---
genome: copywriting
reference: frameworks-5-act-narrative
load_priority: high
---

# 5-Act Narrative Arc

Sales content follows a dramatic structure, not a flat feature list. The 5-act arc is the foundational structure for direct response copy.

## The 5 acts

### Act 1 — Lead (10-15%)

**Purpose:** hook attention, create curiosity.

**Key elements:**
- Headline that stops the scroll
- Lead paragraph that opens curiosity gap
- Immediate relevance to the prospect (avatar awareness)

**Common patterns:**
- Specific surprising fact
- Pattern interrupt opener
- Vivid scene
- Curiosity question (carefully — Georgi forbids; others permit)

### Act 2 — Background (15-20%)

**Purpose:** build authority and emotional connection.

**Key elements:**
- Origin story (in Brunson tradition)
- Personal relationship-building (in Halbert tradition)
- Credibility through demonstrated transformation (in Ícaro tradition)
- Specific named transformation (in Kennedy tradition)

The Background act earns the right to teach.

### Act 3 — Mechanism (20-25%)

**Purpose:** explain WHY (problem cause + solution logic).

**Key elements:**
- Articulate the deeper problem (beyond surface symptoms)
- Explain why most solutions fail
- Reveal the unique mechanism (the "why THIS works")
- Connect mechanism to specific evidence

This is the **conversion lever**. Underdeveloping it produces commodity copy.

### Act 4 — Offer (20-25%)

**Purpose:** present the product as the vehicle.

**Key elements:**
- Itemize what they get
- Stack value (each component with assigned value)
- Total value visibly exceeds price
- Bonuses tied to specific objections
- Strong guarantee (risk reversal)

See `frameworks/offer-stack.md` for detailed offer construction.

### Act 5 — Close (10-15%)

**Purpose:** manage emotions, drive action.

**Key elements:**
- Two Paths technique (see `frameworks/two-paths-close.md`)
- Real urgency (deadline or scarcity, never manufactured)
- Clear instructions
- Multiple response paths
- Optional P.S. that re-hooks (Halbert tradition)

## Why 5 acts (not 3, not 7, not 10)

Other structures exist:
- Halbert 10-step (direct mail tradition)
- Kennedy 10-step (No B.S. systematic)
- Georgi 7-act (RMBC)
- Brunson 6-part / 7-phase (Perfect Webinar)

The foundational 5-act is the **shared substrate** — it maps cleanly to dramatic narrative tradition (5-act plays since classical theater) and provides the **simplest complete arc** for sales content.

Master genomes refine the 5-act:
- Halbert/Kennedy split it into 10 steps for direct mail / direct marketing
- Georgi splits it into 7 acts with explicit mechanism emphasis
- Brunson maps it to 6/7 phases with belief-breaking emphasis

The 5-act foundational version is the **default** when no specific master genome is loaded.

## Proportions

The 5-act default proportions (in 5,000-word sales letter):

| Act | % | Words |
|-----|---|-------|
| 1. Lead | 10-15% | 500-750 |
| 2. Background | 15-20% | 750-1000 |
| 3. Mechanism | 20-25% | 1000-1250 |
| 4. Offer | 20-25% | 1000-1250 |
| 5. Close | 10-15% | 500-750 |

The Mechanism + Offer (40-50%) is the **conversion engine**. The Lead + Background (25-35%) earns the read. The Close (10-15%) drives the action.

## Application by format

### Long sales page (5000+ words)
Full 5-act with proportions above.

### VSL (15-30 minutes)
Compressed 5-act:
- Act 1: 2-3 min
- Act 2: 3-5 min
- Act 3: 4-6 min
- Act 4: 4-6 min
- Act 5: 2-3 min

### Email sequence
One act per email × 5 emails:
- Email 1: Lead (the problem teased + curiosity)
- Email 2: Background (origin story / credibility)
- Email 3: Mechanism (why this works)
- Email 4: Offer
- Email 5: Close + scarcity

### Short ad
Compressed Lead + condensed Mechanism + immediate Offer/Close. Acts 1, 3, 4 dominate; Act 2 is omitted; Act 5 is brief.

### Webinar
Standard webinar mapping:
- Act 1 → Powerful Promise + Qualification (Brunson)
- Act 2 → Origin Story (Brunson)
- Act 3 → Breaking 3 Beliefs + New Path (Brunson)
- Act 4 → The Offer (Brunson)
- Act 5 → Close + Real Scarcity (Brunson)

## The "no boring copy" discipline

> "There is no long copy, only boring copy." — Foundational axiom #4

The 5-act structure works at any length IF every paragraph earns the next paragraph. A 5,000-word sales page that maintains curiosity outperforms a 500-word page that's generic.

Length is not the variable; **boredom is**. The 5-act structure provides the dramatic arc that prevents boredom — each act creates new tension that the next act resolves.

## Common violations

### Violation 1 — Skipping Act 3 (Mechanism)
Symptom: copy reads as "we're better" without explaining why.

Fix: develop the mechanism with specific evidence.

### Violation 2 — Front-loading Act 4 (Offer)
Symptom: offer revealed too early; reader hasn't been built up.

Fix: keep Act 4 in its proper position; build Acts 1-3 first.

### Violation 3 — Weak Act 5 (Close)
Symptom: reader is convinced but doesn't act.

Fix: real urgency + clear instructions + Two Paths technique.

### Violation 4 — Bloated Act 2 (Background)
Symptom: founder origin story takes 40% of the piece.

Fix: cap at 20%; the prospect is the hero, not you.

### Violation 5 — Disconnected acts
Symptom: each act feels like a separate piece; no narrative flow.

Fix: each act ends with a transition that primes the next; the One Belief threads through all 5.

## How One Belief threads through 5 acts

| Act | One Belief role |
|-----|-----------------|
| 1. Lead | Tease the New Opportunity |
| 2. Background | Establish credibility for the Mechanism |
| 3. Mechanism | Reveal and prove the Unique Mechanism |
| 4. Offer | Package the New Opportunity as the product |
| 5. Close | Drive action toward the New Opportunity |

The 5 acts × One Belief produces coherent direct response that converts.
