If you’ve been studying copywriting and direct response marketing for any length of time, you’ve probably come across…

1. The technique of using stories in your copy; and

2. The idea that “secrets” are a powerful device to attract the attention of your prospect.

I was reminded of these 2 things over the last couple of days firstly by an ad for a financial trading service from Agora.

The service is called the “1-2-3 Trader” and here’s an extract from the email lead to the main letter…

“In the first half of 2008, a group of insiders used a very powerful trading code to generate over $10 billion in revenue… through some of the toughest markets we’ve seen in years…

At the very least, you’ll find out about a secret that’s been tightly held for years…”

And the headline to the letter is “I’ve Cracked Wall Street’s ‘Da Vinci Code’…”

(Note: Unfortunately, I don’t have a link to a web page with the letter.  Interestingly, the whole, quite long, letter is included in an email.  So much for people not reading long emails, huh?)

So, I think you get the general idea of the theme of the letter.  The lead is the story of how the “code” was discovered and it does a pretty good job of drawing in the reader (well, me at least!).

Now, I must admit, I’m a “sucker” for the kind of story leads that Agora uses for many of its financial products.  They often use a story from America’s rich business history (often involving a “tycoon” like Howard Hughes).  I am fascinated by business history so a story along those lines (combined with the lure of money making, of course) will usually draw me in.

However, I guess I’m not the only one because Agora use this idea quite often.  One assumes it is producing results for them.

Combined with the story device, of course is the “secrets” element.  Curiosity is one of the most powerful triggers as people just seem to have to know “What happens next?”.

Which leads me on to my next reminder.

While in the Sydney branch of bookstore Kinokuniya yesterday tracking down a book recommended by ace copywriter Harlan Kilstein (“In The Line Of Fire” by Jerry Weissman, since you ask) what should I see but a new Jason Bourne novel – “The Bourne Sanction”.

Immediate impulse buy.  I confess, I’m a junkie for the “Spy Thriller” genre (love the Barry Eisler “John Rain” novels, for example) and I’m a big fan of the Bourne movies.

Anyway, here’s the thing.  Started reading the book when I got home and before I knew it, Midnight was striking.  I was just sucked right in, reading “just a few more pages” to find out “what happens next?”.

Now, I know that writers like Robert Ludlum (in fact in this case Eric Van Lustbader who has taken up the Bourne series since Ludlum’s death in 2001) are generally looked down on by the artistic and cultural elite.  But they sell a hell of a lot of books (according to Wikipedia, Ludlum sold over 290 million books).

And the reason is they know how to tell a good story that keeps the reader’s interest.

So, well worth studying popular writers to get tips for storytelling and style (Hint: Lots of action verbs and “Power Words” as John Carlton calls them).

UPDATE: Imagine my surprise when the latest post from copywriting giant Clayton Makepeace deals with the topic of…secrets! (“Psst…Can You Keep A Secret?”) As with anything from Clayton, well worth a read and you’ll be rewarded by discovering the 4 kinds of secrets you can use to get a higher response from any kind of copy (Gee, am I using that “curiosity” thing again?)