Keeping a reader’s attention until the very last word on the order form can be a tricky job. However, don’t despair, because there IS an easy way to write copy that does just that. It’s extremely simple to use, so pay attention! 😉
First though, let’s go over what exactly headlines are used for so that you can understand it better. A headline is NOT designed to sell your product. It’s designed and ONLY designed to get the person reading your opening paragraph.
That’s it! That’s the only purpose.
So it stands to reason then, that you have to KEEP using headlines to keep their attention. That is one of the main reasons all good copy has subheads. But most people tend to just stop there. DON’T!
Instead, try doing this. Give certain paragraphs their own headlines. In this instance, the first sentence of the paragraph that ‘sells’ the prospect on continuing to read would be your headline. This keeps them from starting to skim the copy, or even worse, quit reading it altogether!
These my friend are what you call power transitions.
Here’s an example. Legendary Gary Halbert wrote a piece of copy to promote a seminar he was holding. The paragraphs that uses a power transition are in bold italics.
Why Would Anyone Pay Almost $7,000 to Attend the Four-Day Seminar?
The answer is simple. The benefits of attending one of the college’s amazing seminars are enormous. According to Gary Halbert, founder of the college and the creative force behind Gary Halbert advertising, an astounding number of graduates from these seminars have gone on to earn staggering sums of money.
For example: a California businessman named Rick Neiswonger listened to Halbert for no longer than an hour, yet used what he learned to triple his income into millions over the next 12 months. Bill Williams, a physicist/inventor from the northwest, used Halbert’s advice to bring in $43 million in new business. One Arizona follower earned $30 million from a single idea of Halbert’s — part of the college’s basic curriculum — and an Atlanta businessman took in 9 million with just a simple technique he learned.
And these are not isolated cases! It’s nearly routine for graduates of these seminars to go home and use their new skills to double and triple their income almost overnight. The college literally has file cabinets overflowed with success cases from all over the world.
But here’s the real news you need to hear: the Key West College of millionaires is currently sponsoring… A Special 4 Hour “Mini version” of Their Full Load Seminars in Miami — for Only $79 per Attendee!
See what is going on? Each opening line in the paragraph pushes you to keep reading. “The answer is simple” promises you that if you keep reading you’ll find a simple explanation that will make sense to you. “For example” promises to give you a real-world case study of the idea he just told you about. “And these are not isolated cases” promises that you, too, can make these work for you. “But here’s the real news you need to hear” promises that you haven’t even heard the best part yet of what you have since been reading!
Remember I talked about keeping your reader engaged and excited to continue reading? Each of these power transitions does exactly that. It keeps your reader wanting to continue to read the following paragraph.
Now of course that doesn’t mean you should do that for every paragraph. Too much of a good thing is, well too much of a good thing! It can become tedious and tiresome to your reader, and we DON’T want THAT!
You should though, do it each time you really feel you need to grab their attention and keep them going, or each time you transition to a new point in your copy.
It’s a good idea to use power transitions at least once in every 3 or 4 paragraphs, and more if it works with the copy and flows naturally.
The easiest way to do this is by using a ‘power transition’ swipe file. Stay tuned for the next post where I provide you with exactly that!
