One of the things teachers try to hammer home to copy writers and journalists is the fact that headers and openers are the primary attention- getters. This thankless task is made more difficult by the fact that writers as a species are capable of getting tongue- tied in ways few others could possibly imagine. They can do this without even opening their mouths, and with the words right in front of them. A header like “Construction software may be what you need” may make sense to the writer, (if no one else) but it will get sobs of despair from editors. It has all the sensual, erotic appeal of watching paint dry on a garage wall, and tells the reader precisely nothing.

Photo: Jeremy Levine Design

The problem is that most writers aren’t trained to assess impact from the reader’s perspective. It’s standard practice in copy writing to provide some sort of value to the reader in copy, and that takes some learning. Many of the top writers work on actual dollar values, others on establishing credibility and providing information values. Some appeal to vanity, others to self- interest, or to useful functions of their information.
Headers

Headers are supposed to get attention, and are called “grabbers” in the business. Depending on your market, there are various levels of interest in that market. If you’re in a niche market, you’re writing direct to people who are either experts or experienced in the market and its products. Non- information is not in demand.

The best way to approach writing a header is to read it as if you’ve never seen it before.

Ask yourself:

• Is this something I need to read?
• What are they trying to sell?
• Does this look like it’s any use?
• Does it have new information?
• What’s in it for me?

Remember- People screen out non-information every second. They will ignore anything which doesn’t have an immediate, obvious value attached to it. Some level of interest has to be present in the header text.

You can try a bit of self psycho analysis with this approach. What sort of headers get your attention, and why? How much of your interest is based on your own knowledge, and how much is based on the content of the header itself? You’ll find that a combination of interest and knowledge are the main drivers. The decision is made to investigate further.

Openers

Your opener must reinforce the header. A single statement of a useful fact will do that job very well. “Ninety per cent of men have preventable hair loss problems” will nail that audience. These are the people who are genuinely interested in the subject, and the word “preventable” will get them reading.

Whether you’re writing about CAD 3d modelling or how to grow zebras, you must have an opener with content which provides an instant incentive to the reader to keep reading. The best content has substance, and acts as a good lead into the rest of the article. The best writers are the ones who stimulate interest then back it up with solid, interesting content. You’ll get more readers than you’d believe.

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