www.1001TopWords.com |
Top 3 Reasons Why Your Headlines Fail
Many professional copywriters estimate that the headline contributes to 80% or more of the success of any ad, article, or sales letter. One direct marketing expert goes so far as to credit the headline with 100% of the success or failure of any ad or sales letter, because if the headline fails to pull the reader into the main body of the ad or sales copy, then there is no chance of success! And they are both right! If your headline fails to perform its' function of getting the reader to read further into your copy, then the headline is fully responsible for the failure of the ad or sales letter. However, if the headline is successful, then other sales copy factors come into play, such as the benefits presented, the guarantee, the offer, the close, etc. Now they all share in the effectiveness of the sales copy as well. But if the headline fails, they then play no part. Think about how you read a newspaper or magazine. Do you start with the first article and then read every word from front to back of the publication? Of course not! Instead, you quickly scan the headlines, looking for something that interests you, either because of curiosity or because there might be something in it for you. You skip over all the rest! Well, guess what. That's the same way your readers view your ad, article, sales letter, or sales page. So, here are the three main reasons for headline failure. 1. You Fail To Grab Your Reader's Attention! Your headline serves as the ad for your ad, article, or sales letter. Its' mission is to grab the reader's attention, stop them dead in their tracks and get them to want to read further down into the article. If your headline fails in its' purpose, then the whole ad, article, or sales letter will fail because they will never get read! 2. You Fail To Tell The Reader What Is In It For Them To Continue Reading! Where possible, your headline should present your strongest benefit to the reader. If the reader can identify a want they have with finding a solution to that want in your ad, article, or sales letter, then they will continue reading. If they don't see any benefit to reading on, they won't. Remember, it is all about what is in it for them, the reader. 3. You Fail To Connect With The Reader! If your headline is not addressed to the reader, they will not be interested in what you have to say in the rest of your ad, article, or sales letter. There must be a match between the message and the target audience, of which the reader is a member. So, in summary, if your headline doesn't stop your reader dead in their tracks and get them to read further into your copy, then all is for naught! The time it takes a reader to scan most headlines and decide whether or not to stop and read your copy or move on is less than 3 seconds! As a result, many professional copywriters spend as much time creating their headlines as they do for the rest of their copy. Creating 100 or so headlines before picking the headline which the writer feels is most likely to succeed is not uncommon. Alternative headlines can often be used as subheadlines in long copy. These subheadlines help pull the reader further along into the copy and towards the ultimate goal of a sale. Be sure to give your headlines the time and effort they deserve and they will reward you with sizable sales. George Dodge has been working on the Internet since December 1994 and has developed, and served as webmaster for, numerous government and commercial websites for the past ten years. Examples of his commercial sites include Seven Days To Profits that is an information product site revealing several methods for how you can get an online business up and running quickly with minimal resources and http://www.Headline-Creator-Pro.com which is a software site where you can get your copy of the amazing headline generating software tool that enables you to create winning headlines quickly with push button ease. Headline Creator Pro can generate 100 winning headline ideas in just 17 seconds flat!
|
RELATED ARTICLES
15-Minute Marketing: Lots of Results in Little Time Do you think you don't have enough time to market? Here's a solution that can help you get started on marketing, or any other task you've been putting off. How Do You Know Your Clients Cant Pay More? "My clients can't afford higher rates." Is Your Company A Member Of The Community? One particularly hot south Texas day, I was making a routine sales call to a family Mexican restaurant. Angela, with whom I had an appointment, is a real "hands on" lady. She can't sit still in her restaurant and let others do all the work. Therefore, it's always a bit of a wait to talk to her, but this place has great iced tea, so I didn't mind the wait. I finally got some of her time, where she sat down, covered in flour as usual. I have a strong amount of respect for Angela. She's such a strong entrepreneur, and she makes a great glass of iced tea. I really wanted to provide her with specifically the right kind of marketing that she was looking for. I asked her if there was anything she had in mind for her marketing efforts. She barely hesitated, and said, "I want to be common knowledge that my restaurant is a member of this community!" Large One? Here's a proven, and truly easy way to start increasing your sales, immediately. The Art of the Business Card Use a business card as a note pad for recording important information. Logo Facts What makes one logo better than another? The Marketing Plan and the Four P?s The Marketing Plan section of the business plan demonstrates how a company will penetrate the market with its products and services. The Marketing Plan should include "the four P's" ? Product, Promotions, Price, and Place. Attracting Clients With Ease Whether you are already running your own business, or still thinking about starting your own business, I suspect that deep down you know you have gifts and talents that can really make a difference to others. In an ideal world, you'd spend the majority of time doing the work you love to do, with a steady stream of clients knocking at your door as and when you want them. The reality, however, can be somewhat different, and the whole process of finding new business can be a time consuming challenge full of uncertainty. 4 Steps To Increase Your Job Sign Marketing It's no secret that using a job site sign can be an effective way to market your company's services to neighborhood homeowners. But most job sign marketing isn't done as effectively as it could be. Here are four tips for getting the most out of your job sign marketing: SMS for the Estate Agent - Targeted Marketing Tool, or Legal Minefield? Imagine having at your disposal a means to immediately inform house buyers that you have just the property they are looking for. Potential buyers have given their details and their preferences - imagine that you can send them this information no matter where they are or what they are doing, they can read it at a time that's convenient and can act accordingly in their own time. Imagine that you can do this quickly and easily, in a matter of minutes, regardless of the number of recipients. Matrix Web Sites - Scam or NOT? While I am not talking about the movie "Matrix", you may be wondering like many others if Matrix Web Sites are Legal! Global Market in the Cyber world?Go and Get It ! With the Internet opening up the doorway to the global market, everybody is up and running to reap the maximum benefit of this widely used medium. Not only has Internet gained importance as an important medium of communication but also has given a platform to thousands of people to nurture their entrepreneurship and realize their dreams of self-employment. Nice Guys Finish First Volunteering your services can be an excellent way to form new business relationships and raise your business's profile while lending a hand to a good cause. However, unless you take care, it can also become all-consuming, with little return (besides creating good karma). Five Tips to Make Your Marketing More Creative Same old same old just doesn't sell anymore. To make your marketing stand out, you need to get creative. Below are five tips designed to get your creative juices flowing. Some are brainteasers or are what Michael Michalko in "Thinkertoys" calls Linear Thinkertoys. Others fall under intuition or Intuitive Thinkertoys. Some tips may appeal to you more than others. My suggestion is to try them all. Even the ones you're not drawn to may still open some doors that wouldn't have opened any other way. These tips will work whether you sell a product, a service or both. 1. Find the "second right answer." Roger von Oech talks about this in A Whack on the Side of the Head. Don't be content with the first good idea you come up with. Take the time to think of a second, or third or 50th idea. Quantity counts ? the more ideas you have to choose from, the more likely you'll discover an excellent or even a brilliant one. Remember, Thomas Edison discovered thousands of ways a light bulb didn't work. 2. Change the question. If you change the question, you're probably going to get a different answer. You say you want to sell more products? What if you changed the question to how can you make more money? Well, there are other ways to make more money than to sell more products ? maybe you lower the cost of making the product or you raise the price of the product. Now you suddenly have new avenues to explore rather than just going down the same tired path. 3. Ask your product or service how it wants to be sold. Now we move into more intuitive techniques. Start by getting yourself into a relaxed state. Take a few deep breaths or practice some relaxation techniques. Imagine your product or service in front of you. Now ask it questions. Who do you want to be sold to? How do you want to be sold? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? Who do you think you can help? Why do you want to help them? You can also do this technique as a journal exercise. Write down the question and answer. See what bubbles up onto the paper. 4. Paint a public relations campaign. What would a press release look like if you painted it? Or sculpted it? How about a dance number? A collage? Take any part of your marketing that troubles you and turn it into a piece of art. By combining two dissimilar acts, you may discover your answer. Or you may not come up with anything at all, but just the act of "playing" and "creating" could jolt something loose. Hours or days later your idea may suddenly end up in your lap. 5. Walk away from it. If nothing is working, then stop. You can literally walk away by taking a walk, or just quit thinking about it. This is especially important if you find yourself getting frustrated or discouraged. Give your subconscious time to mull things over. The idea may just suddenly appear to you. Or, after a few days, try another exercise or two. That may be the catalyst you need. The most important tip of all? Make sure you have a blast. Being creative should be fun. Keep it light and fun, don't struggle too hard with it, and see how many ideas you're rewarded with. Brochures that Generate Sales Leads (and How to Write Them) One rule in direct mail is that your letter sells your offer and your brochure sells what you're selling. For example, let's say you mail a classic direct mail package to generate sales leads for your enterprise software product. Your classic package will consist of a #10 mailing envelope, a sales letter, a brochure (perhaps an 8 1/2×11 sheet folded twice), a reply device and a #9 return envelope. How to Magnetize Your Business Do you ever wonder how some businesses always seem to be doing so much business? And how they seem to do all that business without really trying that hard? Most of us would like to have business come to us, rather than chasing it. Think of a magnet ? pulling business towards your company, effortlessly and naturally. Sounds good, right? But how do you actually become a company like that? Here are some ways. Your Ultimate Competitive Advantage The biggest secret to success in business is to always maintain a competitive advantage in everything you do. One of the best ways to get and maintain a competitive advantage is to always make it as easier for your prospect or customer to say yes than to say no. The way you do this is by taking away the risk by offering a powerful guarantee. When you remove the risk for anyone who is deciding whether or not to do business with you, it results in a powerful advantage in your business success. Developing a Contact List- Part One One of the most essential things to successful networking is your Contact List. When you start a business, developing one is the first step in promoting and marketing your company. As you write your business plan, it is helpful to make this list to start to develop an idea of who your customer base will be. Freebie Seekers? Turn Them Into Clients and Referrers - or Turn them Far, Far Away Many service business owners these days are"giving away" their business services ? and thenwonder why people aren't hiring them in droves. Inthe name of "marketing," business owners areproviding way too much information for free. Someshifts in thinking are necessary if these businessowners expect to be in business years from now.Even trained coaches, I believe, do too muchpro-bono work. Why? They say that they need topractice, but the bottom line, IMO, is that theydon't value their gifts. Write Effective Fundraising Letters By Being Conversational (Includes Examples & Samples) I am doing what you do, sitting at my computer, trying to get my thoughts out of my head and into a written form that will help you make a decision. In this particular case, I am trying to write a few intelligent remarks about sounding conversational on paper. You know, how to write a fundraising letter that sounds like it came from the mind of a person and not an institution. |
© Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |