“If the headline is poor, the copy will not be read. And copy that is not read does not sell goods.”
– John Caples, writer of the classic headline “They laughed when I sat down at the piano…but when I started to play…”
Headlines are one of the most important parts of any piece of copy or sales message. That’s because the headline has the vital task of attracting attention and getting a person to actually start reading the copy.
One of the masters of writing “Eyeball grabbing” headlines was the late…and much missed…Gary Halbert. Often referred to by friends and colleagues as “Sir Gary Halbert”…he stressed the headline as being crucial to how well a piece did at getting prospects to take action.
According to some experts, the headline accounts for 80% of the success of an ad. Naturally, Gary was a diligent tester of his own copy and headlines. In his own experience, he found that a different headline could increase results by anything up to 475%!
He put more creative effort into writing headlines than he did into any other aspect of his copywriting.
So it’s well worth paying attention to his guidelines on writing what he liked to call “Killer” headlines. He stressed 4 principles…
Headline Principle #1: Call Them By Name
For most people, let’s face it. nothing sounds sweeter than their own name. Studies have shown that if someone says your name in a noisy room, you’ll hear it above the din.
Thanks to today’s printing technology you can create the same effect in a sales piece. You can put each prospect’s name in the headline of your piece.
A new wrinkle on this is to use a personalized URL or PURL in the headline of a piece, which invites readers to go to their own personal website.
This is almost irresistible and a great way to get attention. It’s not always possible to do this but can work incredibly well.
Headline Principle #2: Use News in Your Headline
You want to make readers believe that they are going to learn something useful by taking the time to read your copy.
One way to do that is by promising a piece of news in the copy.
Perhaps this will be a new scientific discovery or some secret a celebrity uses to be beautiful or successful.
This valuable information is just waiting to be read, if prospects will just invest a little of their time to read the piece. Make the news intriguing enough, and they will.
Headline Principle #3: Promise a Benefit in Your Headline
You might have heard the expression “Radio WIIFM”…or “What’s in it for me?” It’s only natural that people will ask themselves why they should spend their valuable time to read your message.
There needs to be some sort of benefit from that investment. The reader needs to expect they will discover something that will change their life for the better.
So…offer the benefit in the headline and people will be motivated to read more.
Headline Principle #4: Follow Principles #2 and #3 in Your Headline
If putting news in your headline is powerful, and promising a benefit in your headline is powerful…then including BOTH is really going to ramp up the impact of the headline.
In a slightly different context, I once heard this described as a “Frankenstein” approach to writing headlines. Allow me to elaborate a little…
Typically when I sit down to write headlines I’ll write out at least 20 different possible headlines. These will be based on proven templates of headlines that have worked in the past.
Sometimes, one of these will stand out as being right for the situation. More often, none of them will quite suit.
So the next step is to combine two or more…like Dr Frankenstein experimenting in his lab…to come up with something different.
In this case, we would combine a news type headline with a benefit driven piece.
One Great Headline
“Sir Gary” left us with one headline that is a great template that can be used in a wide variety of situations. It’s…
“At Last! Scientists Discover New Way To Look Younger In Just 17-Days!”
Take a moment to have a look at this. Frankly, I marvel at the genius of this headline. Every single word has a purpose and strengthens the impact of the copy.
Consider…
• The words, “At Last!” build the idea that this is something people have been waiting to happen for a long time, and the reader will also be helped by this great event.
• The word “Scientists” adds legitimacy. We tend to assume that whatever is going to be reported in this letter is backed up by hard data and genuine research.
• The word “Discover” implies that the reader is going to learn about something new and valuable.
• The words “New Way” means this is going to be different from what else is already available…and may not work so well. It also provides “news” in the headline.
• The words “To Look Younger” appeal to just about anyone. We all want to look younger, unless we’re twelve years old. This is the hook that will capture the interest of every reader.
• The words “In Just 17-Days” not only promise quick results, but because the number 17 is so specific, it makes the whole promise more believable.
To conclude…it’s well worth spending extra time on writing your headlines and…of course…testing out different headlines. The tips in this article should get you on the way to writing your own “Killer” headlines that deliver improved results.
And if you’re interested in more direct response marketing wisdom and insights from the late, great Gary Halbert…there’s a real treasure-trove over at the “Gary Halbert Letter”.