Advertising
Your Next Perfect Headline – Ten Ideas
That’s the suggestion of author Ted Nicholas, one of the all-time greats in direct marketing.
He figures that between 50 and 80% of the sales generated in direct advertising are mainly attributable to the ad’s headline.
That’s a pretty amazing statistic, but maybe not totally surprising given the way readers skim copy and jump from heading to heading.
Nicholas says he writes as many as 250 headlines for one ad until he is confident that he has the best one possible for a particular situation.
That seems like a lot of effort for a few words, doesn’t it? Maybe such attention to detail is one of the reasons why Ted Nicholas is one of the best ad men ever!
Here are ten suggestions to at least consider when writing your next killer ad headline:
1. Use a conversational style. Forget formality and college level grammar. You want to pull your reader in to the conversation and engage him immediately as though you were talking to an old friend face to face.
2. Tell a story. One of the most effective headline styles is the one that paints a mental picture for the reader. Let the prospect visualize how happy and satisfied he’ll be using your product. Focus on the benefit(s) to the purchaser!
3. Put your #1 benefit right into the headline. You only have a few seconds to commit the reader to reading your ad further. You want to draw him in by giving him the #1 reason why he should stick with you. Often that reason is the greatest benefit the user will receive after he purchases your product or offer.
4. Put quotation marks around your headline. Studies have shown that doing so increases the customer response. My guess is that it has to do with drawing him into the conversation and making him feel that you’re talking directly with him as a one-on-one conversation. Try this simple suggestion on your next ad and see if it helps. (Author’s note: some marketers say they get better results when they don’t use quotation marks. Of course, that makes sense as surveys poll lots of varying thought into play. If you have questions about the effectiveness of quotation marks in your headlines, understand that it is always best to test alternatives and variables and track results. Go with whatever your testing shows works best.)
5. Appeal to the prospect’s emotions by using words that elicit a gut reaction. Get the reader to “feel” the need to read the ad. Many folks buy on emotion alone and you want to stimulate those buying impulses. There is no bigger fault in advertising than to bore the reader to death with uninspiring and lifeless copy. It’s important to understand that your headline is there to stop the viewer in his tracks and then get him to engage with your copy.
6. Use simple, easy to understand words. Don’t try to be too clever, too fancy, or use jargon that some readers may not grasp. Most often, direct and to-the-point wording is the best approach for your headline.
7. Describe your product as “totally new” or “just announced” or “first time ever.” Readers are drawn to being the first to see or recognize something that has great value. So headlines like “Discover the amazing new way to …” forces the reader to continue reading the ad in order to be the first one (in his circle of friends) to find out just what this new discovery entails.
8. There’s often a fine line between hype and excitement. Boring ads just don’t work. The prospect will be gone to more exciting things as soon as he is tired of reading the headline that doesn’t spark his emotion in some individual way. Good headlines make for exciting reading. Look at the gripping headlines in the National Enquirer as examples of writing that creates excitement and curiosity.
9. Leave the reader anxious to get into the body of your ad. The headline should leave the prospect curious and hungry for more. You want him to be overflowing with desire to solve his problem or fulfill one of his desires by purchasing your product.
10. Feel the reader’s pain. You must place yourself in the reader’s shoes and have empathy for his circumstance. It doesn’t matter what your own concerns may be at the time … the prospect is reading your headline looking for something that interests and is relevant to him at this moment, or that saves him time, or that makes him feel better. Tell him how you are going to solve his problem or desire with your product and how great he will feel once he experiences it’s benefit to him specifically!
I’ll give you some additional suggestions on headlines later. Headlines are so important to your success. Become a student of this subject and your expertise will pay you great dividends with increased conversions in your advertising. Information businesses (especially) rely heavily on content and generally require the use of an engaging headline. Learn this art well.
To your online business success,
Steve Browne
www.SteveBrowneDirect.com