With today's economy going to the pits, consumers' grip on their money is getting excruciatingly tight.
That's why you need to do everything you can to master the art and science of attracting and selling to customers. Otherwise known as marketing.
The first part of that equation is writing effective advertising material.
Today, I'm going to give you the golden key to writing effective, money-making ads, sales letters and other advertising media...
That golden key is....
A powerful, attention-getting headline.
Now what exactly is a headline?
The headline is the very first statement in your ad or sales letter that your customers will see. (It could also be the first statement in your sales pitch. The statement you use to get your foot in the door.)
The headline is in essence, the ad for your ad.
Why is the headline so important?
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Scientific marketing tests reveal that the headline of any ad or sales letter is responsible for about 80% of your results.
In other words, when you spend $1,000 to run an ad, $800 will depend on your headlines ability to attract the attention of qualified prospects for your product or service. The remaining 95% of your ad only produces about 20% of the remaining results.
With so much on the line, why be so foolish as to use this valuable space for your company name and logo or any other self-serving message?
According to marketing and copywriting giant Ted Nicholas, the headline serves several important roles...
Attracts attention Communicates a strong benefit Appeals to the readers self-interest. Answers the question: "what's in it for me?" Sets the tone for the offer Selects the right audience
So let's take a look at a few successful headlines and see why they worked...
What Will You Do When All Your Personal Assets--Including Your House, Car and Cash--Are Seized to Satisfy a Judgment Against Your Corporation? This headline invokes the fear of loss as it states the disastrous results of the reader being without the product.
Corns Gone In 5 Days or Money Back This headline makes a bold claim and uses risk reversal to reassure the reader of its promise.
How to Form Your Own Corporation Without a Lawyer for Under $50 This headlines shows the main benefit, removes the usual limitation (needing a lawyer to incorporate) and packages it into a low price.
How I Improved My Memory In One Evening This headline shows the main benefit and adds a time element
They Laughed When I Sat Down At The Piano--But When I Started To Play! This headline dramatizes the results of the product, and states it in the form of a story.
So how do you go about writing your next great headline?
Here are a few tips and guidelines...
Try starting your headline with the words "How to" Ex. How to Double Your Advertising Results In 30 Days or Less
Use the words "Announcing, Discover, Revealed, Introducing, New, Breakthrough..." or other variations of them. Ex. "Announcing, a new way to fight hearing loss!"
Describe the readers pain or problem(s) they will have without the product Ex. "Lack of Documentation could cost you your home, car, business and even your marriage."
Use the "They didn't think I could, but I did" formula... Ex. "They didn't think I could make over $100,000 a year without a college degree, but when they saw my new Mercedes!"
Tell the benefit in a first person story Ex. "How I became the highest paid salesman in the country in less than 2 years"
Offer a free report (The report you prepare and send out should contain at least Some useful information and not be all sales hype) Ex. "Free Report Reveals How To Settle Your IRS Debt For Pennies On The Dollar No Matter How Much You Owe"
Emphasize your guarantee to reverse the risk. Fresh, Hot Pizza in Thirty Minutes or Less or it's Free!
So how do you go about writing your next blockbuster headline?
Here's my process...
Make a list of ALL the benefits of your product or service. Pick out the most important benefit. Come up with at least 100 different headline variations of the most important benefit using the formulas and tips listed previously as well as others. Take the best 3-5 and test them against each other.
The very best copywriters in the world will usually write no less than 100 different headlines. Often times anywhere from 150 - 200 or more. Why?
Because they know that this is where the biggest return on your marketing dollar is so they spend days and weeks on writing the headline before settling on one.
A word of caution... don't be lazy and fall into the trap of most people and spending 5 minutes on the headline and days or weeks on the body copy. No matter how good your body copy is, with a bad headline nobody reads it.
With a great headline and average copy, you can still come away with an extremely lucrative ad or sales letter.
Good luck and headline success,
Wayne Brown
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Wayne Brown is a marketing consultant and copywriter based in Marriottsville, Maryland and publisher of the "10 Part Super-charge Your Marketing and Advertising Course" available at Businessbuildingtechnician.com. He can be reached at Bizmarketing@businessbuildingtechnician.com
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