Write An Attention-Grabbing Headline in Your
Ads and Sales Letters
It's impossible to overestimate the value of a good headline. Next to the selection of subject matter and the placement of your ad in the proper publication, it is the most important element of your ad
(or sales letter)
Consumers have a short attention span. One of the biggest challenges marketers face is being able to quickly grab the reader's interest and make him or her stop long enough to notice and start reading their ad or sales copy. This is where a good headline comes in. You can achieve this in several ways. For example, here's an attention-grabbing headline from an ad published in a local newspaper.
Important News For Women With Flat Or Thinning Hair
This is effective in gaining the attention of the prospect for two reasons:
(a) It promises important news, and
(b) It identifies the prospect for the service (women with flat or thinning hair).
Incidentally, this ad persuades more than 1,200 readers a month to clip a coupon and send for a free brochure on a hair-conditioning procedure.
In his acclaimed book "Tested Advertising Methods", John Caples lays out
five fundamental rules when writing a headline.
Key Qualities of a Headline =
A good headline includes at least one of these qualities: self-interest, news, curiosity, quick & easy.
John Caple also points out that over time, there have been some time-tested formulas established when working with headlines. These are headline formulas that have worked in the past, and will continue to work in the future for as long as advertising exists.
Here is a list of 25 headline formulas:
1. Start your healine with the word ANNOUNCING
Announcing a new and improved gasoline!
2. Use a word that has an announcement quality
Just Published...a new book on dog training.
3. Begin your headline with the word NEW
New tennis racket specially sized for children!
4. Begin your headline with the word NOW
Now you can travel in comfort
5. Begin your headline with the words AT LAST
At last..a weight control program you can count on!
6. Put a date into your ad
Speak Spanish by the 1st of the year!
7. Feature the price in your headline
Complete oil change with filter..$19.95.
8. Feature a reduced price
Complete oil change with filter special..$19.95 (Reg. $26.95)
9. Feature a special merchandising offer
Any 4 CDs for only $5.00.
10. Feature an easy payment plan
No money down...easy payments.
11. Feature a FREE offer
FREE Report!
12. Offer valuable information
Follow Our Plan For a Greener Lawn.
13. Tell a story
They laughed when I sat down at the piano.
14. Begin your headline with the words HOW TO
How to Make Money Trading Commodities.
15. Begin your headline with the word HOW
How I Started a New Life with $10.00
16. Begin your headline with the word WHY
Why these vitamins can make you feel pepper.
17. Begin your headline with the word WHICH
Which Is The Best Battery Value For Your Car?
18. Begin your headline with the words WHO ELSE
Who else would like to lose 10 pounds in one week?
19. Begin your headline with the word WANTED
Wanted - Safe Men in Dangerous Times.
20. Begin your headline with the word THIS
This formulated lotion makes your skin soft and silky.
21. Begin your headline with the word ADVICE
Advice to athletes everywhere.
22. Offer the reader a test
Can you pass this memory test?
23. Warn the reader to delay buying
Don't buy car insurance until you have read these facts.
24. Make the advertiser speak directly to the consumer
I'll train you myself to a rewarding career in computer programming.
25. Address your headline to a specific person or group
To Homeowners Looking for Lower Mortgage Rates.
The Visual Works With The Headline
When possible, the ad should be illustrated with a photograph or drawing that visually communicates the main idea in the headline.
Together, the headline and visual should get the gist of your sales pitch across to the reader. "Every good ad should be able to stand as a poster," writes Alastair Crompton in his book, The Craft of Copywriting. "The reader should never have to dip into the small print in order to understand the point of the story."
Often, simple visuals are the best visuals in a headline. "We tested two different mail-order ads selling a collector's reproduction of a watch originally manufactured in the 1920's," said Will Stone, of the Hamilton Watch Company. "One ad used a large dramatic photo showing the watch against a plain background. The other visual had less emphasis on the product and focused on a scene depicting the 'roaring twenties' period during which the watch was originally made. It showed flappers and a 1920's car. The ad with the straight product photo-- 'product as hero' --generated three times as many sales as the other version."
As a general rule, simple visuals that show the product or illustrate some aspect of its use are better than unusual, creative concepts that can actually hide what you are selling, thus reducing the ad's selling power.
The Lead Paragraph Expands On The Theme Of The Headline
The lead must instantly follow-up on the idea expressed in the headline. For instance, if the headline asks a burning question, the lead should immediately answer it. The promises made to the reader in the headline (e.g., "Learn the secret to richer, moister chocolate cake") must be fulfilled in the first few paragraphs of copy. Otherwise, the reader feels disappointed and turns the page.
Here is an example of how this works.
This is from an ad selling a business opportunity:
Quit Your Job Or Start Part-TimeChimney Sweeps Are Urgently Needed Now My name is Mario Chiara. I'm going to show you how to make $200 a day saving people from dangerous chimney fires...
Don't waste the reader's time with a "warm-up" paragraph. Instead, go straight to the heart of the matter.
In editing a first draft, an important question to ask yourself is, "Can I eliminate my first paragraph and start with my second or third paragraph?" Eight times out of ten, you can - and the copy will be strengthened as a result.
The Body Copy Supports And Expands Upon The Idea Presented In The Headline And Lead Paragraph Of Copy
What facts should be included in your body copy? Which should be left out? The decision is made by listing all the key points and then deciding which are strongest and will best convince the reader to respond to your advertisement.
Start by listing all the features of your products and the benefits people get from each feature.
For instance, a feature of an air conditioner is that its energy efficiency rating is 9.2; the benefit is a lower electric bill.
After making a complete list of features and benefits, list them in order of importance. Then begin your body copy with the most important benefit. Incorporate the rest of the benefits on your list until you have sufficient copy. Now, you've written copy that high-lights the most important reasons to buy the product, given the space limitations of your ad.
Be Specific
"Platitudes and generalities roll off the human understanding like water from a duck," wrote Claude Hopkins in his classic book, Scientific Advertising. "They leave no impression whatever."
The most common mistake I see in advertising today is "lazy copy" - copy written by copywriters who were too lazy to take the time to learn about their audience and understand the features and benefits of their product - the reasons why someone would want to buy it.
Good advertising is effective largely because it is specific.
There are two benefits to being specific: First, it gives the customer the information he or she needs before making a buying decision. Second, it creates believability.
As Hopkins points out, people are more likely to believe a specific factual claim than a boast, superlative, or generalization.
Start With The Prospect, Not The Product
This may sound like a contradiction, but it's not. Your headline must be attention-grabbing, and your ad must be packed with information about the product.
The information must be important to the reader... information that he will find interesting or fascinating... information that will answer his questions, satisfy his curiosity, or cause him to believe the claims you make. Information, in short, that will convince him to buy your product.
The reader's own concerns, needs, desires, fears, and problems are all more important to him than your product, your company, and your goals. Good advertising copy, as Dr. Jeffrey Lant points out, is "client-centered." It focuses on the prospect and how your product solves his problems.
For instance, instead of saying, "We have more than 50 service centers nationwide," translate this statement into a reader benefit: "You'll be assured of prompt, courteous service and fast delivery of replacement parts from one of our 50 service centers located nationwide."
Don't say "energy-efficient" when you can say "cuts your summer electric bills in half."
The real "star" of your ad is the reader. Your product is second, and is only of concern in that it relates to a need, desire, or problem the reader has or a benefit he wants.
Your company is a distant third - the least important element of your copy - it is only of concern if it reassures those prospects who want to do business with a well-known firm that has a good reputation and is financially stable.
Write In Clear, Simple, Natural, Conversational Style
Copy should not be pompous, remote, aloof, or written in "corporatese." The most effective copy is written in a plain, simple, conversational style - the way a sincere person talks when he wants to help or advise you.
Use only two or three syllable words and don't let your paragraphs exceed four or five sentences in length. Keep it simple like this and you won't lose your prospects attention.
Decide What You Want The Reader To Do Next - Then Ask Him To Do It . . . And Make It Easy
There are three steps for turning your ad into a response-generating marketing tool:
First, decide what type of response you want. What action do you want the reader to take? Do you want your prospect to phone or write you, or clip a coupon and mail it back to you? Do you want the reader to visit your store, request a copy of your catalog or sales brochure, set up an appointment to see a salesperson, test-drive your product, or order your product directly from the ad? Decide what you want the reader to do.
Second, tell the reader to do it. The last few paragraphs of your copy should spell out the action you want the reader to take and give him reasons to take it. For instance:
Just click here and use our secure order form for fast and easy order.
So why not call 1-800-FINE4WD for a dealer convenient to you?
Just clip the coupon or call toll-free now and we'll send you this policy FREE without obligation as a special introduction to EMPLOYMENT GUIDE.
To subscribe to our FREE newsletter, simply fill in you name and email address and hit the submit button.
Just send in the card (or the coupon) and have some fun with your first issue. Then pay us after you've taken a look.
The third step is to give the reader a mechanism for responding. Emphasize this mechanism in your layout to simplify the process of making contact with you.
In print advertising, this is accomplished through the use of a toll-free phone number (usually printed in large type to attract attention to it) or by including a coupon in the ad. Some magazines also allow you to insert a reply card, which is bound into the magazine and appears opposite your ad. This is an expensive technique, but it can dramatically increase replies.
On the Internet, you would fill our and order form - preferable using a secure server. Sometimes all that's needed is an email sent from you to a specific address.
Even if your ad is not primarily a response ad (and with rare exception, I can't understand why you wouldn't want response), you should still make it easy for your reader to get in touch should he want to do business with you. This means always including an address and telephone number.
In short, good advertising generates leads and sales. But it's the headline that captures the readers interest!
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