1. Copywriting

How to Write a Powerful Opening Sequence

Hey!

Here’s something I see a lot of marketers needing help with. So I’m going to help you with it right now.

That is: slipping into boring, descriptive, cookie-cutter copy after they’ve spent all the energy on that all-important headline.

Don’t drop the ball, open with a powerfully dramatic opening sequence!

^ ^ ^ Press play to hear how! ^ ^ ^

Now for a checklist:

  • The key to writing a compelling opening sequence is DRAMA, then more DRAMA! 🙂
  • Don’t stop after writing a great headline stack (they’re just the ad for the real copy)… you have to open strong! (Movie producers know this quite well…)
  • Start the open sequence “in the middle of something big happening”; i.e. “I couldn’t stand it any longer. I HAD to burst that thought out loud”, or “the room fell silent as I dropped the bomb. you could hear a pin drop…”
  • Get your cues from fiction: the greatest writers often write fantastic opens, right there on the first page of a novel; I particularly like the Nordic thriller writers like Jo Nesbø or Stieg Larsson. Maybe you like Stephen King, I don’t know, see how they do it and draw INFLUENCE from them. NEVER copy. That’s plagiarism, of course.
  • Don’t make the open too long; the purpose is to make a powerful impact that will last throughout the copy all the way to the close and call to action. maybe one screenful of well-spaced copy, max.
  • Some possibilities: tell the story of something that happened to you, to your client, to their client, to a celebrity, to someone in another market, to a competitor’s client…
  • Study screenwriters: they know how to create powerful drama in a very short amount of time and conserving words… there’s a lot you can a lot to learn from their craft.
  • Study some great copywriters who employ powerful opens, such as Jo Han Mok of Singapore.

Go ahead, give it a shot and for once don’t hold back!

 

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Comments to: How to Write a Powerful Opening Sequence
  • November 1, 2013

    Yeah! Its true… A good start end up to a great ending……… Its a milestone in the line of writing..

    Reply
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