Writing copy is one of those things we often struggle to do well. Yet it’s the skill that underpins the success (or lack of it) in all of our messages, whether spoken or written.

That’s why I was so delighted to discover the book, Great Leads – The Six Easiest Ways to Start Any Sales Message, by Michael Masterson and John Forde.

It was highly recommended to me by someone at yet another virtual meeting I was attending. (Please don’t ask which meeting or who mentioned it. After a while Zoom fatigue sets in and I suffer from what my dear late Aunt Roslyn called mental-pause.)

I really think that they could have left the word sales out of the title, because the strategies they share in this well-written (of course!) book truly apply to any message you are creating for any situation.

One of the crucial pieces of information they share is that Pareto’s Law, that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts, applies to copy and messages as well. As they state: About 80% of the emotional impact of any piece of advertising copy will be determined by the first 20% of the copy.

I would argue that this law applies to every communication, not just advertising. If you are making a presentation and fail to immediately engage the attention of your audience, their bodies may still be in attendance but their brains have gone elsewhere.

One of the things that makes this book so much fun to read is the huge number of examples of each of the six types of leads they describe. Not only do these examples provide excellent templates that you can use to enhance your own headlines and copy; but, depending on your age, you are sure to recognize at least some of them from your own life experience.

How about You deserve a break today?

Or: How to Make Friends and Influence People. Granted, that’s the name of the book, but the copywriter was smart enough to recognize how powerful this particular title is.

I invite you to grab a copy and have fun exploring this enjoyably effective training manual on how to write copy that sells.