What is the secret lead?

The secret lead is the most universal and powerful lead.

It involves teasing your prospect with a secret, the secret being the product on sale.

You emotionally persuade your prospect that they want your product before they even know what it is. You do this by talking about all the benefits and the USP of your product before revealing what it is.

The longer you can get your prospect intrigued by this secret, the higher your chances of closing the sale.

What makes a good secret lead?

1. The secret has to be both intriguing and beneficial to the reader

This ad is a great example of the secret lead being utilized. The headline says:

“Announcing an Apprenticeship Program for Aspiring Millionaires”

That headline alone is intriguing. It arouses curiosity. What is kind of apprenticeship program is this?

It’s also beneficial to the reader because it will help him achieve the goal of becoming a millionaire.

You need to make sure that whatever the secret is, it has to be connected to a major benefit right away.

2. The secret is introduced in the headline

The secret is presented in the headline and not revealed until much later in the copy.

The impulse to discover secrets is buried deep within the human brain. Therefore, with a secret in the headline, it becomes irresistible. Your reader is immediately intrigued and wants to read on to find out what it is.

3. The secret is NOT introduced in the lead

The most common mistake copywriters make with this lead is introducing the secret too soon. If you satisfy your reader’s curiosity early on in the copy, you risk losing them.

What if, after finding out what the secret is, they decide that it’s boring or not worth their time? They’ll just click away and move on to the next thing.

Remember, the purpose of the lead is to emotionally persuade the reader to buy. So don’t reveal your secret until you’re sure your prospect is emotionally hooked. And this is normally after you’ve revealed all your product’s benefits and USP.

In fact, most secret lead ads don’t even disclose the secret at all. They promise to reveal it in a premium package. If your copy is intriguing enough, the reader won’t deterred by this. They’ll pay whatever it takes to find out what the secret is.

4. As the copy continues, the reader is given more clues pointing towards what the secret is

The key word is “clues”. You’re hinting at what it might be but not saying what it is. So as the prospect is reading the copy, he thinks he’s much closer to figuring out what the secret is.

So he keeps on reading to gather these clues and try to piece them all together. By the time he’s nearing the end of the copy, he’s emotionally hooked. That’s when you reveal the relevant details.

How to write an effective secret lead

First, list all the benefits, characteristics, features and components of the product you want to sell.

Then you can go at it in two different ways:

1. Pick out one characteristic of your product that’s relatively unknown. Whatever it is, it has to be relevant to the prospect and enough to drive the lead.

Once you pick that out, turn it into the secret. Your prospect will be intrigued because they’ve never heard of this. Then write your copy around it

2. Alternatively, if all benefits of your product are common, pick one that’s relevant and reinvent it. Give it a new name. Describe something your prospect knows in a new way and make that the secret.

That concludes the secret lead. It’s very simple but powerful. So try it out and see how it works in your business.

If you’d like my help in applying this and other strategies to sell your high ticket products and services, let me know. Just click the button below to apply for a complimentary consultation.