Keep readers planted in their seats, using seeds of curiosity
He was bigger than me. Stronger. And more aggressive. And as expected, it was hitting me across the uneven grass like a piñata. But instead of feeling terror or fear, I was getting more and more angry with my classmate who was bullying me. As passers-by watched with amusement at his antagonistic antics, he laughed!
At that moment I remembered the story of David and Goliath. How did things turn out for the little guy in that one? Oh yeah, David killed the giant by gouging out the lout’s eye. But I didn’t have a slingshot! And even if he did, he probably wouldn’t know what to do with it. All he had were two weak and ineffective fists.
Which is why what happened next would forever shape the way he viewed the conflict…
Leave your audience pending… just a little
“So”, you may be wondering. “What happened after?” “Did the thug do us a favor and pulverize this guy or what?” But the last thing I want to do is reveal the result. That’s because the beginning of that story is there solely to plant a seed, a “seed of curiosity” in the minds of readers, so that they stick with this entire article.
Curiosity serves as a great tool when you need to communicate an idea that requires a lot of explanation. For example, if you wanted someone to sign up for a seminar, donate to your charity, or try a mail order product.
Once you’ve read about “seeds of curiosity,” I’m pretty sure you’ll start noticing them in ads and elsewhere. More importantly, you’ll have acquired a powerful ingredient for writing your own compelling copy, no matter what your purpose.
The Known Advertising “Secret”
In the interest of giving credit where credit is due, I first heard the phrase “seeds of curiosity” while reading the book. Advertising secrets of the written word, by newsroom king Joseph Sugarman. He explained the power of piquing people’s curiosity as a way to keep them transfixed by his message until he finished explaining it. We humans have a natural need to desire closure, finality, and completion in the things we experience. You can tap into that natural longing in the pieces you write.
Think about it, our movies and TV shows usually have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Unless a book is really bad, we try to finish it and feel a little awkward if we don’t. We start home improvement projects and feel great pride (and relief) when we finish them. And a sense of failure when we don’t.
In the pieces you write, whether they’re short stories or long-form sales letters, the last thing you want to do is deliver something predictable and linear. Bo-o-ing. Our readers do not “do” boring. Look at the most successful and fascinating movies: sure they focus on the story of the main character, but what makes them really attractive is the presence of a back story, a subplot and even a historical context. They all give the story, even a fictional one, a sense of realism or “likelihood.”
And so it is when you plant the seed of a mystery at the beginning of your writing. After planting the seed, continue with the body of your copy, pointing out benefits and features of interest. All of these things you point out will support your main idea, which is that you, dear fellow writer, can enrich, energize, or entertain your reader enough to make it worth your while to do what you ask.
Delivering your ending
OK, so you’ve almost made it to the end. It is time to reward the reader for following faithfully and patiently. It’s time for the reward, the injection of money. It’s time for the seed of curiosity to sprout.
Which brings me back to that day when I was being spanked by a guy who still had his baby teeth. “Bobby” was what today would be called a “hard target.” The punches bounced off his plump body like raindrops off a cormorant. Fighting him would have been suicidal. Like David the sling-miester, I went strategically and decided to look for an eye.
My nemesis reached out to give me another push, but I hit him like a rattlesnake before he could even touch a finger. My knuckles, small as they were, made a direct connection with the soft eyeball. Bobby’s right eye exploded in pain, if his yelling was any indication.
In geopolitics and in business, we often hear the phrase “might is right.” At least that’s what I had heard growing up at home. The big dog gets the bone, always. But my direct experience had just shown the opposite: even the big dog has at least one weakness. And the little dog can have many strengths: the ability to use tactics and strategies that give him influence.
Curiosity seeds are a tactic you can use to play to your strengths against larger, better-established, and well-entrenched competitors. So it’s time to plant!