Eleven tips to vastly improve your headlines and raise response.Are you working on an e-mail? Sales letter? Brochure? Special report? It makes no difference. In each case, to succeed you simply must lead with a powerful headline. It's it's 1. Contraction of it is. 2. Contraction of it has. See Usage Note at its. it's it is or it has it's be ~have absolutely essential. You cannot rely on good body copy alone. Reason? Start with a weak headline and virtually no one will read the rest of your copy. Here are tips that will vastly improve your headlines and raise response to your advertising to a whole new level. 1. Use a customer testimonial as the headline. There is hidden power in a testimonial headline. Why? What other people say about your product has great credibility. It can be as much as 20 times, or even 50 times, more effective as what you say. Example: "Within 6 months of attending your seminar, I put an additional $750,000 in my pocket."--Stuart Goldsmith, Berkshire Berkshire (bärk`shĭr, –shər, bûrk`–) or Berks (bärks, bûrks), former county, S central England. , U.K. 2. Make your headline the caption of an intriguing in·trigue n. 1. a. A secret or underhand scheme; a plot. b. The practice of or involvement in such schemes. 2. A clandestine love affair. v. photograph. Example: "How to Get Enthusiastic Applause, Even a Standing Ovation, Every Time You Speak" Photograph is of an audience standing and clapping enthusiastically. 3. Use a one-word stopper in giant type followed by an exclamation. Examples: Warning! Breakthrough! Stop! Yes! 4. Start your headline with the word "new." Example: "New From the Laboratories of Dr. Reinhard Reinhard is a surname or given name, and may refer to: A surname:
5. Position your product as a solution to a problem. Example: "Snore No More" (headline) "New anti-snoring spray enables both you and your bed mate to get a good night's sleep" (subheadline) 6. Begin your headline with the words "how to." Example: "How to Form Your Own Corporation Without a Lawyer For Under $75" Tip: The tried and true "how to" headline is surprisingly underused. Try it. You'll you'll Contraction of you will. you'll you will or you shall you'll will love the results. 7. Express a command beginning with an action verb verb, part of speech typically used to indicate an action. English verbs are inflected for person, number, tense and partially for mood; compound verbs formed with auxiliaries (e.g., be, can, have, do, will) provide a distinction of voice. . Examples: * "Open This Envelope and Discover How You Can Become a Millionaire Copywriter." * "Tell Anyone Who Says You Are Crazy For Starting Your Own Business to Buzz Off." 8. Offer to fill a void. Examples: * "Finally, a Marketing and Advertising Forum That Answers Your Specific Questions" * "At Last, Both Online and Offline Marketing Secrets Revealed" 9. Target a specific group of consumers in your headline. Example: "Diabetes--If You Have It, Open This Envelope--Natural Solution, Guaranteed Results" 10. Ask a rhetorical question rhetorical question n. A question to which no answer is expected, often used for rhetorical effect. rhetorical question Noun . Example: "What Makes a Consultant Successful?" 11. Start your headline with the word "announcing." Example: "Announcing the Latest Cutting Edge Ted Nicholas Seminar For Aspiring as·pire intr.v. as·pired, as·pir·ing, as·pires 1. To have a great ambition or ultimate goal; desire strongly: aspired to stardom. 2. Millionaires" Copywriter and seminar leader Ted Nicholas may be reached at TNicholasdirect@aol.com |
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