---

How to write using the rule of 3 in Copywriting

   Nitish      November 19th, 2020

---

A writer is always looking for new techniques and tools to keep improving his work. And if it doesn’t, it should. As writers, we have many tools at hand, many techniques that have been used by other pens like us for years — centuries — why shouldn’t we take advantage of them? Today I want to explain one:  the technique of 3.

The rule of 3 is one of the oldest writing techniques out there. You can find it in all the good stories; from the Bible to classic stories, through Gabriella’s articles like this one on the three cubes. The rule itself is very simple: the events of a story must happen three at a time.

It’s very simple. Events have a marked pattern that makes it easy for us to recognize them in the text: raise a conflict, increase conflict, resolve conflict.

The good thing about this technique is that it works for everything. It is not limited to literature or fiction, you can use it for your copy — I’ll go deeper into this later — for your articles… You just change the pattern. Instead of conflict, you use similarities: something similar, something similar, something different.

If you want a great example of the use of this technique, look at some chapters of The Simpsons, they are the best using these repetitions in their gags.

The 3 little pigs

The easiest example to recognize — and also the easiest to explain — is that of The Three Little Pigs. The first idiot builds the straw house, the wolf arrives and buries it – what a surprise, eh? -: we establish the conflict. The second light is built of firewood — these pigs were careful speculators — the wolf buries him too: conflict grows. The third little pig — which must have gotten all the good genes out of the family — had the brick house; the wolf cannot destroy it: the conflict is resolved.

I do not have to tell you that children’s stories tend to abuse this technique, another good example of this would be Goldilocks and the three bears.

The rule of 3 in the structure of your story

The good thing about this rule is that you can use it on a large scale: within the structure of your novel, or on a small scale: in single sentences, which shape the arches of each character.

Most histories use this rule on a large scale within their structures. When this is done you turn your structure into a three-act novel. Hollywood is a great example of this type of structure. Almost all movies use a three-act narration. You can use it within subplots as well. In La Carne y La Sangre I used this structure. The priest is on the brink of misery and needs money to continue with his mission – conflict -, in the next part the priest discovers that he has put himself in great danger and that, who should help him, represents his greatest threat – conflict – however, after a confrontation, he manages to save his life and preserve his faith – resolution.

I used this same technique of similar, similar, and different, in other stories such as Fallen from the Sky or Old Traces.

If a reader tells you that a certain event or situation in your novel seems gratuitous — come on, you’ve pulled it off your sleeve — a good solution is to add a couple more scenes. If someone complains that random events appear in your novel, without any basis, maybe you should go back and add a couple of scenes to that story arc. In this way, you will create that recognizable pattern that will help your reader to understand and close the event.

Using the rule of 3 in your novel

Using the rule of 3 well can intensify the conflicts you have sown in your novel and help you hook your readers.

Imagine The Shining. Jack Torrance is out of work, his family cannot live on nothing. If the author had stayed there … the novel would have been quite short: the family ends up on the street and Danny Torrance in social services. We would not have known the Overlook hotel, nor the powers of the little…

Luckily, you know that the author is not going to stay there, you know that Jack is going to find a job and that there will be a threat.

The rule of 3 creates an expectation in the reader who is very clear that something else has to happen.

Nor am I telling you that this is the panacea that will solve any story. There are situations where you don’t want to use this rule, for example when you want an event to be a surprise to the reader. In fantasy novels, the protagonist, at the beginning of his adventure, usually has a mundane problem that he always solves in an unconventional but brilliant way. He never uses that technique again until … the final showdown arrives and that “unconventional” way turns out to be the only one suitable to defeat the great villain.

The rule of 3 in copywriting

Tie up the ponies, Tron! Where were you going? Won’t you go close this window? Come on, sit down, and shut up.

If you’re a writer, the hell, you have to be a blogger too. That’s the way things are right now in this little world, you know: online visibility for ghost writers. Copywriting is part of your new job, and the rule of 3 also reigns here, so you better know what this is about.

On the Internet and on blogs, the rule of 3 is everywhere. Grouping the information in groups of three has a greater impact on the reader, it makes the lists easier to remember. Yes, it may be better for the SEO of your page to use larger numbers, but for the reader’s mind, the best is a good 3, there … With all its curves.

And if you don’t believe me, look: it’s always been there.

• Just do it, Nike
• Blood, sweat, and tears.
• Vini, Vidi, vici, Julius Caesar.
• Citius, Altius, Fortius, the motto of the Olympics.
• Stop, look, and listen, Elvis Presley.
• Liberté, egalité, fraternité, motto of the French Republic.

The use of the number 3 in historical phrases, in advertising, and in literature is no coincidence. It has to do with the way in which human beings process information. The 3 forms a pattern that is easy for us to recognize, identify, and process.

The great men of history have used the 3 as a pattern to achieve their achievements. Thomas Jefferson coined what is supposed to be the most influential phrase in history: “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”, which would later be reduced to: “Life, liberty and happiness.” As you can see, it is the best phrase to sell your country to anyone.

Ok, but how do I use this in my articles?

The numbers in copywriting

On the Internet, the numbers fall in love. Lists of anything – from sexually transmitted diseases to romance books – are popular. They are easy to read and give our brain the opportunity to sort things out. Numbers are like treats for our brain, he enjoys them, and they are pleasant to him.

Lately, there is a lot of excitement with the issue of figures in copywriting and SEO. From always, the extravagant numbers (27, 371, 769…) have worked better than the round numbers. A while ago the number 7 was a magic number, it was used for everything. Nowadays, especially if you have a fairly large blog, you need higher numbers.

However, number 3 always works. With the 3 you will know that you were right because it is a number that enters us and that stays because there are too many great things that come in groups of three: The Three Musketeers, The Trinity, the original Star Wars trilogy, Nirvana…

The number 3 has always been at the center of human communication, from classical rhetoric to religious sermons.

Why does the rule of 3 work?

Three is the smallest number needed to form a recognizable pattern. That is the key to its power as a communication tool. In its purest form, the rule of 3 uses very simple patterns, to communicate very complex ideas effectively. These patterns work because they are short, which makes them easy to remember.

More examples of this rule throughout history:

• In physics: Newton’s three rules of motion.
• Religion: the concept of the triple deity, for Christians is the representation of the Trinity.
• In Art: the principles of composition.

Although, I suppose that as copywriters what interests us is to know the principles of the rule of 3 in writing. Well, there are also many examples:

• The three Aristotelian units
• The three dramatic conflicts (internal, external, and relational)
• The structure of the three acts.