Starting copy in mid-action is a time-honored technique used by many successful fiction writers to open the first chapter of a novel with a "bang."

The idea is to grab the reader by the lapels and pull her into the story. It works. You can apply the same technique to commercial copy as well.

For example, let's assume you own a home alarm company and would like to send a postcard to your prospective clients, promoting the superior quality of your NoProblemo home security system.

Here is a web copy that would put everybody to sleep right away:

"Hi! My Name is M. Smith and I'm sending you this postcard to let you know what our new digital 385 Hertz double-panel UL- and WRR-certified NoProblemo system can do for you and your family. Did you know that... etc."

And here is the same product introduced from a "mid-action" angle:

"When Cynthia heard the back door creak open ten past four in the morning, she wished her leg was not in a cast and she were not all alone in the six-bedroom white colonial. She did the best thing next to panicking and reached for the red home alarm button on her nightstand. What happened next is what you will read below..."

What happened next of course is that the cops arrived right away within minutes and apprehended the intruder, all thanks to... NoProblemo Home Security System.

Obviously, despite the strong narrative opening, you have to make sure that the story itself is true.

What I'm advocating here is not inventing events that did not exist and are not true, but to convey the things that really did happen in a way that would save your copy from heading straight for the trash can.

Give a lecture and people will fall asleep. Tell a good ripping story and they'll listen wide awake.

And if you start your story in the middle of the action, they'll ask for more and perhaps even reach for their credit cards.