The Best Copywriting Tip (I learned over a 3-martini lunch)

Ready to write something that stops scrollers in their tracks and gets them to read your content?

Then you’re going to love one of my favorite copywriting strategies.

The concept is called “fascinations,” and I learned it from my buddy Eddie Shleyner.

Jennifer and I met up with Eddie for lunch in Chicago a few months ago. After being LinkedIn friends for so long, we were all excited to meet in person.

The martinis were extra cold that day, the conversation was flowing, and Eddie was extra generous with copywriting advice. Many nuggets of wisdom came out of our lunch, but one stuck with me more than everything else.

Fascinations.

“Fascinations” is a copywriting strategy where you capture your reader's attention by making them curious. You make them so curious that they’re compelled to learn more.

Fascinations are specific, intriguing pieces of copy that tap into your audience's deepest desires and challenges. And they’re meant to get your audience leaning in because they’re…well…fascinated.

So today I’m passing along this useful copywriting strategy to you (minus martinis), so you can use fascinations in your content strategy for maximum social growth.

Let’s dive in.

The Problem with Generic Writing

99 percent of content fails to get much engagement online. And as I scroll through X and LinkedIn, I can see why.

The average writer leads with something bland and generic. And as a result, they fail to connect with the reader on an emotional level.

So scrollers glaze over the content and move on to something more interesting. And you can’t blame them. We’re all inundated with stuff to read.

Here are some boring openers I’ve seen recently:

• 10 tips for better email marketing:
• Introducing our new publishing tool!
• Why everyone should have a social media strategy:

Yawn

This copy doesn't command attention or make a reader feel anything. It’s forgettable and ineffective. And the worst part? The actual content probably contains valuable information.

But it won’t be read, because it isn't compelling.

Fascinating Is the Opposite of Boring

Here are some simple exercises you can use to introduce fascinations into your content:

Exercise 1: Identify your audience's key desires and fears.

What does your ideal customer secretly hope for? What keeps them up at night?

Examples: "How I turned my cooking side hustle into a $233,758 business in just 9 months" or "The silent killer that's sabotaging young women’s fitness goals."

Exercise 2: Use specific, sensory language.

Paint a vivid picture in your reader's mind using descriptive words and concrete details.

Example: "Discover the lush, tropical paradise that's only a 3-hour flight from LA" vs. "Check out this awesome getaway". See the difference?

Exercise 3: Hint at a transformation.‍

Show how your content or offer will change the reader's life in a meaningful way.

Example: "The surprising 4.5-minute morning routine that boosts your energy levels 2x more than coffee."

Exercise 4: Evoke curiosity with an unexpected twist.

Surprise your reader with an unconventional idea or contrarian viewpoint.

Example: "Why raising your rates 4x for your service actually attracts MORE clients."

See how these examples are fascinating? They make you so curious that you have to read the content.

But here’s the catch. You have to deliver on your promise. Otherwise it’s just clickbait, and nobody likes that.

I always review a piece of content before I publish it — to ensure I’ve delivered on whatever I promised in my fascination.

Transitioning from Boring to Fascinating

I love using fascinations to open a piece of content. (Note: Fascinations are also great for landing page copy, to build excitement and curiosity or email subject lines).

Check out these examples of moving from boring to fascinating:

Boring: “How to get a job on LinkedIn.”

Fascinating: "The 15-second tweak that instantly makes your LinkedIn profile 10x more attractive to recruiters."

Boring: “How to build a 6-figure side hustle”.

Fascinating: "How this stay-at-home mom built a 6-Figure ghostwriting business from her living room (for just $143)"

Boring: “How to land high-ticket coaching clients.”

Fascinating: "The one counterintuitive networking tip that landed me 5 high-ticket coaching clients in just 45 Days."

See how the fascinating hooks make you want to keep reading compared to the boring ones?

That's the power of fascinations.

Now, you just need to deliver.

Putting Fascinations Into Practice

Here's your action step for today:

1. Choose one piece of content you want to optimize
2. Create 3 fascinations that would resonate with your target audience
3. Rewrite your opener or subject line using each of those fascinations
4. Stagger the 3 pieces of content two months apart
5. Track which content performs well vs. not, and study why
6. Use what you learn to create better fascinations in the future

Once you start using fascinations in your copy, you'll never go back to boring, generic messaging again.

Your audience will be hooked, you’ll get more engagement, and your social media accounts will grow.

If you like writing tips like this and you’re trying to grow your LinkedIn account, check out my video course, The LinkedIn Operating System. This short course teaches you how I write compelling copy on LinkedIn and can help you add thousands of followers to your account.

If you already have some social media traction, consider my flagship course, The Creator MBA. This course teaches you how to combine compelling content (like this) with modern-day online marketing to build a lean, profitable, one-person business.

I hope you enjoyed today’s lesson.

And now it’s time to get out there and fascinate your readers.

Good luck, and see you next week.

🍸