How to pump up your copywriting with “micro-hooks
Want to know a secret I’ve rarely revealed?
The “hook” or the “Big Idea” is one of the ways we get people to read our ads.
And since you know the more people read, the more they buy, you’ll want to sprinkle “micro-hooks” in your advertising to jack up your readership, your conversion rates and your bottom line.
Human beings are a curious species as a group. And there is a phenomenon that surrounds incompletion in us all.
It makes people slightly uncomfortable… at least until they get the answer. But most importantly, it keeps them reading until they do.
It’s psychology 101… but it’s something you can use to keep the odds in your favor.
Mark Joyner talkes about this phenomena in his book Mind Control Marketing. It’s called the Zeigarnik Effect.
When I wrote his copy for the 7 Day Business Turnaround… I used this technique a lot.
Wany an example?
I was explaining the exact 4 steps involved in a business turnaround.
Then I said
“That’s it. Pretty simple… at least on the outside. With that strategy alone, you could engineer a turnaround. If you know the tactics to accomplish each step, my work is done here. Go forth and execute. If you don’t… keep reading to uncover your answer. Okay, seems pretty simple doesn’t it?”
But the beauty of that micro-hook was the fact people didn’t know the details to execute the strategy.
But they were told that if they didn’t, they should just keep reading and the answer would be revealed.
Do you think that made people uncomfortable?
Oh yeah. They HAD to find the answer.
Let me give you one more example from that salesletter.
Later, I showed the mechanism that made turnarounds work.
So I wrote:
“That’s the process for your 7 Day Turnaround. It’s the same thing a Fortune 500 would do, just made so bloody simple a 2nd grade teacher could do it (more about that in a minute)”
Heh heh heh…
Now I know teachers are not stupid… but it still sounds irrisistibly easy!
And writing “more on that in a minute” ratcheted up the curiosity to the point where readers HAD to find out.
I suggest you all go get that letter and read it through and look for all of the tiny little “micro hooks.”
It’s a fantastic lesson on keeping people engaged in your advertising.
Now, one more thing you need to know.
If you’re utilizing this tactic, you need to make certain you CLOSE THE LOOP.
You don’t want to keep people too uncomfortable. If you tell them “More on this in a minute” you need to fulfill that promise.
If you don’t, they’ll still be mentally processing the open loop, and that kind of mind isn’t ready to buy, because those little things will drive them crazy.
One more thing. Don’t give readers ALL the answers in your salescopy. That’s an itch only the product should scratch.
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:33 am
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