more FUN than shooting lions in Africa (5)
Hey STM,
Would you like a copywriting tip that's more fun than heading to Africa... looking down the barrel of your scope at a lion... and pulling the trigger?
Now, before I continue I want to make it clear about what I mean when I talk about shooting lions.
Because I am not a dentist with too much time on his hands, I am talking about shooting lions with my camera, not my rifle (click here to see what I mean).
Anyway, onward with the copywriting tip.
How to use current news to get the attention of your prospects
30 days prior to the Cecil the lion incident, chances are my subject line wouldn't have worked.
But, since I know right now shooting lions is getting a lot of attention online, I latched onto it and got you to notice this post.
After all, you wouldn't be reading this if you didn't click the subject line, right?
A few times a week there are stories that trend more than others.
All it takes to use these stories to get the attention of your market is keeping your ears open... and regularly monitoring the following sites:
- Facebook. If it's not shared on Facebook, it doesn't happen. Okay, that's overly dramatic but you get my point, right? Facebook is the hub of news, comments, and stories. When you want some inspiration for a "hook", check the Facebooks.
- Popurls. I like this site because it tells me what's popular at any given time.
- Digg. Another aggregator site.
- Alltop. Yet another aggregator.
Using the sites above, it is possible to find a trending story for you to use for your copy. People want to remain current (and relevant), so adding some news as a hook is a great way to get your emails opened, headlines read, and ads clicked on.
I have a lot of fun doing this.
There's no reason why you cannot use this technique, too.
It literally is more fun than shooting lions, imo.
A+ - I laughed out loud at the headline before even reading the post. Great simple post, thanks!
This is a technique that works especially well via email, since that media lends itself to immediacy...within hours of news like this, you can write an email linking the news to your offer.
The transition from potentially offensive news to relevant sales paragraph is vital, else you risk turning off the reader, but if you can pull it off, it can be very profitable. The transition in OP is very well done, going from a potentially offensive headline to a specific benefit.
Haha short and sweet!
It's a good hook for a broad audience. This could definitely work outside of email, I'm thinking specifically for generic quiz/survey pop traffic.
Good idea! thanks!
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