Five secrets to hooking your readers' attention and keeping them interested all the way to the end of your newsletter

Unfortunately, few readers make it to the end of the first paragraph, let alone the end of the article. A strong start is your best hope to hook your reader. The first few sentences, or the lead - which is spelled "lede" among journalists - don't ask why. Think of article writing as good story telling. Leave out the boring, repetitive stuff and let them know early on that there's something in it for them.

Try these hooks:

Set the scene with your lede. Make your details appeal to the senses. Remember those Charles Dickens' stories you read as a kid? You couldn't put them down because they painted pictures in your mind. Do the same thing for your readers.

Use a quote. If your story is a case study, get the client's actual words down. It will make the story come to life. If you can't do that, find a quote of a famous person that relates in some way to your message.

Just the facts! This is called the "Inverted Pyramid" by journalists. Cram all the facts into the first few sentences and then elaborate on them in the following story.

Keep your paragraphs short and to the point. If your paragraphs are only about six lines long, they won't appear so intimidating. Newsletters are meant to be condensed information. Space is tight and so are your readers' schedules. Make your point and move on. Try to keep one thought per sentence.

Dump the over blown Boardroom jargon. You want to sound like you know what you're talking about. But keep your language natural and easy going. Trying to pump up your authority by using artificially inflated language will only backfire and hurt your professional reputation.