Can’t figure out why your headlines are not working for you?

1. Are your headlines all about you, instead of appealing to the readers self interest?
2. Do you constantly run the same headlines over and over and never stop to tell your loyal clients what is new and happening?
3. Have advertisements that merely provoke curiosity?
4. Haven’t use images in your advertisements?
5. Never try to spark the readers self interest?
6. Use headlines that paint a gloomy and negative picture.

1. If a headline can combine curiosity and self-interest with the ability to suggest that your product will make changes in a hurry, then you have a winning start to writing a great headline..‘How A Fool Stunt Made Me A Star Salesman’
2. An image can say a thousand words; you can use images with an effective headline to draw the reader into the copy..‘What’s Wrong With This Picture?’
3. Headlines purely written to address the readers self interest…‘How To Improve Your Memory In One Evening’
4. Making an announcement with your headline…‘A New Course And Service For Men And Women Who Want To Be Independent In The Next Five Years’

• Self- Interest
• News
• Curiosity
• Quick, easy way

Rachel Wadsworth

You’re hooked already, right?

Stories are comforting, transporting us back to childhood, firstly snuggled on a loved one’s knee and later, the closeness of the bedtime story.  Sharing, caring, and communicating on various levels with another human being.  No wonder a story presses all our buttons.

And so it continues through life.  Playground gossip, seemingly unending teenage telephone calls and, dragging myself into the 21st Century, MSMing  (forgive me on that one, I’m sure it must be a word!).  Then we graduate to adulthood where it’s the coffee morning or a quick 5-minute snippet between tasks in the workplace.

Remember the catchphrase of Max Bygraves?  “I wanna tell you a story!”  Do you think that was accidental or a very clever piece of marketing which ensured we all remembered him?  Those readers of a tender age will find him on Google.

[Note to self:  Investigate benefits of vitamin supplementation to combat effects of unseemly passage of time!]

Oh Yes, You Men, I’m Talking To You, Too!

Those of the male persuasion reading this needn’t look so smug, either!  Some of the most prolific gossips I know are male.  OK, you haven’t mastered the 2-hour telephone call, preferring to grunt instructions and hang up but I’ve spent many a happy hour – no, not ‘happy hour’ in the cheap drinks sense – watching men and youths deep in conversation over a glass of tongue-relaxant.  And don’t they go for it?  Gesticulations, actions, sometimes at full throttle to ensure their target audience is fully appreciative of the finer points of the story.

How about translating all that on to paper?  WOW, what a fantastic piece of sales copy would be created – probably a world beater!

But ask many people to write down what they said with the same flavour and seasoning and we’d be in a resuscitation situation!  Why is that?  I’ve experienced the terrors of the blank page but why do we find converting a stirring story on to paper so terrifying?  It’s only a chat between tasks, after all.  Is it because there’s no personal contact or instant feedback?  No body language triggers to encourage you to go on, or indicate a change of direction?  Perhaps the way we’re taught at school curtails effective communication?  And yet, in so many ways, success in both the business and personal arenas can depend upon the written word.

But WHY Are Stories So Important And Powerful In Marketing?

Before the written word was king, story telling was the natural means of communication and linked in to how our brains think.  They conjure up pictures, action and emotion.

Then came the Egyptians with their own ‘written’ language in the form of Hieroglyphics.  I was fortunate enough to visit many ancient ruins in Egypt in the company of a local Egyptologist.  Fascinating stuff.  With his expert knowledge, the story held within those pictures for thousands of years caught me in a vice-like grip.  A story again.  Meaningful, emotive and informative.  I was THERE living temple life and experiencing the emotions of war, victory, defeat, love, jealousy and harmony; and all brought to me courtesy of a story told in pictures, expertly interpreted.  And so it is with copywriting.  Taking the client to a place of emotional recognition and then to an exciting, peaceful or encouraging end point, depending upon the intention behind the piece.

The talented copywriter will tell a story so engaging it resonates with their customer at an emotional level, echoing their pain, offering a solution and then, showing the now pain-free new customer how blissful life will be when they have bought/used Product X.  Tapping into the prospect’s mood set :

• Really pulls them into the story
• Helps them draw their own conclusions
• Encourages the prospect to feel it was their idea in the first place

Again, as with children’s stories, we respond to the moral or main point which can be conveyed in a very non-threatening way through this medium.  Word of warning here, though; ensure the story is tailored to your target audience, i.e. talk about sheep to shepherds and not fishermen!

Does Length Matter?

Length does matter because…

• the piece should continue until the story is told regardless of length
• it can be as long or short as the need dictates; and
• consideration must be given to the purpose behind the copy – is it for a link, email teaser or sales letter, etc?

In Conclusion . . .

ALWAYS read your story or copy out loud to find the “bumps” which stop the brain’s thought process in its tracks.  The prospect will find it difficult to re-start and may well just click away – how tragic to lose a sale because the story was never vocalised!  Read aloud to yourself by all means but the best feedback comes from reading aloud to someone else and gauging their level of interest and emotional interaction.

The postings within this forum are, of necessity, short in nature and this is just a taster of the full article which you can read at www.swiftcopywriting.com.  Discover more tips and tricks to convert prospects into customers – Ka-Ching!  See you over there.

Janet Swift

 

On the 10:40 Rickmansworth to Baker Street service you’re flicking through a magazine you purchased at the train station. You see a grey page with white writing and a single photograph – an interior shot.

If this were the headline what would you be thinking?

"Beginning to see the light"

What’s your brain doing now?

Mine?  Nothing.

The meaning of the words – to suddenly understand something – gives me nothing to imagine, no question to answer, no reason to read any further.

How about you?

So why would a company choose such a disastrous headline?

Does it demand attention?  No!

Does it engage you?  No!

Does it resonate in any way?  No!

It does NOTHING.   Absolutely nothing.  If you’re anything like me you’d just zone out if your eyes roamed across the page and you’d be gone forever.

I’m guessing that’s a very costly ad they’re running.

Next comes the opening paragraph.

"When George Cornish saw this Edwardian villa within a stone’s throw of the Mumbles it inspired him immediately."

What?

I don’t know George and I don’t care about him or his Mumbles.  As a reader, as a customer all I EVER want to know is "what’s in it for ME", not you, dear business owner.

Would you have any clue that this ad was trying to sell you a kitchen!

Why are you wasting my time?

I have a life to lead, I don’t have time to read about George’s "moment of illumination" as the ad drones on about.

Tell me why I should read your ad.  Tell me why I should buy my kitchen from you. Tell me why I should believe you.  Tell me what your guarantee is.  And above all, paint me a vivid picture of how my life will change thanks to your kitchen.

If you can’t tell me that then don’t expect me, your target customer, to lift a finger to call your Fulham telephone number.

But wait… it seems, that "each kitchen you install is a complete original, individually created for one owner and one place".

So why not tell me so up front?  Why not push my hot buttons – the ones that inflate my ego fit to bursting?

Your clients enjoy feeling individual, special, distanced from the crowd.  The word elite comes to mind.

Cater your copy towards the appropriate emotions.

What would they be?

Pride?  Partly

What else?  Why does your client want to be individual?

How about fear?  What does she fear?  Being lost in the crowd?  Why does she fear being lost with the Joneses?

For the same reason we all want to own anything unnecessary.

We want to be appreciated.

We want to be noticed.

In fact we want to be loved.

If you can find a way to make me, your target customer, to see myself being loved more by buying your kitchen then you’re going to sell a whole lot more kitchens, Mr Cornish.

But are you sure that’s your target customer?

Maybe you’re, instead, appealing to the connoisseur.  The one who takes pride in learning about wines, foods, herbs and spices.  The one who appreciates the beauty of a well-crafted piece of wood.  The customer who is in awe over the love, effort and detail a craftsman offers through his work.

What hot buttons would you push then?

Respect?  Partly

What else?  Why does your client want a beautifully crafted hand made kitchen?

Might it be the feeling he gets owning the time and effort of another man?

Might he like to glow over the details?

Might it make him feel powerful?

Might it make him feel respected?

Might it make him feel envied?

Might he be mistaking envy for love?

Marketing is about knowing your customer – intimately.

Rachel Goodall
———————-
Clear Passionate Copywriting

www.rachelgoodall.com
skype rachel.goodall
rachel@rachelgoodall.com

Want to use this article?  Be my guest! You can share or reprint it – all I ask is that you give me full attribution and a link to my homepage.

Just copy and paste this statement:

This article was first published at http://www.rachelgoodall.com

Is your advertising campaign missing the mark? Are you not getting the response rate you desire?

 

Look first to your headline.

 

So… What are the 7 secrets to writing a good (No Great) headline?

1. Use the headline to grab your target markets attention. If you are selling a product Mothers, have Mothers in the headline. If you are selling a product to Women have Women in the headline. You need to ensure however that you don’t alienate a market. For example if you have a product that is suitable to Women and Men don’t just mention women in the headline.
2. The headline should focus on what is important to the reader, their own self-interest and what will make a difference in their lives.
3. In today’s fast society people are always looking for information on what’s new…So the inclusion of the word ‘NEW’ into the headline will immediately draw the reader’s attention.
4. Additional keywords that are highly effective; How To, The Secret To, Just Arrived, Announcing, Introducing, Improvement, Amazing, Sensational, Free, Miracle, Challenge, Advice To, Compare, Truth About, Last Chance.
5. Add strength to your Headline using emotional words; Love, Desire, Fear, Proud, Friend and Baby. An example of this can be seen in the following Headline: Honey, I have found the most extraordinary Jewelry Tree… It is the perfect solution for our dresser, no more clutter..I just love it!
6. Include the Brand Name in the headline. This will create instant recognition for your company.
7. Longer headlines are more effective so including your core company promise it important. A headline that arouses the reader’s curiosity ensures that you reach him/her on a personal level, which will draw them into the article.

 

 

Are you a copywriter?

Then you could be using hours, even precious days of your life writing a successful headline.

Now that’s a pity when there’s a 10 minute shortcut.

Faced with a problem, our human brains are wired up to form questions about the problem so that it can find the answer.  The brain needs to find answers.

Try listening to your self-talk for a half day if you don’t believe me.

One after the other your brain’s endless questions stream through your head. 

Coffee or tea?  What time shall I get the shopping done?  Where are my glasses?  Shall I walk down Pitt Lane or Meddon Street?  What time does the bank open?  Boots or shoes?  Which coat?  What’s the weather like? Need gloves?  Enough milk? 

Tiny little non-stop questions all day long.  You then answer the question and take the action (or not).

You can expect a massive one now and again too.  It’ll pop up – something like "what do I really want to do with my life?"

But on the whole it’s the mini ones that lead you right through your day.

It doesn’t stop when you switch out the light either, but I don’t expect you want reminding of your night time puzzles.

In other words, your worries, my worries, everyone’s worries turn up in the form of questions.

Going back to headlines then.

What if you take the biggest worry your target customer has about the particular issue your product can solve. 

Let’s say your 35 year old female wants to lose 7 pounds of wobbly belly fat.  What’s more, she’s been wanting to lose those same 7 pounds for years.  In fact it’s been her new year resolution since she had her first baby (10 years ago).

What’s the real worry?  The jelly belly?  The unwanted 7 pounds? 

To a degree, yes.

But the hidden worry, the real one – the one that goes around and around her head is…

"Why can’t I do the thing that I have full intention of doing?"

She can’t find the answer.  It’s going around and around and around, the same old question year in year out, day in day out.

"Why can’t I do the thing that I fully intend doing?"

If you can focus on that critical problem in your headline you can bet she’s going to read it.

But just to make sure, you turn it into a question.

If she reads a question her brain will go into automatic "trying to find answer" mode.

Imply the promise of the answer and she’s yours.

This one took just 2 minutes to create:

"What Effortless Step Can You Take Immediately to Guarantee You’ll Stick to This Proven-to-Work New Jelly Belly Fat Blaster for Mums … forever?"

What’s that?  You want to know if I have the answer?

Absolutely!  

Rachel Goodall
———————-
Clear Passionate Copywriting

www.rachelgoodall.com
skype rachel.goodall
rachel@rachelgoodall.com

Want to use this article?  Be my guest! You can share or reprint it – all I ask is that you give me full attribution and a link to my homepage.

Just copy and paste this statement:

This article was first published at http://www.rachelgoodall.com

 

When copywriters produce a long headline they often emphasise certain words by bolding, underlining or capitalising them.

But you have to know which words to pick.

Web readers generally scan pages and an emphasized word acts as a STOPPER. It literally stops the reader in their tracks.

But your STOPPER also has to be the STARTER to the rest of your copy or your reader will click off to something more interesting. If your ‘stoppers’ are meaningless then it will all end there.

In the headline above the emphasized words Make, You and Your could be in millions of articles ranging from porn to healthy eating. But how about – Correct, Emphasis and Headline? They may not make perfect sense without the joining words, but they certainly hint towards what you might expect from the rest of the article.

If you want to use this technique yourself, you may find the following comparative examples useful. The first headline of each pair is wrong…

——————–
THE SECRET
of How To Be Thinner

The Secret
Of How To BE THINNER
———-

THE FINEST QUALITY
Hand Made Oak Furniture

The Finest Quality
HAND MADE OAK FURNITURE

———-

AT LAST
A Hair Styling Mousse For Dry Hair

At Last
A Hair Styling Mousse For DRY HAIR

———-
HI POWER
Water Pressure Washer

Hi Power
WATER PRESSURE WASHER
———-

The emphasis is always on the solution for the customer – they want hand made oak furniture and your emphasis guides them straight to it. Resist the temptation to run a movie in your head of a 1950’s TV advert with an engaging guy in a loud suit being overly enthusiastic as he shouts an animated ‘AT LAST….” He is only in your head and on your page are mono-tonal words. Imagine them being read in a nasal accent by a small man in a ‘pork pie’ hat. Now which words do you want to underline?

You also need to be alive to the synergy of your stoppers. It is no good picking combinations of words which stick your readers’ eyes to the page. The following Toyota advert explains this well…

Picture this headline as a caption beneath a photograph of a new and shiny Toyota Camry

“A REPUTATION as good as GOLD”

Why not pick the ‘Good” to emphasize instead of ‘Reputation’? Because GOOD……GOLD stops the reader – dead.

As the Copywriter you must ensure you do not just hand over a bunch of words and leave the design and layout to the artists. Visual artists make decisions based on lighting, symmetry, tone and hue, whille your palette comprises words, punctuation and your emphasis.

You should never compromise your artistic integrity, so be very SPECIFIC about how the finished item must look.

Sian
____________________
100% Results Writer

sian@sianmurphycopywriter.com
0800 0086464
01634 251079
07515 951354

Take a look at the title I gave for this article.

It begins with 3 words "Attention All Writers".  What’s this for?

For those British readers I’d like to take you back a bit to the BBC’s 9 O’Clock News.  Can you remember the theme tune?  How did it go again?

"Da de de… da de de… da de da de da de de" – remember the rhythm?

What did that make you do?

Well it all depended on your age.  For me as an 8 year old it signalled "bedtime" so I dreaded the dramatic music and sulked my way upstairs but for my parents it was a signal to pay attention, gather yourself and settle down in the front room to concentrate on the world’s news (or the BBC version of it anyway).

The music either called you to attention or sent you to bed.

The thing is "Attention All Writers" is very much the same idea.  It’s pulling all the eyeballs of writers to your page.  You just can’t help it. 

Non-writers would take a glance and move on.  They’d go to bed, as it were.

So your preheader "Attention All Writers" separates the audience into those readers you want and those you don’t want.

"Should You Always Make A Headline Sandwich?"

This second line is the main headline and a headline has one key purpose.  And it’s this – to draw the reader in.  Think of it like a magnet that attracts a human heart.  But only a certain human heart.  Your target reader’s human heart.

There are a number of ways to write a heart-pulling headline, one of which is curiosity.  Asking a question in your headline implies that the answer will be found within the following article or salespiece.  If your reader doesn’t already know the answer then they’re going to want to find it.  We are curious creatures after all.

If I’d had the room in the box above I would have added this sub-header:

"Here’s The Best Way To Pull in Your Targeted Readers"

Ah, now we know for sure that we’re going to find an answer to a question we’ve just been asked.  We are going to be satisfied.  We’ll come to a conclusion with confidence and tie up the loose ends.

So, to conclude with confidence then… a preheader pre-qualifies the target reader and makes them sit up, the headline magnetises their heart and pulls them into your copy and the subheader leads them one step closer to begin reading your article, your letter or your advertisement.  It kind of "settles ‘em in".

Conclusion?  Yes, as a direct response copywriter you should always aim to make a headline sandwich if you want to capture your reader’s heart and mind ready to begin nudging them through your whole salespiece.  (That bit’s more like a herding sheepdog.)

Rachel Goodall
————————————–
Clear Passionate Copywriting

www.rachelgoodall.com
skype rachel.goodall
rachel@rachelgoodall.com

 

Want to use this article?  Be my guest! You can share or reprint it – all I ask is that you give me full attribution and a link to my homepage.

Just copy and paste this statement:

This article was first published at http://www.rachelgoodall.com

 When I was in the Gold Coast recently attending Alan Forrest Smith’s master class I decided to try out the pancake place opposite the hotel. While I was waiting for my pancake of the day I flicked through the local paper …

1."The Party’s over Wall Street told …" (referring to Government bail out)

2."If you only have …3 minutes, and 56 seconds …" (advertising a hit single)

3. "How to be an eco-bride … from white weddings to green weddings"

4. "Trash the dress, we dare you" (advertised in a modern wedding magazine)

These were some of many headlines, which caught my attention. Why ?

Because they were short, oozed intrigue and curiosity and triggered an emotional response, and a values. I wanted to know more … so invested my time skimming the articles for the main points … Sorry if you were the one who wrote each word carefully but all I wanted was what was in it for me … update in news, environment and something, well just plain INSTANT.

Who are your writing your headline for?

A buyer looking for a solution to their problem, a generation of speed-readers and speed thinkers. Chances are they have made the decision to buy, it is now a matter when and of from whom.

Mindset customized Headlines

Your are writing for a WAM generation !

Want it now

Absorbs everything so fast … "in one ear, out the other"

More for their money

What do they type into Google?   

What do they want?

How do they want it?

Give the eye what the eye is used to … and fast to go.   Think about the style, length, font, and wording in magazines, newspapers.

Dramatic changes have been tested to show a lower response.

Flicking the Switch

Benefit driven headlines will flick the switch of connection for your buyer… Flick the switch to instant connection with E.M.O.T.I.O.N.  Emotion will win hands down over technical intellectual language any day, but just before you pack your academic tools away … you still need them too because you are going to need to proof big time.

Back to the switch of emotion

All the above headlines provoke an emotion depending on what your frame of reference is, your values, what you care about, stand up for and so on… Take number 4 for instance. "Trash the dress" referring to a wedding dress – the actual advertisement was for wedding photography and the bride jumping in the tide for an irresistible shot !

I was thinking what a "waste", my daughter in her 20’s was thinking "image" emerging from the wet water, wet hair etc…

What about you?

I have noticed the more I read headlines and try them out on different people, I can deliver headlines to my clients that make it impossible to click the red X in the top right corner or left to all elite mac users!

Copywriting Kiwi
http://www.copywritingkiwi.com
http://www.alisonredwood.com/blog
email: alison@alisonredwood.com
skype: ali-redwood
cell: 0064921795660

 

What style of headline is most successful?

There isn’t really one answer to that as there are several different styles that can be used with equal success. Before you even start to choose which style you are going to use write down as many benefits as you can think of. The headline should never be put in at the last minute without a great deal of time and thought. Ninety percent of your time should be spent getting the right headline because without it your sales copy will never be read anyway.

1. Announcement.
To make this style of headline work you have to be careful not to make it merely factual and boring. It has to be specific aimed at your prospective buyer, for example it would be no good if BMW launched a new car like this:-

“BMW Launch their New Car” – There’s no benefit at all, just a fact.
“Top Gear Presenter Praises BMW’s Amazing New M3…0-60 in 3.8 Seconds” – Although unlikely (we all know Jeremy Clarkson hates BMW’s) makes a much more compelling headline.

2. Guarantee.
It’s great if your product comes with an iron clad guarantee…provided it lives up to your claims. This can make for a really powerful headline, for example:-

“Lose 10lbs of Ugly Fat in 14 days or Your Money Back” – This benefit is guaranteed.

3. How to.
This style is best used when offering a solution to a problem. Although there are already thousands of books with ‘How To’ in the title it is still very successful, for example:-

“How to Improve Your Golf Swing…”

4. Specific.
This is aimed specifically at your target reader and therefore will not be of any interest at all to the general public. For example:-

“At Last an End to Your Back Pain”

5. The Testimonial.
What better than a testimonial. After all something your customers have said is a lot more believable and powerful than anything you could say yourself. For example:-

“He Couldn’t Believe It Was Me…It Wasn’t! To Be Honest I Just Called In For A Trim…I Left Feeling like a Superstar.

6. Reasons Why.
You are giving the reader a specific number of reasons why they should do something. You are also arousing their curiosity as they want to know what the reasons are, so you are drawing them into your copy. For example:-

“12 Reasons Why You Must Be At Salon & Spa Super Conference”

7. Emotional.
Use this style to really hook into people’s feelings. For example:-

“I Wept When The Battery In My Camcorder Ran Out At My Daughter’s Wedding”

I would recommend trying out a few different styles when you’re writing out your headlines. Write as many different headlines as you can.

 

Anne Pearson
Compelling Copywriter

http://www.mapcopywriting.com
anne@mapcopywriting.com
Skype – mapcopywriting
Tel / Fax – 01772 468979

Please feel free to use this article. All I ask in return is that you include the above signature and URL.

Just how important is the headline anyway?
Probably the single most important thing you will write in your copy. There are a number of reasons that the headline is so important, one of them being that on average five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy…that’s five times! The headline is the red flag waving to attract the attention of your prospective buyer. It stands to reason then that by reading your headline your prospect should immediately know you are speaking to them. For example if you are selling a cure for a Bad Back it’s a good idea to use the words “Bad Back” in your headline as anyone who suffers from one will be immediately drawn to it.

I think it’s important at this stage to point out the dangers of excluding readers who may be prospects. For example if your product can be used equally well by men and women don’t slant your headline purely towards women or you will lose the attention of the men.

We know that copy has to appeal to the self interest of the reader and nowhere is that more vital than in the headline. The headline should always include a benefit for your prospect, after all people act 90 percent on their emotions. Benefits help to bring out those emotions.

Don’t forget the all important question “What’s In It For Me?”

The type of words you use in your headline will also influence it’s effectiveness. People are always on the look out for new products or the latest model. Two of the most powerful words you can use in your headline are Free and New. Now it’s not very often you can use the word Free because the aim is to sell your product not give it away! You can however use the word New quite effectively along with other powerful words such as introducing, it’s here, just arrived, amazing, remarkable, revolutionary, sensational and so on. There are a lot of powerful words you can use so just experiment with a few.

Don’t fall into the trap that some copywriters do of writing tricky headlines. If your reader has to decipher the meaning of an obscure headline you have lost them forever. Your headline has to telegraph what you want to say in plain language.

One more thing to avoid in headlines is negatives. These can be dangerous as many readers will miss the negative as they read for example…“Our pies contain No Dog Meat”  

Most readers will go away with the impression that you wrote…"Our Pies Contain Dog Meat"

So you can see how damaging that could be!

Anne Pearson
Compelling Copywriter

http://www.mapcopywriting.com
anne@mapcopywriting.com
Skype - mapcopywriting
Tel / Fax – 01772 468979

Please feel free to use this article. All I ask in return is that you include the above signature and URL.