So your headline has stopped the reader, and now you need to draw the reader into your article.

You achieved the “A” in AIDA, now it’s time for “I” – interest.

The best way to capture Interest is with a story.

Storytelling is incredibly powerful.

Stories are the way that humans have made sense of the world since we first started to speak.

A short story is essential to keep your reader interested in what you have to say.

But you just can’t tell any story.

Your story should tell about a person who is like the reader – in other words, your target customer – who solved a problem that the reader has, and did so because of your product or service.

You need to identify with the reader and, if possible, join the conversation that’s going on in their head.

That’s something that Dan Kennedy and Bill Glazer have talked about for a long time.

If you can join the conversation that is going on in someone’s head, which typically means it has to do with a current event (such as saving money on gasoline), then you have a good way to jump in.

Many people make buying decisions based on emotions.

When writing stories, use vivid and emotional language.

Powerful emotional language is not only something that’s preferred in copywriting, it’s essential to your success.

For these readers, the emotion of the story will be enough.

Of course, other readers will need proof.

And I want to remind you that people run toward gain, and away from pain.

For example, I recently received a newsletter from my insurance company, and it really caught my attention.

The headline was based on something that’s very topical right now, identity theft.

I do a lot of business online, so I’m always very interested in things that have to do with identity theft.

The story hooked me because I felt it was speaking to me personally.

At the end of the story it told about a product, an identity theft rider that you can put on your insurance policy.

To be honest with you, I never heard of that.

So I called my insurance guy.

ME: I got your newsletter. What’s this ID thing?

HIM: Jim, it’s like forty bucks a year.

ME: Oh my gosh, that’s an absolute no-brainer.

And I almost – in a friendly way, because he’s a friend of mine – chastised him.

ME: Why didn’t you tell me about this when it came out? Why do I get to read it in your newsletter? I would have signed up for that instantly. I had no idea that for about $40 a year you could get an identity theft rider on your homeowner’s policy.

It all started with a headline that captured my interest.

Then it reeled me in with a story about someone like me who had a problem, then showed how the solution solved the problem for that “someone” who, like me, had that concern.

Now, sorry to make you wait, but you’ll have to just hang on until next time to discover the third part of AIDA – Data (or Desire).

See what I’m doing here?

Cap't Jim Palmer, The Dream Business Coach

Cap’t Jim Palmer, best known internationally as the Dream Business Coach, is creator of the Dream Business Mastermind and Coaching Program and host of Dream Business Radio – a weekly podcast based on Jim’s smart marketing and dream business building strategies. Claim your FREE Dream Business Transformation now!

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