Last night, I read more than 200 pages of a book.

And when I finally emerged from the pages – I had no idea what time it was.

The story had pulled me in and completely immersed me. The only thing on my mind was where this tale would take me. I had to find out what happened.

As I type, it’s the morning after and it dawned on me the infinite power of storytelling – and how it can be used to produce copy that is impossible to ignore.

The core of a story is the ability to make you read one more line. To ignite that curiosity that everyone has inside their minds. We all want to know what happens next.

And if used correctly, this can make for some explosively impactful copywriting.

For instance, a headline is used for everything from press releases to webpages. It is probably the most important line you will concoct. And if it is rubbish, then the rest of the copy might as well be hieroglyphics. Because no one will read past an awful, insipid headline.

But if that headline alludes to something in the following sentences – an answer to a question that is asked in the headline, perhaps?

Then you will at the very least get the reader to the subject matter. It’s the first battle – and the biggest.

Let’s use an example. You’re a sports supply store. You’ve just got the latest football boots in stock – ones endorsed by the greatest footballers on the planet. And to mark the occasion, you’ve created a landing page that social media will link to. Let’s say that your social post was fantastic and invited a lot of clicks.

What next?

The headline.

“Adidas Predator Next Gen in stock!”

This certainly contains the keywords needed. And it is all pertinent. But is it inspiring? Does it make you want to read more?

How about;

“Take your play to the next level – Adidas Predator Next Gen.”

But we can do better than that. Think of the target audience. It’ll be kids and men who play regularly and want to emulate their heroes.

“Put yourself in Messi’s shoes – Adidas Predator Next Gen”

Or

“We’ve got the secret to Lionel Messi’s brilliance.”

Or

“Lionel Messi is on another level. But we can give you the next step up.”

Or

“Messi has magic in his boots. Weave your own spell here.”

Storytelling isn’t about a beginning, middle and end. It is about awakening something in the readers mind that compels them to read on. And you can do that in a single line. This could be especially potent for your email campaigns.

Make sure you don’t cram too much info into that line too. It could compromise the power of the sentence – and if there’s too much info in the headline – what does the reader need to read any more for?

For more tips, tricks and wordy goodness, try my pocket guide to copywriting, which you can grab by clicking the button below. It’s less than £7 and can help your words reach more people.