Arguably, it is often claimed by professional copywriters that
the headline contributes 80% or more of the success of any ad,
article, or sales letter.
Direct marketing expert Jeff Paul goes so far as to credit the
headline with 100% of the success or failure of any ad or sales
letter, because, as he states, "if the headline fails to pull
the reader into the main body of the ad or sales copy, then
there is zero chance of success!"
Think about how you read a newspaper or magazine. Do you start
with the first article and then read every word from front to
back of the publication?
No, of course not!
Instead, you quickly scan the headlines, looking for something
that interests you, usually because of curiosity or because
there might be something in it for you. You skip over all the
rest!
Well, that's the same way your readers view your ad, article,
sales letter, or sales page.
So, here are the three main reasons for headline failure.
1. You Fail To Grab Your Reader's Attention!
Your headline serves as the ad for your ad, article, or sales
letter. Its' mission is to grab the reader's attention, stop
them dead in their tracks and get them to want to read further
down into the article. If your headline fails in its' purpose,
then the whole ad, article, or sales letter will fail because
they will never get read! So, when writing headlines, strive to
grab your reader's attention.
2. You Fail To Tell The Reader What Is In It For Them To
Continue Reading!
Where possible, your headline should present your strongest
benefit to the reader. If the reader can identify a want they
have with the possibility of finding a solution to that want in
your article, or sales letter, then they will continue reading.
If they don't see any benefit to reading on, they won't.
Remember, in headline writing it is all about what is in it for
them, the reader.
3. You Fail To Connect With The Reader!
If your headline is not addressed to the reader, they will not
be interested in what you have to say in the rest of your ad,
article, or sales letter. There must be a match between the
message and the target audience, of which the reader is a
member. Irresistible headlines succeed in making that message to
target audience match.
So, in summary, if your headline doesn't stop your reader dead
in their tracks and get them to read further into your copy,
then all is for naught! Learning how to write a headline that
succeeds is well worth your time and effort. Writing great
headlines can yield tremendous profits.
The time it takes a reader to scan most headlines and decide
whether or not to stop and read your copy or move on to
something more interesting is less than 3 seconds!
As a result, many professional copywriters spend as much time
creating their headlines as they do for the rest of their copy.
Headline writing is a major focus of their marketing efforts.
Creating 100 or so headlines before picking the headline which
the writer feels is most likely to succeed is not uncommon.
Alternative headlines can often be used as sub headlines in long
copy. These sub headlines help pull the reader further along
into the copy and towards the ultimate goal of a sale.
Be sure to give your headlines the time and effort they deserve
and they will reward you with sizable sales. Create headlines of
superior quality and you will earn superior profits. However, if
you neglect your headlines, and just treat them as an
afterthought, look for your profits to fail.
About the author:
George Dodge makes it easy to create headlines with Headline
Creator Pro software that can spit out 100 winning headlines in
17 seconds. Visit http://www.headline-creator-pro.com and get
weekly headline writing tips emailed directly to you.
|
