What does powerful, engaging content have in common with the brutal intensity of a hurricane? Quite simply, they are both unstoppable, irresistible forces.
Powerful content must resonate so strongly with the reader that she can’t turn away. Likewise, once you’re caught in the torrential rain, crushing winds, and merciless storm surge of a hurricane, you’ve got no choice but to ride it out to the end.
It may seem strange to use an adversarial analogy when trying to attract and engage readers, but attention is an adversarial function. Attention is a filtering process, which means that people are looking for any reason NOT to read your content.
When bombarded with hundreds or thousands of messages daily, the human mind finds it much easier to flee than to surrender precious attention. So, your content must lash out with irresistible force against the filters and keep the reader engaged from beginning to end.
Let’s take a look at how the storm develops.
The Storm Hits: Headlines and Hooks
If your headline is weak, the reader is gone… he boarded up the windows and left town before traffic got bad. That’s because the filtering process is strongest at the headline, and why skillful headline and title writing remains one of your top priorities.
You don’t have to write Cosmo-style headlines to capture attention, but you better know how to write a headline that attracts the people you’re after. Remember the “4 U” approach from Writing Headlines That Get Results?
- Be USEFUL to the reader
- Create a sense of URGENCY
- Provide a UNIQUE benefit
- Be ULTRA-SPECIFIC
The unique aspect of your headline is also your hook. And the hook must be carried over into the opening in order to truly suck the reader into the storm.
Keep in mind Hemingway’s advice about beginnings: Use short opening paragraphs. Too often I’ll be sucked in by a headline, only to be slammed with an impenetrable opening paragraph. It’s certainly possible to get people to read larger blocks of text, but it’s much easier once you’ve gained momentum.
I’ve written about openings before, but here’s a strategy that instantly engages and holds attention throughout. Create an open loop by starting with a dramatic story or anecdote, but don’t reveal the resolution before moving into the body of the content. By leaving the reader hanging, you’ve created a psychological tension that keeps the mind seeking closure and naturally engaged with the content.
For Pulp Fiction fans, think of the shocking opening scene (video not safe for work). We don’t see or find out what happens to Pumpkin and Honey Bunny until the final scene of the film. That’s one example of an open loop.
Into the Eye of the Storm: Crystal Clear Body Copy
After battering away at the attention filters with our torrential opening hook, it’s time to ease up and deliver the promised beneficial information. The eye of a hurricane is the calm center of the storm characterized by low surface pressure, light winds and no rain, and it’s a good guiding concept for the meat of your content.
Body content is an easy place to lose a reader to scanning, so make things easy with crystal clear, action-oriented and direct language. Structurally, this is where subheads, bullet points and/or numbered items will make a big difference in reader comprehension and retention.
For example:
- Use clear and unique subheads to provide promises of what’s coming.
- Use verb-leading bullet points to create tight, action-oriented information.
- Use numbered lists to outline a process or group of elements.
Above all, deliver value. The emphasis on clarity in the body of your content leaves little room for fudging. If you don’t know your stuff, the storm blows over before you can move the reader to inspiration or action with a powerful close.
The Torrential Tail End: Closing With Passion
Have you ever read a reasonably useful list post on a blog, only to be left with a sense of emptiness when it just stops? A strong, passionate close is a hallmark of persuasive writing, and returning to the hurricane model, impossible to avoid once the eye passes by.
Rhetorical masters understand that the close means everything. After catching attention by appealing to the interests of the audience and laying out the logical aspects of an argument, those well-versed in oratory launch into the most emotionally-stirring portion of the presentation to prompt action or gain acquiescence.
Take a look at the close of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech (excerpted here). Rather than trailing off, the momentum of King’s message increases to Category 5 hurricane force.
For most content, you’re not going to get that dramatic. But structurally, it’s a great way to think.
For example, if you used the “open loop” technique mentioned above, the beginning of your close is the time to launch back into the story and close the loop, which leaves the reader emotionally satisfied by removing the psychological tension. Then express how the illustration supports the points made in your body content, and ask the reader to take some form of action if appropriate.
The Battle for Attention is Never Ending
Publishing and marketing online is a battle for attention. And it’s not getting any easier.
The battle is not with your competitors. In fact, forget about your competitors.
They’re irrelevant.
The trick is to focus on providing insane value to your readers and prospects. But don’t forget about those ruthless filtering mechanisms that each person employs to save themselves from information overload.
This is where the battle for attention is fought and won by successful online publishers and marketers. So get yourself in the “hurricane mindset” to craft content that truly rocks.
About the Author: Brian Clark is founder and editor of Copyblogger, and co-founder of Teaching Sells.
译文:
怎样像飓风一样给你读者以震撼
一篇有感染力、引人入胜的文章和凶猛强烈的飓风有什么共同之处呢？非常简单，它们都具有强烈的、无法阻止的力量。
有感染力的内容要能够和读者产生强烈的共鸣，使读者看到了就放不下。就像，当遇到了由于飓风产生的狂风、暴雨和暴风雨，你没有任何办法只能等它结束。
当我们想要吸引并维持读者群时我们用了一个对抗性的类比这看起来很奇怪，但是吸引眼球本身就是一个具有对抗性的功能。吸引眼球本省就是一个过滤的过程，那意味着人们寻找不看你的文章的理由。
每天，一个人受到成百上千条信息轮番轰炸的时候，大家都知道逃避这些信息比花时间看更轻松一些。所以你的内容就要有一种不可抗拒的力量让读者想要看并且从头看到尾。
就让我们看看这场飓风怎么形成。
飓风袭击：吸引人的标题
如果标题没有意思，读者自然不会看了…他打开窗口，当网页还没有完全显示出来的时候就又把窗口关了。这就是为什么标题是吸引读者注意有用的部分，并且，巧妙的标题仍然是最重要的。
你不是必须写一个吸引眼球的标题引起读者注意，但是最好还是知道怎样写能吸引你的目标群体的标题。还记得 写一个引人入胜的标题 里面的“4 U”方法吗？
- 对读者有用
- 创造一种紧迫感
- 提供一个独一无二的好处
- 要非常明确
题目独特的外观也是一个吸引点。并且它要能够把读者吸引到你的内容中去，真正把读者带入你的飓风。
牢记海明威关于开头的建议：简洁、开门见山。通常我们会被一个标题吸引，但是看到一个糟糕的开头就不看了。当然我们可以让读者直接看一个大块头儿的文章，但是当你先有冲动向下看的时候会更容易一些。
我以前写过许多文章的开头，但有方法能立刻就完全抓住读者的注意力。用一个有意思的小故事或奇闻开头建立一个悬念，在文章的主体部分才能找到答案。使读者保持好奇，这样你就已经确立了一个心理的作用使读者一直要寻找答案自然而然地阅读了文章内容。
可以想象一个震撼的开场（当然视频是不可以的）来迎合那些喜欢低俗小说的读者。就像那部电影那样，不到最后我们不知道到底南瓜和宝贝兔怎样了。这就是一个设置悬念的例子。
到达飓风中心：清晰明快的文章主体
通过使用开场的技巧使得读者看到文章，下面就要开始慢慢讲述那些对读者有益的信息了。飓风眼就是飓风的中心无风区，那里的表面压力很低，风很小，也没有雨。我们的内容也要写成暴风眼这样。
文章的主体很容易被读者略过，所以，要使用清晰、直接了当的语言，多用动词，表述简洁。在结构方面，可以使用副标题、要点、条款式，这样可以有效地帮助读者理解和记忆。
例如：
- 使用清晰明确的副标题表明后面文章的内容。
- 使用动词开头的要点提示创造紧凑、干练的感觉。
- 使用编号勾画出一个过程或者一个整体的要素。
总之，要传递价值。重点强调文章内容要简洁，绝对不能敷衍。如果你都不知道自己写的是什么东西，你怎么能吸引读者。
有力的结尾：结尾要有激情
你是否看在博客中到过一个非常有用的列表，当看完后给人一种非常空洞的感觉？一个热情、有力的结尾是议论文的标志。回到我们的飓风模型，这是绝对不能缺少的。
修辞大师明白结尾意味一切。首先通过引起读者的兴趣抓住他们的注意力，展开理性的观点，通过精雕细琢的语言引起读者的情感共鸣，使读者能够读完并认可文章的内容。
看一看马丁 路德金的演讲“我有一个梦”（摘抄如下）。不是拖拖拉拉，马丁的演讲至少有五级飓风的力量。
对于大多数的内容，不必要都非常的生动。但是结构上你应该要好好想一想。
例如，如果你在文章开始设置了上文提到的悬念，结尾应该首先回到故事回答悬念，这消除了读者心理的紧张，感情上也能够接受。然后表述你的论证怎样支持你的论点，如果可以，让读者可以有些实际行动。
吸引注意力的战争是从来不会停止的
网络出版和营销是争夺眼球的一场战争。它会变得越来越残酷。
这场战争不是和你的竞争者之间展开的。事实上，应该忘记你的竞争者。
和他们没有关系
技巧就是给你的读者和顾客提供疯狂的价值。但是，不要忘记那无情的过滤机制，每个人都会过滤信息，防止信息过多。
这就是争夺眼球的战争，成功的出版商和市场营销人员最终能取得战争的胜利。所以让自己有这种“飓风心态”，写出真正震撼的内容。
关于作者：Brian Clark 是Copyblogger的创始人和编辑，Teaching Sells的创始人之一。