Five frameworks the world's best founders use BEFORE writing a single line of landing-page copy. 30-45 min total. Skip these and your page will sound like a brochure. Do them and your hero writes itself.
⏱ 30–45 min pre-work
🎯 Do this Friday night or 1h before
📋 5 frameworks · 5 prompts
⚠ The mistake we want to prevent
The #1 reason Build Sprint landing pages fail to convert is they're built for "everyone" — vague user, vague pain, vague promise. Generic page → generic conversion (1-2%). Specific page → conversion rates of 12-20% (Unbounce top 10%). The specificity comes from the work below. If you only have 15 minutes pre-hackathon, do framework #1 (ICP). If you have 45 — do all five.
"Ideal Customer Profile" — who exactly are you building this for? Specificity wins. Vagueness kills.
Framework 01 · ICP
Ideal Customer Profile.
Origin: HubSpot / Lenny Rachitsky · adapted for B2C and indie products
⏱ 10 min
An ICP is NOT a persona. A persona is fictional (Sarah, 34, marketing manager, loves yoga). An ICP is observable (Series A SaaS PMs whose teams use Notion, who hire 2-5 ICs/year, who hate manual onboarding). Personas are who they ARE. ICPs are what they DO.
Fill this one-pager for your product
01 · Job title / role
Specific, not "knowledge worker"
02 · Company stage / context
Pre-PMF? Series A? Solo? Side-project?
03 · Tools they already use
List 3-5 specific tools (proxy for tribe)
04 · Where they hang out
Specific subs/communities/newsletters
05 · Decision authority
Buy themselves? Need approval?
06 · Budget range
$0 · $1-50/mo · $100-500 · $1k+
07 · Trigger event
What just happened that makes them look NOW?
08 · How they describe themselves
Their own words · not yours
Example · sharpened
"Solo music teachers running 15-30 weekly lessons, who use Google Calendar + Zoom + a spreadsheet, hang out in r/musicteachers + the Tonebase Discord, pay themselves for tools under $30/mo, and look for new systems right after they overbook by accident or lose a student to bad scheduling."
Prompt 09a · Run on Claude · sharpen your ICP# ROLE
You are a senior product strategist who has helped 200+ indie founders narrow their ICP from "everyone" to a specific tribe of 10,000-100,000 humans worth building for.
# GOAL
Sharpen my ICP one-pager from vague to specific. Push back on every generic answer.
# CONTEXT
- My product: [ONE-LINE PRODUCT]
- My rough idea of the user: [DESCRIBE]
- My current ICP one-pager: [PASTE THE 8 FIELDS FROM ABOVE]# YOUR TASK
1. For each answer, score 1-5 on specificity (1=generic, 5=tribe-specific)
2. For any answer below 4, rewrite it with the question "What's the OBSERVABLE behavior here?"
3. Ask me 3 follow-up questions that would push the ICP from a 3 to a 5
4. Suggest the SINGLE word change that would tighten this ICP most
# SELF-CHECK
Would 10,000 humans answer YES to this ICP profile? Not 100,000 — too broad. Not 100 — too narrow. Specificity tip: a TRUE ICP can be reached via 1-2 specific channels, not "the internet".
Framework 02 · 10 minutes
Jobs to be Done.
What "job" is the user hiring your product to do? Clayton Christensen's frame — used by Bob Moesta, Intercom, Basecamp.
Framework 02 · JTBD
Jobs to be Done.
Origin: Clayton Christensen (HBS) · operationalized by Bob Moesta · adopted by Basecamp, Intercom
⏱ 10 min
People don't buy products. They hire them to do a job. A drill isn't bought for the drill — it's hired for the HOLE. Your product is being hired to make a specific kind of progress in a user's life.
"When ___, I want to ___, so I can ___."
The 3 layers of every job
Functional job — the practical outcome ("ship a landing page in a day")
Emotional job — how they want to FEEL ("feel like a real founder")
Social job — how they want to be SEEN ("be the friend who builds")
Example · the 3 layers stacked
Functional: "When I have a product idea, I want to test it with a real landing page in under a day, so I can validate before I invest weeks coding." Emotional: "I want to feel like I'm actually shipping, not just researching." Social: "I want my Twitter audience to see me as someone who ACTUALLY builds things, not just talks about them."
The Bob Moesta interview script (use on real users before/after)
Walk me through the last time you tried to [do this job].
What was happening in your life when you decided "I have to fix this"?
What did you try first? Why did that fail?
What did you replace? What ROLE was that thing playing?
What would have to be true for you to "fire" my product?
Prompt 09b · Run on Claude · generate your JTBD statement# ROLE
You are Bob Moesta, the operator behind the modern Jobs-to-be-Done methodology, who has run 1,000+ "switch interviews" to extract what users actually hire products to do.
# GOAL
Write the 3-layer JTBD statement for my product (functional + emotional + social) — sharp enough to put on a landing page.
# CONTEXT
- My product: [ONE-LINE PRODUCT]
- My ICP (from Framework 01): [PASTE ICP]
- What I think the user "hires" the product for: [YOUR GUESS]
- Their old way / current workaround: [WHAT THEY DO WITHOUT IT]# OUTPUT
1. **The functional job** — "When [trigger], I want to [progress], so I can [outcome]." (1 sentence)
2. **The emotional job** — what they want to FEEL during/after. (1 sentence)
3. **The social job** — how they want others to perceive them. (1 sentence)
4. **The "old way" they're firing** — what gets fired when they hire you?
5. **What would make them fire YOU** — what fails this job?
6. **The headline-ready phrase** — your JTBD compressed to 12 words for a landing page hero.
# SELF-CHECK
- ✓ Is functional concrete (not vague)?
- ✓ Is emotional specific (not "feel happy")?
- ✓ Is social believable (not "feel like a CEO")?
- ✓ Would the user nod when they read it?
Framework 03 · 10 minutes
Positioning canvas.
April Dunford's framework — used by Stripe, Help Scout, Postman to dominate categories before launch.
Framework 03 · Positioning
April Dunford's 5-box canvas.
Origin: April Dunford · "Obviously Awesome" · used at Stripe, Help Scout, 200+ B2B SaaS
⏱ 10 min
Positioning is the act of deliberately defining how you are the BEST at something a specific market cares about. The default position ("AI for everything") is the death position. Pick a CATEGORY where you can be #1.
Fill the 5 boxes
Box 01 · Competitive alternatives
What would users do WITHOUT you? (Often: spreadsheets, manual work, a Notion doc)
Box 02 · Unique attributes
What features do ONLY you have? Not "AI" — specific capabilities.
Box 03 · Value (the "so what")
What benefit do those attributes deliver to user? Measurable.
Box 04 · Who cares
Which segment cares MOST about that value?
Box 05 · Market category
Where do you want to be #1? "Best [category] for [segment]"
Example · sharpened
Alternatives: Google Calendar + manual Zoom links + a "what's your availability?" email thread Unique: Lesson-plan-aware scheduling that auto-suggests times based on what each student practiced last week Value: Save 4h/week of admin · zero scheduling-related student churn Who cares: Solo music teachers running 15+ weekly lessons Category: The first calendar built for lesson-based work, not meetings
The positioning statement · 1 sentence
"For [WHO CARES], who [PAIN], [PRODUCT] is the [CATEGORY] that [UNIQUE VALUE], unlike [ALTERNATIVES] which [LIMITATION]."
Prompt 09c · Run on Claude · build positioning# ROLE
You are April Dunford, positioning expert behind Stripe, Help Scout, and 200+ SaaS companies' market positioning.
# GOAL
Fill April's 5-box positioning canvas for my product. Then output a 1-sentence positioning statement sharp enough to anchor the entire landing page.
# CONTEXT
- My product: [ONE-LINE PRODUCT]
- My ICP (from Framework 01): [PASTE ICP]
- My JTBD (from Framework 02): [PASTE JTBD]
- What I think we're BETTER at: [YOUR GUESS]
- Closest competitor or alternative: [COMPETITOR / "spreadsheet" / "Google Calendar" / etc.]# OUTPUT
**Box 01 · Competitive alternatives** — what users use today instead of me
**Box 02 · Unique attributes** — specific capabilities only I have (NOT "AI", NOT "fast")
**Box 03 · Value** — what those attributes deliver to user, measurable if possible
**Box 04 · Who cares most** — the segment for whom that value is 10× anyone else
**Box 05 · Market category** — the category where I want to be #1
**The positioning statement** (1 sentence):
"For [WHO CARES], who [PAIN], [PRODUCT] is the [CATEGORY] that [UNIQUE VALUE], unlike [ALTERNATIVES] which [LIMITATION]."
**The honest test** — write the OPPOSING positioning a competitor could use against me.
# SELF-CHECK
- ✓ Did I pick a SPECIFIC category ("AI tool" doesn't count)?
- ✓ Did I name SPECIFIC alternatives?
- ✓ Did I focus on ONE segment who cares MOST?
- ✓ Is the value MEASURABLE?
Framework 04 · 8 minutes
Problem · Promise · Proof.
The classic 3-part copywriting frame. David Ogilvy, John Caples, modernized by Demand Curve.
Framework 04 · PPP
Problem · Promise · Proof.
Origin: David Ogilvy / John Caples · modernized in conversion copy by Demand Curve, Joanna Wiebe
⏱ 8 min
Every great landing page hero collapses into three lines:
Problem — name the visceral pain the user is in
Promise — name the specific outcome you deliver
Proof — name the evidence that you can deliver it
Get these 3 right and your hero is 80% done. Most pages fail by skipping the proof or being vague on the problem.
Fill the 3 lines for your product
Problem · in user's words
"You're tired of [SPECIFIC visceral situation]"
Promise · with measurable outcome
"With [product], you can [OUTCOME] in [TIME] without [PAIN]"
Proof · with real number / artifact
"[N specific users] already [doing the outcome]. Here's their [proof]."
Example · stacked
Problem: "You're tired of double-booking lessons because Calendly doesn't know your students' practice schedule." Promise: "With LessonCal, you publish a smart calendar in 10 min that auto-blocks conflicts AND suggests times based on what each student practiced." Proof: "528 solo music teachers shipped this week. "It cut my admin from 6h to 1h per week" — Sarah K., violin teacher, NYC."
Prompt 09d · Run on Claude · PPP for your hero# ROLE
You are a senior conversion copywriter trained in the Ogilvy/Caples/Joanna Wiebe lineage. You collapse every great landing page hero into 3 lines: Problem, Promise, Proof.
# GOAL
Write the 3-line PPP for my landing page hero. Each line ready to ship.
# CONTEXT
- My product: [ONE-LINE PRODUCT]
- My ICP: [PASTE ICP]
- My JTBD: [PASTE JTBD]
- My positioning: [PASTE POSITIONING]
- A real user pain quote: [QUOTE OR "GUESS"]
- A real proof point: [NUMBER / TESTIMONIAL / METRIC]# OUTPUT
**Line 01 · The Problem** — "You're tired of [SPECIFIC visceral situation]"
**Line 02 · The Promise** — "With [PRODUCT], you can [OUTCOME] in [TIME] without [PAIN]"
**Line 03 · The Proof** — "[N] [SPECIFIC USERS] already [OUTCOME VERB]. [Quote OR metric]."
Then output: Hero headline (≤12 words), subhead (≤16 words), CTA verb.
# SELF-CHECK
- ✓ Could a stranger say "yes that's me" to the Problem?
- ✓ Is the Promise measurable?
- ✓ Is the Proof a real number?
- ✓ Could a 13-year-old grasp the hero in 8 seconds?
Framework 05 · 7 minutes
5 Stages of Awareness.
Eugene Schwartz · 1966 · still the most cited frame in modern copywriting. Tells you HOW to phrase your hero based on WHAT the user already knows.
The user lands on your page in ONE of 5 awareness stages. Your hero must match the stage they're in. Mismatch your hero to their stage and they bounce in 4 seconds.
The 5 stages
Stage 1 · Unaware — doesn't even know they have the problem. Hard to convert. Skip them.
Stage 2 · Problem-aware — knows the pain, doesn't know solutions exist. Lead with the PAIN.
Stage 3 · Solution-aware — knows solutions exist, doesn't know YOU. Lead with the CATEGORY + your unique angle.
Stage 4 · Product-aware — knows YOU, hasn't decided yet. Lead with proof + risk-removal.
Stage 5 · Most aware — ready to buy, just needs the price/CTA. Lead with the deal.
How to diagnose your audience's stage
Where does your traffic come from? Organic search for the problem → Stage 2. Direct or referral → Stage 3-4. Twitter/IndieHackers community → often 3.
What do they search for? "How to [problem]" → Stage 2. "Best [category]" → Stage 3. "[Your name] review" → Stage 4.
Example · same product, 3 different heroes by stage
Stage 2 (problem-aware): "Double-booked again? Your students deserve better." Stage 3 (solution-aware): "The smart calendar built for solo music teachers — not meetings." Stage 4 (product-aware): "LessonCal · trusted by 528 music teachers · save 4h/week · 14-day free trial."
⚡ For the hackathon
Most Build Sprint products target Stage 2 or Stage 3 users. If you're not sure which one your audience is in, default to Stage 2 + a clear category statement — you'll capture both stages without alienating either.
The workflow · 45 min total
How to actually do this.
Friday night, after dinner. Or Saturday morning before doors open at 10:30.
10 min · Fill the ICP one-pager (Framework 01). Run Prompt 09a to sharpen.
10 min · Write your JTBD statement (Framework 02). Run Prompt 09b to extract the 3 layers.
10 min · Fill April Dunford's positioning canvas (Framework 03). Run Prompt 09c.
8 min · Write your 3-line PPP (Framework 04). Run Prompt 09d. This becomes your hero.
7 min · Diagnose your audience's awareness stage (Framework 05). Pick the hero phrasing to match.
When you walk into the hackathon Saturday
You arrive with: a sharp ICP · a 3-layer JTBD · a positioning statement · 3 hero lines (Problem/Promise/Proof) · a known audience stage. Your team starts the hackathon at minute 0:00 with what most teams don't have at minute 60:00. That's a full hour of head start. Use it on craft, not on confusion.