Copywriting Headlines

Your headline can make or break your promotional piece, whether you are doing on or offline marketing. I know - you've heard it all before; "You must have a compelling ‘grab-them-by-the-throat', 'can't-look-away' headline if you are going to have any chance of your reader responding."

Think about it. When you're browsing the web or scanning a magazine or newspaper, or even reading your mail are you concentrating absolutely 100% on what you are reading - unless it pulls you unrelentingly in?

If that headline doesn't make you exclaim "How the heck did you know that?" when it asks the question that's been bugging you for ages. Or "This solution is so what I want - it's almost uncanny!" then your interest may easily slip away.

And your reader is no different!

It's a challenge we all have no matter what our line of business or how we go about our marketing.

Is there a 'no-brainer' way to come up with the most outrageously effective headline that grabs your reader's attention? Not really - there are techniques; there are attention words that help to make your headline stand out; but it still takes practice, experience and skill to find the one that pulls no punches, hits the mark dead on and delivers the best measurable results.

But hey, we've all got to start somewhere so here's a few tips for you, starting with a mindmap you can download and keep as a reminder (simply click the thumbnail below to view it full size, then right-click and choose save image as). Close the window to return to this hubpage.

Get Your Creative Juices Flowing...

Don't fall into the trap of writing one or two headlines and thinking "That's it!"

Sorry, I doubt it!

When you start crafting your headlines you are only just getting warmed up - your creative performance is still in first gear. As you write more - allowing each headline to act as a catalyst for the next - they begin to flow, like sliding into the higher gears in a high performance car.

That's why I recommend writing as many headlines as possible before deciding which ones to test. Personally I aim to write at least 100, if not more. I'll show you a simple process to help you do that in a moment.

But first prepare your mind...

Study Winning Headlines

Search out winning headlines. How do you recognise these? Look for these attributes:

1. It's a headline for a direct response advert or sales letter. You can tell if it's a direct response marketing campaign because there is a reference code. You are asked to quote it or it is printed on the response form or in the advert. It is measurable and is being monitored.

2. You see the same headline all over the place and it's a direct response advert or letter or webpage; these type of headlines are only used if they are continually successful.

Study the headline.

Is it specific? (Being specific makes your headline more believable)

Does it contain the promise of a result or benefit that appeals? (People are only interested in results; ‘What's In It For Me?')

Does it intrigue without being obscure? (Curiosity can hold your reader's attention provided your first paragraph is strong). What is the appeal; envy; greed; pride or status; generosity; well-being or health; peace of mind or something else? (You need to know what your target market is looking for - and you may have to test different appeals to see which is the strongest motivator).

Here's 9 Proven Appeals to test:

• Crave success
• Love a bargain
• Want to get fit
• Dream of being your own boss
• Want to gain knowledge
• Anything that helps or protects the family
• Curiosity
• Anything that shows how to / does save £
• Freebies

Is it short or long? (Your headline should be long enough to get your message across).

Is it using any of the attention words that magnetically draw the eye and catch attention? (See the short list of example words below).

Attention Words

Using specifics, identifying a benefit or result your reader will enjoy, or a problem they have that you can solve, makes your headline more compelling. Including one or more attention words increases the attraction because certain words are proven to draw the eye - just like a magnet.

Here's 8 to get you started. Look for others in the headlines you're studying:

• Remarkable
• Powerful
• New
• Here is/are
• Announcing
• Free
• Easy
• Introducing

The Secret of How To Make Writing Scores of Headlines Easy

When I said to aim at writing 100 headlines to give you the best chance of finding the winner, did you think "No Way!" or something similar? It seems like an insurmountable task - doesn't it?

Try this:

Grab a pen and paper

Look at the first attention word in the list above

Now look at the list of appeals

Think about a descriptive headline about your product or service; the result you can deliver or the problem you can solve, using that word and write one for each of the appeals. Follow the headline advice I've given you earlier in this article.

Wow! You've already got 9 headlines!

Now take the second word and do the same again.

Continue down the list - by the time you've used each word you have 72 headlines. They won't all be fantastic - some may even be ridiculous, but the point is your creative juices are starting to flow and...

You've written over two thirds of your 100 headlines!

Think you could repeat the exercise again? Do it and you've flown past the 100 headlines target! Not bad going eh?

Now you've got your headlines you can start working on your letter or advert.

Read more about writing for business marketing, including sales letters, at my copywriting4b2b blog:

The mindmap image I've included here was created with easy-to-use software supplied by Tony Buzan (the inventor of mind mapping). You can download a free 7-day trial using the link below: