|
|
| www.1001TopWords.com |
|
|
How to Write Great Headlines
According to experts, just changing the headline of an ad or sales letter has been known to dramatically improve the effectiveness of an ad or sales letter by up to 1700 percent! Yes, headlines are that powerful--and that important! An effective headline will do many things at once. It will attract the readers attention, convey benefits by appealing to the readers self-interest and it will set the stage for what is to come. It will also target the audience for which it was intended. But the number one thing a headline should always do is answer the question, "What's in it for me?" Why? Because that's all most of us really care about. So what are the characteristics of a good headline? First and foremost, an effective headline must be believable. I'm sure you've heard the saying, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." However, if your product really can make me: jump higher than Kobe Bryant, attract as many women as I want, or make me millions while I sleep; if you put it in your headline, you had better be able to effectively prove it in your copy. Many experts believe the shorter the headline, the better. I don't necessarily agree with that. However, keeping your headlines to fifteen words or less is probably a good idea. Make sure your headlines are easy to read. When typesetting your headlines don't use fancy fonts, reverse type, all caps or italics. I recommend you utilize a simple, easy to read type style such as Times Roman. You can see an example of this on my website. Headlines that evoke some type of emotional response are the most effective and generally make more sales. Emotions motivate people into action. The stronger the emotion, the quicker the action. Therefore, headlines that make the reader afraid of losing something or excited about gaining something will invariably produce the best results. Using the proper words and phrases is critical. Below I've listed just a few of the words and phrases that, over the years, have proven to be very effective at grabbing the readers attention: Save... Amazing... Finally... Love... Secrets Of... Announcing... Free... Luxury... Security... At Last... New... Bargains... Obsession... Breakthrough... Protect... The Truth About... Discover... How To... Rewards... Yes... Sale... You... Are You... Sex... Win... Improve... Do You... After grabbing your readers attention, this is where you want to answer the question, "What's in it for me?" To do this, you have to know a little about your target audience. What are they interested in? What are their priorities? What makes them respond? Craft your headlines to use words and phrases that will pique your potential buyers interest. If you are targeting people interested in starting their own home business, try phrases such as "Stay Home And Make Money" or "Kiss Your Job Goodbye Forever". If your product happens to be diet pills, try "Lose 10 Pounds In 10 Days". A word of caution here. This is the point where headlines tend to get unbelievable. Make sure that your claims are truthful and that your copy supports their truthfulness. Once you have a firm grasp of the aforementioned basics, look around your house and select several different products, and write as many headlines as you can think of for each product. Write variations of the same headline until you have exhausted all the ideas you can think of. This will be both frustrating and difficult at first, but it will become easier with practice. Remember, nothing worthwhile ever comes easy. After you have your list of headlines, make sure each one passes the test for the following criteria for a good headline. 1. Does it grab the readers attention? 2. Does it answer the question, "What's in it for me?" 3. Is it truthful? If a potential headline does not meet these three criteria, rewrite it or eliminate it from your list altogether. Continue using the process of elimination, one headline at a time, until you're left with what you feel are the three best and strongest headlines, based on the criteria presented in this article. How will you know which headline is the best overall? Unfortunately, there's no way to know for sure until you test them against each other. The headline that pulls the most sales or responses is your winner! About The Author Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: dean@lets-make-money.net Website: http://www.lets-make-money.net
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
More Cheap Tricks for Promoting Your Business In a recent article, I shared five of my top 10 favorite tricks for promoting your business without spending much (or any) money. Several readers wrote and said they enjoyed the first five tips, so I'm hoping the next five will be just as helpful. Advertise Where Its Forbidden To The most common way to drive people to your business site is advertising. You cannot succeed without advertising, this is a fact.You should advertise almost everytime and almost everywhere using a very pleasant, smart and persuasive manner if you want to accomplish your final target: Making SalesBut what to do when clear and noisy advertising is not allowed(e.g discussion lists, discussion forums, etc) or you just send emails with no connection with business? Take Your Radio Ads to the Next Level Most small businesses do not have a high poweredadvertising agency to produce award-winning radiocommercials for them. Most award-winning radiocommercials win for the wrong reasons anyway. Direct Response Advertising; Radio vs TV Radio advertising vs. television advertising Printing - How Do I Buy It? Why should I care where I get my printed material from, I'll just go for tenders and go with the low bidder. If you do this probably you won't be in business for long or you'll never really run a successful business. My company, Solutions Ink started from the premise that I don't just sell printed products but rather I help businesses grow and prosper. Being in the business for over 20 years I've seen how the industry and the market have changed. Gone are the days you could charge what you want and deliver any quality good's. With global competition so great, the product must be perfect and your price must be competitive just for you to survive. That being said what should I look for in a printing company. First you should explain what you do and how you do it,to your printer. It is his job with his expertise to decide what product he should offer you. Today there are offset presses, digital presses, web presses and each one is appropriate for a different type of job. Understanding The Basics Of Advertising I get the L.A. Times delivered to my door every day, but I don't read it for the articles. It is a Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper, but the articles just don't interest me. Unlike most people, I read the paper for the advertisements because there is a lot to learn from them. Promote yourself on radio for free Unless you have become extremely popular in your personal or business name, you likely need all of the marketing and promotion you can get. Now, you may say, of course, I'm aware of this, but who has the money? This a good and fair question. It may surprise you, though, when I say, you don't need money for some of the most valuable marketing available -- radio advertising. Moving message Sign Moving Message Signs are a unique, attention-grabbing way to communicate and motivate. They are used for eye-catching shop-front or under awning advertising, promotions of products or services, directing and/or welcoming customers, displaying safety and emergency information, directing customers to specific service areas or entrances etc. Offline Advertising Secrets: Using Offline Advertising to Get the Most from Your Name Squeeze Page Many people online are not using one of the best advertising methods around. I'm talking about offline print advertising. I've been using it since 1998, and I have a secret to share with you. Over 60% of my online business comes from offline print advertising. I know that 60% sounds very high, but it's because I use offline print advertising as my main advertising method. Avoid Being Vague We are bombarded with thousands of marketing messages daily?on television and the radio, on the internet, in magazines and newspapers, on billboards and other signs, and even at the bottoms and on the backs of receipts. The world is, indeed, a very noisy place. And in order to get heard, we need our marketing messages to be clear and concise. How To Write More Powerful Brochures, Leaflets, And Catalogues Probably the most interesting thing about brochures and leaflets is that they're seldom read in what we've come to know as the right order - as you would read a book. Rather in the same way that many people read magazines in dentists' waiting rooms, they will flick through brochures and leaflets and stop to take a longer look at bits that grab their attention. Does Post Card Advertising Really Work? You've decided to try advertising your business with post cards. The idea came to you from the post cards you receive from other businesses. You like the idea because it seems easy to do and economical. However, you've never tried this before so you question whether this method will bring you customers. Advertising 101 Advertising has truly become a part of all of our lives as consumers, as business owners, as parents, as concerned citizens. We simply cannot escape from its presence no matter how hard we try. Considering how pervasive advertising is in our daily lives, it's no surprise that people have such extreme views about it. Can I Write and Print My Own Business Brochures and Business Cards? If you have a computer and a printer, preferably one that can print in color, then you can make your own brochures and business cards that are very professional-looking! Be sure to use good quality paper (that is available at any office supplies store like Office Depot or Staples) for anything that you are going to hand out or send to potential customers and clients. Advertising That Annoys: The Real Story Critics conclude that entertaining or "creative" commercials sell better than those that are bland. But liking the commercial may not really be that important in the scheme of things. It all depends on the needs and preferences, motivation and financial reservations of the customer. The question isn't whether people like the advertisement or not, it's whether the advertisement is effective in selling. Marketing Lessons I Learned in Chicago this Week... I was in the fine city of Chicago this week to speak at a marketing conference. And I learned some interesting things: Free Internet Advertising: 6 Proven Ways To Prevent Your Competitors From Stealing Your Customers It is getting harder daily to generate traffic. Juice - Scam of the Decade or Opportunity of the Century If you are an ardent web surfer and MLMer like I am, then I am sure you would have seen the sales pitch "Give away free broadband and earn £27 GBP each time". Why Hire an Advertising/Marketing Consultant? As a business owner, you have the option of taking several different approaches to handling your Marketing and Advertising. You may choose to handle the responsibility yourself, with the idea that no one understands your business quite the way you do.. You may also consider hiring a full time marketing manager or even assigning the tasks, as they arise, to someone already working within your organization. Consider this? When your business needs plumbing work do you do it yourself? Hire a plumber to be on staff full time? Or ask your accountant to handle it? The Forgotten Advertising Tip I'm sure while you have seen many tips on advertising, many that talk about testing and tracking your ads, I'm sure that this one important tip is rarely mentioned: Running more than one ad at a time isn't the greatest idea.
|
| © Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |