- **BOFU — "Can I justify this?"** Offer three options with yours in the middle, state the catch, use one big proof.
- Read the page aloud; wherever you stumble is friction[^2].

## Details
**Top of funnel**
1. *Framing* — open by naming a specific category ("for in-house copywriters who hate frameworks"), not "business strategies for everyone"; if the brain can't bucket it instantly, it scrolls on[^3].
2. *Identity matching* — "For marketers who already know the basics" makes people feel seen; "Most marketers get this completely wrong" makes them feel attacked and defensive. Ask: am I reflecting their self-image or threatening it?[^4][^5]
3. *Fluency* — short sentences, familiar words, predictable rhythm. Checklist per line: does it ask them to decide anything, imply they're wrong, or make life harder? If yes, rewrite[^5][^2].

**Middle of funnel**
4. *Unique mechanism* — name *how* it works (Scrub Daddy's "FlexTexture") — see [[name-the-unique-mechanism]][^2].
5. *Typically atypical* — "Double your conversion rate or your money back" triggers "too good to be true". "Over the course of a year, 9 in 10 of our clients more than double their conversion rates" — timeframe, not-everyone ratio, "more than" — sounds reasonable[^6][^7].
6. *Boring by design* — name the fear, kill it in one flat sentence ("Powered by AI." → "It won't replace thinking."). Write your three biggest objections and one boring sentence for each[^7][^8].

**Bottom of funnel**
7. *Choice framing* — three options (e.g. keep guessing / hire an agency / build it in-house), yours as the safe middle. Two can feel manipulative; four paralyses[^9][^10].
8. *Transparent trade-offs* — "Result, but limitation/effort": "Sleep through the night — but you'll need to put your phone away at 7 p.m." Use once, right before the close. One enterprise B2B client saw a 337% increase in business with this approach[^10][^11].
9. *Big proof, small bite* — walls of logos and testimonials invite "why are they trying so hard?". One massive specific proof ("Shopify's 5,000-person engineering team onboarded in three months, now ships 3× the code") beats a mountain. List all proof, cross out all but the single most impressive, relevant one[^11][^12].

## Disagreements / caveats
- Trigger 9 conflicts with e-commerce practice of stacking many reviews and social-proof blocks ([[product-page-carousel-and-description]]). Reconcile: lead with one big, relevant proof; keep the review widget lower for the people who want to dig.
- "Three options with the middle as default" is the same anchoring logic used on paywalls ([[paywall-price-display-and-plan-count]]).
- The 337% figure is a single unnamed client, no baseline given.

## See also
- [[proof-and-believable-claims]]
- [[sales-page-audit-checklist]]

[^1]: yt:7gjtI1rnds4 @ 00:00 — Joanna Wiebe
[^2]: yt:7gjtI1rnds4 @ 04:06 — Joanna Wiebe
[^3]: yt:7gjtI1rnds4 @ 01:02 — Joanna Wiebe
[^4]: yt:7gjtI1rnds4 @ 01:56 — Joanna Wiebe
[^5]: yt:7gjtI1rnds4 @ 02:58 — Joanna Wiebe
[^6]: yt:7gjtI1rnds4 @ 05:37 — Joanna Wiebe
[^7]: yt:7gjtI1rnds4 @ 07:10 — Joanna Wiebe
[^8]: yt:7gjtI1rnds4 @ 08:04 — Joanna Wiebe
[^9]: yt:7gjtI1rnds4 @ 09:22 — Joanna Wiebe
[^10]: yt:7gjtI1rnds4 @ 10:20 — Joanna Wiebe
[^11]: yt:7gjtI1rnds4 @ 11:31 — Joanna Wiebe
[^12]: yt:7gjtI1rnds4 @ 12:55 — Joanna Wiebe