---
genome: copywriting-brunson
reference: frameworks-6-part-structure
load_priority: medium
---

# 6-Part Structure (Proportions)

Compact long-form sales letter structure with explicit proportions. Different from Halbert's 10-step (Halbert is direct mail tradition) and Kennedy's 10-step (Kennedy is direct marketing system). The Brunson 6-part is **proportion-driven** — each section has a target % of total length.

## The 6 parts with proportions

| Part | % | Function |
|------|---|----------|
| **Hook + Headline** | 10% | Capture attention; specific promise |
| **Qualification + Promise** | 10% | Filter audience; restate specific outcome |
| **Breaking Limiting Beliefs** | 25% | Mental unblock — 3 beliefs broken |
| **Solution Presentation** | 25% | "New paradigm" — the path forward |
| **Irresistible Offer** | 20% | Value stack with bonuses |
| **Scarcity + Close** | 10% | Real urgency; clear CTA |

## Why these proportions

The proportions reflect Brunson's **theory of conversion**:

- **20% on opening** (hook + qualification) — gets the right audience reading
- **50% on belief work + path** (limiting beliefs + solution) — does the persuasion
- **30% on offer + close** (offer + scarcity) — closes the sale

The 50% on belief + path is intentional. Brunson dogma: epiphanies (belief shifts) drive conversion. Without dedicating half the copy real estate to belief-breaking + path-revealing, the offer hits an unprepared audience.

## Compared to other structures

| Structure | Belief-breaking emphasis | Story emphasis | Offer emphasis |
|-----------|--------------------------|----------------|----------------|
| Halbert 10-step | Implicit (in story) | High (story step is core) | High (offer + bonuses + risk reversal) |
| Kennedy 10-step | Implicit (in objections) | Medium | Very high (stacked offer + multiple bonuses) |
| Brunson 6-part | **Explicit (25%)** | Distributed | Medium (20%) |
| Brunson Perfect Webinar | **Very high (30%)** | Distributed | Medium (20%) |

Brunson is uniquely **belief-explicit**. Halbert/Kennedy work belief shifts INTO the structure; Brunson dedicates a labeled section to it.

## Application by format

### Long sales page (5000-8000 words)

| Part | Word count |
|------|------------|
| Hook + Headline | 500-800 |
| Qualification + Promise | 500-800 |
| Breaking Beliefs | 1250-2000 |
| Solution Presentation | 1250-2000 |
| Offer | 1000-1600 |
| Scarcity + Close | 500-800 |

### Email sequence (6 emails)

One part per email:
- Email 1: Hook + Headline (the problem articulated)
- Email 2: Qualification + Promise (who this is for + what they'll get)
- Email 3: Belief 1-3 broken (one big email or three smaller)
- Email 4: Solution presentation (new path)
- Email 5: Offer (value stack)
- Email 6: Scarcity + Close (real deadline)

### VSL (10-15 minutes)

- 0-1 min: Hook + Headline
- 1-3 min: Qualification + Promise
- 3-7 min: Beliefs (often 2 instead of 3 for time)
- 7-10 min: Solution Presentation
- 10-13 min: Offer
- 13-15 min: Scarcity + Close

## Belief-breaking detail (the 25% section)

The 25% on belief-breaking is the **distinguishing Brunson move**. Detail:

### Belief 1 — Vehicle belief
"This kind of solution doesn't work for me."

Common forms:
- "I've tried [category] before, it didn't work"
- "[Category] is too complicated"
- "[Category] is too expensive"

Break by:
- Showing the new opportunity (different from past attempts)
- Specific reframing of why past attempts failed (not the user's fault)
- New mechanism or approach

### Belief 2 — Internal belief
"I'm not capable of doing this."

Common forms:
- "I'm not technical enough"
- "I'm not creative enough"
- "I don't have the personality for this"

Break by:
- Showing accessibility (no special skills required)
- Case studies of "people like me" succeeding
- Reframe what the work actually requires

### Belief 3 — External belief
"My situation is too unique / too constrained."

Common forms:
- "My industry is different"
- "My budget is too small"
- "My audience is too specific"

Break by:
- Showing universality (the method works across situations)
- Specific case studies in the "unique" situation
- Reframe what makes situations "too unique"

## Common violations

| Violation | Symptom | Fix |
|-----------|---------|-----|
| Skipping the belief-breaking section | Conversion drops; audience hits offer unprepared | Always include 25% on beliefs |
| Skipping qualification | Wrong audience reads on; dilution | Always qualify in section 2 |
| 5%+ on offer alone | Offer feels like ad | Spread to 20% with full value stack |
| 50%+ on hook | Indulgent opening; reader bored | Cap hook at 10% |

## Why proportions matter

Other structures (Halbert, Kennedy) prescribe SECTIONS. Brunson prescribes PROPORTIONS. Why:

- A 5000-word sales page has 5× more belief-breaking room than a 1000-word page
- The proportion stays constant; the absolute length scales
- Easy to budget time / words during writing
- Easy to audit — "is the belief section ~25% of total length?"

This makes the 6-part structure **scalable** across very different format lengths without losing the conversion logic.
