The first paragraph of a promotional article is a crucial hook that must immediately capture the reader's interest. However, maintaining this interest throughout the article is equally important. This can be achieved by incorporating real-life success stories, relevant quotes, and engaging narratives. Let's delve into the art of writing a compelling promotional article, drawing inspiration from the best in the business - journalists who excel at writing press releases.
Top journalists, renowned for their press releases, often write in the third person. This approach lends an air of objectivity and credibility to the content. However, simply mimicking this style is not enough. The structure of the information presented is equally important.
Press releases often follow an inverted pyramid structure, where the most crucial information is presented at the beginning, followed by supporting details and background information. This "top-heavy" approach ensures that the reader is immediately presented with the most important information.
While the size of a promotional article may differ from a press release, the principle of maintaining reader interest remains the same. This can be achieved by introducing real people and their success stories related to your product or service. Including direct quotes or testimonials can further enhance the credibility and believability of these stories.
Quotes serve as a form of social proof, validating the claims made in your promotional article. They can be verbal quotes from individuals who have benefited from your product or service, or printed quotes from reputable publications. These quotes act as the "icing on the cake", providing the confirmation that makes your narrative believable.
Let's examine a promotional article for the Chessapeak Challenge®, a revolutionary 4-player chess game, to see how these principles are applied.
Steve Preston, a middle school teacher in Milton, Ontario, Canada, saw the potential of this new invention. He incorporated the Chessapeak Challenge® into his chess instruction courses and curricula, leading to remarkable results. His students excelled, and the school won the Regional Chess Tournament Championship for the first time ever.
This success story was further validated by a review in the Autumn 1995 United Kingdom Chess Journal, where David Pritchard stated, "Chessapeak Challenge® gets over both problems" associated with traditional 4-player chess games.
The Chessapeak Challenge® not only revolutionized chess instruction in Steve's classes but also had a profound impact on the students' performance in other subjects. Steve structured his math and science classes around this 4-player chess game, leading to improved student performance and increased demand for his classes.
A full-page review of the Chessapeak Challenge® was published in Fairplay magazine in Berlin, Germany, in November 1997. The review, written by Joshen Corts, praised the game, stating, "Chessapeak Challenge is not only a successful play on words, But also a successful challenge of 4 Player Chess".
The Chessapeak Challenge® has proven to be a game-changer, not just for students, but also for adult chess players. Denis Chabot, a chess player from Quebec City, Canada, reported significant improvement in his game after playing the Chessapeak Challenge®.
In conclusion, the Chessapeak Challenge® serves as a perfect example of how to write a compelling promotional article. It incorporates real-life success stories, relevant quotes, and engaging narratives to maintain reader interest throughout.
The next step for the Chessapeak Games Co. is to introduce "Internet Play" for 4-player partnership Chess, further expanding the reach and impact of the Chessapeak Challenge®.
