Lead-Writing Formula: The I-Feel-Your-Pain Lead

The "I-Feel-Your-Pain" lead (also known as lede) draws your audience into the article by tapping into specific pain points your readers might feel -- and then makes the audience thirsty to read further to discover the remedy they've been longing for.

Here are two examples of leads that "feel your pain" from articles I wrote for Entrepreneur Magazine, with corresponding formulas that you can apply when writing about a wide range of other topics.

 

LEAD EXAMPLE #1

Perfect Balance

Steps to help you achieve balance between work, family and play when you're launching your start-up

Author: Sean M. Lyden

Entrepreneur.com

 

Even if you're well-versed in time-management and goal-setting techniques, achieving balance is especially difficult for start-up entrepreneurs. You're putting in horribly long hours. You're the CEO, marketing director, receptionist, tech-support person and janitor all rolled into one. And the hours you're away from your business, you're worrying about it, which can leave you feeling fatigued and irritable-with little patience or energy for anything or anyone else.

But if you don't strike a balance between work, family and play-even when you're launching a new company-you put a lot at risk:

• You risk burning out and sabotaging all that you have sacrificed for.
• You risk damaging relationships that are important to you and your business
• You risk missing out on new money-making opportunities and ideas because you have tunnel vision.

Balance, on the other hand, means committing to having your life revolve around more than just your venture. It means family and personal relationships are im-portant and fulfilling to you. It means you work hard and play hard, and you feel energetic and pumped up about life. So how can you realistically achieve balance while launching your company? Here are six strategies:

LEAD FORMULA #1

The formula for the example above looks like this:

Paragraph 1

Sentence 1. Statement of challenge. Use "you." The main idea is to tap into the audience's pain.

Sentence 2. Pain point #1

Sentence 3. Pain point #2

Sentence 4. Pain point #3

Paragraph 2

Sentence 1. But, if you don't correct this situation, here's what you're putting at risk: <insert bullet points>.

Paragraph 3:

Sentence 1. [The solution], on the other hand, means ... [define what the solution is, looks like, etc.]

Paragraph 4: The Nutgraph (A term that means: What the article is about in a "nutshell.")

Sentence 1. So how can you realistically achieve [the solution]? Here are x tips.

 

LEAD EXAMPLE #2

Blind Faith

Don't Worry! We'll tell you how to overcome your feelings of intimidation and reach your goals

Author: Sean M. Lyden

Entrepreneur.com

You feel mixed emotions as you consider leaving your day job to work for yourself. One moment, you're so pumped, you can't think about anything else. But the next, you're stricken with fear, intimidated by the uncertainty that lies ahead. (What if I fail? What do I even know about starting a business, anyway?)

"[Intimidation] is a feeling that somehow you aren't good enough," explains David Verchere, 33, CEO of Corporate Gear LLC, a New York City exchange and application service provider for the promotional products industry that recently closed a $1.5 million financing round. "We all classify ourselves in relation to others. When we apply that to our ambitions, we don't always see our potential, but rather our limitations."

Richard Kaufman, 31, agrees. "When you're intimidated, you feel doubt and uncertainty about whether you're up to the challenges that life throws your way," says Kaufman, president and CEO of Sweepsclub.com, a Deerfield Beach, Florida, direct Internet marketing company. "You wonder if your ideas will be accepted by your family and business associates. And then there is a fear of failure...especially when you have successful competitors."

Every aspiring entrepreneur gets intimidated to some degree. That's a given. Here's how they overcome those feelings of intimidation and accomplish their goals:

LEAD FORMULA #2

Here's what the formula looks like for the example above:

Paragraph 1

Sentence 1. You feel x.

Sentence 2. On one hand (one moment), you're ....

Sentence 3. But on the other hand (next moment), you're <insert pain point> ... [The objective here is to create tension in the mind of the reader.]

Paragraph 2

Sentence 1-2. Heighten tension with quote or support research.

Paragraph 3

Sentence 1-3. Cite another example that increases tension.

Paragraph 4: The Nutgraph

Sentence 1. Every [whoever the audience is] experiences [x] to some degree.

Sentence 2. That's a given.

Sentence 3. Here's how they overcome [pain point] to experience [pleasure point.]

 

What About You?

Do you have examples of "I-feel-your-pain" lead formulas that have worked well for you? 

 

About the Author: Sean M. Lyden is a nationally recognized feature writer and columnist on sales, marketing, automotive and technology topics. As a ghostwriter and copywriter, Sean has served clients such as General Motors, SunTrust Service Corporation, Morgan Stanley, Embedded Linux Consortium and Shaw Industries. He’s also co-author of the book How to Succeed and Make Money on Your First Rental House (Wiley, 2003). Follow Sean on Twitter.

© Sean M. Lyden, 2011, All Rights Reserved