|
Copyright 2009-2015 Joseph Farinaccio
The main purpose of a headline is very simple. You want to grab
the attention of your ideal prospect so they'll read the next
sentence in your advertising copy.
Easy to do. Right?
Well... not so fast.
It's possible. That's the good news. But you have to do your
homework first. There are books written on how to write a great
headline. If I said you'll find everything you need to know in
this article my nose would grow like Pinocchio's. But I can help
you get started in the right direction.
A headline should have the full attention of your prospect in 5
seconds or less. If it doesn't the rest of your copy probably
won't get read.
Many copywriters think the headline is the MOST important part
of the copy because it's read 5-8 times more than your body copy
(on average). In short, your headline must get the job done.
This is where the homework comes in.
I'm assuming you've already done the homework for your product
or service. You know it inside and out. You've listed all its
many benefits in exhaustive detail.
Great!
Now you focus on researching your customer. Advertising legend
Denny Hatch says it best, "To write a great ad you have to get
inside your customer's head."
You have to become familiar with your customer's interests,
desires, and problems. You have to know your customer's mindset.
How do you do this? Research tactics might include any or all of
the following...
1) Talk to people in your target audience.
Talk to any friends who are similar to your ideal prospect.
Call potential prospects on the phone. Simply tell them you're
doing market research and ask for their input and advice about
your product.
Make notes - - especially when you hear the same things
mentioned over and over again by prospects.
2) Read what they read.
Newspapers and magazines.
Trade journals for the industry (etc).
3) Read other advertising literature directed at your prospect.
Read any controls you can get your hands on for related
product(s).
This includes collecting competitors' marketing promotions,
direct mail or other advertising. Study them. Pay careful
attention to promotions that are mailed over and over again.
Those are sure winners. They'll give you insight into the
emotional appeals and messages that are currently working.
4) Read what your prospect has written or spoken.
Read testimonials sent in by your prospects. (Maybe your sales
letter headline could be geared towards the thing customers
liked the best?)
5) Read any of your prospect's complaint letters. What bugged
them about the product? What didn't they like about the company?
Did they suggest how to make things better?
6) Research your prospect on the web.
Take notes. Write it all down.
Okay, now the fun part.
Write down who your ideal prospect actually is in 2-4 sentences.
Be concise. Be specific. You'll be merging your product with
this person.
Picture them in your mind. Their sex. Their age. Their job.
Their work environment. Their home life. The age of their
children (if any). Your sales letter headline is going to be
written to this one person.
Let's say you're a software developer who has put together a
complete home-business package that makes it easy to write
medical reports for doctors. Since doctors frequently outsource
this work it makes a great small business opportunity. You think
your research has uncovered the ideal prospect. Now you write
down exactly who this person is...
"My prospect is a busy stay-at-home mom taking care of small
children. She's left her full-time job to take care of her
family while the children are small. She has lots of business
and computer skills gained from her previous work experience."
Next...
Write down in 2-4 sentences what your prospect really WANTS.
"She wants to make a steady $200-$300 a week to increase the
family's income. She wants to work from home, but only 10-20
hours a week. She doesn't want her children's needs to suffer
while she works at home."
Now, put this information to work for you.
Use your headline to speak to the most important burning desire
within your prospect as it relates to your product or service.
Try to match what she most desires with what you have to offer
her. There are different tactics for achieving this (we'll look
at a few in a moment). But, as a general practice, your headline
should convey your strongest benefit.
Now, what's the best way to do this? Copywriters have strong
opinions over the best way to achieve this. But there does seem
to be a little consensus on certain things about headlines.
A headline might do any of the following:
a) Convey the most important benefit to your ideal prospect. Use
clear, simple, and direct language. Don't be cute. Be specific.
Avoid generalities.
Don't say, "This marketing system will help you increase your
profits..." Instead say, "This Marketing System is Guaranteed to
Increase your Profits by at least 43% over the next 6 months..."
Here's an example of a sales letter headline targeting the
stay-at-home mom...
"Here's a Quick Way for a Stay-At-Home Mother to Earn $312
Dollars a Week Part-Time at Home Without Sacrificing Family-Time"
Here's another benefit-oriented headline...
"Eliminate Pain after Your Surgery using an All-Natural Remedy
Just Discovered by Princeton Medical Researchers"
Select your target customer by speaking directly to the one your
offer is meant for...
"A Proven Way for Miami Beach Realtors to Increase Sales by as
much as 28% the First Month"
b) Use the headline to arouse curiosity.
"The One Type of Stock You Absolutely Do Not Want to Own over
the Next 18 months"
c) Deliver a promise in your headline.
"Lose 12 pounds Over the next 2 Weeks Simply by Changing the Way
you Cook your Food"
d) State the prospect's problem in direct language and suggest
you've got the solution.
"Warning: Cancer Patients Should Avoid the Most Common Sweetener
at All Costs...A Leading Oncologist Suggests this Substitute
Could Save Your Life"
e) Start Your ad by telling an out-of-the-ordinary story. "Learn
How this Golfer with Constant Back-Pain Shaved an Average of 13
Strokes Off his Game by using This New Type of Club."
f) If your product and its average price is well known to the
prospect then your most effective headline might be a simple and
direct offer.
"All Movado Watches 66% off Now until this coming Saturday"
The most important thing to remember about creating your
headline is to start with your prospective customer.
What is it she or he really wants?
The following are some common (and effective) types of headlines
used in copywriting:
How to ...
How To (Accomplishment) In (Time Frame)
How To Turn (Problem) Into (Benefit)
How To Get (Goal) From (Something Common)
How To Improve Your...
How To Start...
How To Have...
How To Make (Someone) Do (Something Great)
How To Get Free (Product/Program)
How You Can (Action) In The Next (Time Frame)
How (Unexpected (Event) Changed My (Situation)
How I (Accomplishment) In (Time Frame)
How I (Accomplishment) By (The Unexpected)
How I Improved My (Problem)
An Easy Way to ...
A Proven Way to ...
Introducing ...
A Quick and Easy way to ...
Why you should ...
Announcing ...
If ... Then ...
(Problem) -- How To Fix It
A testimonial can sometimes make a great sales letter headline.
Especially if it conveys your product's biggest benefit. When
used in this way it can be powerful...
"We use the 305 Dawson Water Pump every day for plant operations
and it always works without a hitch."
A few last thoughts ...
Never use a sales letter headline to trick your prospect. It
should ALWAYS be related to your product or service in a way
that meaningfully ties in with your copy. If you use tricks to
get attention your prospect may start reading your copy, but as
soon as they discover they've been tricked the sale is dead.
Your sales letter headline doesn't have to be cute, hype-y or
outrageous to get attention. After outlining all your product's
benefits find the one your prospect wants the most and you'll be
on your way.
About the author:
Joe Farinaccio helps businesses and entrepreneurs make money
using direct response advertising. Discover how to effectively
sell products or service using direct marketing by visiting his
website ... http://www.sales-letters-and-marketing.com
|
