Openings That Work

First of all a bit of a warning.

Not long ago I wrote about the importance of educating yourself. And I mentioned books, CDs, DVDs as places you could learn about copywriting and marketing.

But one place I didn’t mention was online forums. And there’s a very good reason for it too.

You see, you never know WHO is giving the advice on these forums. OK, if you’re there long enough you get to know the people who know what they’re talking about and those who don’t. But for most people its difficult to know who the experts are.

Look. I’ve seen enough advice on these forums to be positively dangerous. I remember one thread where people were complimenting someone on their sales copy until someone (who actually knew what they were talking about) stepped in and set them all straight.

So unless you know who is giving you advice, its best ignored.

Now, this week I want to go through something that I’ve written about several times before. Its the opening of your sales letter or page.
That’s because the opening part of your sales copy is so damned important it cannot be left to chance. When I write, I probably spend about 50% of my time on the first page, or for online copy the first screen.

If you don’t grab their attention and get their interest straight away then its game over. The prospect’s gone and they ain’t coming back. All you’re left with is the sound of their money flying away into the distance.

Now, I’ve written about the importance of your headline recently so I wont cover that again. But what I want to cover is what happens straight after that.

As you know, your headline’s job is to get people to read the first line. And the job of the first line is to get them to read the first paragraph. And of course, the job of the first paragraph is to get them to read the rest.

So instead of giving you loads of theory on how to write openings, why dont I just give you some easy to copy openings you can use right away. After all, copywriting’s all about using proven principles and formulas and here’s a few you can use straight out of the box.

1. Use a grabber. I wont go into the grabbers themselves, because I wrote about it here:

http://salescomefirst.com/lumpy-mail/

But the way you open with a grabber is (using a poker chip as an example):

“As you can see I have attached a poker chip to the top of this letter.

Why have I done this?

Well, for two reasons actually. The first is to get your attention, and I think I’ve done that.

The second is because most people are taking a far bigger gamble on their health than they realise, so I wanted you to think about whether YOU’RE taking a big risk with yours.”

Another proven opening is the if…then opening. Here’s an example

“If you’re worried that your superannuation fund may not be enough for retirement then this may be the most important letter you’ll ever read. Here’s why…”

The third one I’m going to give you is the Wall Street Journal opening. I won’t reproduce it all here but the opening itself is:

“On a beautiful late spring afternoon, twenty-five years ago, two young men graduated from the same college. They were very much alike, these two young men. Both had been better than average students, both were personable and both–as young graduates are–were filled with ambitious dreams for the future.”

And it goes on from there by describing how one person is very successful and the other is not. The difference, of course, is that one used your product and the other didnt.

Now these three openings are as old as the hills, but guess what. They still work! I use these very regularly myself and I’m not the only one.

One of my aims of these posts is to teach you what works and what doesn’t so you dont have to waste time trying and falling over on your own. So this one is another gold nugget that should get you writing good copy heaps faster.

Next week I’m going to talk about the role of the internet in your business. Is it your business, and if its not, what IS your business?

All the best,

HTsignature1