The Real Job of Every Line You Write

Here's a question most people never think to ask about their marketing copy, their emails, their web pages, their proposals.

What is the job of each individual line?

The answer is simpler than you might expect, and more important than most people realise.

The job of every line is to get the reader to read the next one.

That's it. Not to impress. Not to demonstrate how much you know. Not to tick a box on a content plan. Simply to pull the reader forward, one line at a time, all the way through to the point where you ask them to take action.

Think about what happens when that doesn't work. Someone opens your email, reads the first two sentences, and moves on. They land on your sales page, skim the headline, scroll to the bottom, and close the tab. They watch 40 seconds of your video and click away.

You've lost them. Not because your product isn't good. Not because they weren't potentially interested. But because something in the writing let them go.

I've been writing copy for more than 30 years, emails, programmes, sales pages, books, scripts. And one of the most consistently powerful techniques I've used in all of that time is something called the bucket brigade. Combined with strong sub-heads and smart transitions, it's a technique that keeps people reading even when they're tempted to stop.

And the good news is this: it's remarkably simple once you understand what it's doing and why it works.

What Is a Bucket Brigade, and Why Should You Care?

Let me paint you a picture.

Imagine a village. In the centre of the village is a pond. At the far end of the village, a house is on fire.

How do the villagers get the water from the pond to the fire?

They form a bucket brigade. A line of people, passing buckets from hand to hand, all the way from the water to the flames. Each person has one job: take the bucket and pass it on. The chain only works if every single link holds.

That's exactly what transitional copy does in your writing.

A bucket brigade, or transitional phrase, is a short expression that sits between paragraphs. Its only job is to pass the reader from the sentence they've just finished to the one that comes next. To keep the chain moving. To ensure that every link holds.

Without these transitions, copy can feel like a series of disconnected blocks. Each paragraph makes sense on its own, but there's nothing pulling the reader forward. The momentum dies. And when momentum dies, so does attention.

"Most people say you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. I can. And the way I do it is simply put salt in the oats." — Steven K. Scott

Bucket brigades are the salt. They create just enough curiosity, just enough of a pull to make the reader want the next sentence. And the one after that. All the way to your call to action.

The Curiosity Principle: Salt in the Oats

I first heard that quote from Steven K. Scott on a Nightingale Conant programme called Mentored by a Millionaire, and it stuck with me because it captures something essential about communication.

Curiosity is the engine of attention.

When someone is curious about what comes next, they keep reading. When they're not, they stop. It's as simple as that. And curiosity isn't something you either have or don't have in your writing — it's something you engineer deliberately, with specific techniques.

Bucket brigades are one of those techniques. They create a tiny, momentary gap between what the reader knows and what they're about to find out. And the human mind, almost without exception, wants to close that gap.

You see, there was one just then. 'And the good news is this.' 'Here's the thing.' 'But that's not all.' 'And I'll come to that in a moment.' Each of those phrases does the same thing: it tells the reader that something worth knowing is just ahead. It gives them a reason to keep going.

Used well, these phrases feel completely natural — like the rhythm of a good conversation. Used badly, they feel manipulative or patronising. The difference is usually in whether there's genuine substance behind them. If you promise something interesting and then deliver it, the reader trusts you. If you don't, they leave.

The technique only works when your content earns it.

Bucket Brigade Phrases That Actually Work

Over the years I've collected hundreds of these phrases. They're not magic words — they're prompts. Little conversational nudges that keep the reader moving. Here are some of my favourites, with a note on when and why they work.

Phrases that create anticipation

"And the next step is..."

This is my personal favourite. When a reader has been through the problem, felt the pain, and is ready to move — they're thinking procedurally. They want to know what to do next. This phrase matches that perfectly.

"But that's not all — far from it."

Signals that what they've just read is only part of the picture. Keeps them reading for the rest.

"And best of all..."

Creates the sense of a crescendo. Something better is coming. Who wouldn't want to read that?

Phrases that create gentle tension

"Oh — a word of caution."

Nobody wants to miss a warning. This phrase stops scrolling almost every time.

"And what's worse..."

Deepens the problem in the reader's mind. Useful when you want to make the pain vivid before presenting your solution.

Phrases that create connection

"Do you follow me so far?"

Draws the reader into a two-way conversation even in written copy. Makes them feel seen.

"Here's the thing..."

Signals you're about to share something direct and genuine. Cuts through formality.

"You may have noticed..."

Flatters the reader's intelligence while drawing them into an observation they now want to confirm.

The key with all of these is to use them sparingly and purposefully. Scatter them through your copy at the moments when attention is most likely to drift — typically between paragraphs, after a point of substance, and before a shift in direction.

Sub-heads: The Secret Signposts in Your Copy

Now here's something that connects directly to everything we've just covered.

Most people read marketing copy the same way they read a newspaper, they scan first, then decide whether to read in full. They look at the headline, glance at the images, and read the sub-heads. If those sub-heads tell an interesting enough story, they go back to the top and read from the beginning.

If the sub-heads don't interest them, they leave.

This means your sub-heads are doing two completely separate jobs at the same time. First, they break up the visual monotony of a solid block of text, giving the eye somewhere to land and rest. Second, and more importantly, they function as a secondary sales message that runs through your entire piece of copy, visible to every scanner who never reads a single full sentence.

Think of it this way. A reader who scans your sub-heads should come away with enough curiosity — enough desire to know more — to go back and read the whole thing. Your sub-heads should tell a story in miniature.

A few principles worth keeping in mind:

• Sub-heads are not chapter titles. They're not there to label what just happened. They're there to make the reader want to keep going.
• The best sub-heads create a question in the reader's mind. Something they now want answered.
• Like bucket brigade phrases, sub-heads work by creating a small gap between what the reader knows and what they're about to find out.
• Vary the length and rhythm. A mix of short punchy sub-heads and slightly longer ones keeps the eye moving.

Together, sub-heads and transitional phrases create a kind of invisible scaffolding throughout your copy. The reader may not consciously notice either — but they feel the effect. The piece feels easier to read. More engaging. More like a conversation than a document.

And the more of your copy people read, the more likely they are to say yes to what you're offering.

How to Use These Techniques in Every Format

One of the things I particularly like about both bucket brigades and sub-heads is that they work across virtually every medium you'll use to communicate with potential clients.

In email

Email is perhaps where transitional phrases earn their keep most visibly. Most emails are read on a phone, in a hurry, with one thumb hovering over the delete button. Short paragraphs and bucket brigade phrases between them are what keep someone reading all the way to your call to action.

On web and sales pages

Long-form sales pages live and die by their ability to keep a reader engaged across hundreds or even thousands of words. Sub-heads and transitional copy are the structural tools that make that possible. Without them, even the strongest proposition feels like hard work.

In video scripts

These techniques translate directly to spoken delivery. When I'm recording a programme or presenting to a group, I use the same transitional phrases you'd find in written copy. 'And here's where it gets interesting.' 'Now, I'll come to that in a moment.' 'And what does that mean for you?' The principle is identical — keep the audience moving forward, one moment at a time.

In proposals and reports

Even formal business documents benefit from this thinking. A proposal that reads like a conversation — that moves the reader forward with well-placed sub-heads and transitions — is far more likely to be read in full than one that presents information in dense, unlabelled blocks.

"Communication, at its most effective, is a series of moments — each one earning the right to the next."

The medium changes. The principle doesn't.

The Next Step

Everything I've covered in this article, transitional phrases, sub-heads, the curiosity principle, how to keep an audience moving through your copy, is part of a much larger body of thinking about how persuasion actually works.

Not manipulation. Not pressure tactics. Authentic, ethical communication that connects with the right people, builds genuine trust, and makes it easy for them to say yes.

I've spent 30 years refining this. The methods I teach are the same ones I used to build and sell my own company. They're the same ones my clients; coaches, consultants, speakers, trainers have applied to build businesses and lives they're genuinely proud of.

And I've put the most important of them into a programme called The Persuasion Formula.

It covers the psychology of influence, the structure of persuasive communication, how to apply these principles in print, in person and online, and the step-by-step system that underpins all of it. Complete with templates, worked examples and guidance you can apply straight away.

If any part of this article has made you think differently about how you write and communicate — this is where to go next.

The Persuasion Formula

"The Psychology of Influence to Master Any Conversation"

Ethically based ideas, methods, templates and guidance to be authentically and powerfully yourself — in print, in person and online.

Get instant access here

About Peter Thomson

Peter Thomson is The UK's Most Prolific Business Development Author and regarded as The UK's Leading Strategist on Business and Personal Growth. Starting in business in 1972, he built three successful companies, selling the last to a public company for £4.2 million after just five years of trading, enabling him to retire at age 42.

Since then, Peter has concentrated on sharing his proven methods for business and personal success through online programmes, books, seminars, conference speeches and mentoring. With over 100 audio and 100 video programmes, he is Nightingale Conant's leading UK author.

Explore all of Peter's resources at peterthomson.com.