Wait, what?

I stop, and read it again.

“Children left unattended will be given a double espresso and a kitten.”

No, I’m not crazy.

That’s what the sign says.

And that’s a perfect example of what good copy does: it takes your brain out of autopilot, forcing you to give the message a hearing.

Compare that to most messaging:

“Pay attention to the safety briefing.”

“Fasten your seatbelts.”

“20% off!!”

Because you expect it, you ignore it.

A long time ago, I was studying Spanish and decided to take on Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s 100 Years of Solitude. It was pretty rough for my vocabulary level, and I was half-tempted to quit. But a single line – the first sentence in the book – made that impossible.

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“Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.”

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Different, isn’t it?

Makes you lean in, and want to know what happens next.

Will Buendía survive the firing line?

How did he get to the firing line?

All that attention, commanded by a single sentence. (which was why Marquez won the Nobel Prize for literature.)

So, here’s a question:

On your website, ads and emails, are you forcing your prospects to stop and pay attention? (Perhaps with the help of kittens and double espresso?)

Or are you making ‘em glaze over?

If it’s the latter, and you’re curious how much money you could claw back that’s being left on the table, sign up to my list at the link below, and let's have a chat.

https://eo.berserkermail.com/bazinga