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Kevin Hogan
Network 3000
3432 Denmark #108
Eagan, MN 55123
(612) 616-0732
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Kevin Hogan
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Copywriting: The Final Frontier in Using the "Written Word"
to Speak To Your Potential Customer
Part 3 of 5
by Kevin Hogan
Genesis: Creating a Winning Starting Paragraph
I used to think that it went without saying that you should write great copy and advertising only for the best of products and services.And as I often have found, I was wrong.
Promotion Karma is simple: If someone sells and markets a crummy product, they should suffer eternally in promotional Hades.
Most copy I read is a lot better than the product it sells, and that bugs me.
It's almost as if people write this great copy and then create something to go with it. I'll reserve examples for another day...
Writing Promotional Copy
Writing copy which promotes great products and services is a process of putting together all the different parts into a working piece that is going to make the readers want to accept the offer that is being presented. The starting paragraph is where you will begin to cause the reader see why they must read the rest of the copy and ultimately why they would be crazy to do anything except accept the offer.Your starting paragraph is going to present the opportunity. It is going to bring the focus to the benefits of the product and make overwhelmingly clear precisely why the reader needs the product. Anything you say in your starting paragraph will later be backed up by other areas of your copy.
You want to develop rapport between you and your reader in your starting paragraph. You want to remember that the main rules of writing copy when writing this paragraph as it will set the tone for the rest of the copy.
You need to make it conversational, focused and simple. Many times the starting paragraph is a story, or the start of a story. People relate well to stories, if they are told well.
Well-told stories have a way of capturing people's imagination.
The story should have a very basic point to it that is clear. To be on the safe side, it should also be a short story that does not go on ad infinitum, although there are exceptions...for later.
The story should be something that your readers can relate or perhaps aspire to. It can also be something that is emotionally painful or causes a mild amount of anxiety or fear.
You should be able to evoke some reaction in the reader that makes them nod in agreement. It is a key sales tactic to get the customer agreeing because once they start agreeing it is easier to get the sale in the end.
Your starting paragraph might answer a question.
If your headline asked a question, your starting paragraph might provide the answer to that question.
And it might not.
Starting paragraphs:
- Present an Opportunity
- Develop Rapport with the Reader
- Are Conversational, Focused, and Simple
- May be the start of a well-told story
- May evoke emotional pain or anxiety
- Should make the reader nod in agreement
- Might Answer a question
Continue: Page | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 
Kevin Hogan
Network 3000 Publishing
3432 Denmark #108
Eagan, MN 55123
(612) 616-0732
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