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

1. Measure your retail sales the day after an advertisement has been run,
2. Run an advertisement on a specific regional area or a controlled group; compare these against another similar controlled group using your regular advertisement.
3. Use a key number sequences on your coupons, for example A-41G. The letter “A” is the code for the publication in which the advertisement ran. The “44″ designates the specific ad and that ad only, and the “G” represents any revisions of the advertisement.

It was only after I had read a few personal development books that I understood that when stripped down to the basics, the process of thinking is really just about asking yourself questions and then making a decision based on the answer your brain turfs back out.

“Always the beautiful answer who asks a more beautiful question.” E. E. Cummings

To illustrate this, lets use an everyday experience of crossing the road where there are several possible questions to ask and answer before you get to the other side…

“Shall I walk down to the crossing or try to cross here?” If you decide to walk down to the crossing, then: ” Shall I press the button on the crossing and or run across when there’s a gap? Shall I wave thanks to the car that stopped or not bother to take my hand out my pocket?”

You are probably not aware of all this internal questioning and turmoiling because the answers seem to pop up out of nowhere. And this is how it is for your reader when you ask them a question. What this means for you is that they are more likely to believe an idea seemingly conjured up by their own brain over a concept presented from the outside.

And this is the important thing – a question generates an answer, not an argument.

Consider these two headlines…

What if there was a way you could convert 25% of your website visitors into customers,
how much money would you make?

OR

Your website can convert 25% of your visitors into customers and make you a lot
of money.

The second statement makes a claim that a reader may not believe and they can disagree with, but the question in the first headline introduces a possibility for the brain to draw its own conclusions and fire up the imagination. The questioning approach leads your reader towards their own vision of possibility to fit in with their particular circumstances. The chances of a delivered fact marrying one hundred percent with the readers own experience is negligible and so positively invites disagreement.

When you are writing direct response copy, there is no escaping getting intimate with the product, the producer and most definitely the customer. But the right questions can bring focus and organisation to the process.

If you answer just these five simple questions then you can write web copy for almost any product…

1. What is the problem?

Here you are identifying the pain, problem or predicament for your target audience. Your audience may not even realise they have a problem and your role as the copywriter is to ensure they recognise this.

2. Why Hasn’t The Problem Been Solved?

This question forces you to delve into the history of your reader’s predicament to identify supposed solutions which have already been tried and failed.

3. What Is Possible?

This is introducing the possibility thinking for your reader – setting the stage for what life could be like when the problem, pain or predicament is sorted. This is where you paint a picture of the way life will be from now on.

4. What Is Different Now?

Why will your remedy work while others have failed? What is different about your product or service? This is the Unique Selling Point (USP) for your product and your competative advantage.

5. What Should You Do Now?

Tell your reader what they have to do next – Sign Up, Telephone, Register, Buy Now – this is the call to action.

When you’ve dispatched these five questions you have the game plan for your copy. But you only have the touchdown when you answer this…

How Do I Inject Emotion Into My Copy?

Best wishes to you

Sian Murphy
———————
100% Results Writer

sian@sianmurphycopywriter.com
01634 251079
0800 0086464
07515 951354

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

 

What is the best layout for your copy? 
I know I may have mentioned this before but some copywriters get too hung up on being “creative” with fancy pictures and words. When really keeping it simple is what they should be doing.

When it comes to your layout…Simple… is best.
Readers always look first at the illustration then at the headline and then at the body copy. So give them these elements in that order. Illustration at the top followed by the headline then the body copy. This is the natural order of scanning from top to bottom. If you put the headline above the illustration you are not giving your reader what they are used to, (see article…The Eye Is A Creature Of Habit).

Headlines below illustrations are read on average by 10% more people. Which might not sound a lot but if you think there could be 10,000 readers, that’s an extra 1,000 reading your copy. Next time you’re flicking through a magazine just take note how many times the headline is put above the illustration. I think you’ll be surprised at how many are losing sales from this one simple thing.

If you are using an illustration there are a few guidelines to follow, but that’s a whole different article. Always use a caption under your illustration. Four times as many people read the caption than read the body copy.

When is an advert not an advert?
When it is set out like an editorial page. Most people don’t like adverts. If you set your ad out like an editorial page you will attract more readers.

Roughly six times as many people read the average article as read the average advertisement.

If you have a look through some of the successful news magazines with high readership you will notice similarities in their editorial layout.

• Every photograph will have a caption
• The copy is set in Serif type
• The columns of type, 35-45 characters wide
• The copy starts with drop-initials
• The type is set black on white

Now look at the adverts in the same magazines and see how many are like this:-

• Few of the photographs have captions – four times as many people read the caption than read the body copy
• The copy is set in Sans Serif – making it difficult to read
• The copy is set in one column of 120 characters or more – too wide to be easily readable
• There are very few drop-initials – drop initials increase readership
• Sometimes the copy is set in reverse, white on black – very difficult to read

So always think about the layout of your advertisement to give yourself the biggest advantage. Selling is hard enough without turning away readers before they’ve even looked at your work.

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.