If you (truly) grasp what I’m about to tell you… there will be no end to the success of your sales copy.
…because one of THE most important skills you can master as a copywriter is the ability to really GRAB your reader’s attention, and then to never let go. And I’m about to tell you how to do this in your very first line. And if you take this advice to heart, and apply it… and master it… well… you’ll have arrived.
So are you ready?
To have one of the copy-cosmos’s greatest secrets revealed to you?
Here it is:
Use your first line to open as many “loops” in your reader’s brain as possible.
“…the heck?”
Yea. True.
I guess this one will take a lil e’splanation.
So let’s talk about “loops.”
(btw, I’ve already opened a couple loops in your brain)
“Loops” are just a way of talking about human desires. When you “open a loop,” you make a person aware that they don’t have something. Like an answer to a question. Or a “secret” piece of information. Or a physical object… that’ll make them more happy. Or more productive. And whenever you open a new loop in someone… an invisible force starts ‘tugging’ that person in a particular direction.
Think about it this way:
At any given moment, we all have millions and millions of “sleeping desires” tucked away in our being. Napping.
And at certain moments…
Those desires get “awakened.”
And then we start to feel their pull on us. In a very real way.
Well, “opening a loop” is simply the act of doing something… that makes a desire go from “asleep” to “awake.”
…from “having no effect on you” to “pulling you in a felt way.”
So when I say the key to nailing your opening line is “opening as many loops in your reader’s brain as you can”… I’m saying, “awaken as many sleeping desires in your reader as you can.”
Make sense?
Great.
Though now you may be wondering…
HOW do you do this???
So many ways. And your job as a copywriter is to learn as many ways of “opening loops” in people as you can… and to refine your ability to this with fewer and fewer words. Until you can open 2-3 STRONG loops with a STRONG pull on your reader… in a single line.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Here are a few ways you can open loops in your reader:
(1) Immediately start telling a story. Because we all want to hear the end of a story once we’ve heard the beginning. It’s a human thing. And so beginning your copy with a story is a great way to “open loops” and grab your reader’s attention… in that very first line. Bonus: even better if you can introduce a WEIRD element at the beginning of your story: “When I was 8 years old, I met a man who could supposedly could tell how old you were just by looking at the wrinkles on your neck.” That would be a great opening line. Because it (1) awakens your desire to hear the end of the story… but it ALSO (2) awakens your desire to wrap your mind around weird things that don’t make sense(i.e. “a man who could tell how old you were… just by looking at the wrinkles on your NECK? What on earth…? Can people do that? Or maybe this guy was a hoax…?”)
(2) Make a big, juicy promise. Because when you start talking about something that your reader WANTS, and telling them that you can give it to them… it opens up all sorts of loops. Like their desire for the thing. And their desire to know HOW you’re going to give them the thing. NOTE: this is the approach I took in the first line of *this* blog post. Go look at it again. I promised a “secret” piece of information… that, if you understand it, will give you the persuasive power you WANT as a copywriter. I “opened a loop”… by awakening your desire for improving your copywriting-capabilities. And I also opened the loop of, “HOW is he gonna make good on this huge promise?” (i.e. your curiosity loop) And these 2 things together (presumably) ‘grabbed’ your attention… and made you keep reading ’til now.
(3) Ask a compelling question. Because if you’re faced with an interesting question that you don’t know the answer to… you start WANTING to know the answer to that question. And so a loop gets opened. And so you start your quest to find the answer. Which is why compelling questions are great ways to start copy. Emphasis on *compelling.* (More on what makes a compelling question in a future post)
There are so many ways you can employ these 3 “loop-opening” tactics.
And there are so many more “loop-opening” tactics.
But the point is…
Open as many loops as you can in your first line.
And also:
Aim to open loops that have a STRONG pull on your reader. Because there’s definitely a spectrum. Some opened-loops have a stronger ‘pull’ on you than others. Which means you should…
Make JUICY promises… not ‘dime-a-dozen’ ones.
Ask COMPELLING questions… not boring ones.
Tell STRANGE stories… not commonplace ones.
And with that…
Onward, reader! To better copywriting!
-Sam
P.S. I would be remiss if I didn’t remind you… that the battle for your reader’s attention is won or lost LONG BEFORE your first line.
…because it all STARTS with your headline.
Open loops in your headline. Use the “I = B + C” formula I talked about in an earlier post. Your headline and your first line MUST work hand-in-hand to open those loops… and carry your reader towards her destination(i.e. the CTA).
Or she’ll never get there.
