Copywriting 101 — The Attention-Grabbing Opener. It is the centerpiece of all commercial copy and also media. You must assault the listener to gain their precious time. If you are doubting me, your talk show, newscast, or podcast can benefit from what I am about to present.
The most effective commercials on radio, TV, or online give you an attention-grabbing opener. Pictures always provide that window that allows viewers to pay attention. On radio, you must make that impact immediately. “The sizzle catches your ears and then the scent of that prime cowboy ribeye delivered to your table is why Bob’s House of Meat is Mud Butte’s place for steak.” The copy makes you feel the sensation of the experience. Great copy allows the listener to picture the experience. Using, “the best place for steaks is Bob’s House of Meat in Mud Butte” is flat and does not give you a reason to pay attention to the commercial.
If you don’t apply an attention-grabbing opener to a news story, you lose the listener. Here is a failing opening… “Police arrested a man after a call to 911 reporting a shoplifter.” Instead, try “Running with an armload of women’s underwear, a man was tackled by the San Antonio Police outside a Walmart on San Pedro Avenue. The Suspect Joe Smith of Fredericksburg was arrested and is held on $10,000 bail.” Tell the story. The most impactful facts create a picture. Your audience will be riveted.
If you are a talk show host, lead with your opinion. “Cameras catching speeders is the type of totalitarian hijinks that Kim Jung Un would be envious of.” This is a hell of a lot better than saying, “There is a bill in the legislature that would ban cameras used by the Department of Transportation to catch speeders. What do you think?” Your opinion is the drama. It is the attention-grabbing opener for your talk show.
It is audio clickbait. I was reading a news website that had a sponsored graphic that showed Fred and Wilma Flintstone that said that if you get 16 of 30 of these right, you have a photographic memory. Ok, if you have a photographic memory, you are getting 30 of 30 right and would be able to recite the credits at the end of each show as well.
We are besieged by messages that are meant to dominate our attention. We have all spent an hour or three scrolling through Facebook. Being honest with yourself, do you understand why you were there so long? It was because you were driven to scroll through dozens of messages that grabbed your interest.
There are millions of websites, 500 TV stations, streaming services, social media, numerous radio stations, satellite radio, and YouTube that are vying for your eyeballs. Are you grabbing the attention of your audience?
I love aircheck sessions. It allows you to evaluate your performance if you are willing to risk admitting the truth. Would the opening grab your attention? Would you turn up the volume? Really? Be truthful. Every moment of your show is a precious commodity. If you are hosting a show, you have been given an immense opportunity and responsibility. You should be honored to be given the opportunity. And you owe it to your Program Director, sales department, and company to perform the very best show that you can do.
You should be doing a daily promo. How is that opening statement? You should always have your promo prepared for the next day’s show before your daily show. Something scintillating that you can put into the show on the following day. You also need a small studio at home.
This past Thursday night, President Biden gave a news conference after a Biden Administration Justice Department Investigator’s damning report on the President’s mental state. Biden gave a news conference which added to the narrative that he is no longer sharp. Biden talked about red and green states, the leader of Egypt was referenced as the President of Mexico. If you are a midday or afternoon host, updating the promo to this breaking news is imperative. The promo that you voiced before leaving the office is now out of date.
You don’t need to spend as much as I did on a microphone, but you can have a terrific-sounding home studio for less than $300. There is nothing worse than hearing an out-of-date show promo after a breaking news event.
Look in the mirror. Ask yourself if you are grabbing the attention of the actual people who love your show. Then think about people who just listen occasionally. Have you asked your PD for a tune-in report? Do you know how long your listeners are consuming your show? You perhaps may be shocked that your listeners are not with you every day. Then, you need to analyze how you can coax people who actually like your show to listen every day.
Peter Thiele is a weekly news/talk radio columnist for Barrett Media, and an experienced news/talk radio programmer. He currently serves as News/Talk Format Captain for Zimmer Communications. Prior to joining Zimmer, Peter held programming positions in New York City, San Francisco, Des Moines, Little Rock, Greenville, Hunstville, and Joplin. Peter has also worked as a host, account executive and producer in Minneapolis, and San Antonio. He can be found on Twitter at @PeterThiele.
