Copywriting: Writing the Introduction

If a reader has made it to the introduction segment of your article, his or her attention was obviously grabbed by that perfect headline you wrote. But you don't want that to be where their interest ends. Therefore, it is now your task to develop a well-written and interesting introduction that will encourage the reader to go on. With the reader, you must be there every step of the way pushing for him or her to go a little further. Attention, like time, is a valuable thing best not wasted. That's why it's so easy to lose the attention of the reader. If interest isn't sparked and fuelled, the reader will think of better ways to spend that time and will dismiss the rest of what you wrote.

At this point you have already succeeded at giving the reader a glimpse into the subject matter. In the introduction you will need to build on that. One of the best ways to do this is to restate the headline at some point in the first or second sentence. It does not need to be restated word for word. The general idea here is to let the readers know that the headline was not just to reel them in. This is a point of credibility, as some headlines are followed by totally unrelated subject matter.

It's often a good idea to enlist the reader's attention a little further by saying something like "picture this" or "imagine if". You are encouraging the reader to not just read, but to actively participate in this article. The benefit to you as the copywriter is that you are engaging the reader fully and you are thereby quite likely to keep him or her reading to the end.

Finally comes a point of great importance in any form of writing. When you are preparing the introduction to the rest of your work, do not forget that you are supposed to be introducing something. That's where the final sentence of the paragraph comes in. It should not only be a transition into the next paragraph, but also a declaration of what is to come. It is quite helpful to the reader to know where this is all leading to. To do this effectively, the final sentence of the introduction should be a brief statement of either the points you intend to make, or a suggestion that you are about to dive further into the subject. No matter how you do it, this transition must be smooth or it will disrupt the flow of your writing.

Writing the introduction is really just the next step in a process. It is the first major look a reader gets at how you intend to treat him or her, and it is your first chance to start presenting ideas. Take your time on this section of the article. You'll find that the introduction, written effectively, can help you to make it through the rest of your work with ease and speed.

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