How to Attract the Attention of Your Reader

...Times up.

This is how long you have to attract a reader's attention. The average person will take three seconds to look at your work, and then make a decision to read on, skim through, or ignore it.

As a copywriter, it is vital to draw in your reader's attention as early as possible.

The secret is to keep your sentences short, sharp and snappy. Never open your article with a text-heavy paragraph. It puts-off your potential reader before they even think about reading.

One technique, used by many professional copywriters, is to keep opening paragraphs to just one or two lines, often just one or two words. For example:

Paragraph one: "Relax."

Paragraph two: "Unwind."

Paragraph three: "Chill out at one of our stunning health spa's for only..."

Without even knowing it, you have gained the reader's attention by creating curiosity in their mind, and now they are into the main body of your article.

In doing this, it is important to remember your audience. Don't forget who you are writing for, and who you are trying to attract. You want to attract the right readers as early as possible:

"Fix your roof for only £20".

This is only going to appeal to people who want their roof fixing - there is no point in waffling, trying to draw in people who don't want their roof fixing. Likewise, you don't want to risk losing the right customers by being too ambiguous - get straight to the point.

A simple way to draw in your audience is to ask questions. Make your reader think. Make your copy personal to them. Make them think that the article is about them:

"Are you fed up with your job?"

"Do you need some extra cash?"

"Do you need your roof fixing?"

This engages the reader and can immediately sift through the people you do and don't want to attract. Using the "roof" example, people who need their roof fixing will automatically think "yes" to this question, and naturally read on, as there could well be a 'Problem - Solution - Benefit' scenario about to approach them. For example:

"Do you need your roof fixing? (Problem) Smiths Roofers will fix it for only £20 (Solution), keeping your house warm and damp-free. (Benefit)"

The key point to always remember is:

People are only interested in one thing - what is in it for them.

Make your reader aware that the copy is directed at them. Remember to keep asking questions to make the reader think. Use Action Words like: "Save, Earn and Feel." This is telling them what can happen as a result of [for instance] buying the product on offer.

Keep using Key Words such as "You and Your" so they can furthermore see the article is aimed at them, and can be beneficial to them.

Whilst selling a product, providing entertainment, or supplying information is the point of the body copy - the whole point of your headline and opening paragraphs are to engage the reader and make them read on.

Following these easy copywriting secrets and techniques, you will be achieving results with your own quality, effective copy in no time.