Capture and Hold Audience Attention with a Bold Proclamation

Capture and Hold Audience Attention with a Bold Proclamation

Reader Comments (9)

  1. Super advice Brian. Shock and awe. But it is a process. Shock with headline. Awe with the follow up, meaning, the blog post or sales page or whatever you are creating, the meat of the work. This idea gets lost on manipulators who shock with titles – sometimes using the word “shocking” then follow with mundane, plain Jain, simple, seen many times, average advice. Gotta create something that backs up the title.

    I may lead in with some wild headlines with my travel themed posts but it’s because I have nearly lost my life a few times while globe-trotting, I *really* have been attacked by lady boy prostitutes in Bangkok and Wild Men in Kathmandu (note plural) and I’ve had many Netflix-worthy things happen on the road, in my experience.

    No need to globe trot and live in remote areas or get punched by wackos to shock and awe though. Just back up your title. And as noted, tailor to your audience.

    • You’re absolutely right, Ryan, about people that use a bold headline that the content can’t support. That’s why the term “click bait” came into being, and it makes it harder for the rest of us.

  2. Great piece, Brian. It’s always a fine line, isn’t it? You want to attract attention and get an emotional response, but you don’t want to come across as over dramatic or misleading. The trick is to find a way to grab interest while maintaining integrity to your voice and your content.

    • Definitely a fine line. In my experience, I’d say if you have doubts, don’t do it. But there are times when you find the right truth that supports the bold assertion.

  3. Thanks for sharing, Brian. Even in the world of books, the title, like the headline, sells by drawing the potential reader into its web. And research is definitely the place to find that right drawing card. Great post!

  4. How do you come up with a bold proclamation? One thing I’ve done with clients is to get them to list 5-10 truths that are taken as gospel in their field. Then carefully go back through the list until you find one that you could credibly and passionately take issue with. And there’s your claim.

    When you do this well, you come across as more expert than the other experts, because you have gone beyond them.

    You just have to make sure that your bold proclamation is consistent with your overall business identity and palatable – with your interesting explanation – to your target audience.

    Alan Weiss, author of many books about consulting, is a master of this technique.

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