Copywriting Information |
|
Hooks, Lines & Sinkers
Hands up if the title to this article made you think that you'd strayed into a fishing feature? Perhaps you didn't quite go that far, but hopefully you were puzzled or curious enough to wonder what on earth those three angling associated words have to do with writing. The answer of course is nothing at all if you are thinking of metal barbs, yards of tangled nylon and blobs of lead weights. Think, however, of the good opening lines used to begin most successful short stories, novels and articles then the "hook" in our title takes on a whole new range of meanings and equates very well with the world of creative writing. What most beginners fail to understand when they first begin writing, and this applies as much to articles as it does to short stories and novels, is that when they submit their work to an editor, competition judge or publisher there is only a brief moment to impress which is why a lot of attention needs to be paid to that first opening sentence. Hooking your reader with a good beginning isn't a guarantee to success, but it will serve to focus attention and make the judge, publisher or editor take more notice of the rest of the article, story etc. If nothing else, it presses an subconscious alert button in the reader's mind that marks up the writer as a professional who knows his or her craft. This in turn builds expectation and again focuses attention. As long as the rest of the piece lives up to its early promise, you can be sure that your effort will at the very least receive close inspection and hopefully much more! So, just how do you come up with a good hook? It would be nice if I could say that there was some magic formula available but unfortunately I haven't found it even if it does exist! Still there are several things that you can do to get things moving. First of all don't sit staring at your screen trying to think of a good opening line when you have a mind boiling with ideas struggling to spread themselves over the page! All this will do is make you tense up with frustration and dam your creativity. Instead, start hitting the keys and slap those ideas across the screen! Once you have the basic outline down then you can start the editing process, including the opening sentence. If at this stage you are still stuck, try leaving the work for a few days, there's a good chance you'll come up with something when you're mind is focused on something else and the first flush of enthusiasm has cleared from your brain. Analogy, such as I've used to the fishing world, often provides a good hook. In the case of this article I used it in the title but hooks are used just as often or more so in the opening sentence. My actual opening "hook" made use of a question, which again is a very good way to start, as questions by their very nature demand a response from the reader, even if it is only to read to the end of the sentence! I took this a step further by demanding physical action, "hands up", which of course is a ridiculous thing to expect a reader to do when there is no way of knowing whether they have complied or not! It is this stupidity that hopefully grabs attention and carries on from where the title left off. PR writers are well aware of this process and often mis-spell words to create a similar effect . Quotations and deliberate mis-quotations also make good hooks either from songs, proverbs or other literary works, but also try putting together unusual combinations of words. For instance, you wouldn't think that brussel sprouts could possibly have any effect on good or evil and I'm sure they haven't! One of my son's however has different ideas and his annual grumble during our recent Christmas meal gave me a marvellous opening line, or hook, for what will be a festive article taking a close look at this, in my opinion, much maligned vegetable! What was it? Oh yes, when faced with a heap of those shiny green gems he muttered murderously, "If it wasn't for brussel sprouts there'd be no evil in the world ..." now is that a hook or what? Which brings me on to another point. Hooks, I've found seem to have a power in their own right and often serve as a catalyst to the story or article itself which is why you should be on the alert for when they occur. The brussel sprout incident is a prime example. Writing in any shape or form was the furthest thing from my mind, but the startled looks and laughter from the rest of the family were enough to confirm what I'd immediately thought, here was a hook begging for exploitation and with a enough power of its own to begin generating several lines of thought. Being aware of hooks and the power they have on the reader is something every writer has to get to grips with if they want to achieve success so it is a good idea to train yourself to both generate hooks and be on the alert for them by listening to what other people say. Having a small notebook handy makes a lot of sense, but reading what other people have done before you will also pay dividends. Try this quiz of opening lines to famous novels. It's not easy, but don't worry about your score, the real benefit of the quiz is seeing what worked for the author. Well, what did you think? Some were definitely intriguing but others in my opinion left a lot to be desired which just goes to show that the proof of the pudding is in the eat... er reading so don't fall into the trap of thinking that the beginning is the be all and end all! Oh and before you ask, I haven't forgotten the lines and sinkers either, call those plots and twist endings and to find out more sign up for the WriteLink Short Story Writing Workshop, it's free! www.writebytes.co.uk ANSWERS: About The Author Sue Kendrick is a freelance writer and graphic designer living in the English Midlands. She writes regularl news items for her regional newspaper, has had many articles published in special interest magazines and won prizes in several short story contests. She is now the editor and publisher of www.writelink.co.uk one of the UK's premier writing websites and monthly newsletter. She has written several ebooks including READ ALL ABOUT IT! The WriteLink to Newspaper Writing www.writelink.dabsolco.uk/Newspaper_Book/newspaper_book.html and Poetry For Profit, four reports on how to make money from writing poetry. www.writelink.dabsol.co.uk/Poetry_for_profit/poetry_for_profit.html Sue's personal website can be seen here: - Sue@writelink.co.uk
MORE RESOURCES: The Ultimate Guide to SEO Copywriting in 2024 Influencer Marketing Hub Sylvia Goodson moved from model to copywriter to businesswoman. Yoga helped The Globe and Mail I lost my job to ChatGPT and was made obsolete Business Insider 5 Companies Hiring Copywriters Built In The Best AI Copywriting Tools: Find Your Perfect Match in 2024 The Tech Report Fundraising Copywriting on the Right In the Second Trump Era Campaigns & Elections 13 Best Copywriting Practices - Writing for the Web in 2024 Influencer Marketing Hub Can (or will) AI Replace Copywriters? Browser Media Best AI Copywriting Tools to Generate Content MobileAppDaily The best AI copywriting tools currently available Android Authority 7 Best AI Copywriting Tools to Use for Better Ideas and Efficiency Influencer Marketing Hub Copywriting's Great Pun Debate: Punderful or Punfortunate? | LBBOnline Little Black Book "It's not enough to be a good writer”: Zosia Swidlicka on the importance of brand language in copywriting Creative Bloq 7 skills copywriters can learn from comedians Browser Media I'm ChatGPT, and for the Love of God, Please Don't Make Me Do Any More Copywriting McSweeney's Internet Tendency Solomon tells FutureBook writers 'can't afford' for copywriting jobs to be lost to AI The Bookseller ChatGPT took their jobs. Now they're dog walkers and HVAC techs. The Washington Post How a Gen-Z Copywriting Community Became a Recruitment Service | LBBOnline Little Black Book - LBBonline Creative Minds: Jerome Lum stumbled upon a career in copywriting and became the office guy with the best taste in ... Campaign Asia She Built A Million-Dollar, One-Person Business While Raising Four Children Ages Nine And Under Forbes 'We're all maggots': an audience with Jim Riswold, the copywriter behind some of Nike's greatest adverts Financial Times ‘Copywriter hungry for Swiggy’: Kolkata man applies for copywriting job with creative 11-page deck pitch The Indian Express iWave Acquires AI Platform For Fundraising Copywriting The NonProfit Times Pitch-Perfect: Copywriters Spend The Most Time Finding The Right Tone 11/22/2023 MediaPost Communications How to Start a Freelance Career Without Using Upwork and Fiverr Business Insider A Week In Fitzroy As A Copywriter On $67k Refinery29 Australia Drowning In Content – From Copywriter Relevance to the Age of Artificial Intelligence | LBBOnline Little Black Book Edward Andrews Copywriting Services Honoured with Nomination for Australian Small Business of the Year ABN Newswire A copywriter laid-off without an explanation blames ChatGPT: report Business Insider How to Use AI As a Freelance Copywriter and Editor Business Insider Nobody Taught Me: Adman Bodhisatva Dasgupta Launches Course to Bridge India's Copywriting Gap YourStory Outshinery Launches New Service: Compelling and Optimized Ecommerce Copywriting for Wine wineindustryadvisor.com How to Make 6 Figures a Month on Fiverr As a Freelance Copywriter Business Insider Copywriter - Part or Full Time Working Available - London | The Bookseller Careers & Jobs The Bookseller - Home Vale Geoff Fischer ~ A Life Well-Lived in Copywriting Campaign Brief Learn to write like a copywriter with AdSchool's Copywriting course - kicking off September 21 Campaign Brief WA The Copywriter Should've Gone to Specsavers for Glasses Branding in Asia Magazine Copywriters on Writing Dialogue that Connects | LBBOnline Little Black Book How I Made $175K in a Year From Home As a Freelancer on Fiverr Business Insider Top Responsibilities and Skills of Copywriters | Study MarketingProfs.com » Creative Report Card » Copywriters Strategy Online Now Hiring in Pittsburgh: Philanthropy Assistant, Copywriter, and tons of positions at the Roxian Theatre PGH City Paper What could ChatGPT mean for copywriters? Marketing Brew How to make up to $13K a month copywriting on Fiverr Business Insider Side hustle jobs you can do from home Business Insider iSynergy Adds Johnson to Team as Copywriter businessjournaldaily.com Why writing is branding's secret weapon Creative Review The lost art! Why the advertising industry needs to invest in the art of copywriting The Financial Express Ad Copywriter Orange-Pilling Secrets Bitcoin Magazine Rapper to Master Copywriter with Siyamak Jung | LBBOnline Little Black Book FGV university application campaign wins prize from Brazilian advertising copywriters' association Portal FGV |
RELATED ARTICLES
How To Test The Body Of Your Sales Copy For Weaknesses Your sales copy is the life source of your business. If your sales copy isn't pulling in a decent conservation rate, then your business is suffering. 5 Deadly Copywriting Mistakes That Kill Sales Chances are that you are making many, if not all, of these 5 copywriting mistakes. I call them "deadly" because theyre killing your sales and your profits. Web Copy - How Much is Enough? These days, there's widespread acceptance that a website is an integral part of the marketing plan of any business. Likewise, it's commonly accepted that web copy is a vital component of any website. What Is Persuasive Copywriting And How Can It Help Your Business? Persuasive copywriting is what draws the attention of prospective customers. They see your product and are drawn it. Writing for People and Search Engines Writing for the search engines is much different than writing in any other medium. Search engines are finicky, but they love text, so you're talking their language. A Writers Secrets Every person has secrets that only he or she knows, secrets that are not shared with anyone, not even the most intimate friends, partners, even soul mates. These secrets may be righteous or sinister, yet for reasons, often unknown, they are never revealed to any other person. Top 8 Techniques - Secrets - Create Ad Copy For Your Business To Sky Rocket Perhaps the most important benefit in the material that follows is its ability to provide you with the necessary concepts and constructs which are critical for becomingsuccessful by utilizing many of the high-tech, high-touch capabilities offered by the use of online marketing. Building your home business "Internet-Style" is not only exciting and challenging, it can also be very beneficial in more ways than can be imagined. Five Keys To Leaner and Meaner Copywriting Grab 'em and don't lose 'em. Every marketer knows that one. Does Your Copy Look Fake To the Search Engines? From the early days of search engine optimization, keywords and content have always been vital to achieving your goals. Starting back in the days when we used to shove every slightly relevant keyword into our Meta tags, it has been obvious that search engines love text. A Little-Known Secret To Writing Sales Copy, For Serious Copywriters Only! Have you ever wondered how your copy sounds to your prospects when they're reading it?If you have, here's a little-known trick to making your copy sound as clear as a bell, and feel as comforting as a warm fireplace in the winter.The very best way to figure out how your copy sounds to your prospects, is NOT to read it, but to read it out loud. Ad Copy - Your 12 Point Inspection! You're ready to launch that new product or promotion, & you're really counting on a piece of advertising copy to come through for you.You're looking for stellar results! And, you're determined to do everything in your power to get them. Fundraising Letters: Where To Find Creative Ideas For Your Appeals How do you make your fundraising letters creative and fresh year after year when your needs don't change all that much? I am not talking about new initiatives. I'm talking about the programs that you run year after year. Five Tips for Writing Eyeball-Grabbing Headlines If you made it this far, the headline for this story has caught your attention. Hot headlines are a hit with readers because they stick out, grab attention and urge them to read the rest of the story. Writing Great Website Sales Copy Many small businesses fail because their owners don't pay enough attention to marketing and sales. Part of the effectiveness of a marketing effort is directly related to the sales copy you produce. Pulling Sales with Your Ad Copy One of the best marketing tools available to your internet business is good sales ad copy. This can pull in sales faster than just about anything. Writing Online In Two Syllables or Less About once a month I fly off somewhere to give a one-day workshop on writing for the web. For part of the day, I invite the group to take part in a series of short tasks. How To Become A Freelance Copywriter In New York As a freelance copywriter in New York, your work is never done.What?Do you mean to say that it is hard to find regular freelance writing jobs, even here in New York City?For those looking to succeed, employment is hard to find only because we lack the knowledge of where to find the work we want. Kick-Start Your Juices Listen, consider this scenario.You have a deadline to honour. Tomorrow's Clichs Today I went to Google and entered a couple of different search terms.The first was, to my mind, the clich of all clich's: "Tomorrow's Solutions Today". How To Write An Effective Ad A letter or postcard allows you to "talk" one-on-one to your prospect. That means you should use "I" and "me" and "you" in your sales letter. |
home | site map |
© 2006 |