Has there ever been a book you couldn’t put down?
It’s a great transformative moment when a story captures our imagination so much so that we willingly allow ourselves to be taken on a grand, new adventure. We become invested. We enter the author’s world full of anticipation.
There are books that we immediately become absorbed in. Others we forget quickly. What causes us to become absorbed in a book rather than abandon it?
In his recent book, How to Write a Sentence, and How to Read One, Stanley Fish suggests one reason is a great first sentence.
Think of your brand message as the first sentence in your book.
It should be absorbing. It should be promising. It should convince your prospect to press on further.
Your brand message is the inspiring idea that gives your prospect a sense of what they will experience. It captures the essence of your brand, and as Stanley Fish describes, it gives it “lean”.
Your brand message gives your customers a way to think about your product in a different way. It tells your story. It gives your story promise for what is to come.