"Where" may seen easier than "when." Maybe you are thinking that you just add your address. Not so. Use your imagination for a moment: you are having a party and want a friend to come. You give directions, draw a map, and provide him or her with all right and left turns.

If your marketing piece requires your customers to find a location, give them complete information. (If you are sending an e-mail, give them a link to an on-line map). Add helpful details like: "look for blue awning" or "we're across from 'x' restaurant." Be sure to include information about parking. You do not want someone to get frustrated about parking and go home.

"Why" is often overlooked from prospect’s viewpoint. . Many otherwise good marketing pieces fail at "why." "Why" addresses importance of event or uniqueness of product.

Don't forget that your prospect is looking for a good reason to toss your information. People have more information today than they can handle. You need a persuasive "buy now" reason in "why" part. The answers need to tell them why they need to hear/learn about this now.

There are only two powerful "buy now" elements that trigger action: (1) scarcity, and/or, (2) a limited time to act. Either you are going to run out of product or you are doing something for a compressed time.

Before an event there needs to be two or three weeks with limited (scarcity) offers along way. Item pricing will not pull an event along, but a good general selection story will. A story like "further reductions" works, but only if it is true. Your prospect will know if you are "fudging" truth, even if your customers don't.

Your employees, who are your first line of contact with customers, will certainly know. Remember "going out of business" signs that show up several times a year? Maintain your integrity and your customers will stay your customers.

"How" are your payment or credit terms. Tell your customers about them only after you have sold them on your product or event. Don't yell "one year interest free" or "no payments until July of 2004" until they are excited about what you are offering. Present your special terms after they have decided they want it.

In summary, long copy is a good choice after you fulfill 10-second requirement of six W’s. This way you allow both "I want to know a lot" and "give it to me fast and straight" to get what they need.

Here's an example of an outline I created by deconstructing an article I’d read:

intriguing introduction

statement of problem

case history to demonstrate your solution

list of practical tips

upbeat conclusion

Fill this out in point form, making sure that there's a logical progression of thoughts. Then flesh out your points. You can write a first draft of a 1,500-word article in a day or two, put it away for a day, go back and tighten it up. You're done.

Please note—using an article’s structure is fine, using someone else’s words is plagiarism (theft of their intellectual property).

Here's great part: You can simply use same structure over and over. No one will notice, or care, because content will be different each time.

3.Consider using lists. People love to know 10 best ways, five secrets, 12 essentials. Be honest—don't you always take a peek at an article whose title promises "Five ways to enhance your love life" or "10 secrets to financial independence"? There's something almost addictive about reading these lists, like nibbling popcorn or potato chips.

Here's my take on what makes lists enticing:

Readers love tidbit form. The items in list break up your article into manageable chunks of information, and also provide visual clues for skimming page. Face it, you've done some of reader's work for her (and who isn't grateful for a bit less work?).

Lists create an air of authority and credibility. After all, it takes confidence to promise "the 10 best ways" to do something.

This format creates a ready-made action plan for reader.

For you, writer, a list makes process much less daunting. It's less stressful to tackle writing your article if you know that you can divide it into five or 12 info-bytes comprising a paragraph or two each. And lists force you to be concise and direct.

You can use a list as structure for your entire article, or you can include a list within a longer, more narrative-style piece of writing. One way to do this is to offer your reader a concluding list of practical tips coming out of your article's premise.

This is a great strategy for staying connected with your readers. If you're discussing "big" concepts that threaten to become too vague, give your reader an agenda:

"Now that we've discussed importance of being organized at work, here are five actions you can take.