22 tips for headlines that earn their keep - Part 1
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Promise a benefit or provoke curiosity. Remember there are only two things that people buy: solutions to problems and good feelings. Think of those two criteria next time you sit down to write a headline for one of your products or services. Stress the benefit of your product, not the product itself. If the shoes you sell have crepe soles (feature), say they are "shock absorbing" (benefit). If the suits you sell are a blend of Dacron and wool (feature), say they can be worn "year-round" (benefit). Communications with headlines that promise a benefit are read by four times more people than headlines that don't have benefits. Charles Mills, Vice President of O.M. Scott, the largest grower of lawn seed in the world, put it this way, "People are interested in their lawns. Not in our seeds."
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Put the name of the product in the headline if possible. Not the name of your business. Put your name somewhere else in the communication. Not the headline, unless it has a special meaning: "Only at (name of your business) will you find (name of item)". Most people like to see the name of their business at the top of the brochure or advertisement. Most customers couldn't care less. The bottom of the ad is fine ... and don't forget to add your address, phone number, and someone's name to request more information.
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Long headlines pull as well (often better) than short headlines. Headlines with more than ten words have much better readership than shorter headlines.
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Use 'flag' words to get the right audience. An advertisement for cars with catalytic converters ran with this headline: "Are you allergic to cats?" Clearly, the reader who stops to read more is interested in felines not automobiles. If your communication is directed to a specific audience, work them into the headline. My son has asthma, so anything with "Asthma" or "Asthmatic" in the headline will get my attention. Think of the flag words for your product or service and then craft them into your headline.
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Have a 'big idea'. Advertising guru David Ogilvy said, "Unless your campaign is built around a big idea, it will pass like a ship in the night." You have to find out what's unique about the product or service you are promoting. The more facts you put in your copy that are unique to your company, the easier it is to make the sale, to get the appointment or enquiry.
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Sell one idea at a time. Otherwise you confuse the reader.
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Make it 'newsworthy'. A 'new' product. A 'new' solution. A 'new' service. Communications with news in the headline pull better ... about 20 percent better according to some.
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Use certain words in headlines ... because they work. Specific 'flag' words work (See point 4). But there is also a raft of more generic words that work their hearts out for you. They include - but are not limited to - new, free, how to, amazing, introducing, guarantee, you, now.
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Go local if you can. Supermarkets that promote products grown in their state report a dramatic increase in sales. People want to be identified with what is 'local' to them. It could be local by suburb, by city, by state or by nation.
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Don't be clever. Double entendres, puns or headlines written to grab attention but with no follow-through simply don't work. It's very rare for a humorous headline to out-pull a well constructed headline. It can be done, but humour is dangerous territory with many traps.
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Put the headline under an illustration. Why? Because that's how people read. Look at your newspaper or the layout of news magazines. If your ad looks more like an editorial page, your readership will increase. One piece of UK research showed that readership multiplied by five times when formatted to emulate editorial.
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