…and it’s incredibly simple.

The dying newspapers. The faltering magazines. The waning blogs. The unfollowed tweeters. What are they all in need of?

Effective content. Killer copywriting. Blisteringly-attractive writing. Compelling words. This is what attracts an audience and keeps them coming back. This is what advertisers see when they are impressed by readership numbers and decide to part with cash.

And delivering it to your audiences isn’t rocket science, either. In fact, there is 1 secret to effective content production.

Ready? Here it is: Hook & Hold.

Short, simple and sweet. What exactly does ‘hook & hold’ mean though?

Returning to the main exponents of effective content, the journalists, helps us to understand the impact and reasoning for ‘hook & hold’ in contemporary content production.

Back in the days when journalists were paid per word, hook & hold had real meaning.  To get paid and earn a living, the journalist had to master the art of hook & hold. In essence, draw the reader in – and keep them there.

Let’s face it, if you start reading a newspaper article, online news item, magazine advertising copy, billboard poster on a tube station elevator wall, or anything which contains words designed to engage and convince or deliver a call to action, if the words aren’t effective, engaging with the ability to hook (and hold) the reader, they have lost the very reason they’re placed there. Game over.

Engaging the reader.

Engaging the reader meant hooking them in, holding their attention, and ensuring they stayed on board until the end of the copy.  Job done.

Moving forward, and in modern times, the plethora of content avenues available to consumers, readers and ‘buying’ audiences means that your content has less and less time to be engaging, appealing, and to deliver the actual call to action. If you don’t engage them, you’ve lost the sale opportunity.

Cynical? Not really – words are used to sell products, services, ideas and for want of a better word, ‘stuff’ from companies, associations, institutions and governments. When the reader buys into it, the copy has been effective.

Simple strategy.

So, if you’re looking to deliver truly effective content in any medium – online or offline, remember this one simple strategy: make sure you obey the ‘hook & hold’ rule.

Your hit rates for online copy will surge, your call to action responses will increase, your content will lead to bigger and better campaigns across more mediums and – most importantly – your sales will rise. I don’t care what the sales departments say – without compelling content, there is in reality nothing to sell. No audience attraction. No advertiser interest. Game over.

Are you obeying the ‘hook & hold’ rule for effective audience attraction? Try it today and see.

In terms of your online voice, an interesting question.

Following meeting the guys at funky digital Agency Yucca recently, we discussed this poser amongst other things. And it can be a minefield, of course.

If – like Yucca – you’re a cool, young and savvy operation, with a great client base, some stunning corporates on board, as well as quite an edgy Brand, the question of what tone of voice to have online can be tricky.

The Yucca example is a good one: they have maintained an authentic, but knowledgable, voice online, via their blog and twitter feeds. Not an easy task, after all, the pressures to deliver a voice which is more pleasing to a corporate ear must be tempting to any developing and growing Agency which is attracting the attenton of some heavyweight marketing directors in corporate UK boardrooms.

However, authenticity does, of course, have its own value, as the Yucca management team have discovered. Whilst there is a time and place for corporate language, it all comes down to the requirements of the target audience, doesn’t it? They’ve certainly got no qualms about delivering fresh, original, authentic content to their audience. Not all regional Agencies are as brave.

Authenticity is a scarce commodity these days: just look at the anodyne corporate blogs out there, the hollow twitter feeds being delivered by PRs for clients, the dry and brittle blogs which are being updated weekly. Nothing authentic, Nothing inspiring. Nothing to make one think, get creative, be informed, educated, entertained. Basically, nothing to make the reader stay.

Checking out the Yucca blog, there is a real slice of life there, which brings us the audience closer to the team and how they interact in real-time.

I think this is hugely valuable in these anodyne times. It shows us that authenticity is still alive. Still surviving.

So, the next time you feel pulled between using an authentic online voice and going ‘corporate’ to try and write what you think you should…my advice is simple. Authenticity rules, every time. Bravo Yucca, keep it authentic, the blog’s a fantastic read. It’s also great to see creatives delivering awesome work outside of Soho – proving, again, what a powerhouse Bristol really is.

Attitude. Insight. Expertise. Passion. Authenticity. When these things are lost, what hope is there for the creative industries?

Sometimes you read an article, a novel, a sentence, which transforms your life – such as this example of powerful storytelling.

I just wanted to share it, to highlight the incredible power of storytelling. Short, sweet and simple.

Well, according to this, that’s what it takes to make it with British audiences these days.

It’s the remarkable success story of Cillit Bang, the most absurdly-named household cleaning product ever to hit British homes. Combined with one of the most uncomfortable TV advertising campaigns witnessed, it stacked up to be a massive hit in terms of sales – providing the CEO with £90M this year. Not bad for such a competitive sector, either.

The thing which caught my eye in the Guardian article, however, is the fact that as early as 2004, Cillit Bang had consumers scoffing at the product and the blogosphere unable to take it seriously, given the naming, garish branding, in-your-face advertising, and general ‘unBritishness’ of the promotions. Despite of this, sales continued to rise and rise.

There’s a valuable lesson in there somewhere for marketers, bloggers and consumers in the UK.

In the insightful article by the Guardian’s Laura Barton, Marketing Week’s Editor Mark Choueke comments: “Essentially Cillit Bang’s success is down to the fact that it had a silly name and a great marketing strategy.”

Is it just down to this? Surely, there must be more than a random combination of naming and numbers of TV ads to propel sales? It’s worth remembering, after all, that there was a £5M advertising campaign behind it.

Consumers often go for the unusual, interesting and unique. As do the Press, the bloggers, and readers. It’s all the same, really.

I watched an incredible movie a couple of days ago, and it’s been in my thoughts ever since.

The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus is one of those films which stays with you, like The Green Mile or The Shawshank Redemption. And why? Because of the powerful storytelling contained within.

And Dr Parnassus is no exception. There’s one part of the movie, in particular, which reminded me of the power of storytelling – and why modern communicators need to re-visit this lesson. Sterile, unauthentic communications are rapidly forgotten.

There is a scene in which Dr Parnassus, played faultlessly by Christopher Plummer, is on the verge of making his Faustian deal with the Devil, a role carried off with offbeat perfection by Tom Waits.

Dr Parnassus talks to the Devil about the power of storytelling, and how the order of monks of which he is a part at the time serves to hold back the ever-rising surge of evil – through the medium of constant storytelling across the world.

In Dr Parnassus’s universe, storytelling is the one great act we have left with which to save Humanity.

Now, I’m not going into any kind of morality discussion here, and after all the movie (which was Heath Ledger’s swan song, of course) holds the attention of the viewer in a way only Director Terry Gilliam can achieve on an audience, BUT what remains important to me is this: powerful stories stay with people. All kinds of people – even people in business.

Business people offline, online, tweeting, passing and sharing stories, content, words and tales which fire the imagination, which inspire, rouse, call to action. In short, the movie reminded me that without powerful stories, a modern business is stuffed.

With that in mind – what’s your story? Are you utilising storytelling to win over prospects, to engage new clients, to refresh existing customers of the reasons why they love doing business with you? Why not forget the ‘sell’ and start with a story.

You might even find the results as amazing as the incredibly-memorable Dr Parnassus. I know it’s staying with me – for years.