Many prospects skim via catalogs and brochures, glancing at the pictures and studying the accompanying captions only when a specific image arouses their interest. That’s when you have their interest. And so that is when you market them.

My guidance for composing captions is to by no means describe what viewers can see for on their own in your picture.

If your picture shows a guy in a golf shirt, for instance, do not place a caption beneath the picture that merely says “New Golf Shirt.” Rather, create a subhead that communicates a advantage that the reader cannot see, 1 that the photographer could by no means capture. Write something like this:

Never A HOLE IN One: Our new Glengarry Golf Shirt functions a Teflon material protector that forms an invisible shield around fibers for excellent protection against tears and punctures.

My 2nd piece of solicited guidance (you subscribed to the newsletter, after all) is to begin your captions, when possible, with a pithy intro phrase. In 5 words or fewer, capture the essence of what you are stating with a clever word play, like the 1 over. Here is another instance.

My local newspaper ran a tale about the problem that my town is facing this summer with some property owners watering their lawns each and every day when they should be watering each and every other day to conserve water. The tale was illustrated with a photograph of a town bylaw officer, in uniform, at the doorway of a house owner who was in the very act of breaking the bylaw. The picture caption began:

LAWN Purchase: Bylaw Enforcement Officer Jack Phillips problems a warning to house owner . . .

That caption place a smile on my encounter and pressured me to study the tale. Your captions and subheads will do the same if you make them clever, fascinating and laden with benefits that interest your viewers.

ABOUT THE Author
Alan Sharpe is a company-to-company immediate mail copywriter and lead generation specialist who helps company proprietors and marketing managers create leads, close product sales and retain clients using business-to-business direct mail marketing. Learn much more about his inventive immediate mail composing solutions and sign up for free weekly tips like this at http://www.sharpecopy.com.