Think of an article you write for an e-zine as an extended piece of literature that helps you capture that reader's attention for a few minutes. If your title and lead are dynamic and your article is informative and convincing you stand a good chance to win a reader over; make a sale; or do good works in building your on line reputation. Also, keep it simple so reader is able to digest what your article is saying.

If, on other hand, you are an e-zine reader and you identify with content of an article, look at piece as a source of condensed information being supplied to you. If piece is knowledgeable and fits your needs, you may get enough information from article to save you from a long on-line search or reading a chapter in a book.

He was kidding about scotch. But he just couldn't believe anyone in their right mind would write such a bold and outrageous ad for their own writing, consulting and speaking services, as I had.

Well, I spent $300 on that ad -- $200 to run it in a local trade association directory, and $100 to have it reprinted as a flyer.

The following year, that $300 ad turned into $12,341 in new business for me. And $12,341 was just a tiny fraction of my total business that year.

Why did I make so much money myself while there were so many thousands of "starving writers" in world? The answer may surprise you. You see, it's not because I'm a better writer. It's not my schooling. Not my resume. Not any talent I was born with.

It's all because I learned how to write "killer copy."

How do you write killer copy?

You start your killer copy with an emotion-packed opening statement that will get attention of your reader. This opening statement may be:

* a headline * an opening sentence * a subject line on an email * header on a Web page

... or for that matter, opening words in a telemarketing script, radio commercial, or TV spot. What's important is that you understand - your first words count for everything - because you must captivate peoples' imagination with those words in order to keep their attention.

Here are examples of opening statements from actual successful marketing pieces:

a) "Take luxury vacation of your dreams at a reduced cost because of this special offer" (from a travel agency's letter to business owners.)

b) "How to stop overwhelm before it stops you" (from a personal coach's ad aimed at stressed-out overachievers)

c) "Why almost every financial statement in family court may not disclose full net worth of opposing spouse" (from an investigator's sales letter to divorce lawyers.)

Then, after your emotion-packed opening statement, you just a) Make a promise b) Back it up with convincing proof and c) Ask for action

Let's look at how you do each of those three techniques.

1. Make a promise. The letter about luxury vacations starts with these words:

"Imagine taking your winter vacation knowing you aren't spending a penny more than you have to - secure that you have a team of travel experts making sure every little detail of your vacation goes smoothly. "Here's how you can have that vacation right now: Take advantage of an unusual promotion our company is doing. Let me explain."

Pretty exciting, right? Even if you don't think so, people who got letter did - because letter produced an amazing $5 million in sales for travel agency.

2. Back it up with convincing proof. The personal coach's ad for stressed-out overachievers, one that begins "How to stop overwhelm before it stops you," contains this proof: