Abstract We present an analytic model for virtual pion Compton scattering. Using factorization of the Regge residues we predict the scale-invariant electroproduction structure functions for e−π → e−X, and obtain results for the pion form factor that compare well with the data. By fitting recent data from CEA and the SLAC-LBL-SPEAR collaboration for the ratio R = σ(e+e− → hadrons)/σ(e+e− → μ+μ−), and for the mean multiplicity of charged pions, we obtain predictions for the inclusive process e+e− → π−X. In particular, the predicted Eπd3σ/dp3 for the inclusive process e+e− → π−X shows a strong diffractive type of behaviour with a slope for √q2 ∼ 4.8 GeV approximately the same as in pp → π−X. The ratio R is predicted to rise linearly versus √q2 until some high energy, beyond which it tends to a constant, while the multiplicity remains essentially constant. The mechanism in the model that produces these predictions is the build-up or “statistical bootstrapping” of meson resonances in the direct (or missing mass) s-channel.