The AIDA Model – diagram goes here or as main pic on page.
Journalism offers many principles and
practices that a bid-writer may valuably
heed . . . most especially as concerns
the crafting of a punchy and enticing
opening paragraph or, in journalistic
lexicon, a “lead-in” or “intro”.
This peak paragraph should
encapsulate the essence of your piece.
While you should be as direct and
interesting as possible throughout, the
“intro” sets the scene for all the content
that follows in that piece or section.
With the intro in place and doing its
job, the next element of the journalistic
formula a bid writer may wish to make
good use of is the “inverted pyramid”
principle.
The inverted pyramid dictates
that you organise the key points of
your content in descending order
of importance – leading in with a
summary of the most important point,
followed by the next most important
point, then the next. This generally
HOW TO USE TIME-TESTED WRITING PRINCIPLES TO
IMPROVE THE IMPACT OF YOUR PROPOSALS
THE JOURNALISTIC
RATIONALE IS THAT
THE AVERAGE
NEWSPAPER READER
SCAN-READS MOST
ARTICLES. THEREFORE,
HE OR SHE NEEDS
TO GET THE GIST
OF THE STORY IN
THE HEADLINE AND
THE FIRST THREE
PARAGRAPHS
relates to the first three paragraphs,
after which the rest of the story
unfolds as an expansion of the points
made in these.
The journalistic rationale is that
the average newspaper reader scanreads most articles. Therefore, he or
she needs to get the gist of the story
in the headline and the first three
paragraphs.
While the reader-evaluator will,
you would hope, read the full text of
your response / proposal sections, it
still behooves you to lead in with your
most critical information and develop
your piece in an order that maintains
his or her keen interest.
The AIDA Formula
An equally viable format for rolling
out your content is the “AIDA” formula
used to guide direct marketing pieces.
It’s similar to – although not the same
as – the journalistic “inverted pyramid”
principle.
This acronym stands for Attention,
Interest, Desire and Action.
In “bid” terms, this formula
translates to:
• Get attention
• Build interest
• Unfold the big picture / your
observations of the prospect
organisation’s project or
procurement, its needs, and the
quantifiable benefits it seeks
• Build your case / establish credibility
/ provide proof points
• End with a reminder of your key
theme and the wisdom of choosing
your offering as the answer to the
prospect’s problem or need. ■
