Sticky Leads

The first twenty-five words of your article are the most important. If they're not powerful and "sticky", readers will not stop and invest the time to find out what your article is about.

Some writers write and rewrite their leads numerous times, changing a word here, adding a word there.I've heard of writers reworking the lead up to twenty times, until it is the best possible. Are leads that important? Absolutely!

Most people flick through a magazine first and then decide what to read. Your lead is the advertisement, a signpost telling readers what to expect.If readers like the lead, they will invest the time to keep reading. Your lead, known as "the hook", worked.

Editors and Leads

Editors have a built in detector for excellent leads. Anything that doesn't hook the editor won't be accepted. Your article may have a great topic, be well written, contain terrific research, include usable tips and ideas... but, sadly the lead let you down and your article was rejected.

Writing a Sticky Lead What makes a lead "sticky"?

An Invitation -- Come in and read my article, there's lots of information, inspiration and entertainment.

Being Direct -- A sticky lead is concise, direct and appealing. It doesn't ramble, or promise the impossible.

It Fits -- Your sticky lead is an introduction to your article and should be appropriate for the following material. Some people have written great leads but they didn't have much to do with the rest of the article. Readers really hate that, so please don't do it.

It's Natural -- Readers can tell if your sticky lead is forced, the flow is not good and you are not writing in a style that suits you. Readers are perceptive and much more knowledgeable than we sometimes give them credit for.

Example of What Works and What Doesn't

This is an article about moving house.

"One day we were driving along a nice country lane, enjoying the countryside. The weather was ideal, warm with blue skies and not much cloud.

We had chosen this day to look at a new suburb because we had considered moving. The suburb was two hours drive from where we were living and we wondered what attractions it had to make us want to relocate." (65 words)

This is a pretty sleepy lead. It rambles and doesn't have a hook.

Take a look at this lead for the same article.

"Two hours drive south of Big City is New Town. Jobs are plentiful. Homes range from bungalows to multi-level spacious accommodation. New Town is on the banks of Lake Special. The air is clean -- All the ingredients for a great lifestyle.Here's what to look for when you're thinking of moving." (52 words)

The second version sets the scene and tells readers what to look for when considering a move. You are giving information, inspiration and entertainment.

Information -- Where the place is and what are the immediate impressions.

Inspiration -- All the ingredients for a great lifestyle.

Entertainment -- Even if you're not thinking of moving this might be a great place to visit.

Think carefully about the lead when you start your next article.

barb clews is an award winning journalist with nearly 1,000 published articles to her credit. She has been a writer and editor for 15 years and is the author of "Article Writing for Freelancers" and "20 Tips to Increase Writing Skills" Visit barb clews to subscribe to "Words that Work", Barb's monthly ezine packed with tips for writers.

tidy up service Glenview ..

In The News:

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.

New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.