By Angeline Plesek
Keywords: direct response, advertising copy, copywriting, headline writing
You can write the most persuasive, profit-generating direct response or advertising copy ever, but if your prospect doesn't make it past the headline, your efforts at copywriting have failed.
The late copywriter and advertising genius, Clyde Bedell, outlined five effective headline writing ingredients in his copywriting course, "How to Convert White Space Into Advertising That Sells." Over several decades in the advertising business, Bedell helped countless retailers and advertisers increase customer response to their ads.
Capture your prospect's attention with each headline you write by using these five headline writing techniques:
- Appeal to the prospect
- Mention benefits
- Incorporate current news
- Invoke curiosity
- Show favor toward the product
Appeal to the prospect in headline writing by using words such as "you," "your" or words that imply you are speaking directly to the reader. For example, consider the headline "You Can Look Younger in 10 Days," or "See Wrinkles Disappear in 10 Days." Appeal is personal, and this headline writing technique selects the reader out of a group and makes her feel as though you are speaking directly to her.
People buy products or services for their benefits. A prospect usually wonders, "What's in it for me?" Mention at least one benefit in your headline writing, emphasizing the primary benefit. "Lose Weight and Look Great in Two Weeks!" emphasizes weight loss to improve one's appearance. Better health is also a benefit of weight loss, but most people are more concerned with appearance than health. This headline emphasizes what most prospects perceive as the main benefit, and it grabs their attention.
Incorporate current news in headline writing. Make your headlines sound like news items to increase reader interest. Using words like "now," "finally" or "at last" suggests the topic is new and interesting, making the reader want to continue with the entire article.
Invoke curiosity in your headline writing. Ask questions that raise curiosity such as, "Are You Paying Too Much for Your Monthly Utilities?" If the reader has a high electricity bill, this headline grabs his attention. Make sure you use the curiosity technique properly so that it is relevant to the product. Clyde warns, "Too many appeals to curiosity are irrelevant to the thing to be sold." If you use curiosity to hook the reader and then write about something entirely different, the reader gets disappointed and stops reading.
Show favor toward the product or service. Use complimentary adjectives in a headline to show enthusiasm for the product or service. Rather than just writing, "The Mercedes ML63 AMG Outsells Automobiles in its Class Every Time!" write, "The All-New, High-Performance, Luxurious and Comfortable Mercedes ML63 AMG Outsells Automobiles in its Class Every Time!" If you don't sound enthusiastic about the product or service, it is difficult to get the prospect excited about it.
The success of your sales copy or ad depends on strong headline writing to attract and maintain a reader's attention. Whether you are writing advertising copy or direct response mail packages, try to include as many of the five headline writing techniques as possible. You have only a moment to capture the reader's interest and move him into your body copy. Use these headline techniques to increase your chances of getting reader attention, keeping it and making a sale!
Angeline Plesek is a copywriter for Writers Research Group and a junior Web developer for a national television and radio company. She writes direct response and online Web content.
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