Copywriting framework
4 Us — Useful · Urgent · Unique · Ultra-specific
The headline sharpener.
The 4 Us — Useful, Urgent, Unique, Ultra-specific — is a headline test, not a body-copy formula. Any headline that hits three of the four gets read. Any headline that hits zero should be rewritten.
How 4 Us works
- Step 1Useful
Does the reader gain something concrete by reading? Name the payoff.
- Step 2Urgent
Why does it matter today, not next quarter? Time-anchor the stake.
- Step 3Unique
What's the angle only you can claim? Kill the generic version.
- Step 4Ultra-specific
Numbers, names, cases. Vague dies in a feed.
Headlines, subject lines, hero H1s, ad copy, thread openers.
Don't apply 4 Us to long-form body copy — it's a test, not a shape. Use it to grade a headline you already wrote against another framework.
4 Us in real copy
The 7 words that lifted our cold-email reply rate from 1.8% to 9.4% in 30 days.
The 3-line pricing change that took our trial-to-paid rate from 6% to 19% in the first sprint.
See 4 Us in action
Real copy that rides on this skeleton — reverse-engineered block by block.
Extract 4 Us from any text — automatically
Paste a post that already worked into Get Text Formula. The analyzer detects whether it rides on 4 Us (or another skeleton), maps every block, and hands you a reusable template you can fill with your own message.