So, you want to learn how to create attention-grabbingheadlines that will motivate potential customers and close the deal?
If you’ve ever talked to copywriters, chances are you’ve heard about the power of a winning headline and its measurable effect on your bottom line. If you fail to capture your reader’s attention within the first few minutes of them reading your copy, you’ll likely lose them forever.
Add to that, the fast-paced digital world where people are used to social media updates flying across their screen all day long, overloading them with information, and you need to work extra hard to capture their attention long enough to convince them to read your message.
Think about that for a minute and the pressure that it puts on copywriters. Your headline matters so much that if you fail to hit the mark in your first few minutes (possibly seconds), you may never have another chance with that person again.
Your headline sets the tone. It’s the first impression you make on your visitor, and it’s single-handedly the most important component of a successful sales page.
A compelling headline captures attention and convinces people to continue reading every single word on your page until you have closed the deal. It persuades visitors into becoming customers, and makes believers out of the skeptics. And if it’s done right, it has the power to transform a sales page into an incrediblemoney-making machine.
David Ogilvy, a business tycoon, known as the “father of advertising” believed that the headline of a sales page was the single most important component in a marketing system. I agree!
He also summarized the importance of a killer headline with the following quote: “On the average, five times as many people read the headline than they do the body.”
Are you beginning to see the importance of an attention-grabbing headline that conveys your message and speaks to your audience?
A captivating headline is everything! And here’s the great news: Despite the information-overload that many of us suffer from where we don’t give much of anything our full attention, creating powerful headlines that ultimately persuade someone to respond to your copy isn’t all that difficult when you know how to harness the power of emotional and intellectual triggers that will prompt anyone (even the most jaded) into taking action.
In fact, when you follow a provenformula for creating attention-grabbing headlines, used by the most experienced copywriters online, you simply can’t fail!
This special report will provide you with the information you need to get started, while going back to the basics. I’m going to share some of the most effective strategies to creating successful headlines, even if you are brand new to copywriting.
So, without further delay, let’s get started!
K.I.S.S & Tell
When I first became a copywriter, I studied everything David Ogilvy had ever written. This was a man known to the world as one of the best copywriters in history, responsible for countless successful campaigns for household name brands, including Dove and Rolls Royce.
So, I set out to work, learning all that I could from one of the most skilled copywriters in the world. I read his book, Confessions of an Advertising Man, and analyzed his copywriting, especially his headlines. It was a pretty straightforward, no-risk way of learning from the best. And because I was new at copywriting, it was also a low-cost way to get started.
What better way to know that I was doing it right than by structuring my headlines using the same style and format as a top copywriter? It just made the most sense.
The one thing I knew was that my goal as a copywriter was a simple one in theory. I really only had one job; capture immediate attention. I thought of every headline in terms of a clock ticking down, and when that timer ran out, if I hadn’t managed to get their attention, it was all over. I intentionally put that pressure on myself because I knew the weight that a solid headline carried, and that my only hope of creating successful copy was in that power-player, my headline.
In truth, it was rather intimidating, especially when clients evaluated the success of their entire marketing system based on the front-line; the sales page I would write for them, starting with the headline.
So, I took it very seriously. I began by evaluating and studying successful sales copy within my client’s niche market. I analyzed the competition, and found ways to improve their copy. I made a list of power words, phrases and triggers so that I had inspiration to draw from when I found myself stumped.
I tested out hundreds of headlines over my years in copywriting and throughout that time I realized what worked and what didn’t. Yet, despite all of the time and effort I put into my headlines, time and time again, it came down to just a handful of proven techniques!
My greatest lesson? Learning to KISS.
K.I.S.S?!
We all know what this stands for: Keep it simple, stupid.
In copywriting, K.I.S.S is a lesson that I learned the hard way. You see, I was complicating my copy. I was trying to convey too many things to too many people. My message was often misdirected, convoluted or just plain confusing.
When I started to strip my copy down so that it was clear, targeted and direct, conversion rates went through the roof! My readers felt a connection to the copy because it spoke directly to them. In other words, I stopped playing word games with my audience.
David Ogilvy has many fantastic quotes that come to mind, but one of my favorites is:
Your job is to create a headline that immediately captures attention and touches down on what is most important to your target audience. You don’t want to get too creative, crafty or clever with your headlines. While you can create headlines that create curiosity, when it comes to your marketing message you want it to ring loud and clear.
This means you need to be very direct. No guessing. No wordplay. No gimmicks.
Take away: Simplify your headline and marketing message. Remove superfluous language or confusing words and be direct. Read newspaper headlines for inspiration and to see this excersice in action. When you limit yourself to only so many words, you’ll pack a lot more power into your headlines.