How to start a sales text, or “Problem” paragraph

What does your potential customer pay attention to when skimming through the page with the selling text, except for the title? First of all, these are photo and video content, captions to them, general design, font and readability, graphics, tables, bulleted and numbered lists, that is, everything that is visually striking.

Proper text formatting with a breakdown by other types of content increases the chances that the user will stay on the site page and begin to read thoughtfully. And since reading begins with an introductory paragraph, its importance is difficult to overestimate.

The problem of the beginning of the text is acute for any author, regardless of what exactly he writes. For some people, the first sentences are the hardest part of the job. But there are many methods on how to start a sales text that have already been tested in practice and have proven their effectiveness:

8 Methods for Starting a Sales Text

“Pressure on pain points.” What does this approach imply? You can talk about a potential client’s existing problem and immediately hint at a way to solve it. For example:

“Imagine the situation: you come home after a busy day and the only desire at this moment is rest and distraction from everyday worries. You sit down in a chair from “…” and slowly sink into bliss, you feel light and comfortable. A pleasant feeling of weightlessness gradually envelops your body tired of worries … “

A notable feature of this method is the use of visualization verbs: imagine, sit down, sink in, feel, etc. This creates a virtual model of the situation in which it is necessary to immerse the potential buyer, giving him the opportunity to feel and feel the whole complexity of the situation and the way out of it that you propose, to feel like the “owner” of this situation, and then take the last step – perform the conversion action.

You can draw an analogy with such a good example: if you offer a child to hold a kitten or a rabbit in a pet store, after a couple of minutes you will be faced with the fact that it will become almost impossible to take the animal from the baby. During this short time, he will have time to establish a connection with the animal and will not want to part with this soft, fluffy, living and already important creature for him. A similar method of attracting the attention of a potential buyer is often used in sales.

Infographics and videos help keep the visitor’s attention on the page. Most often, this technique is used on the Landing page (“landing page”, “lead capture page” or one-page site). Especially if the subject is trainings, webinars or conferences on various topics from business and marketing to psychology. In the video, a credible “successful” guy or girl briefly and clearly shares his successful experience in a certain area, which was facilitated by the info product that the site is dedicated to. A listener watching a video message has a completely logical question: “Why am I worse? I can do it too!” or “I want the same!”. As a result, a desire is formed to visit the advertised event, buy the proposed product or order the service.

When using this method, one or two more videos are often added to the text about the “product” itself. This is done to close objections, so that the reader learns more about the product or service, “try” at least with his eyes. Thus, the potential customer manages to try on the proposed training model. In case of matching or exceeding expectations from the video, the payment decision is made faster.

The so-called classical “Socrates method”, known since ancient times, often helps to capture attention and increase the desire to familiarize yourself with the information placed in the main part of the selling text. Its essence lies in the fact that a person consistently answers “Yes” to three questions in turn. Thanks to this, in the future, your potential customer will unconsciously agree with all the proposals, appeals and messages that will be further in the text. For example: “Do you want to look better? Want to get rid of excess weight? Do you want your girlfriends to envy you?

“Tell who the text is for.” You can start your sales text with a story about who it is intended for. It uses something like flattery directed at a potential client with which he will be happy to identify himself. For example, start the first paragraph with the words:

“If you are a smart, enthusiastic, quick-witted person, then you will never be able to deny yourself pleasure … (or) refuse a super-offer …”.

This will encourage further familiarization with the main part of the selling text.

“Make a controversial statement” is another effective option for attracting the attention of a potential customer to a selling text. For example, you can start with something like this: “I hate Google!”. Many users may disagree with this statement, starting to mentally object to the author. Others, on the contrary, can easily accept this point of view. In both the first and second cases, it is possible to “sow” the seed of doubt in the target audience and encourage them to read the entire article in order to confirm their assumptions or refute them. This method is especially good if you need to get as many comments as possible.

If we talk about existing cases, we will give the following example. One of the American companies has developed a novelty – an organizer bag with the aim of its further implementation in the consumer market. It was decided to start an advertising campaign with the following sentence-statement: “I hate the mess in my bag!“. The proposed option turned out to be a win-win. Having worked 100%, it aroused the interest of many potential consumers, covering a significant target audience, which included those who really prefer order in their bag, and those who do not adhere to it, feeling quite comfortable without it.

You can also “Use the principle of social proof” to start your sales copy. For example, for many people the problem of excess weight is very acute. You can start writing from the point of view of a person who is seriously excited and concerned about it. Next, describe in the text a successful experience in dealing with excess weight and finish with an example of the successful use of a real person. The method works especially well when the story or example comes from a famous person. But in order to use his name, you must obtain consent to this.

Such an article will be read and possibly recommended to other users. Since people love and take seriously ready-made solutions to problem situations, if there are good examples that confirm the success and effectiveness in practice.

You can also “Start with an engaging monologue or dialogue.” The history of marketing and the advertising business is full of cases where this method worked unconditionally. The following example will be relevant here. One of the American tobacco companies was engaged in the production of exclusive cigars. The uniqueness of their proposal was that the special paper for curling was found in Honduras, and the owner of the company personally handled the process of its delivery. He came up with the idea to write a monologue in which he will explain in detail and clearly why it is worth buying his cigars, what makes them unique, while pointing out the validity of the pricing policy. The owner of the company began the monologue with his own interesting story:

“Earlier, I thought: to get into an exciting adventure, you need to be at least an astronaut. But, having visited Honduras last fall, he completely changed his mind. A lot of unusual things really happened to me here: a jaguar was chasing me, I learned about the 5/5 principle from the local policemen … “

The monologue proceeded in a fascinating narrative style of presentation. In just a few sentences, the owner of the company managed to captivate the reader with his entertaining action story, winning over a large target audience.

“Tell a story.” What does it mean? It can be a real story of the creation of a brand, trademark, or an individual product or service. The automotive industry is full of examples of attracting potential buyers in this way. For example, the well-known global car brand Mercedes often used this method during its entry into the American consumer market.