Creating an Attractive "Hook"
Especially for Ezine email marketing, (Join here for learn and see how Ezine traffic and marketing works.)Having a great hook plays two crucial roles for an ezine: first, it gives people a compelling reason to sign up. Second, it creates a strong impression that you have stellar content when they actually read or view your free content. In other words, it'll increase your long-term readership and conversion rates.
So what is a good hook and how do you come up with one for your market?
=> What Is a Good Hook?
A great hook is one that:
A) Contains genuinely useful content
B) Has a high perceived value
C) Is unique
D) Solves a problem that your readers want solved
For example, a great hook for someone teaching restaurant marketing might be something like "10 Unconventional Ways to Get More Customers to Your Restaurant." It's useful, it has high perceived value, it's unique and it solves the problem of not having enough customers.
When you're considering what kind of hook to use, it's crucial to know what other types of products are being marketed in your industry.
For example, if you're in the diet industry, a terrible hook would be "How to Lose 10 Pounds in 30 Days" because it's so overdone. Likewise, if you're in internet marketing, a terrible hook would be something like "How to Get Tons of Traffic." It's so generic that everyone's heard it before.
Instead, make it unique. Uniqueness gets conversions. Your report needs to stand out so much that when they read the title, they instantly want to read it.
For the weight-loss example, you might give away a free report like: "The Water Weight Report: Lose Up to 22lbs by Reducing Your Body's Water Retention."
In internet marketing, it might be something like: "How I Earned $22,341 in 39 Days - A Step by Step Walkthrough."
=> How to Come Up With a Hook for Your Market
Keeping the above four criteria in mind, get out a sheet of paper and start brainstorming.
Ask yourself:
* What are common problems people in my industry experience?
* What's unique about my story?
* What are my strengths? How can I turn that into a benefit for my customers?
* What's something that's under addressed in my market?
* What's something I know that's little known in the market?
Brainstorm as many topics as possible. Have at least twenty topics before you put your pen down. Leave this list for a day or two, then come back and pick the strongest one.
Having a compelling hook can be the difference between a list that doesn't get much opt-in or readership and a killer list with abundant sales and sign-ups. Writing a great hook isn't difficult once you understand how to make your hook stand out and really benefit the reader.