Beyond Once Upon a Time: Fairy Tales arent the Only Thing Needing Catchy Openings

Once a upon a recent time in a galaxy not so far away, I received an e-newsletter that provided valuable dos and don'ts for email newsletter publication. Ah, something about this newsletter didn't pull me in to read its tales nor did I take out the sword to slash my name from the e-newsletter distribution list. Happens to all who inhabit the Kingdom of the Internet; we sign up for an e-newsletter, but rarely read what we receive. These newsletters have value and appeal to me because they address an interest, help me do my job, and / or keep me on top of developments in a hobby.

After a long day of working at the castle, I'm too fatigued to read the e-newsletter. These folks throw more stones in my already heavy email box; it's worse than Publishers Clearinghouse. How often do they send these missives? I don't know, but it seems like every other day there is something from them.

Bullheaded Marketers and Online Naivete

The other day, however, I clicked on the thing and opened it. Suddenly, the plot thickened and I caught myself heeding the call. What was different? Why did I open this newsletter when so many others had been shooed to the trash?

The subject line of the email, "Bullheaded Marketers and Online Naivete" caught my attention first. The second attention-getter was the name listed in the from field, "Online Spin." These two indicated that the content would be edgy, interesting, and even funnier than the King's fool. It hit me that I needed to spend more time composing the subject lines for my own newsletters. A subject line that doesn't reel in the reader like a tall tale makes the rest of the e-newsletter look like a waste of time.

The next noticeable thing was the MSN advertising banner, good news for email newsletters. King Microsoft, by advertising in an online newsletter has obviously realized the newsletter's merit. By advertising, they validate the marketing niche of "If Microsoft is joining exclusive knights of the newsletter round table, I probably can't afford to pass it up," mentality. For many, however, a Microsoft endorsement is a double-edged sword. Recent MSN billing shenanigans, the Microsoft court case, and the general arrogance of the company creates a negative connotation. This negativity spreads to the Web site by association.

The rest of the e-parchment looked slick and professional. Even the opinion box has a good name, Spin Board.

Anatomy of a Bad Opening

The content, however, was another tale of woe. The headlines and section headings grabbed me by my hat, but the stories failed to deliver on the promise of edgy, interesting information. The first sentence read, "Research people out there are looking under the wrong rocks." Huh? Even with the support of the headline, this sentence is vague. Even the all-powerful, all-knowing Merlin wouldn't understand this mystical language.

In scanning the story and trying to discern what it was about, I still didn't understand the article when I finished reading it. Since it didn't tell me up front what I could expect, I tossed the newsletter into the moat. Few writers gain trust the reader's trust only to lead them down a primrose path without revealing the destination. The lesson here is to tell readers what to expect before asking them to commit their time to an article.

A college creative writing instructor used to urge us to state clearly, in the first sentence if possible, what the story was going to be about. Hemingway begins Old Man and the Sea, "He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he and gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish." There's no doubt that this story will be about a man trying to catch a fish. I did take away one thing from this newsletter: take extra care to develop opening sentences that bring the reader in and foretells what the rest of the tale holds.

Meryl K. Evans is the Content Maven behind meryl's notes, eNewsletter Journal, and The Remediator Security Digest. She is also a PC Today columnist and a tour guide at InformIT. She is geared to tackle your editing, writing, content, and process needs. The native Texan resides in Plano, Texas, a heartbeat north of Dallas, and doesn't wear a 10-gallon hat or cowboy boots.

---

When Panic Attacks Writers

If you write for a living, you deal with deadlines. Sometimes you will have several jobs on your plate at the same time.On top of that, your clients or editors don't coordinate their... Read More

Copywriting Makeover: Making An Emotional Connection - Part 2 of 2

In part one of this article series we began looking at the Cruise Vacation Center site: a travel site whose copy was sorely lacking in emotional appeal and visual imagry. (You can see... Read More

Why Copywriting Is The Secret To Your Online Success

Over the last decade, the number of companies selling their products and services on the Web or sharing information online with their target market has exploded.It's no longer frowned upon to conduct your... Read More

On Copying and Stealing Designs

The notion on the great artist, Pablo Picasso's quote, "Bad artists copy. Good artists steal" is lost on many. And revolving around the graphic designer circles is the quote "Good artists copy, great... Read More

Working With a Freelance Editor

If you are interested in creating information products, you will very likely deal with editors throughout your career. You may need someone to edit a book, review a special report, or tighten up... Read More

Tomorrow?s Clich?s 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".And yes, there are a few companies out there... Read More

How to Get Instant Attention

Most of us have seen a heckler at a baseball game. Sure, he's likely to draw attention, both positive and negative. The louder he hollers, the more attention he gets.But do you and... Read More

Three Tips For Magnetizing Your Copy

The difference between good copy and great copy is the number of actions it generates. The more actions the copy drives, the greater the copy is.My friend John Reese, a master at simplifying... Read More

How to Write Profitable Ads

Regardless of how you look at it, the most important aspect ofany successful business is its advertising. In fact,the success of any business is largely dependent on good advertising. First of all, you've... Read More

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.... Read More

10 Tips for Writing Effective Web Copy

On the Internet programmers and designers rule, not the writer. Yet words drive targeted traffic to your site, carry content, make the sale, convey marketing messages, persuade people to buy and make the... Read More

Copywriting Makeover: Search Engine-Friendly Can Also Mean Visitor-Friendly

When it comes to search engine optimization, copywriting plays a big role. You want to have excellent copy that appeals to both your visitors and the engines in order to create pages that... Read More

Can Anyone Succeed as a Freelance Copywriter?

This is a question that can be answered in a lot of different ways.But let's start with a perfectly simple and honest answer.No.No, in spite of what you might hear or read elsewhere,... Read More

No-Holds-Barred Conversation with Dan Lok - Part 1

Question: If you were starting out and had no references or a substantial resume, how would you go about finding paying customers for your services?To answer your question, I'll assume you're a junior... Read More

The Biggest Mistake Copywriters Make

Most of the sales pieces people ask me to rewrite seem to offer great products and services. In fact, some of their offers are so good, prospects would be crazy to turn them... Read More

Freelance Business Writers - How To Get The Best From Your Writer

At times, it can be frustrating to find freelance business writers that are of good quality, dependable, and within your budget. The good news is that there are many people who can perform... Read More

Real Estate Professionals Need You to Write for Them!

Ask yourself these questions:Are you an experienced writer?Do you want to stay at home to write?Do you want to work for yourself?Do you learn new things quickly?Are you interested in a broad number... Read More

Step One for Copywriters: Understand WHAT to Say

Find a passage of poorly written copy, and chances are you will have found a copywriter who never figured out what it was that he or she was trying to say. Whenever I... Read More

Tech-writers: A Necessary Evil

New to tech-writing, or thinking about starting? The key to success is recognising that tech-writers are a necessary evil.Tech-writers are necessary because someone has to write the user doco. The programmers and managers... Read More

Writing Suitable Copy for the Press

Summer is finally here and school is out, but learning for the rest of us continues. Whether you're a seasoned PR professional working for a top agency, a novice just beginning a career,... Read More

Top 3 Rules for Writing Effective Copy

One thing all successful Internet marketers have in common is that they're good copywriters. If you want to have a profitable online business, you need to know how to write a copy that... Read More

How To Personalize Your Headlines For Increased Profits!

Personalizing your headlines to your target audience can significantly improve your sales response. You can do this by mentioning a person by name, their city, their career field, their job title, or group... Read More

11 Ways to Get an Editors Attention

I worked as a business magazine editor for about 20 years. During that time, thousands of news stories and press releases crossed my desk.How does an editor decide what stories to run, and... Read More

How to Write Adverts that Forces People to Respond

Think for a moment some day and consider the kind of advertising you see in your post box, on the TV, on your computer, on the radio, etc. Then ask yourself this question,... Read More

Buy My Book for $27 and Ill Give You Bonuses Worth a Gazillion Dollars!

Subhead..How to bundle for valuable results without devaluing your productI almost clicked. Really, I did.The ad copy was compelling, the content focused. This was exactly what I was looking for. Yes, I was... Read More

Touching the Prospect?s Emotions in Your Sales Letter

Your prospect has emotions? and you MUST touch these emotions in your sales letter. Your copy has to excite. Stir curiosity. Generate fear. Create deep desire.If it doesn't your copy will fail.The reason... Read More

How To Make A Career Out Of Copyediting And Proofreading

Do you possess the qualities of a good proof reader? Are you good with details, spotting errors in spelling, grammar, and the flow of a piece and putting together quality work? If so,... Read More

Advice From Successful Freelancers: Starting & Maintaining A Freelancer Career

For the e-book, Advice from Successful Freelancers: How They Built Their Careers & How You Can Too!, I asked ten questions of freelancers who were living their dream life. Following are some of... Read More

Write Hard-Hitting Headlines With Magic Words That Sell

Writing a killer headline for your copy is simple! You just need to follow simple dos and donts that make or break a headline respectively. If you think you have tried them all,... Read More