Lead writing workshop: Hook your readers
Nail this skill in just 3 hours in a Mini Master Class* or webinar
You’re not still packing all of the Ws into the first paragraph, are you? Cranking out “XYZ Company today announced …” leads? If so, your News Writing 101 class called and wants its leads back!
To win today’s fierce competition for your readers’ attention, you need more sophisticated, nuanced leads — not the approaches you learned when you were 19.
In this writing workshop, you’ll learn how to use the most important paragraph in your message to:
- Grab attention
- Illustrate your key idea
- Draw people into your message
Best of all, you’ll perfect this skill in just three hours in our Mini Master Class* or webinar.
“I have been a journalist for 30 years, published more than 10,000 times, and I have learned more about writing in the past two days from Ann than I have in all that time. I so needed this!”
— Jim Masters, internal communications specialist, Accenture
Team training
Get a customized workshop at your convenience.
What you’ll learn in this writing workshop
In this lead-writing workshop, you’ll learn step-by-step how to start your message with a bang — not a whimper. Specifically, you’ll learn how to:
Stop writing News 101 leads. Trade in your boring fact packs and “today announced” leads for more effective approaches. Your readers will thank you for it.
Steal lead formulas from The New York Times, Silver Anvil Award winners and the Associated Press. Reverse-engineer these winners for your own messages.
Write news, benefits and feature leads. Draw audience members into your press releases, blog posts, social media posts, emails, marketing and sales pages and more.
Build a bridge into your message — don’t erect an obstacle at the top that readers have to climb over to get into your piece. Find out how long your lead should be.
Avoid the worst types of lead approaches. Chances are, you’ll recognize at least one of these from your own messages.
How to use AI to write better leads. How can ChatGPT, Bard and other generative AI bots help you craft great opening paragraphs?
Get Ann to help you write a powerful lead. Watch as writing coach Ann Wylie edits your homework live in class. That’s how we put the master in the Mini Master Class!
“The article I rewrote in Ann’s class got nearly three times the average page views for our stories. It was the second-most read story of the year.”
— Michelle Esso, senior communications staff writer, Baker Law
*What’s a Mini Master Class?
In our Mini Master Class, you’ll do a deep dive on a single subject in just 3 hours:
- Learn how to write better leads in one 90-minute class.
- Practice the techniques you’ve learned on your own communications.
- Get coaching and feedback from Ann.
In our webinars, your team will learn a new writing skill in one 90-minute class.
Are you ready to hook readers with great leads?
Become a better lead writer: Start writing attention-grabbing leads now.
Team training
Get a customized workshop at your convenience.
Learn more about our other writing workshops.
Questions? Please contact Ann.