In his seminars, Sugarman would quiz his students on the purpose of various copy elements: the headline, the graphics, the sub-headlines, etc. Why are they important?
“What is the purpose of a headline?” Sugarman would ask.
Every time the student started with some complicated, jargon-filled explanation, he would cut them off.
“The purpose is to get the first sentence read,” he would counter.
“And the purpose of the first sentence is to get the second sentence read,” he continued.
And so on, down a slippery slide that leads to your offer and the sale.
This is an extremely valuable way to go about structuring any writing, and it’s crucial to writing intended to persuade or sell. Many times we find ourselves so eager to arrive at our conclusion that we forget that the essence of making a persuasive point (or causing any action) is how we get there.
Step by step.
Now… how do we get there?
With this simple framework in mind, the stage is set for drilling down deeper into the nitty gritty of the “step by step.” We’re now in a better position to more fully appreciate the specific techniques that apply to all of the various elements of strong copy.
For example, we can now see:
- why a strong, compelling headline is critical;
- why immediately focusing on the benefit to the reader is so crucial;
- why you must make a promise to the reader that you later fulfill; and
- why you must back up everything you’ve said with very specific proof.
If no one reads, all is lost.
And the key to getting someone to read is one sentence at a time, so compelled by that sentence that they want to read the next. In other words, how you say it is how you get there.